Berlin , Germany

After the surprise let's move on to the official ones starting with what else??? Germany !! No surprise any one involved with postcrossing knows already that the Germans really rock the place ( they have reached the top of my stats anyway ) . This is not a complaint since Germany is really beautiful with lots of new things waiting to be dicovered . This card is from the Berlin showing the city's Cathedral Danke an Manfred 

Bad Friedrichshall , Germany

Another official from Germany showing the pretty little town of Bad Friedrichshall .Bad Friedrichshall arose in 1933 by the connection of Kochendorf and Jagstfeld. The name Friedrichshall is derived from a salt-works in Jagstfeld named by Frederick I in 1818. The term Bad is from a brine in Jagstfeld. Danke an Iris 

Mainz , Germany

And last but not least St. Martins Cathedral from Mainz Germany ! Mainz is the capital of Rhineland-Palatinate. St Martin's Cathedral (Mainzer Dom - Martinsdom or officially Der Hohe Dom zu Mainz ) is located near the city's historical center , is 1000 years old Roman Catholic cathedral and is the site of episcopal see of the Bishop of Mainz. Vielen Dank Linda !

Hannover , Germany

An ad card about Expo 2000 in Hannover , Germany . Sent ( non stamped ) by Claudia . 

( Danke ! )

Greeting card (I)

Totally out of season , a Christmas card from Sondershausen . But except from the greetings ( and the bell ) it can also be considered a view card of the town ! One of the very few greeting cards I 've kept . Sent ( non stamped ) from Claudia ( Vielen Dank )

Augustusburg , Germany

View from Erdmannsdorf Castle- south side
Innenhof, Birkenwaeldchen
Sent from Germany
1993

Thanks to Claudia

Berlin , Germany

No text at the back.
Sent from Germany
2000

Thanks to Doerte

A sunset in Germany

I have no idea where is this exactly taken from but I really enjoy the view ! Danke an Christa 

Regensburg ( at Danube )

Germany one more time and particularly Bavaria . Regensburg was an important town during the Middle Ages . The first settlements date back to the Stone Age . The first name given to a settlement near the present day city was the Celtic 'Radasbona'. Vielen Dank an Kirsten !

Freiberg , Germany

Another card came from my dear Antje in Germany. I have posted about Freiberg before when Antje sent her first card . This time she sent me Freiberg Cathedral of St. Mary . ( in German Dom St. Marien ). Although the german term " Dom " translates in English as "Cathedral" this church is not really a cathedral (ie seat of a bishop ) but a collegiate church ! Not sure what that means really as I'm not familar with those terms as I may be collecting religious buildings but I'm not that religious person ;) In anay case vielen Dank Antje :)

Hiddensee Island , Germany

Another official arrived from Germany .  Well yes Germany does have islands, even though in my mind the country is related to mountains , forest , rivers etc  :) Hiddensee is a car free ( sighhhh paradise ) island in Baltic Sea , located west of Germany's biggest island Rügen ! it has about 1.300 inhabitants and it has been a popular resort in the times of D.D.R ( East Germany ) and also today . This awesome light tower is located in Neuendorf . Vielen Dank an Klaus

Gößweinstein, Germany

An official card from Germany showing the altar of Gößweinstein Basilica. Wikipedia is brief on this : Pilgrimage church of the Holy Trinity, 1730–1739 built during the reign of Fürstbischof Friedrich Carl von Schönborn according to plans byBalthasar Neumann, who also supervised the construction. Franciscan padre Prof. Dr. Luchesius Spätling applied for the denomination asBasilica minor. The church was elevated to the papal Basilica minor in 1948 by Pope Pius XII.

Amazing card ! Danke an Norbert

Samsung Touchnote Part II

2 more lovely surprises came thanks to Samsung Touchnote Promotion. The one with the flower came from my dear Barbel in Germany and shows a blue poppy in one park of Bremen and it's lovely while the second card comes from Brazil and shows some famous spots plus my friend Genesio picture :) Thank you both 

Passau , Germany

This card comes as a proof that no matter how many cards you might have from a particular country , there is always room for more that will make you discover new places . In my case I have lot of German cards ,from the past when I had a lot of German penfriend and some new ones from official postcrossing procedures! So one might have wondered why I accept private swaps with Germany ..That's why .. This adorable card ( I really love cards that involve water , sea , lakes , rivers doesn't really matter ) came as a private swap and that's how I got to know Passau. Passau is located in Bavaria, it's the seat of Passau University founded in the late 70's as the extension of Institute for Catholic Studies (1622). It is renowned in Germany for its institutes in Economics, Law , Theology, Computer Sciences and Cultural Studies. As a matter of fact 10.000 people out of a total population of 50.000 in Passau are students. What makes it uniquely beautiful to my eyes is that it's the place where three rivers ( Danube , Inn & Ilz ) are joined , hence its nicname " Drei-Flusse-Stadt" ( Three Rivers city ) . Vielen , vielen Dank an Kirsten.

Nordsee, Germany

An official one from Germany showing images from North Sea in a 2011 calendar!

Bremerhaven, Germany

An official one from Bremerhaven , Germany !! Vielen Dank Birger !Bremerhaven is the harbor of the city of Bremen .
It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of theRiver Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham. Though a relatively new city, it has a long history as a trade port and today is one of the most important German ports, playing a crucial role in Germany's trade.

Bremen , Germany

Another private swap from Bremen this time

The City Municipality of Bremen (German: Stadtgemeinde Bremen) is a Hanseatic city in northwesternGermany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the River Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area (2.4 million people). Bremen is the second most populous city in Northern Germany and tenth in Germany.

Bremen is some 60 km (37 mi) south from the Weser mouth on the North Sea. With Bremerhaven right on the mouth the two comprise the stateof Bremen (official name: Freie Hansestadt Bremen - Free Hanseatic City of Bremen).

In the card it shows the Townhall and St.Petri Cathedral 

Vielen herzlichen Dank an Barbel :)

Ostfriesland , Germany

Another official one & my first map card ! Came from Ostfriesland , Germany from Willi . He is the world Champion of "Postcrossing ' having sent more than 8.000 postcards .... Sighhhh :D What a collection must he have !!! As for the card Wiki has it again : East Frisia or Eastern Friesland (German Ostfriesland; East Frisian Low Saxon: Oostfreesland) is a coastal region in the northwest of the German federal state of Lower Saxony. It connects Western Frisia (in the Netherlands) with the district of Nordfriesland ("Northern Frisia", "Northern Friesland") inSchleswig-Holstein, all of which belong to the historic and geographic Frisia. Ostfriesland consists of the three districts of Aurich, Leer, Wittmund plus the city of Emden.There are 465,000 people living in an area of 3144.26 square kilometres.

There is a chain of islands off the coast, called the East Frisian Islands (Ostfriesische Inseln). These islands are (from west to east) Borkum, Juist,Norderney, Baltrum, Langeoog, Spiekeroog and Wangerooge.

Vielen herzlichen Dank Willi :D

Freiberg, Germany

Although I still haven't received my first official postacard yet ,( 4 of mine are recieved so I guees it's a matter of time and I won't complain :D ), my first arranged direct swap card is here :)) It comes from Germany , a country that I got so many postcards in the past. Nevertheless excitement is still the same no matter how many cards you have from a place ...:) This particular one comes from Freiberg ( a city that I always confuse with Freiburg ). Freiberg lies in " Free State of Saxony " and is the administrative centre of Mittelsachsen district ! It was built in 1186.In 1944 a subcamp of Flossenburg concntration camp was built outside the town of Freiberg. It housed over 500 female survivors of other camps including Auschwitz Birkenau. In 1985 Mormons built their Freiberg Germany temple due to the large number of memmbers in the region. The temple serves the whole area of Eastern Germany and a big part of East Europe! 

As for the lovely building of the picture all I could found was in German http://www.schloss-freudenstein.net/ ...

And all I can say is vielen Dank Antje