Some odds and ends from last August...

 795 - Polina in Russia (RU-1853454) sent me this lovely photo of a ballet dancer.  And this stamp is super.

797 - This is a Barbed Agama or Bearded Dragon (Pogona vitticeps) from 'Frightener' in Belarus (BY-978739)

798 - My friends Carol and Rob sent this card of Deception Falls on the scenic Stevens Pass Highjway over the Cascades in Washington State. In the early days of their marriage they used to go picnicing along this river with Rob's brother and his family.

800 - Rita has sent me postcards of Danish UNESCO World Heritage Sites including this one - Roskilde Cathedral on the island of Zealand.  Built in the 12th and 13th centuries, this was Scandinavia's first Gothic cathedral to be built of brick and it encouraged the spread of this style throughout northern Europe. It has been the mausoleum of the Danish royal family since the 15th century. Porches and side chapels were added up to the end of the 19th century. Thus it provides a clear overview of the development of European religious architecture.

The Europa stamp theme for this year is postal vehicles.

804 - Damien in France sends me lots of maps of the different Departments.

811 - Audrey Hepburn is my ideal but this card of Brigitte Bardot from Didier (FR-308280) was just as welcome!

813 - My friend Eva had a holiday in The Azores and was kind enough to send me a card of these old vineyards on Pico Island - a UNESCO WHS. 

The 987-ha site on the volcanic island of Pico, the second largest in the Azores archipelago, consists of a remarkable pattern of spaced-out, long linear walls running inland from, and parallel to, the rocky shore. The walls were built to protect the thousands of small, contiguous, rectangular plots (currais) from wind and seawater. Evidence of this viniculture, whose origins date back to the 15th century, is manifest in the extraordinary assembly of the fields, in houses and early 19th-century manor houses, in wine-cellars, churches and ports. The extraordinarily beautiful man-made landscape of the site is the best remaining area of a once much more widespread practice.

1150-1157 - a miscellany

1150 – A sculpture from the Great Tower at Gangaikonda Cholapuram from Amit in India.

Gangaikonda Cholapuram was erected as the capital of the Cholas by Rajendra Chola I, the son and successor of Rajaraja Chola, the great Chola who conquered a large area in South India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Sumatra, Kadaram (Kedah in Malaysia) at the beginning of the 11th century A.D. It occupies an important place in the history of India. As the capital of the Cholas from about 1025 A.D. for about 250 years, the city controlled the affairs of the entire south of India, from Tungabhadra in the north to Ceylon in the south, and other south east Asian countries. 

The great temple of Siva at this place is next only to the Brihadisvara temple at Thanjavur in its monumental nature and surpasses it in sculptural quality.  It is one of the three Great Living Chola Temples which make up an Indian UNESCO WHS.

1151 – A delightfully cute Christmas card from my friend Susanne in Germany. 

Another good stamp

And a sticker.

1152 – Historic post uniforms from around 1850 on this maxi-card from Lars in Germany (DE-270646)

1153 – Miriam sent this typical Dutch card (NL-220140).    It’s just SO Dutch…

1154 – Ute in Germany sent this card (DE-2702719) – a reminder of Ivy!

1155 – Rita, such a kind friend in Denmark, sent me this picture of a Danish postman.

And on the back was one of the Europa postal vehicle stamps.

1156 – From Monica in Sweden, a rabbit.  You can almost see its nose twitch.

1157 – Also from Monica, another Lennart Helje card.

Lennart Helje, born in 1940 in Lima , is a Swedish artist , best known for his Christmas cards with little gnomes or brownies on them. 

Quite often Helje’s brownie is accompanied by animals such as a fox or a moose.  As Monica wrote, the fact that there is no actual Christmas greeting on the cards means she can send more than one.  Both of the ones she has sent this month will be displayed with our Christmas cards which straddle the living room.

1140 - 1149 (Early December 2013)

1140 – Anastasia sent me this new map for my collection. In case you are wondering what the symbol for Minsk is (in the centre) it is the new National Library Building.

And beautiful stamps

And a patriotic sticker…

 

1141 – Tina, a Canadian Postcrosser (CA-393330), sent me this card.

The royal family stamps are just perfect.

1142 – Amit in India not only sent me smiles but also another UNESCO WHS card. 

Hampi is a village in northern Karnataka state, India. It is located within the ruins of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Predating the city of Vijayanagara, it continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple, as well as several other monuments belonging to the old city. The ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as the Group of Monuments at Hampi.

The “Stone Chariot”, as it is often referred to, is the flagship tourist attraction of Hampi. This is not a chariot ,as the name suggests, rather a shrine built like a chariot. This is located inside the Vittala Temple campus.  The chariot is built on a rectangular platform of a feet or so high. All around this base platform is carved with mythical battle scenes. Though the chariot is not resting on it, the four giant wheels attached mimic the real life ones complete with the axis shafts and even the brakes. A series of concentric floral motifs decorate the wheels. It appears from the marks on the platform, where the wheels rest, the wheels were free to move around the axis.

1143 – Danielle and I both like cats but there are limits!  This photo of ‘The Katzes (with Moe at centre) 1981’ is great but I’d not like to have to live with all those. 

Aren’t the tiered baskets great?

And even the pictures on the walls are of cats.

A Christmas stamp.

 

1144 – A Christmas card from Damien in France.

With one of the Véhicules postaux EUROPA stamps on it.

1145 – Another beautiful post-box maxi-card from Sini in Finland.

 1148 - And another post-box from Siggi in Germany -

1146 – From Susanne in Germany comes this beautiful old-fashioned Christmas card.

I love the stickers Susanne uses…

1147 – The background to this great map card from Rita in Denmark is the Danish flag.

The Flag of Denmark (Danish: Dannebrog) is red with a white Scandinavian cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side. The cross design, which represents Christianity, was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries; Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Åland Islands and the Faroe Islands, as well as the Scottish archipelagos of Shetland and Orkney. During the Danish-Norwegian personal union, Dannebrog ("Danish cloth") was also the flag of Norway and continued to be, with slight modifications, until Norway adopted its current flag in 1821.

According to legend, the flag came into Danish possession during the Battle of Lyndanisse in 1219. The Danes were on a failing crusade in Estonia, but after praying to God a flag fell from the sky. After this event, Danish King Valdemar II went on to defeat the Estonians. The first recorded uses of the flag appear some one hundred years later.

1149 – Another card from Rita – this time a Christmas card.  God Jul is, of course, Merry Christmas.

464 – Faroe Islands – Post boxes

Card no 464 - EJ 

Faroe Islands – Post boxes 

Country Card Sent From: The Netherlands 

Place that Card Sender Lives: Almere 

Date Received: 30th March 2013 

Distance Travelled: 354 miles 

Time Taken: ? days 

EJ’s card is a super one of three post boxes on the Faroe Islands – Tórshavn is the capital and largest town of the Faroe Islands; Føroyar is Faroese for The Faroe Islands; and I assume Útheimurin is Faroese for other places. The Faroe Islands are an island group and archipelago under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark, situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Norway and Iceland. The total area is approximately 1,400 sq km (540 sq miles) with a 2010 population of almost 50,000 people.

The Faroe Islands have been a self-governing country within the Danish Realm since 1948. Over the years, the Faroese have taken control of most domestic matters. Areas that remain the re-sponsibility of Denmark include military defence, police, justice, currency and foreign affairs. The Faroe Islands also has representatives in the Nordic Council as members of the Danish delegation.

Among the stamps (used) that EJ put on this special card were the following from the Australian National Stamp Week 1960 –

 
A Polish postal stamp was also attached –

And finally there was the Netherlands stamp that actually got it to me. (EJ knows I like reptiles!) -

All-in-all a brilliant card, thanks EJ.

Ribe, Denmark

Card no 328 - Christina

Although this card came from Germany its sender works in Denmark. 

 Ribe Cathedral is visible for miles across the flat landscape, and it is amazing to think that travellers have been met by this sight since the middle of the 13th century when it was completed. Ribe Cathedral is the oldest cathedral in Denmark.

It became the only five-aisled cathedral in Denmark following numerous alterations and additions. The present-day building is characterised by a wealth of different styles and interesting details.

There are sepulchral monuments to some of the most powerful men of the town and the nation as a whole, as well as the oldest sepulchral monument in Scandinavia, erected by King Valdemar the Conqueror to a son who died in 1231.

Ribe Cathedral has been awarded top marks by the French Michelin Travel Guide for sights and attractions. The cathedral was awarded three stars, the highest accolade possible, and an honour accorded only to 15 attractions in Denmark.