GRENADA - View of St. George's

Thank you so much to Arcadi for my first card from Grenada. Grenada is off my missing country as island country  #154.

"Grenada is an island country consisting of Grenada itself and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Dubbed the “Spice Isle,” the hilly main island is home to numerous nutmeg plantations. It’s also site of the capital, St. George’s, whose colourful homes, Georgian buildings and early-18th-century Fort George overlook narrow Carenage Harbour."

GERMANY - Haldensleben

Thanks to postcrosser Katja for the nice card shows multiple view of Haldensleben city.

"Haldensleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the Ohre river, approx. 30 kilometres (19 miles) northwest from Magdeburg. It is connected by railway to Magdeburg, Oebisfelde and Eilsleben. It is the capital of the district Börde. It has a Protestant and a Catholic church. An old equestrian statue of Roland symbolized the rights of a medieval settlement to be accepted as a "town". It is the only statue of Roland sitting on a horse in the world. Before 1938, when it merged with Althaldensleben, the town was called Neuhaldensleben."

FRANCE - Villers cotterets (Aisne)

Thanks to postcrosser Vera for the card.

"Villers-Cotterets [vilɛʁkɔtʁɛ] is a common French located in the department of Aisne in the region Picardie.
The town is located south of the department of Aisne bordering the department of Oise. The forest of Retz occupies a good half of its territory."

ROMANIA - Church of the Resurrection, of Sucevita Monastery.

Thanks to postcrosser Anca for the card of Church of the Resurrection, of Sucevita Monastery.

"Sucevița Monastery is an Eastern Orthodox convent situated in the Northeastern part of Romania. It is situated near the Suceviţa River, in the village Sucevița, 18 km away from the city of Rădăuţi, Suceava County. It is located in the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina (northwestern Moldavia). It was built in 1585 by Ieremia Movilă, Gheorghe Movilă and Simion Movilă."

FRANCE - Alsace

Alsace, a region of unspoiled countryside and traditions, offers a wide variety of scenery and places to visit.  It is rich in historical and cultural perspectives and has an exceptionally rich heritage in cuisine.  Thanks to postcrosser Francoise for the card.

"Alsace is located on France's eastern border and on the west bank of the upper Rhine adjacent to Germany and Switzerland. Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area (8,280.2 km2), and the smallest in metropolitan France."

AUSTRALIA - Russel Falls, Tasmania

The card reads: One of the prettiest falls in Australia, Russel Falls tumbles 40 meters over two tiers to the rainforest below.  Nearby, huge swap gums (eucalyptus Regnans) tower 90 metres above the forest floor, the tallest hardwood trees in the world.  Thanks to postcrosser Ruth for the card.  This is my first card from Tasmania.

"The Russell Falls, a tiered–cascade waterfall on the Russell Falls Creek, is located in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania, Australia."

HONG KONG - Ariette

An illustration card of Hayao Miyasaki's cartoons called Ariette.  Thanks to postcrosser Sophie for the card.

NEBRASKA - Mapcard

Thanks to Angelique for the swap.

"Nebraska is a state that lies in both the Great Plains and the Midwestern United States. Its state capital is Lincoln. Its largest city is Omaha, which is on the Missouri River."

JAPAN - Mount Fuji

Thanks to postcrosser Pappo for the wonderful card and birthday wishes.

"Mount Fuji, located on Honshu Island, is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776.24 m (12,389 ft). An active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about 100 kilometres (60 mi) south-west of Tokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone, which is snow-capped several months a year, is a well-known symbol of Japan."

UKRAINE - St Michael's Golden Domed Cathedral, Kyiv/Kiev

Thanks to postcrosser Vlada for the card.

"St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery (Ukrainian: Михайлівський золотоверхий монастир, Mykhaylivs’kyi zolotoverkhyi monastyr) is a functioning monastery in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.

Originally built in the Middle Ages by Sviatopolk II Iziaslavych, the monastery comprises the Cathedral itself, the Refectory of St. John the Divine, built in 1713, the Economic Gates, constructed in 1760 and the monastery's bell tower, which was added circa 1716–1719. The exterior of the structure was rebuilt in the Ukrainian Baroque style in the 18th century while the interior remained in its original Byzantine style. The original cathedral was demolished by the Soviet authorities in the 1930s, but was reconstructed and opened in 1999 following Ukrainian independence in 1991."

SLOVENIA - Borovnica

Thank you dear Karmen for the yet another wonderful card of Borovnica and the enclosed stamps.

"The village of Borovnica lies on the south-western edge of Ljubljana Marshes, in the narrow valley of the Borovniščica brook.  It is well known for its fields of American blueberries, but the fruit has nothing to do with the origin of the village's name, which means "blueberry" in Slovenian.

Behind the village, karst landforms such as sinkholes, underground caves and waterfalls begin to dominate the landscape. Borovnica's mostly mountainous surrounding area is crossed by hiking routes, several suitable for mountain biking." Source

CZECH REPUBLIC - Kromeriz Palace

Thanks to postcrosser Darmav for the card.

"The Kroměříž Palace (German: Schloss Kremsier, Czech: Zámek Kroměříž or Arcibiskupský zámek) in Kroměříž, Czech Republic, used to be the principal residence of the bishops and (since 1777) archbishops of Olomouc.  The first residence on the site was founded by bishop Stanislas Thurzo in 1497. The building was in a Late Gothic style, with a modicum of Renaissance detail."

FINLAND - Putaan Silta

Thanks to postcrosser Ritta for the card.  Ritta wrote on her card that she lives in Pihtipudas and this old bridge in winter is one of her town landmark and the stamp is the same bridge while in summer.

"Pihtipudas is a municipality of Finland.t is located in northern Central Finland along the highway 4 (E75), about 140 kilometres (90 mi) north of Jyväskylä in the province of Western Finland."

The stamp issued on October 2014, 1 of 10 stamps depict Suomi Bridges and Waters.

FIJI - Young Indian girl dressed in traditional costumes

My second stamp card from Fiji, thanks to Veena for the awesome card.  This card shows an old photo of young indian girl in traditional costumes. Fiji was colonised by the British and as a result, Indians were bought over an indentured laborers to work the sugar cane fields. According to Wiki, Indian descent make up to 40% of Fiji population.

The stamp was issued in 2008, 1 of 4 celebrates 80th Anniversary of Southern Cross.

MONTENEGRO - Budva

My second card from Montenegro shows a wonderful view of Budva, thank you to Ivana for the swap.

"Budva (Serbian: Будва, Budva) is a Montenegrin town on the Adriatic Sea. It has around 14,000 inhabitants, and it is the centre of Budva Municipality. The coastal area around Budva, called the Budva riviera, is the center of Montenegrin tourism, known for its well preserved medieval walled city, sandy beaches and diverse nightlife. Budva is 2,500 years old, which makes it one of the oldest settlements on the Adriatic coast."

The left stamp was issued on 5 May 2015, set of 1 stamp celebrates 575 Years of First Written Mention of Centinje. And the right side stamp was issued on 12 May 2010, set of 1 stamp celebrates 400 years of the birth of St. Vasilij Ostroski.

CHRISTMAS ISLAND - Flying Fish Cove

My second card from Christmas Island, thanks to Kalvina for the card.

"Flying Fish Cove is the main settlement of Australia's Christmas Island. Although it was originally named after British survey-ship Flying-Fish, many maps simply label it “The Settlement”.  It was the first British settlement on the island, established in 1888.

About a third of the territory's total population of 1,600 lives in Flying Fish Cove, which lies near the north-eastern tip of the island. There is a small harbour which serves tourists with yachts. It is possible to dive at the settlement's beach."

BARBADOS - Cover

SAINT LUCIA - Nature in all its tropical splendour

Thanks to dear Jan for my second card from St Lucia.

SAINT LUCIA - Cover

WASHINGTON - Cape Disappointment Lighthouse

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, built in the mid-1850s and originally named cape Hancock, shown here with gun batteries from the Civil War era.  Located at the SW tip of Washington state. Thank you dear Debbie for the great card.

"The Cape Disappointment Light is a lighthouse on Cape Disappointment near the mouth of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington." Find more info here.

The area got the name from a fur trader named John Meares. He saw the headland and tried to cross over the bar into the Columbia River. When he missed, he named the area Cape Disappointment. Given that the Columbia River is the second longest river in the US at over 1200 miles long. By the time the current reaches the Pacific, it crashes creating a hazardous bar that mariners must cross. Due to this fact, the area has become known as the Graveyard of the Pacific. Originally, locals cut the tops of trees and used a white flag to create a daymark. At night they would set trees on fire to mark the entrance. By 1848, the Government agreed that a lighthouse was needed, but it would still be almost another eight years before a lighthouse was built."