Cats

Anna from Pushkin, Russia writes that we have birthdays on the same day in May.  From her I got  this cat on the watch, drawn by Olga Popova.

Also Felice has the same birthday as Anna and me :) She lives in Chicago, USA and she bought this card from her favourite postcard shop. These cats are painted by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen.

Joseph from Philippines sent this third cat card. The card is made from recycled paper :) and I also like the short, funny aphorism very much.

Sneaky cat, it is obviously up to something!
From Antje, Germany 

Shaili lives in Taipei, Taiwan and with this cute cat card she welcomes us to visit her beautiful country. Thank you Shaili, I hope we can do it someday!!

 Manon from France sent this cute cat from the set "Chat Enchante" by Séverine Pineaux.  Matoomuch, the pretty fashionable cat, has long been familiar to miss Cha...nel. She is really elegant but beware her mood swings...

Peterson and Findus are making pancakes in a very special way and Marion, from Germany, admits that she hasn't tried this method yet.

Shannon from Taiwan sent a cat on my favourite colours. This cat is pleased and contented after reading for a long time. I like the sunny, bright colors of the japanese artist, Makoto Muramatsu. 

Belarusian churches

Anastasia lives in Polotsk and her card is showing The Holly Cross Cathedral of Convent of the Savior and St. Euphrosyne, Polotsk, Belarus

Lena from Minsk sent a larger view from The Convent of the Savior and St. Euphrosyne. Polotsk is the oldest town in Belarus and founded in 862.

Natasha lives in Russia and on her vacation to Belarus she bought this card of Minsk Town Hall and Roman-Catholic Church of St. Virgin Mary.

From Olga I received a card from Kamenets - The Church of St. Simeon built in the 16th century and rebuilt in 1914.  St. Simon's church is near The Tower of  Kamenets.  

Street views

Magnificent flower street in Alsace, France from Jean-Jacques

He wrote that Alsace is the most beautiful area of his country - I believe him.

Back Street, St. Ives, Cornwall, Great Britain.  Carol lives in St. Ives and she  found this genuine old postcard from an antique shop and it suits perfectly for my " narrow streets with old houses"- collection:)

Butchery Lane, Canterbury, Kent, United Kingdom from Laura

Butchery Lane is a narrow shopping road in Canterbury city centre

 and one of Laura's favourites.

Petersilienstraße, Lübeck, Germany
Greetings from my sister and her family from an old Hanseatic City of Lübeck.
Lübeck's  medieval centre was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1987.

Calle de Obispo, Barcelona, Spain
From our daughter. She wrote that yesterday she walked on this street
 and after that she had to climb 96 steps to her friend's apartment, quite tough.

Ireland

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Stephanie lives in Atlanta, Georgia and last summer she spent 10 days with her family in Ireland. Among other things they visited this ancient structure of Dunluce Castle. 

Dunluce Castle is a medieval Irish castle on the Antrim Coast. It is located dramatically close to a headland that plunges straight into the sea and it's fascinating history dates back to the 14th century.

Beautiful card from Anna. ( Direct swap)

Anna writes that this is a typical landscape in rural Ireland - the hills, fences and castles. She wonders how those fences hold in place for so long because there is no cement between the stones.

The historic and picturesque coastal village of Carlingford is situated on the Cooley Peninsula, County Louth. King John's Castle is sited on high rock at the entrance of the harbour. The area offers many attractions for active holidaymakers. 

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Filling up in Ireland!
This postcard made Laura smile and me too:)

That's a very handy beer tap, says my husband!

Direct swap from Tomek

Tomek was busy, he was going fishing because Ireland is a paradise for anglers :)

The public house has long been the centre of Irish social life. Think of Ireland and your first thought probably is of Irish pub, indeed most people's first visit to Ireland is noted by a recommendation of a good local where they can go and experience a pint of the black stuff, take in the atmosphere friendliness and general craic that's unique to every Irish pub.

Direct swap from Vicky

Vicky is from China but lives now in Dublin and she loves it.

Is that not the most beautiful library you’ve ever seen? Definitely a Dublin highlight!

The Long Room, Trinity College, Dublin

The main chamber of the Old Library is the Long Room, and at nearly 65 metres in length, it is filled with 200,000 of the Library’s oldest books.  It's one of Ireland's biggest tourist attractions. There's also an old harp which is believed to be the oldest in Ireland. It dates from the 15th century.

Ukraine

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 25 Nov, 2013

Ira lives in Kiev and she writes that St. Andrew's Church is the most beautiful church in Kiev.  The church looks truly amazing colored with blue, green and white and with onion domes. I would love to peek inside the church.

St. Andrew's Church is so named because legend says that St. Andrew erected a cross on the location where the church was built. Older churches did not survive, and Russian Empress Elizabeth ordered St. Andrew's Church to be built in the Baroque style in the 18th century.

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11 Dec, 2013 

 Ratusha and Rynok Square in  old Lviv
I received this postcard from Maria who lives in Lviv. The card shows an old city view of Rynok (Market) Square. Today the square is still very popular among locals and tourists because it seems to have  special medieval magic.

The Ratusha is home to Lviv’s City Council and one of the city’s cherished symbols.  It’s one Rynok Square's newest buildings–having been completed in 1835–but the first mention of it dates back to 1381. The tower was once wooden and the building has undergone numerous changes throughout history, but it has always hosted Lviv’s government. The Ratusha’s observation deck at the very top of the tower is open year-round and offers one of the best views in Lviv, making it a must-see for any tourist.

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11 Dec, 2013

Dnipropetrovsk's Municipal New Year Tree
Zarina can enjoy these magnificent New Year Lights in her hometown - lucky Zarina :) I'm sure those lights bring a lot of happiness and beauty to all the people of Dnipropetrovsk.

The New Year Tree in Dnipropetrovsk is the biggest in Ukraine and one of the largest ones in Europe in the number of lanterns and lights, more than three million of them. There is unique 14 meter hi-tech New Year tree in the center of the town, about 100 other decorated trees.

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 31 Dec, 2013 

Yalta by Night

Natasha lives in the  city of Yalta on the coast of the Black Sea.  Her hobby is photography and I bet she has taken many good photos from her beautiful hometown.

And  I wish you all a very Happy New Year 2014

with Maximilian's and Stacy's postcards.

From Maximilian

and from Stacy

Russia

 Katya sent me three beautiful cards and the first one is showing  a view from  Kosh-Agachsky region in Altai - wide valley surrounded by mountain ranges.

 The second shows a beautiful street view in Wooden Irkutsk.  I really admire that great carpenter work - magnificent wooden decorations.

And the third one is from the Golden Ring of Russia, an old church with onion domes 

The Golden Ring ( Золото́е кольцо́) is a ring of cities northeast of Moscow. They formerly comprised the region known as Zalesye. These ancient towns, which also played a significant role in the formation of the Russian Orthodox Church, preserve the memory of the most important and significant events in Russian history. The towns have been called "open air museums" and feature unique monuments of Russian architecture of the 12th–18th centuries, including kremlins, monasteries, cathedrals, and churches. These towns are among the most picturesque in Russia and prominently feature Russia's famous onion domes.

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30 Dec, 2013 

Asya lives in Siberia and from her I got this card: A bridge over the Ob River. 

 She writes that for a long time it was the only way of communication with the " Big Land" as they called the European part of Russia. 

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11 Dec, 2013 

An other bridge across a river came from Liza, she also lives  in Siberia, in the city of Tomsk. There is no information about the river in the card, perhaps it is Ob again or maybe its the tributary Tom, anyway - quite a wide river.