Monday Mail

Postcrossing Finland, Facebook swap 

Smile and Cute

Children going to school

 Reprint from early 1900s

Sent by Satu in Turku, Finland

Poor baby in tub :)

Sent by Kirsi in Lahti, Finland

Together we share the best moments

Illustration by Faye Whittaker, British illustration

Also sent by Kirsi 

Hälsningar från Åland - Greetings from Åland- Grüsse aus Åland - Terveisiä Ahvenanmaalta

Facebook Travel swap

Set by Marit

Facebook Travel swap

Sent by Päivi & about forty other postcrosser

Romantic Germany

Heidelberg Romanticism. Palace courtyard in a 19th century depiction.

Direct swap from 

Heidelberg Romantics, poets of the second phase of Romanticism in Germany, who were centred in Heidelberg about 1806. Their leaders were Clemens Brentano, Achim von Arnim, and Joseph von Görres. 

 Detmold -a beautiful city

 DE-4613922
travel time 5 days

distance travelled 1,424 km

set by Annie, Germany

Spring flowers

Springtime in the park

NL-3578520
travel time 6 days

distance travelled 1,577 km

sent by Bregje from Venlo

Spring Greetings from Keukenhof -  The Garden of Europe

Direct swaps sent by Monica from  Amsterdam

Paradise Meadow, Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington U.S.A.

US-US-4219440

travel time 10 days

distance travelled 7,231 km

sent by Colleen, Spokane, Washington

Wishing you all a sunny weekend!

New Zealand

Lake Tekapo, New Zealand

The church of the Good Shepard, built in 1935, glows in the late afternoon sun against the glacial waters of Lake Tekapo. Thank you Lyn! Such an awesome and beautiful scenery of your country,  a perfect place for a church, so peaceful.

Schwerin - Seitsemän järven kaupunki

Schwerin linna ja linnan haamu Petteri

Schwerin Castle and  The palace's ghost Petermännchen ("Peterman")

Schwerin linna on saanut lisänimekseen "Pohjoisen Neuschwanstein",  mikä onkin todella suuri kunnia, mutta linna on kuuluisa muustakin syystä. Legenda kertoo, että linnassa kiertelee  pikkuruinen haamu, Petteri-miekkonen. Petteri on kuitenkin ystävällinen haamu, joka  vain kilistelee avaimiaan, aukoo ja lukitsee ovia ja pitää pahat tunkeilijat loitolla,

Schwerin Castle sits on an island in the main lake at Schwerin, where a castle reportedly stood as early as the 10th century. For many centuries, it was home to the grand dukes of Mecklenburg. In the 20th century, it was a college for kindergarten teachers and a museum. Today the castle serves as a museum and as a government building for the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state parliament. Visitors with an interest in the paranormal will want to look for Petermännchen, the resident ghost who has been spotted wearing 17th century garb. The castle, with its many towers and turrets, is considered a prime example of Europe’s historicist architecture.

Thank you Lisapost and lavenders!

Portraits from Russia

Olga of Württemberg

Timofei Andreyevich Neff (1804-1876)
 Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, later Queen Olga of Württemberg

Olga was the second daughter of Nicholas I of Russia and Alexandra Feodorovna, Charlotte of Prussia. She was thus a sister of Alexander II of Russia. She married Charles I of Württemberg, with whom she had no children.
Olga grew up as part of a close family of eight sisters and brothers. She had two elder siblings: Emperor Alexander II of Russia and Grand Duchess Maria of Russia; and five younger siblings: Grand Duchess Alexandra of Russia, Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia (died in infancy), Grand Duke Constantine of Russia, Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia and Grand Duke Michael of Russia.

Private swap  from Nikolai, St. Petersburg

Portrait Portrait of Maria Lopukhina, 1797

Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky (1757-1825) was a Russian painter of Ukrainian origin who dominated Russian portraiture at the turn of the 19th century.

Maria Ivanovna Lopukhina (1779–1803), née Countess Tolstaya was the eldest daughter of Count Ivan Andreevich Tolstoy - a major-general in the army - and Anna Fedorovna Maikova. She had three brothers (Fyodor, Peter, Yanuary) and three sisters (Vera, Anna and Ekaterina). The great novelist Leo Tolstoy was Maria's first cousin once removed. Her father's younger brother, Ilya Andreevich Tolstoy, was Leo Tolstoy's grandfather. 

Just six years after the portrait was painted, in 1803, Maria died from tuberculosis

Private swap from Masha, Kiev, Ukraine

Art of Belarus - Anna Silivonchik

 The Princess and the Pea, 2012

From Natalya, Moscow, Russia

 Winter Sun, 2012

From  Katya, Sarov, Russia

Snow Cloudlet, 2008

From  Katya, Sarov, Russia

Anna Silivonchik was born in 1980 in Homel, Belarus

Ekateryna Lukashchuk - Princess life

  Princesses of the glade

Kite

Manna From Heaven 

 Rainbow Spirits

Metamorphoses

Ekateryna Lukashchuk is an artist from Zbarazh, Ukraine.

 

Private swap  from Tatiana, Zhodino, Belarus

Victoria Kirdiy

Men, women and children

From Tamara, Moscow, Russia

From Nastya, Moscow, Russia

From Olga, Minsk, Belarus

Cats, bunnies and foxes

From Katya, Moscow, Russia

From Alla, Moscow, Russia

Angels

 From Lina, Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine



From Ana, Moscow, Russia



Che

 Paz y Amor  

Che from Paula 

Hasta la Victoria siempre

Tango Agentino / Tango Finlandese

Dancing tango in the city, Buenos Aires, Argentina
From Paula - Paz y Amor :)
The history of tango began in Buenos Aires, Argentina in the late 19th century. The dance started in the lower-class districts of Buenos Aires taking place in the periphery of the city, bars, cafes and courtyards. Then tango took the next step into more established Dancing Houses and later inside middle and high class Argentinian homes.

And at the same time in Finland Tango in Snow




Algeria

Northern part of Algeria, private swap from Samir.

Algeria
Capital: Algiers
 Population :  34.46 million (2009)
Surface: 2 381 741 km ², 7.0 x area of Finland
 (90% of Algeria is considered desert)
Government: presidential republic

Language: Arabic, French, Berber dialects

Religion: Sunni Muslim

Currency: Algerian dinar 

Industry: Petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining

Agriculture: Wheat, barley, oats, grapes; sheep

Exports: Petroleum, natural gas, petroleum products

 

Algeria, in northwest Africa on the Mediterranean coast, is the second largest country in Africa after Sudan. The Sahara covers more than four-fifths of its territory, where the inhabitants are concentrated in oases surrounded by desert. More than 90 percent of Algerians live along the Mediterranean coastlands on only 12 percent of the country's land. The Atlas Mountains cross Algeria east to west along the Mediterranean coast, with the north-facing slopes receiving good winter rainfall; the southern slopes, southern ranges, and interior plateaus get little rain. 

And now it's time for Khaled :) 

C'Est La Vie 

Landscapes in China

 Mount Huangshan

Huangshan, known as 'the loveliest mountain of China', was acclaimed through art and literature during a good part of Chinese history (e.g. the Shanshui 'mountain and water' style of the mid-16th century). Today it holds the same fascination for visitors, poets, painters and photographers who come on pilgrimage to the site, which is renowned for its magnificent scenery made up of many granite peaks and rocks emerging out of a sea of clouds.

Libo

Amazing landscape in Libo, South China Karst also known as the Libo Maolan Karst Forest, one of the most beautiful forests in China.  It is not only a unique scenic resource, but it also has a great scientific value for its geology and rich biodiversity.

Private swaps from Dong Hang



Great Wall of China

Simatai Section of the Great Wall

Private swap from Dong Han

Simatai Great Wall, 120 km northeast of Beijing, is 5.4 km long with 35 watchtowers. Hanging precariously onto the YanShan Mountains, Simatai Great Wall is known for its steepness, ruggedness and outstanding beauty.

Sweet Greetings from Austria

 Anna from Austria sent a table full cakes! 

 Thank you Anna,  I 'll take a piece of chocolate cake, cream cake, apple strudel cake, vanillekipferls and...

 Itävaltalaisen omenastrudelin ( apfelstrudel ) resepti löytyy täältä.

Lake Patas, Terceira, Azores

Private swap from Lurdes

Lagoa das Patas, ( Duck Lake ) a lake in Terceira island is created by severeal waterfalls. 

Such a beautiful place with hiking paths, picnic tables and benches.

Terceira, Azorit

Lurdes lives in a beautiful town of Angra do Heroismo in Terceira island  in the archipelago of the Azores. She sent me these beautiful cards. Terceira looks a lot like São Miguel, green, hilly and magical. I have been to the island of São Miguel three times and each time I have been amazed by the beauty of its nature.  I really hope I can  sometimes visit  this fantastic Terceira island also.

Terceira is one of the larger islands of the archipelago. The largest town is Angra do Heroismo. The town is nominated by UNESCO as a  " world-town " worth to be  preserved. The town was on New Years day 1980 struck by a huge earthquake. Many of the beautiful  buildings in the center of the town were destroyed. But many many beautiful buildings are still preserved. You can still see some remaining ruins from the earthquake. There are a very large cathedral, a historic museum, and a bullfighter arena.

New Zealand

Moeraki Boulders in Otago 

Steeped in Maori history, the Morerki Boulders are as large as 3 metres across and weigh up to several tonnes each. They are located 33km south of Oamaru, Oatago.

Rising sheer from the deep waters of the fiord known as Milford Sound, Mitre Peaksis one of the many spectacular features of the world-famous beauty spot.

Larnach Castle, Dunedid, Otago

Larnach Castle is an imposing mansion on the ridge of the Otago Peninsula within the limits of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, close to the small settlement of Pukehiki. It is one of a few houses of this scale in New Zealand. The house and its grounds are regularly open to the public.

Mount Cook with wild lupins in flower.

Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand, reaching 3,724 metres (12,218 ft) It lies in the Southern Alps, the mountain range which runs the length of the South Island.

The famous Wellington Cable Car operates from the central shopping district of Lamton Quay up to Victoria University and Botanicat Gardens. At the top is a cafe, museum and exellent vantage points to view the City and harbour.

 Gone fishing. 

The Maruia river, a popular trout fishing area flows down the walley known as Cannibal George Nelson.

This beautuful ChristChurch Cathedral was destroyed in  the Feb. 2011 earthquake. The cathedral had been damaged previously by earthquakes in 1881, 1888, 1901, 1922 and 2010.

All these beautiful cards are from Raelyn :)