MALAYSIA - Kek Lok Si Temples

Georgetown's Kek Lok Si temples. Thanks to Jakob for the card.

SWEDEN - Map

Thanks to Nadine for the card.

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SPAIN - Ramblas, Barcelona

Old tram of Barcelona, at the end of the Nineteenth century, in the Ramblas.  Thanks to Juan for the card.

KOREA - Roof Palace

POLAND - Market Day

Thanks to Agnie for the card.

Stamp: Holy Mary with the Child
Series: Christmas 2017
Issued on: 216/11/2017

RUSSIA - Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Ekaterinbury

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Ekaterinbury. Thanks to Olga for the card.

MARTINIQUE - Fort de France

What a great start to a new year, I've received a card from a new country/island or stamp issuing # 167.

Thank you so much, Sammy for my first ever postcard from Martinique! It is an island located in the eastern Caribbean Sea, as being a French overseas region, Martinique uses French stamps.

Stamp: Catherine de Médicis - Queen of France 

Series: The great hours of the French history
Issued on: 6/6/2016

Stamp: Sailships "Belle Poule"

Series: Sailships 'Armada du Siècle/Armada of the Century'
Issued on: 10/7/1999

UKRAINE Maxicard - Pilosocereus palmeri

Thanks so much Oksana for the maxicard.

"Pilosocereus palmeri inhabits tropical deciduous forest, xerophyllous scrub, and submontane forest. It germinates in the shade of plant canopies and in soil-filled rock crevices than in flat open areas. It is mainly bat-pollinated although to a lesser degree, diurnal visitors also caused some fruit set. It is partially self-compatible but unable to set fruit without visitors. The habitat of Pilosocereus palmeri is home to succulent flora and is particularly rich in local endemics."

Stamp: V. Barinova-Kulеba "Mom and Child"
Series: Paintings "Love is life!"
Issued on: 14/8/2018

Stamp › Railway station
Series: Lugansk region
Issued on: 23/8/2016

Stamp: Mikhail Bulgakov
Series: Personalities
Issued on: 213/5/2016

RUSSIA - “The Motherland Is Calling Us!”

Propaganda card in my mailbox! Love it!  Thanks to Julia for this.

"The Motherland Is Calling Us!” - this poster by Georgian artist Irakli Toidze is considered to be the most significant graphical work of the Second World War. 

The poster was believed by some to be a masterpiece, while others thought it was just another piece of Soviet propaganda.  Whatever the case, the poster has a very interesting history that is worth telling today as the world celebrates the end of WWII. 

The woman on the poster is the author’s wife. It was created in July 1941 during the war between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Upon hearing the first report by the Soviet Information Bureau that Nazi Germany had attacked the Soviet Union, Toidze’s wife ran into his studio crying out "war!”. Startled by the expression on her face, the artist ordered his wife to freeze and immediately began to sketch the piece. 

When Soviet leader Joseph Stalin saw the poster, he immediately loved it and ordered it to be mass produced with 5,000 copies being printed and sent to every commandant’s office and recruiting station in the Soviet Union. The caption on the parcels read: "Top secret. Must only be opened with special ordinance”. 

The parcels were opened in late June 1941, a week after the Germans invaded the Soviet Union. Following this the poster was plastered on every house, all cross-roads and walls in the Soviet Union. The poster became the collective image of a mother calling on the help of her sons to protect their homeland. The original poster is now kept in Georgia’s National Library in Tbilisi." From here

NETHERLANDS - Wijchen Castle

"The Kasteel van Wijchen is a castle in the center of Wijchen , in the Dutch province of Gelderland . The castle is partly used as a town hall and as a museum.

At the end of the 14th century the first version of the castle was built: the first mention dates back to 1392. Until the 17th century it was mainly a defensive work with a different appearance than the current castle. The castle was first owned by the Lords of Galen . Jacob van Galen sold the castle in 1535 to one of the Heren van Bronckhorst."

CHINA - Shanghai Grand View Park

TURKEY - Primary School, Primary Art School

Museum of Art Memo

THAILAND - Mural Painting at The Temple of Emerald Buddha

Card from my travel to Hua Hin, Thailand, shows the mural painting at the temple of Emerald Buddha, Bangkok. Thailand.

NETHERLANDS - Seasons Greetings

Thanks to Martha for the card.

The stamps were issued on 5/11/2018 setenant block of 10 stamps, especially issued for Christmas in 2018. Thanks Martha for sharing.

POLAND - Wroclaw

  Thank to Krystyna for the swap, Great maxicard and cover.

Series: World Pedigree Dog Show, Poznan
Issued on: 6/11/2006
Format: Se-tenant of 5 sets

AUSTRIA - Lamberg Castle in Steyr

Thank you to Eva for the enclosed greetings card and coins. :)

Lamberg Castle is located in the town of Steyr in Upper Austria, in the hills above the river mouth of the river Enns Steyr. The town was founded in the 10th century in the written sources is mentioned as the property of the Counts of Otokar.

NEW JERSEY - Fall in the countryside

Fall in the countryside - trees changes from their summer green to the brilliant reds and oranges of the season on this farm near  Priedens.  There are many things to see and do in scenic Somerset County.

Thanks to Paula for the card.

Somerset County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2017 Census estimate, the county's population was 335,432, a 3.7% increase from the 2010 United States Census, making it the 13th-most populous of the state's 21 counties. Somerset County is part of the New York Metropolitan Area."

WYOMING - Yellowstone National Park

Thanks to Christine for the card.

"Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. It was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872.  Yellowstone was the first national park in the U.S. and is also widely held to be the first national park in the world. The park is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful geyser, one of its most popular features. It has many types of ecosystems, but the subalpine forest is the most abundant. It is part of the South Central Rockies forests ecoregion. 

Native Americans have lived in the Yellowstone region for at least 11,000 years. Aside from visits by mountain men during the early-to-mid-19th century, organized exploration did not begin until the late 1860s."

TAIWAN - Salt making factory

Salt making factory in Tainan, Taiwan.  Sent from Malaysia, thanks Raymond.