Ottawa

The joy of winter on Rideau Canal in Ottawa

From KarenNfld in St. John's, Newfoundland 

Distance: 4,742 km

Travel time: 8 days

The Rideau Canal connects the city of Ottawa on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston on Lake Ontario. It is 202 kilometres in length. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States. It remains in use today primarily for pleasure boating, with most of its original structures intact, operated by Parks Canada. The locks on the system open for navigation in mid-May and close in mid-October. It is the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America, and in 2007 it was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Rideaun kanava on kanava, joka yhdistää Ottawan kaupungin Ottawa-jokeen ja edelleen Kingstoniin Ontariojärven rannalla. Kanava avattiin 1832 ja se käyttää edelleen monia alkuperäisiä rakennelmiaan. Kanavajärjestelmässä käytetään hyväkseen jokia ja järviä. Se on Pohjois-Amerikan vanhin yhtämittaisesti toiminnassa ollut kanavajärjestelmä ja se listattiin vuonna 2007 UNESCON maailmanperintöluetteloon.

Montreal churches

 Notre-Dame Basilica, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Received from Garth in Ottawa, Canada

Distance: 5,989 km

Travel time: 8 days

Notre-Dame Basilica  is a basilica in the historic district of Old Montreal, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The church is located at 110 Notre-Dame Street West, at the corner of Saint Sulpice Street. It is located next to the Saint-Sulpice Seminary and faces the Place d'Armes square. The church's Gothic Revival architecture is among the most dramatic in the world; its interior is grand and colourful, its ceiling is coloured deep blue and decorated with golden stars, and the rest of the sanctuary is a polychrome of blues, azures, reds, purples, silver, and gold. It is filled with hundreds of intricate wooden carvings and several religious statues. Unusual for a church, the stained glass windows along the walls of the sanctuary do not depict biblical scenes, but rather scenes from the religious history of Montreal. It also has a Casavant Frères pipe organ, dated 1891, which comprises four keyboards, 92 stops using electropneumatic action and an adjustable combination system, 7000 individual pipes and a pedal board.

Notre-Dame de Montréal on roomalais-katolinen basilika Montréalin vanhassakaupungissa, Kanadan Québecissä. Uusgoottilaista arkkitehtuuria edustavan basilikan rakennustyöt aloitettiin vuonna 1824. Sen suunnittelusta vastasi irlantilais-yhdysvaltalainen protestantti James O'Donnell. Hieman ennen kuolemaansa vuonna 1830 O'Donnell kääntyi katoliseksi, ja täten hänet voitiin haudata suunnittelemaan basilikaansa. O'Donnell on ainoa kirkon kryptaan haudattu henkilö. Rakennustöiden päätyttyä vuonna 1843 basilika oli Pohjois-Amerikan suurin kirkkorakennus. Wikipedia

Saint Joseph Oratory of  Mount Royal, Montreal, Canada

Received from Kelly-Anne in Montreal, Canada
Distance: 5,905 km
Travel time: 34 days

Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and national shrine on Westmount Summit in Montreal, Quebec. It is Canada's largest church. It is one of the world's most visited centres of pilgrimage.

Iceland

Warm in their winter coats.

 These horses seem to smile as they wait for summer time and easier grazing. 

Received from Thorey, Reykjavik
Distance: 2,167 km
Travel time: 6 days

View to the east over the pond in downtown Reykjavik. 

The National Gallery of Iceland and Frikirkjan church are just across the street from the pond. The spire of Hallgrimskirkja church can be seen in the background. 

Received from Mandy, she spent her autumn vacation in Iceland.

Andorra

Andorra officially the Principality of Andorra  is a sovereign landlocked microstate in Southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. 

Andorra is the sixth-smallest nation in Europe, having an area of 468 km2 (181 sq mi) and a population of approximately 85,000. Its capital Andorra la Vella is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres (3,356 ft) above sea level. The official language is Catalan, although Spanish, Portuguese, and French are also commonly spoken.

 Incles Valley

The Incles valley is still probably the prettiest valley in Andorra,  unspoiled by ugly buildings, wide roads and traffic. Walking along this valley in spring is like walking though a botanical garden. As the valley is relatively flat, it is an outing for the entire family. Those who want to stop at the end of the valley can have a picnic surrounded by magnificent scenery.  The Incles valley is a "must" and you should not miss this almost magical place.

Andorra 1997 from me to my family

Andorra general view

 ValCasa de la Vall is a historical house in Andorra la Vella. It is the headquarters of the General Council of Andorra.  It is a heritage property registered in the Cultural Heritage of Andorra.

Ordino is the most northerly in Andorra. The town is the namesake of the Andorran legend El buner d'Ordino, in which a bagpiper from Ordino, en route to a festival in Canillo, is chased by wolves, but frightens them off by playing his instrument.

Arja and me on our way from Ordino to La Massana and to Hotel Enst.

Helsinki Curches

The Cathedral

The Cathedral rising on the northern side of the Senate Square is the stage of national and academic festive services and one of the most popular tourist sights. The church is part of Helsinki's Empire era centre and a landmark for those arriving by sea. It has become the symbol of the whole of Helsinki. Earlier called St. Nicholas Church and Great Cathedral, the current main church of the Helsinki Diocese was completed in 1852. The Kazan Cathedral located in St. Petersburg is considered to be the model for the neoclassical style of the church. Sculptures of the twelve apostles guard the city from the roof of the church.

Temppeliaukio Church - Rock church completed in 1969.
Excavated directly into solid rock, the Temppeliaukio church is situated in the heart of Helsinki. Because of its special architecture, the church is one of the main attractions in Helsinki. The church hall is covered with a dome, lined with copper and supported on the rock walls by reinforced concrete beams. The interior walls are of rugged rock and rubble wall. Before noon, the sunlight spreads from the row of windows surrounding the roof periphery to the altar wall, where an ice-age crevice serves as the altarpiece.

St. John"s Church
St. John"s Church (Johanneksenkirkko) stands in Punavuori on the hill where midsummer bonfires take place. Representing the neogothic style, it is the largest stone church in Finland.

  Uspenski Cathedral
 Uspenski Cathedral was completed in 1868 and it was designed by the Russian architect Aleksey M. Gornostaev. The cathedral has 13 gilt domes, depicting Christ and the 12 Apostles. 

Linneagirl and Spring Jubilee

Vanamotyttö

 Kevätsoitto

These postcards is are art works by Finnish artist 

 Kaarina Kaila titled “Linnaeagirl” and "Spring Jubilee" .

Spring Jubilee also to all students after graduating from upper secondary school! Congrats on this happy day!

Unique Architecture

 

 This postcard showing the crooked door of the Old King's school shop in Canterbury came from Germany sent by Deni.  The shop is possibly the most photographed historic building in Canterbury after the Cathedral.

Distance: 1,740 km
Travel time: 5 days

This super funny postcard showing a huge basket-shaped building was sent to me by Marcy in Ohio.  The building is the Office of Longaberger Company in Newark. I believe it is the largest basket in the world.

Distance: 6,860 km
Travel time: 19 days

Lanyang Museum, Yilan, Taiwan

This huge building looks as it has collapsed into the lake as a result of an earthquake. The building looks like a cuesta emerging from the surface of the lake. Cuesta is the outcome of colliding crustal plates and this sort of special landscape is common in north-east Taiwan. 

Card came from Stella in Kaohsiung city, Taiwan

Distance: 8,197 km
Travel time: 17 days

I think the topsy-turvy building was not designed to be lived in. It was created for a local zoo in Gettorf, Germany.

The card came from Ela in Elmshorn.
Distance: 1,210 km
Travel time: 6 days


We found this upside down house in Furnas village on São Miguel island in the Azores.
The building  is actually an electrical substation!