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.
