Summer flowers

Summer bouquet

Illustration by Martta Wendelin, Finnish artist 

Lumpeenkukka - Nymphaea alba 

Private swap sent by Liisa from Seinäjoki. Finland

 

Autumn Serenity

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Russia, Autumn in Dombai (Western Caucasus, a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site)

Received on 4 Dec, 2015

Sent by Veronica ( Ovorosslysk, Russia)

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Mysterious stone pillars of Russia

Received on 12 Mar, 2018

Sent by Tatiana (Saint Petersburg, Russia)

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Karakol lake, Russia.  Photo Pavel Filatov, Landscape & Ethnic Photography from Mongolia, Altai and Tuva. Photo Pavel Filatov

Received on 20 Nov, 2015

 Sent by Kate (Barnaul, Siberia)

To the nature

 Bicycle Parking Prohibited

Sent by Ilona in Harderwijk, Holland

 on 28 Mar, 2020

travel time 11 days

distance travelled 1,500 km

received on 8 Apr, 2020 

Morning on Metzisweiler Weiher The Allgäu, Germany

Sent by Archie in  King's Lynn, England

 on 28 Mar, 2020

travel time 9 days

distance travelled 1,677 km

received on 6 Apr, 2020 

Česká krajina Vysočina - Czech landscape - Vysočina

Sent by Martina in Prague, Czech Republic

on 25 Mar, 2020

travel time 14 days

distance travelled 1,473 km

 received on 8 Apr, 2020

Sky and Ocean

Sent by Inka in Langenhagen, Germany
 on 13 Apr, 2020
travel time 16 days
distance travelled 1,347 km
received on  29 Apr, 2020 

Gone in the Wind

Merry Christmas

Sent to Renate in Germany on 25/Dec/2018

Asio flammeus, Short-eared owl. Photo Hannu Hautala, Finland

Sent to Sara in U.S.A. on 15/Feb/2019

An ancient pine of Kalevala. Photo. Hannu Hautala
Sent to Anna in Hungary on 10/Mar/2019

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

Gloomy and Bright

Gloomy Sea

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Premonition of the sea.

 Photo - Andrey Schukin  

travel time 13 days

distance travelled 1,028 km

sent by Kristina in Minsk

Morning Has Broken

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Winter morning

Photo - Alexander Batura

travel time 7 days

distance travelled 1,028 km

sent by Ksenia in Minsk

Nature trails

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 Dove Lake, Tasmania. Australia

travel time 12 days

distance travelled 13,291 km

sent by Vimal in Perth

Dove Lake is a corrie lake near Cradle Mountain in the central highlands region of Tasmania, Australia. It lies in the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. 

The Cradle mountain is  one of Australia’s most spectacular World Heritage areas and offers two hiking options – a challenging six day course or a shorter, easier four day walk.

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The Twelve Apostles,  Victoria, Australia

travel time 27 days

distance travelled 13,294 km

sent by Saskia in Perth

The Twelve Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of the Port Campbell National Park, by the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia.

 The Twelve Apostles Lodge walk is a trail alive with native bushland and wildlife, taking you through a variety of landscapes along the spectacular coastline between Apollo Bay and the iconic Twelve Apostles. 

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The Boulders - Babinda -North Queensland, Australia

travel time 14 days

distance travelled 14,730 km

sent by Gwen in Brisbane

Devil's Pool or Babinda Boulders is a natural pool at the confluence of three streams among a group of boulders near Babinda, Queensland, Australia. The feature is regarded as cursed in local folklore due to the substantial number of deaths that have occurred there; a popular story involves a curse placed by an Aboriginal woman. 

Babinda Boulders is a 1.3 kilometer out and back trail located near Lake Barrine, Queensland, Australia that offers the chance to see wildlife. The trail is rated as moderate and is primarily used for walking and nature trips.

Happy anniversary, Finland 100 years!

Reflections

Bridal Procession on the Hardangerfjord, by Adolph Tidemand and Hans Gude. 1848

Travel time 16 days

Distance travelled 796 km

Received on 17 May, 2017 

Sent by Sissel in Tromso, Norway

Adolph Tidemand ( 1814 – 1876) was a noted Norwegian romantic nationalism painter. Among his best known paintings are The Haugeans, 1852 and The Bridal Procession in Hardanger,1848.

Hans Fredrik Gude (1825 – 1903) was also a Norwegian romanticist painter is considered  to be one of Norway's foremost landscape painters. He has been called a mainstay of Norwegian National Romanticism.  Tidemand and Gude collaborated on several other paintings, all of which featured people in boats and Norwegian nature.

Cesar Buenaventura.  (1922-1983) Nipa Hut, 1940, UST Museum Manila

Travel time 27 days

Distance travelled 8,998 km

Received on 25 Aug, 2017

Sent by Kirsten, Philippines

Cesar Buenaventura was a Filipino painter known throughout his home country for his vibrantly colorful and thickly painted depictions of landscapes and people of the Philippines. Buenaventura often depicted farmers plowing fields or fisherman coming back from the sea, focusing on quiet scenes of everyday domestic and agrarian life. 

The Nipa hut is a type of stilt house indigenous to the vast majority of lowland Austronesian cultures of the Philippines. It often serves as an icon of Philippine culture or, more specifically, Filipino rural culture.

For more postcards, check Maria's  Postcards for the weekend 60: Reflections

Portugal

A Pérola do Bolhão, traditional grocery in Porto

From my friend

A Pérola do Bolhão is a traditional grocery store in downtown Porto.  This grocery has a large variety of quality products, from mountain cheese to dried fruits, from good wine to delicatessen and Portuguese traditional cookies. The façade has beautiful Art Noveau style entrance covered in Portuguese tiles. If you look closely you’ll realize that the images are of women holding tea plants and coffee plants, as the lettering on top refers to Tea (“Chá”) and Coffee (“Café”).

Serra da Estrela Nature Park

Typical rural houses in Beira Alta 

Flickr swap from Maria

National Palace of Sintra is the best-preserved medieval royal residence in Portugal, being inhabited more or less continuously from at least the early 15th century to the late 19th century. It is a significant tourist attraction and is part of the cultural landscape of Sintra.

Sintra is a city in Portugal, and one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. 

From my friend

Nature

Altai Mountains, Russia

From Maria, Siberia, Russia

Velká Amerika (Big America, Czech Grand Canyon)

From Lucie, Prague, Czech Republic

Cakesota Island reflects in tidal pools from Second Beach,  Olympic National Park, WA, U.S.A.

From Bob, Washington

Ergaki Nature Reserve, Krasnoyarsk region, Siberia, Russia.

From Ekaterina, Stavropol, Russia