Roses for Graduates

5.6. 1993 our daughter's graduation day

5.6.1999 our son's graduation day

 Thousands of students across the country shall get their report cards, diplomas and student’s caps on Saturday, after graduating from upper secondary school. This year in Finland about 28 000 students  will celebrate their white cap and graduation.

Congratulations to all graduates! Wishing you the best of luck in the future.

Studley Park, Melbourne, Australia

Received on: 29 Apr, 2013

Distance: 15,272 km (9,490 miles)

Travel time: 19 days

Gillian from Canberra, Australia sent me this beautiful art card. The painting is Nicholas Chevalier's Studley Park at sunrise 1861 from National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, a gift of Mrs Dorothy Gurner  in year 1959.

The artist is unknown to me so I had to do some Googling and again I learned new things.
Nicholas Chevalier  was born in Russia in 1828  and he was working in Australia between 1854-67.

Studley Park at sunrise is one of Nicholas Chevalier’s few paintings from the early 1860s that depicts a local scene.  In the late 1850s and 1860s Studley Park in Kew was a popular picnic spot for the people of Melbourne and a site depicted by numerous artists 

From the early 1860s Chevalier travelled throughout south-east Australia and New Zealand in search of dramatic mountain ranges and seascapes for his subject matter.



Singin' in the Rain

Received on: 16 Apr, 2013

Distance: 8,009 km (4,977 miles)

Travel time: 17 days

Chi from Taiwan sent this nostalgic movie postcard and of course I had to search this from YouTube. Accompanied only by an umbrella, Kelly put together one of the most joyous dances ever filmed. Singin' in the Rain is a 1952 American comedy film directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds.

Debbie Reynolds about 1960

Today the sun is shining and the wind is gentle.
It feels like summer!

I wish all of you a happy and sunny week!

Pietari - St. Petersburg

Received on: 19 Apr, 2013

Distance: 520 km (323 miles)

Travel time: 9 days

I received this card from Maria, she lives in this beautiful city of St. Petersburg.

The card shows the view of the SS Peter and Paul Cathedral, the Admiralty and St. Isaac's Cathedral.

My sister and her family visited St. Petrsburg on April and they sent me also a card of St. Isaac's Cathedral (1818 - 1858). The dome of St. Isaac’s Cathedral dominates the skyline of St. Petersburg and its gilded cupola can be seen glistening from all over the city.

St.Petersburg, The 'Venice of the North', with its numerous canals and more than 400 bridges, is the result of a vast urban project begun in 1703 under Peter the Great. Later known as Leningrad (in the former USSR), the city is closely associated with the October Revolution. Its architectural heritage reconciles the very different Baroque and pure neoclassical styles, as can be seen in the Admiralty, the Winter Palace, the Marble Palace and the Hermitage.

The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and related groups of monuments in the immediate vicinity are UNESCO World Heritage sites.

- Hermitage Museum and Winter Palace

- Peter and Paul Fortress

- Tsarkoye Selo with Catherine Palace

- Saint Isaak Cathedral

- Peterhof, the "Russian Versailles" 

Helene Schjerfbeck

 

Helene Schjerfbeck (1862-1946) Dancing Shoes 1882

 

The Dancing Shoes 1882 was sold for nearly GBP 3.05 million, or about EUR 3.9 million at Sotheby’s auction house in London and it is thus the most expensive Finnish painting ever sold in auction

The painting depicts Schjerfbeck’s cousin  Ester Lupander preparing for a dance.

The artist painted two more versions of the same subject. .

 

 

Helene Schjerfbeck: Dancing shoes 1939 or 1940

 

 

Helene Schjerfbeck is one of the most famous artists in Finland and Scandinavia. She was born 1862 in Helsinki, at the age of four she had an accident and injured her hip.This had serious consequences, which would affect her life and artistry. As a convalescent she spent much time painting and drawing.

At the age of 11, she was accepted to an art school, as her talent was early discovered.

As a young artist she had the opportunity to study and paint in France and England. In the beginning her style was realistic, but as time passed and moving into the 20^th century, Helene developed a very characteristic modern style.

 

 

Date of issue: 23 January 2012


 

 





Trier, Saksa

Received on: 15 Apr, 2013

Distance: 1,726 km (1,072 miles)

Travel time: 4 days

Stephi from Germany sent me this multiview card of Trier.

She wrote that Trier is Germany's oldest city and the center of the wine-growing area on the Moselle; Saar and Ruwer rivers. 

The main attraction in Trier is obviously Rorta Nigra Gate.

The Porta Nigra is a  2nd-century Roman city gate and the oldest defensive structure in Germany, it was erected in about 180 AD.   Trier's market square (Hauptmarkt) looks also very attractive with beautiful old  buildings and painted facades, fruit stands, flowers and fountains.

I would love to visit this beautiful German city and Moselle region.

Praha

The Old Town Square of Prague 150 years ago.

Postcard from the eastern side of Staroměstské Square

Received on: 12 Apr, 2013

Distance: 1,493 km (928 miles)

Travel time: 3 days

I received this card from Milan.

She lives in small town Cernosice near Prague and castle Karlštejn.

Thank you Milan, again I learned lots of new things and words in Czech!

The Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí) is one of two main squares in Prague. The Old Town Square dates from the 12th century and started life as the central marketplace for Prague. Over the centuries buildings of Romanesque, Baroque and Gothic styles were erected around the market, each bringing with them stories of wealthy merchants and political intrigue.

The Church of Our Lady before Týn (Kostel Matky Boží před Týnem), a characteristic dominant of the Old Town, was constructed from the 14th to the beginning of the 16th century. The two spires of this powerful looking, Gothic church can be observed from all over Prague.

Second on the left is the Golz-Kinský Palace wich was built in the years 1755-1765

The father of Franz Kafka had a small shop on the ground floor of the Palace.