Moscow

The Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye.  UNESCO World Heritage

From Anna in  Khabarovsk

Triumphal Arch of Moscow on Victory Square

From Andrey in Moscow

The Cathedral of Christ the Savior

From Dima in Moscow

Mailboxes

Mailboxes from Netherlands

Mailboxes from China

Ryijy- Rug

 Sent to Mari, Finland

Sent to Lori, U.S.A

Sent to Priyanka, U.S.A

Ryijy is a form of Finnish tapestry or cloth rug.

The name ryijy originated with the Scandinavian word rya, which means "thick cloth". The decorative ryijy rug is an art form unique to Finland. In the late 19th century, ryijy rug weaving developed as a folk art. Some of the most beautiful tapestries were woven then.

 Originally woven for use as coverlets and bedding, they were mainly in natural colors, white, gray, and black. Some tones of yellow, red, green, and blue were introduced with vegetable dyes. Later, aniline dyes added another dimension of color and design.

The use of color and pattern is especially unique to the Finnish ryijy. Dating back to the 18th century, a ryijy was often used as a prayer rug during wedding ceremonies; the tapestry was then hung for display in the couple's home.

Different regions had designs specific to the event and colors specific to the local plants for dyes. Designs were often geometric shapes and florals, or figures of humans, animals, or birds. A very typical motif was the Tree of Life signifying family heritage.

Postcards for the weekend 50: Patterns & prints

Lisbon

 St. Anthony's Day and sardine lunch 

 The neo-classical Elevador Santa Justa in central Lisbon

 Suspension bridge 

Laterns and Temples

Entrance to Longshan Temple from  Catheline, Taiwan

Longshan Temple is a famous old temple in Taiwan. It is for worshiping Guanshiyin Budda and other divine spirits.

Longshan Temple from Wei Yi,Taiwan

Chiufen  village street view with laterns.

Chiufen, is a mountain area in Ruifang District, New Taipei City, Taiwan.

From SueMei,Taiwan

Lighthouses

 Strömmingsbådan lighthouse,  Södra Vallgrund, Finland

The iron lighthouse was built in 1885 and it is 12m high.

Art by Marléne Ström

.Norrskär lighthouse, Södra Vallgrund, Kvarken

Art by 

 Utgrynnan lighthouse Södra Vallgrund

Art by Margareta Hjerpe,

Södra Vallgrund

Sanctuary

  The new Sanctuary of  Our Lady of Meritxel

The Nostra Senyora de Meritxell Sanctuary is located in the central part of Andorra. It is the most important place for the Catholic Church in the Andorra. You will find there two churches: the older one, which is a monument of Romanesque Style and a new sanctuary, designed by the famous Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill. His inspirations for the project of the new sanctuary were the Andorran landscapes, its mountains and valleys. 

Nowadays, the day of the Holy Virgin of Meritxell is one of only four bank holidays in Andorra (8th September). The Holy Mary of Meritxell is the patron saint of this traditionally religious country.

Meritxell is a part of Ruta Mariana (The Marian Route) a pilgrimage route connecting 5 Marian shrines in Spain, France and Andorra, around the Pyrenees Mountains. It comprises of the following sanctuaries:

Lourdes in France
Montserrat in Spain
Meritxell in Andorra
Torreciudad in Spain
Zaragoza in Spain

Kiev, Ukraine

Darnytsia urban district Railway Bridge in Kiev

Direct swap from Nastya

Kiev, that historically was situated on the right bank of the Dnieper River, covers both banks of the river whose width, as it flows through the city, reaches some several hundred metres. Additionally, several tributaries fall into the Dnieper inside or just north or south of the historic city. Currently there are eight bridges spanning across the river and a few dozen bridges across the canals and Dnieper tributaries.  Due to the location and the width of the river, the bridges have always been a very attractive and hard to realize option throughout the long history of Kiev.

The temporary floater bridges were known to have existed since the 12th century. The stationary bridges existed in Kiev from the mid-19th century, but none of them survived through the turbulent events that followed the 1917 Russian Revolution.

Kazakhstan, Astana

Astana by night 

My first card from Kazakhstan sent by Tatyana in Öskemen. 

Expo 2017 is an International Exposition scheduled to take place between June 10 and September 10, 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Expo's theme is "Future Energy", and aims to create a global debate between countries, non-governmental organizations, companies and the general public on the crucial question: "How do we ensure a safe and sustainable access to energy for all whilst reducing CO2 emissions?"

Suomi osallistuu 10.6.–10.9.2017 Kazakstanin pääkaupungissa järjestettävään Astana EXPO 2017-maailmannäyttelyyn ainoana pohjoismaana. Kansainvälinen maailmannäyttely järjestetään Kazakstanin pääkaupungissa Astanassa teemalla Tulevaisuuden energia.

Kvarken Archipelago

De Geer-moraines Kvarken

Moraine is a blend of blocks, gravel, sand, mud and silt. The material was formed when the glacial ice was moving and wearing the rock beneath. In the Kvarken Archipelago many types of moraine formations can be found, as De Geer-moraines and Transversal ridges. Moraine formations also occur on the ocean floor.

In summer 2006, The Kvarken Archipelago got listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The Kvarken Archipelago together with the High Coast in Sweden form a unique geological entity and a transboundary World Natural Heritage Site. The steep High Coast and the flat Kvarken Archipelago (the low coast) are topographical opposites. Together they serve as a unique example of ongoing geological and biological processes and ecosystem development in time and space.

The distance between the areas is 150 kilometres and consists of 7000 skerries and islets. The land rises by 8-8.5 mm annually and creates about 1 km2 new land every year. With this rate the land uplift will create a permanent gateway over the Kvarken in about 2500 years.

The Kvarken Archipelago is Finland's first World Natural Heritage and the 162 World Natural Heritage on the UNESCO World Heritage List. There are 31 World Heritage sites in the Nordic Countries.

My UNESCO collection

Churches

 Irsee Abbey church, Germany

Sent by Bert, Netherlands

 St. Jan - Maastricht, Netherlands

Sent by Linda, Netherlands

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Yalta. Crimea. Ukraine.

Sent by Alexandra, Russia

Japanese nature

Japanese castles

Matsumoto castle, close up shot of the donjon (a massive inner tower in a medieval castle ).

From Asami Tokyo, Japan

Himeji Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle complex located in the city of Himeji, Hyōgo, Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 buildings with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period.

From Teruka, Japan 

Japanese traditions

Peaceful, minimalist Japanese interior

From Chiaki in Hokkaido, Japan

“Hinamatsuri”: Japan’s Doll Festival

From Michiko, Japan 

Hinamatsuri, or the doll festival, is observed each year on March 3 to celebrate girls and pray for their continued health and happiness. During the holiday, also known as Momo no Sekku (peach festival), families display traditional ceramic dolls. The manufacturing of these figurines remains a thriving example of traditional Japanese craftwork.

Sunday Churches

The Church of St. Mary. Cracow, Poland

From Hania , Poland

St. Ekaterina Cathedral, Krasnodar, Russia

From Irina, Russia

Bremen Cathedral, St. Petri Dom and town hall , Germany

From Gaby and Katharina, Germany

Turku Cathedral and jackdaws
Travel Poster, 1966. Turku. Art by Erik Bruun
From my sister

Inkognito

  Kiwi. Inkognito 61703

Willy Puchner is an Austrian photographer, artist, painter and author. 

Comes from Wilma in  Nova Scotia, Canada

On the way to the books. Inkognito 2870

Quint Buchholz is a German book author and illustrator. 

Comes from Gerda in Groningen, Netherlands

 Quint Buchholz. Possible lighthouse, Inkognito 2858

Comes from Chris, Germany

Indonesia

Belitung Island, Big Rocks with White Sandy Beach

Yuni sends greetings from Java island and Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia.

Lake Toba is a large natural lake occupying the caldera of a supervolcano. The lake is about 100 kilometres long, 30 kilometres wide, and up to 505 metres deep. Located in the middle of the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is the largest lake in Indonesia and also the largest volcanic lake in the world-

From Virli in Meedan, North-Sumatra, Indonesia