Princess Day

Anna Silivonchik

Swedish Royals

Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Duke of Värmland, Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden and  Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland 

The Crown Princess and Prince Daniel 

 The Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel and  Princess Estelle, Duchess of Östergötland

Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill

Christopher O'Neill, Princess Madeleine, Prince Daniel, Queen Silvia,  Carl XVI Gustaf King of Sweden, Prince Carl Philip and  Princess Sofia

Farm works

Shepherd's work

 Aveyron is a department located in the  region of southern France named after the Aveyron River.  Aveyron is one of the most beautiful villages of France.

travel time 3 days

distance travelled 1,524 km

sent by Manfred, Germany 

Traditional costumes

Faces of Nepal. Photo Narendra Pradhan

A Newari girl dressed in traditional Jyapu attires for festive occasion.

travel time 40 days

distance travelled 5,721 km

sent by Ayub, Kathmandu, Nepal

Newar are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisation. Newars form a linguistic and cultural community of primarily Indo-Aryan and Tibeto-Burman ethnicities following Hinduism and Buddhism with Newari as their common language. Newars have developed a division of labour and a sophisticated urban civilisation not seen elsewhere in the Himalayan foothills. Newars have continued their age-old traditions and practices and pride themselves as the true custodians of the religion, culture and civilisation of Nepal.

Akha Hill Tribe, Northern Thailand

travel time 8 days
distance travelled 8,086 km
sent by Kitty, Thailand

The Akha are an indigenous hill tribe who live in small villages at higher elevations in the mountains of Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Yunnan Province in China. They made their way from China into Southeast Asia during the early 20th century. Civil war in Burma and Laos resulted in an increased flow of Akha immigrants and there are now some 80,000 living in Thailand's northern provinces of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai, where they constitute one of the largest of the hill tribes. Many of their villages can be visited by tourists on trekking tours from either of these cities.

Bird’s-Eye Views

JP-525582

Wakkanai City in Hokkaido, Japan

 travel time 18 days

distance travelled 7,731 km

sent by Mana, Saitama, Japan

Wakkanai is a city located in Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of Sōya Subprefecture, and the northernmost city in Japan. It contains Japan's northernmost point, Cape Soya, from which the Russian island of Sakhalin can be seen.

Hakodate, Night View from Mount Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan
Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture.  The city is now the third biggest in Hokkaido after Sapporo and Asahikawa.
Direct swap sent by Anna,  Tokyo

 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Aerial view of downtown and the city's two stadiums, Heinz Field (foreground) and PNC park (middle left)

travel time 11 days
distance travelled 6,643 km
sent by Julia, Utah, U.S.A.

Pullman, Washington, U.S.A.
Pulman is located near the Washington -Idaho border in southeastern Washington. Pulman is the center of a vast farming empire. It is home to Washington State University, which is cultural and recreation asset to the community.

travel time 12 days
distance travelled 7,426 km
sent by Janet, Washington, U.S.A.

Flowers

Pink flowers

travel time 5 days

distance travelled 1,228 km

sent by Beate, Hamburg, Germany

Narcissus " Holiday Sun"

travel time 37 days

distance travelled 771 km

sent by Lyudmila, Kirovsk, Russia

Tausendschön roses

Map Monday

Europe (a part of it)

DE-596990

travel time 8 days

distance travelled 1,701 km

sent by Isabella, Germany

U.S.A.  symbols and states

US-5514894

travel time 10 days

distance travelled 6,966 km

Sent by Tom, Virginia, U.S.A.

Scenic Sunday

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Roaring Fork River

travel time 15 days

distance travelled 7,086 km

sent by Tessa, Kentucky, U.S.

Roaring Fork is a stream in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, located in the Southeastern United States. Like many mountain streams, Roaring Fork is volatile. While the stream presents as a peaceful trickle on any given day, it quickly becomes a raging whitewater rapid after a mild rain shower. The "roar" of the water is amplified by its echo on surrounding mountain ridges.

Peaks of Mt. Grosser Geiger and  Mt. Maurerkeeskopf. Austria, Salzburg

travel time 12 days

distance travelled 1,625 km

 sent by Karl, Germany

Waimangu Volcanic Valley, Rotorua, New Zealand
swap sent by Raelyn, New Zealand

Midsummer

Mimosa and Midsummer 

Illustration  Camilla Mickwitz (1937–1989) Finland

Camilla Mickwitz (1937-1989) was a Finnish children's books writer, illustrator and TV animator. She first started her career as a commercial artist, but began working with juvie literature at the end of the 1960's. Her drawing style was unique and easily recognisable for its round shapes and bold, vivid colors.

Mickwitz created more than 20 picture books and almost as many animation movies. She received several prizes for her arts, including the Finnish State Award for children's culture (Lastenkulttuurin valtionpalkinto) in 1987 and the Rudolf Koivu Prize for children's fiction illustration in 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1984. Among her most famous works were books about Emilia, Mimosa and Jason and the theme animation of Finnish little kid's TV show ”Pikku Kakkonen”.

Fairyland Friday

Vera the Mouse by Marjolein Bastin

travel time 5 days

distance travelled 1,572 km

sent by Coby, The Netherlands

"The executioner had never had to do such a thing before, 

and he wasn't going to begin at his time of life. "

Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland

Illustration George Soper ( 1870-1942 )

direct swap sent by Mandy, Germany

On the way to home...

Walking along the boardwalk over the swamp.

Photo Pentti Pirttilä, Finland 

along the avenue of cedar trees

Finally at home under an old hornbeam 

travel time 4 days

distance travelled 1,912 km

sent by Anita, Switzerland

Castle and Aqueduct

GB-632570

 Sandal Castle, Wakefield, UK / watercolor painting

travel time 5 days

distance travelled 1,719 km

sent by Pauline, Huddersfield, United Kingdom

Sandal Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Sandal Magna, a suburb of the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, overlooking the River Calder. It was the site of royal intrigue and the setting for a scene in one of William Shakespeare's plays.

GB-864279

Chirk Aqueduct on the Llangollen Canal. Wales

travel time 6 days

distance travelled 1,820 km

sent by Susan, East Anglia, United Kingdom

The Llangollen Canal is a navigable canal crossing the border between England and Wales.  In 2009 an eleven-mile section of the canal from Gledrid Bridge near Rhoswiel through to the Horseshoe Falls, which includes Chirk Aqueduct and Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO.

Angels

DE-7811150

Fröhliche Weihnachten

Christmas Angels

travel time 11 days

distance travelled 1,571 km

sent by Heike, Bavaria, Germany

"Spring angelic concert"  Nataliya Derevyanko, Ukraine. Direct swap

Map Monday

RU-5350857

travel time 25 days

distance travelled 489 km

sent by Sasha, Russia

Antalya is the eighth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of its eponymous province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish city on the Mediterranean coast with over one million people in its metropolitan area.

GB-910955

Northumberland, Great Britain

travel time 8 days

distance travelled 1,579 km

sent by Stuart,  Whitley Bay, Northumberland

Northumberland is a county in North East England, the northernmost county of England.

Baltic states

Estonia, Tallinn 

sent by my daughter

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It is on the northern coast of the country, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland in Harju County. From the 13th century until 1918 , the city was known as Reval. Tallinn's Old Town is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Latvia, Riga

travel time 3 days

distance travelled 648 km

sent by Olivia, Riga, Latvia

Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga, at the mouth of the Daugava river. Riga was founded in 1201 and is a former Hanseatic League member. Riga's historical centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, noted for its Art Nouveau/Jugendstil architecture and 19th century wooden architecture

Lithuania,Vilnius

travel time 11 days

distance travelled 908 km

sent by Indrė, Vilnius, Lithuania

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania and its largest city. It is in the southeast part of Lithuania and is the second largest city in the Baltic states. Vilnius is known for the architecture in its Old Town, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.

Stones

Stormy sea

Photo Pierre-Hugues Polacci

travel time 36 days

distance travelled 2,270 km

sent by Louise, France

Beach stones stacked

Photo Chris Hackett

travel time 15 days

distance travelled 1,416 km

sent by Martina, Germany

Fairyland Friday

Russian fairy tale

 “The Apples of Youth and the Living Water”

Illustration Nikolai Kochergin

travel time 12 days

distance travelled 1,050 km

sent by Anna, Russia

Alice in Wonderland

She had not been walking a minute 

before she found herself face to face with the Red Queen....

Illustration by Sir John Tenniel, 1927

travel time 11 days

distance travelled 7,928 km

sent by Ellen, Hong Kong

Earth-Friendly Transportations

Bicycle
Provence, France
travel time 3 days
distance travelled 2,389 km
sent by Jessica, France

Walking
Russia
travel time 16 days
distance travelled 1,215 km
sent by Ksenia, Russia

Head-carrying

Uganda

Artist Seth Jordan, Uganda

sent by my nephew

Donkey transportation

Greece

Just  take the first exit on the roundabout......
Authentic Greece, George Meis Collection

New Zealand nature

Glowworm, Cave World, Waitomo Caves, New Zealand

The Waitomo Glowworm Caves attraction is a cave at Waitomo on the North Island of New Zealand. It is known for its population of Arachnocampa luminosa, a glowworm species found exclusively in New Zealand. This cave is part of the Waitomo Caves system that includes the Ruakuri Cave and the Aranui Cave.

New Zealand, The Champagne Pool,  Wai-O-Tapu

Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland showcases New Zealand’s geothermal topography at its most dramatic and colorful. Located along the Reporoa Caldera within the Taupo Volcanic Zone, the park’s lava-sculpted landscapes are punctuated by hissing geysers, swirling sulfur lakes, and bubbling mud pools. 

Direct swaps sent by Lyn, Wellington

Greeting from Münster

Tausendschön

 Prinzipalmarkt, Münster, Germany.

travel time 7 days

distance travelled 1,462 km

sent by Anja, Germany

Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. Münster is The Bicycle capital of Germany.

Münster's historic center

travel time 6 days
distance travelled 1,473 km
sent by Boris, Münster, Germany

Map Monday

FR-684387

Brittany, France

travel time 16 days

distance travelled 2,178 km

sent by Sylvie, Rennes, France

Brittany is a cultural region in the northwest of France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period of Roman occupation.

DE-4834976

Northern Black Forest region

travel time 7 days

distance travelled 1,576 km

sent by Judith, Cologne, Germany

The Black Forest (German: Schwarzwald)  is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany.