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