New Orleans

New Orleans is world famous for its plethora and unique architectural styles. From creole cottages to the grand mansions on St. Charles, New Orleans is filled with history and tradition. Walking through the street of new Orleans is taking a trip through time.

Photo by Mike Jones

From Colette, New Orleans, Louisiana

Distance: 8,126 km

Travel time: 6 days

New Orleans is especially known for its strong association with jazz music, universally considered to be the birthplace of the genre. The earliest form was dixieland, which has sometimes been called traditional jazz, 'New Orleans', and 'New Orleans jazz'. However, the tradition of jazz in New Orleans has taken on various forms that have either branched out from original dixieland or taken entirely different paths altogether. 

The Eureka Brass Band. New Orleans 1962

The lead marcher of George Williams Brass Band in a parade. New Orleans 1960

Second Liners dance with the George Williams Brass Band. New Orleans 1960

Al Hirt and Pete Fountain bilboard sign. New Orleans 1960

Photos: William Claxton. Jazz Seen

Colorado Plateau

Colorado National Monument preserves one of the grand landscapes of American West. Sheerwalled canyons, towering monoliths, colorful formations, desert bighorn sheep,soaring eagles and a spectacular road reflect the environment and history of the plateau-and-canyon country.

Photo: Larry Ulrich  

Surprise received from Annick in Vire, France :) :)

Chimney Rock

Chimney Rock is a United States National Historic Site located in Morrill County in the state of Nebraska. It contains the famous landmark Chimney Rock, which helped emigrants on the Oregon 

Trail find their way. Here you can still see the ruts left by the wagons as they traveled the Oregon Trail many years ago. 

Photo: Mark Dietz and Dan Grig Images

Received from Matt in Columbus, Nebraska

Distance: 7,251 km

Travel time: 8 days

Wild West

Cold Rush Days

Old Sacramento, California

Once a year The Great California Gold Rush is recreated in the streets of Old Sacramento.  Dirt will cover J Street in Old Sacramento as the annual festival turns back the clock, transforming Sacramento’s 28-acre historic district into a scene straight out of the 1850s. Costumed performers portray historical figures, personalities and just plain folks, bringing history to life while old-timey musicians perform on multiple stages, evoking the vivid tunes and sounds of the times.

Received from JoEna in California, U.S.A.

Distance: 8,307 km

Travel time: 14 days

Tombstone, Arizona 

Once The Meanest Town in the West

Step into Tombstone AZ and you'll be stepping back into the rough and toughdays of the wild west. In the 1880s, Tombstone was a booming mining town that brought a rush of prospectors and miners looking to strike it rich. It also became a magnet to thieves, card-sharks, murderers, rustlers and an abundance of bad guy

From Dennis Los Angeles, California

Distance: 8,700 km

Travel time: 9 days

North Carolina

 The many rustic barns that decorate the landscape of rural North Carolina are sentimental reminders of days gone by.  Photo by Wade Giddens

Received from John Raleigh, North Carolina

Distance: 7,051 km

Travel time: 10 days

Antonin Palace

Antonin Palace was founded by prince Antoni Radziwiłł. It’s a wooden palace in hunters’ style designed by Karol Fryderyk Schinkel on the plan of a Greek cross. 

Antoninin kylä on tunnettu siitä, että säveltäjä Frédéric Chopin oleskeli siellä vuosina 1827 ja 1829 herttua Antoni Radziwiłłin luona. Näiltä ajoilta on säilynyt arkkitehtonisesti kiinnostava, lehtikuusesta rakennettu pieni metsästyspalats. Palatsissa on hotellihuoneita ja Chopinille omistettu museosalonki, jossa tänäkin päivänä järjestetään säännöllisesti pianokonsertteja. Rakennukselle on myönnetty Europa Nostra -palkinto Euroopan arkkitehtuuriperinnön vaalimisesta.

Received from Bartosz in Poznan, Poland

Distance: 1,180 km

Travel time: 15 days

Lindos, Rhodes

Lindos is an archaeological site, a town and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes, Greece.  It lies on the east coast of the island. It is about 50 km south of the town of Rhodes and its fine beaches make it a popular tourist and holiday destination. Lindos is situated in a large bay and faces the fishing village and small resort of Haraki.

Wikipedia

Harbor of Rhodos

Mandraki is one of the three harbors in Rhodes. It is famous, because it is believed that the great statue of Colossus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, once stood at the harbor entrance.  Nowadays the sculptures of Rhodian Deer, a stag and a doe, stand on slim columns on either side of the harbor where the Colossus possibly once stood.

The Fort of Saint Nicholas guards the Mandraki harbour.

The lighthouse dates back to 1863, during the Ottoman period, it was reactivated in 2007.

France

The Eiffel Tower

Received from Francy in Paris

Distance: 1,957 km

Travel time: 11 days

Greetings from France!

Received from Celia in southern France

Distance: 2,341 km

Travel time: 5 days

Thank you Francy amd Celia!

La Rochelle

La Rochelle Old Harbour

Pierre lives in Rochefort in France and he sent this  view card from La Rochelle. Thank you very much.

La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. La Rochelle's main feature is the "Vieux Port" ("Old Harbour"), which is at the heart of the city, picturesque and lined with seafood restaurants. Here are the most recognisable landmark in La Rochelle, the three towers - now together a listed National Monument - stand at the entrance to the harbour. They once formed the most important part of the town defences against invasion from the sea.

Kuvassa La Rochellen vanha satama ja kaksi keskiaikaista tornia,  Chaînen torni  ja  Saint-Nicolasin torni. Tornit suojasivat kaupunkia mereltä tulevia hyökkääjiä vastaa. 

Stonehenge

Stonehenge is surely Britain's greatest national icon, symbolizing mystery, power and endurance. Its original purpose is unclear to us, but some have speculated that it was a temple made for the worship of ancient earth deities. It has been called an astronomical observatory for marking significant events on the prehistoric calendar. Others claim that it was a sacred site for the burial of high-ranking citizens from the societies of long ago. Britannia

Stonehenge on esihistoriallinen monumentti Englannin Wiltshiressa. Se on megaliiteista koostuva neoliittinen ja pronssikautinen kivikehä. Stonehengeä rakennettiin useassa vaiheessa: rakentaminen aloitettiin noin vuonna 3 000 eaa., ja monumentti oli käytössä noin 1 500 vuoden ajan.

Stonehengessä on ollut alun perin neljä sisäkkäistä kivikehää, kaksi suurta ja kaksi pienempää. Uloin kivikehä muodostaa halkaisijaltaan 30 metrin ympyrän, ja toinen suurimmista kehistä on hevosenkengän muotoinen. Korkeimpien kivipaasien päälle on nostettu vaakapaasia, ja korkeimmat ryhmät ovat lähes kahdeksanmetrisiä. Suurimmat kivet painavat noin 50 tonnia, ja kaukaisimmat on tuotu paikalle satojen kilometrien päästä Walesista. Moni alkuperäisistä kivistä on jo kadonnut tai kaatunut. Kivikehien ympärillä on halkaisijaltaan 115-metrinen kaivanto, jonka molemmin puolin on maavallit. Vallien vieressä ja niiden ulkopuolella on yksittäisiä paasia.

Stonehengen tarkoituksesta ei ole varmuutta. Se on saattanut olla aurinko- ja kuukalenteri, temppeli, hautapaikka tai kokoontumispaikka. Monumentin koillispuolen sisäänkäynti on suunnattu kesäpäivänseisauksen auringonnousuun. Wikipedia

Distance: 1,760 km

Travel time: 10 days

Received from Victor in Kuznetsk, Russia

Mirin linna - The Mir Castle

Mir Castle in Grodno region is one of the most important tourist attractions in Belarus, an outstanding 16th-century fortification and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Mirin linna on linna Valko-Venäjällä lähellä Mirin pikkukaupunkimaista taajamaa Karelitšyn piirissä Hrodnan  alueella. Se valittiin vuonna 2000 UNESCOn maailmanperintöluetteloon.  

Distance: 1,005 km

Travel time: 25 days

Received from Irina in Grodno, Belarus

Prague dawn and night

Prague, Charles Bridge and Old Town Towers

If you arrive at dawn, you'll beat the crowds of tourists and enjoy a glorious sunrise.

This card came from Martinek in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

 Distance: 1,489 km

Travel time: 5 days

Irena in Prague sent this card showing a view of Melantrichova Street. 

Melantrichova is one of Prague’s oldest and picturesque thoroughfares and it is also one of the city’s main tourist routes.

Nice stamp with a special Postcrossing cancellation mark.

Distance: 1,479 km

Travel time: 19 days

Movie Night

Esther in Netherlands likes warm and sunny places, perhaps Casablanca would be her next place to visit. But first she might watch this Bogart and Bergman movie. 

Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and based on Murray Burnett and Joan Alison's unproduced stage play Everybody Comes to Rick's. The film stars are Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid.  Set during World War II, it focuses on an American expatriate who must choose between his love for a woman and helping her Czech Resistance leader husband escape the Vichy-controlled city of Casablanca to continue his fight against the Nazis.

More Wikipedia

Casablanca on vuonna 1942 ensi-iltansa saanut Michael Curtizin ohjaama draamaelokuva. Se sijoittuu toisen maailmansodan aikaiseen Casablancaan. Casablanca on useissa äänestyksissä valittu kaikkien aikojen parhaiden elokuvien joukkoon, ja American Film Institute on nimennyt sen romanttisimmaksi yhdysvaltalaiseksi elokuvaksi. Elokuvan ensi-ilta oli New Yorkissa 26. marraskuuta 1942.  Lisää Wikipedia

Distance: 1,471 km

Travel time: 10 days

Prague Astronomical Clock

 The Prague astronomical clock is a medieval astronomical clock located in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still operating.

The four figures flanking the clock are set in motion at the hour, these represent four things that were despised at the time of the clock's making. Vanity, represented by a figure admiring himself in a mirror. Next, the miser holding a bag of gold represents greed or usury. Across the clock stands Death, a skeleton that strikes the time upon the hour. Finally there is a figure representing lust and earthly pleasures. On the hour, the skeleton rings the bell and immediately all other figures shake their heads, side to side, signifying their unreadiness "to go."

There is also a presentation of statues of the Apostles at the doorways above the clock, with all twelve presented every hour. Wikipedia

Raatihuoneen seinässä on yksi Prahan suosituimmista nähtävyyksistä, astronominen kello. Sen rakensivat vuonna 1410 kellosepät Jan Sindel ja Mikulas Kadanilainen. Kello kertoo ajan lisäksi mm. auringon ja kuun sijainnin. Tasatunnein 12 apostolia vaeltaa kellossa olevan luukun aukosta ja kuolemaa kuvaava luuranko soittaa kelloa ja kääntää tiimalasin alassuin. Lopuksi kukko heiluttaa siipiään ja kiekaisee ylimmässä syvennyksessä luukkujen sulkeutuessa. Wikipedia

Distance: 1,533 km

Travel time: 333 days

From Marketa in Pilsen, Czech Republic

Beautiful Bulgaria

Tryana belfry

Tryavna (Bulgarian: Трявна) is a town in central Bulgaria, situated in the north slopes of the Balkan range, on the Tryavna river valley, near Gabrovo. It is famous for its textile industry and typical National Revival architecture, featuring 140 cultural monuments, museums and expositions. Tryavna is the birthplace of Bulgarian writer Pencho Slaveykov and revolutionary Angel Kanchev. Wikipedia

Distance: 2,198 km

Travel time: 8 days

This card came from Monika in Varna, Bulgaria

Durham Cathedral

This  card came from Daniel, who lives in London. He loves visiting old churches, me too.
Distance: 1,807 km
Travel time: 6 days

Text in the card: Durham Cathedral, a magnificent 11th century building set within a huge loop of the River Wear. Pictured at the North West corner of Cloisters surmounted by the monks' dormitory and the twin towers.

The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, usually known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, England, the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Durham. The bishopric dates from 995, with the present cathedral being founded in AD 1093. The cathedral is regarded as one of the finest examples of Norman architecture and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with nearby Durham Castle, which faces it across Palace Green.  Wikipedia

Durhamin katedraali, koko nimeltään Kristuksen, siunatun Neitsyt Marian ja Durhamin pyhän Cuthbertin katedraalikirkko, on romaaninen poikkilaivabasilika Durhamissa, Koillis-Englannissa. Katedraali on rakennettu vuosina 1093–1490 ja se on edelleen alueensa kristittyjen keskuspaikka. Durhamin katedraalia pidetään yhtenä hienoimmista normannien rakentamista katedraaleista, ja se on Unescon maailmanperintökohde yhdessä läheisen Durhamin linnan kanssa.   Wikipedia

Royal Palace of Laeken

Royal Palace of Laeken, Belgium

The park and the right wing of the castle. 

The Royal Palace of Laeken or Royal Castle of Laeken ( "Castle of Laeken" ) is the official residence of the King of the Belgians and the royal family. It lies in the Brussels region, 5 km (3 mi) north of the city centre in the Laeken neighbourhood. It sits in a large park called the Royal Domain of Laeken, which is off-limits to the public.

Distance: 1,680 km

Travel time: 8 days

This card came from Paola in Belgium

Movie Night

Alexandra is not huge movie watcher but she likes old films with Gary Cooper, Gary Grant and such.  Maybe James Dean also. 

East of Eden is a novel by Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck, published in September 1952. Often described as Steinbeck's most ambitious novel, East of Eden brings to life the intricate details of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, and their interwoven stories. The novel was originally addressed to Steinbeck's young sons, Thom and John (then 6½ and 4½ years old, respectively). Steinbeck wanted to describe the Salinas Valley for them in detail: the sights, sounds, smells, and colors. ( Wikipedia)

East of Eden is a 1955 film, directed by Elia Kazan, and loosely based on the second half of the 1952 novel of the same name by John Steinbeck. It is about a wayward young man who, while seeking his own identity, vies for the affection of his deeply religious father against his favored brother, thus retelling the story of Cain and Abel. (Wikipedia)

Eedenistä itään on Elia Kazanin ohjaama yhdysvaltalainen elokuva vuodelta 1955. Se perustuu John Steinbeckin samannimiseen romaaniin vuodelta 1952. Elokuvan tapahtumat sijoittuvat vuoteen 1917 ja Kaliforniaan. Se kertoo melko menestyvän uskonnollisen viljelijän kahdesta aikamiespojasta ja heijastelee Raamatun tarinaa Kainista ja Abelista. Elokuvaa on sanottu James Deanin läpimurtoelokuvaksi. Toisessa pääosassa on menestyksekäs Broadway-näyttelijä Julie Harris. Wikipedia

Distance: 1,725 km

Travel time: 12 days

Albrecht Dürer

Albrecht Dürer was regarded as the greatest German Renaissance artist. His work includes altarpieces, portraits and self-portraits, engravings, and woodcuts.

Albrecht Dürer was born May 21, 1471, in Nurnberg. In 1494 he traveled to Italy, where he remained until 1495. The trip had a strong effect on Durer; echoes of Italian art are apparent in most of his drawings, paintings, and graphics of the following decade. Italian influences were slower to take hold in his graphics than in his drawings and paintings. He died in 1528.

Düreriä pidetään aikakautensa suurimpana saksalaisena taiteilijana ja ensimmäisenä saksalaisena protestanttisena renessanssitaiteilijana. Hän oli hyvin monipuolinen ja arvostettu jo elinaikanaan, omasta mielestään arvostetumpi ulkomailla kuin kotimaassaan. Hänen kaiverruksilleen ja piirroksilleen oli ominaista runsaat yksityiskohdat sekä suurikokoisuus ja niistä otettiin jo hänen elinaikanaan paljon vedoksia. Wikipedia

 Self Portrait (1498)

Portrait of a Young Venetian Woman (1505)

Received from Celia, Germany

Distance: 1,217 km

Travel time: 8 days

Bridge of Hope

 "A piece in the series of Inspiration of Bridges. In his tranquil bridge scenes, Thomas Kinkade used all his skills as an artist to show us that bridges are so much more than structures. They span the chasms and obstacles of life and help to deliver us safely to where we are going."

William Thomas Kinkade III (January 19, 1958 – April 6, 2012) was an American painter of popular realistic, pastoral, and idyllic subjects. He is notable for the mass marketing of his work as printed reproductions and other licensed products via the Thomas Kinkade Company. He characterized himself as "Thomas Kinkade, Painter of Light," a phrase he protected through trademark but one originally attributed to the British master J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851). It has been estimated that 1 in every 20 American homes owns a copy of one of his paintings.

Despite wide commercial success throughout his life, Kinkade is generally held in low esteem by art critics; his pastoral paintings have been described as maudlin and overly sentimental. Wikipedia

This pretty card came from Doris in Vienna, Austria.

Distance: 1,646 km
Travel time: 5 days

August Macke

Girls under Trees 1914

Elizabeth Reading, 1911

Received from Uta in Germany
Distance: 1,296 km
Travel time: 4 days

August Macke (1887 –  1914) was one of the leading members of the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider). He lived during a particularly innovative time for German art which saw the development of the main German Expressionist movements as well as the arrival of the successive avant-garde movements which were forming in the rest of Europe. 

Macke's career was cut short by his early death at the front in Champagne in September 1914, the second month of World War I. His final painting, Farewell, depicts the mood of gloom that settled after the outbreak of war. Wikipedia

August Macke (1887- 1914 ) oli saksalainen taidemaalari. Macken maalauksissa on hehkuva voimakas väriasteikko ja kubismiin sekä futurismiin pohjautuva rakenteellinen muotokieli.  Vuonna 1911 Macke liittyi Franz Marcin ja Wassily Kandiskyn perustamaan Der Blaue Reiter- taiteilijaryhmään ja osallistui sen näyttelyihin. 

Ensimmäinen maailmansota alkoi elokuussa 1914 ja Macke kutsuttiin armeijan palvelukseen. Muutama viikko myöhemmin hän kaatui 27 vuoden ikäisenä Reimsin lähellä käydyssä taistelussa. Wikipedia

Amedeo Modigliani

 Little girl in blue, 1918

Portrait of a Woman (detail) c.1917-1918

From Jessica, U.S.A. 

Distance: 7,056 km

Travel time: 11 days

Amedeo Clemente Modigliani  ( 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian Jewish painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by elongation of faces and figures, that were not received well during his lifetime, but later found acceptance. Modigliani spent his youth in Italy, where he studied the art of antiquity and the Renaissance, until he moved to Paris in 1906. There he came into contact with prominent artists such as Pablo Picasso and Constantin Brâncuși. During his life, Amedeo Modigliani had little success, but after his death he achieved greater popularity and his works of art achieved high prices. He died at age 35 in Paris of tubercular meningitis. Wikipedia

Amedeo Modigliani (12. heinäkuuta 1884 Livorno – 24. tammikuuta 1920 Pariisi) oli italialainen taidemaalari ja kuvanveistäjä. Hänet tunnetaan muotokuvista ja naismalleja kuvaavista maalauksista, joissa on pidennettyjä ja soikeita muotoja. Surumielisten hahmojen silmät ovat usein mantelinmuotoiset. Maalauksille on ominaista herkkä viivankäyttö ja täyteläiset kuparinpunaiset, ruskeat, siniharmaat ja syvän vihreät värisävyt.  Monet teokset tunnistaa pitkulaisista, naamionkaltaisista kasvoista.  Wikipedia

Ateneumin taidemuseossa nähdään syksyllä 2016 Amedeo Modiglianin retrospektiivi, jossa on esillä lähes 200 Modiglianin teosta.

Frans Hals

Two laughing boys with mug of beer, c.1626

From Anneke, Netherlands

Distance: 1,371 km

Travel time: 9 days

With beautiful stamp

Buffoon Playing A Lute / Luitspeler c. 1623 

From Jannie, Netherlands

Distance: 1,538 km

Travel time: 6 days

Frans Hals the Elder,  c. 1582 -1666 was a Dutch Golden Age portrait painter who lived and worked in Haarlem. He is notable for his loose painterly brushwork, and he helped introduce this lively style of painting into Dutch art. Hals played an important role in the evolution of 17th-century group portraiture. Wikipedia

 Frans Hals (n. 1582 - 1666 ) oli Antwerpenissa syntynyt hollantilainen taidemaalari, jota pidetään Rembrandtin ohella yhtenä Alankomaiden taiteen parhaista muotokuvamaalareista. Hän on barokin tunnetuimpia maalareita, jonka töissä on ajalle ominaista mahtipontisuutta. Hals tunnetaan rennon maalauksellisesta ja elävästä sivellinjäljestään. Hänellä oli myös paljon vaikutusta 1600-luvun ryhmämuotokuvien kehitykseen. Wikipedia

Movie Night

This card came from Paul in Colorado U.S.A. Paul has never seen this movie neither have I,  but perhaps someday.

Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter,  1911 – 1937 ) was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. The Girl from Missouri (originally called Born to Be Kissed) is a 1934 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Jean Harlow and Franchot Tone. The movie was written by Anita Loos and directed by Jack Conway.

Jean Harlow, oikealta nimeltään Harlean Carpenter ( 1911 Kansas City, Missouri –  1937 Los Angeles, Kalifornia) oli yhdysvaltalainen elokuvanäyttelijä ja 1930-luvun seksisymboli. Hänet tunnettiin platinanvaaleiden hiuksiensa vuoksi lempinimillä ”platinablondi”.  Nykyään Harlow’ta pidetään yhtenä Hollywoodin kultakauden legendaarisimmista näyttelijöistä. Vuonna 1999 Amerikan elokuvainstituutti valitsi hänet kaikkien aikojen 22. merkittävimmäksi naisnäyttelijäksi.

Distance: 7,696 km

Travel time: 20 days