Bengtskär, Finland

 Hello again , I hope you are still droping by around here as I'm a good girl lately , updating more often than in the past couple of months ;-) Here we go with 2 cards for today . First one was a official one from Finland and shows a wonderful lighthouse situated in the middle of Baltic Sea. It is the tallest lighthouse in Scandinavia (52m ) located in the southernmost part of Finland , the island of Bengtskär. ( more like a rocky islet actually ) 3hours with ferry from the mainland , as the sender kindly informed me . Built in 1906 , serves as a tourist attraction as well . It would be thrilling to see it but I suppose that I wouldn't like to be the keeper :) Nearest village of Rosala is 18 km north

Sveta Gora , Slovenia

The first official for today comes from Slovenia making it the first written and stamped card from that country in my collection ! So that leaves me waiting a w&s card from Montenegro ( I have tonz of blank ones ) and the only ex-Yugoslav country I have 0 cards from remains Bosnia Hercegovina ( any of you going there soon?? :D ) The card shows the pilgrim basilica in Sveta Gora ( Slovene for Holy Mountain ) located on a hill 682m high near the town of Nova Gorica. It is said that the view from up there is excellent and on a clear day visitors can see as far as Istria , Venice & the Dolomites ! ( Sounds promising ;-) ) Hvala Joze 

Glybokae , Belarus

and the last one for today comes from Belarus and the town of Glybokae . I couldn't find much info about the town or the monastery in the card . The sender informed me that Glybokae is located on north-west part of the country and with my poor knowledge of Belarrussian I figured out that it is a Franciscan monastery dedicated to Virgin Mary . Many thanks to Victoria 

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 

Tulips

When you see this card which is the first country that comes to your mind ? Mine ... Netherlands !!  I was partially right cause it was from Rotterdam but actually depicts Mount Vernon , Washington , in the Northwest extreme of US and more specifically Tulip Town which a farm specialized in Dutch national flower founded by a Dutchman many decades ago . Dank je wel Anja 

Kyoto , Japan

I go on with an awesome card from Japan , showing Maiko girls worshipping at Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto !
Maiko (舞妓) is an apprentice geisha in western Japan, especially Kyoto. Their jobs consist of performing songs, dances, and playing the shamisen (three-stringed Japanese instrument) for visitors during feasts. Maiko are usually aged 15 to 20 years old and become geisha after learning how to dance (a kind of Japanese traditional dance), play the shamisen, and learning Kyō-kotoba (dialect of Kyoto), regardless of their origins. (Thanks to Wikipedia  for the info :D) Yasaka is a Shinto shrine and its  initial construction  began in 656.

The Shrine became the object of Imperial patronage during the early Heian period. In 965, Emperor Murakami ordered that Imperial messengers were sent to report important events to the guardian kami of Japan. These heihaku were initially presented to 16 shrines; and in 991, Emperor Ichijō added three more shrines to Murakami's list. Three years later in 994, Ichijō refined the scope of that composite list by adding Umenomiya Shrine and Gion Shrine.From 1871 through 1946, Yasaka Shrine was officially designated one of the Kanpei-taisha (官幣大社), meaning that it stood in the first rank of government supported shrines. Thanks to Wiki once more for the info & Arigato to Takako for the card ( I adore the stamps too btw :D)

State of Indiana

and last but not least an official from USA and the State of Indiana . Great to receive a map card . At the back of the card it states : THE HOOSIER HERITAGE QUILT, collaboration between Indian Department of Natural Resources and the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service , features quilt blocks made by winners from each Indiana county , placed together . The official state quilt is a tribute to Hoosier pride and to the participants ! In case you are wondering what is a Hoosier - like I did - I should mention that is the official name for an Indiana resident .People from California are Californians and from Indiana Hoosiers ( and not Indianans :D ) as the state's nickname is ' Hoosier State ' !! Many thanks to Tammy !!

Taipei , Taiwan

After the X-mas card lets move on with the viewcards received !! This one is as you can see from Taiwan ( thank you Minnie ) and shows the Office of the President in Taipei .

The Presidential Office Building houses the Office of the President of the Republic of China. The building, located in the Zhongzheng District in the national capital of Taipei, Republic of China, was designed by architect Uheiji Nagano during the period of Japanese rule of Taiwan (1895–1945). The structure originally housed the Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan. Damaged in Allied bombing during World War II, the building was restored after the war by Chen Yi, the Governor-General of the Taiwan province. It became the Presidential Office in 1950 after the Republic of China lost control of mainland China and relocated the nation's capital to Taipei City at the end of the Chinese Civil War. (Wikipedia )

Lake Toba , Indonesia

The last one for today came from Indonesia ( thank you Mina ). It is showing Lake Toba . In Indonesian ot is called Danau Toba and is a lake and a supervolcano ( Now don't ask me what is the difference between a supervolcano and a normal one I really don't have the faintest idea ) . It is located in the Northern part of Sumatra island. It is the largest lake in Indonesia and the largest volcanic lake in the world . It is the site of a supervolcanic eruption that occured sometime between 69.000 & 77.000 years ago . It is the largest known explosive eruption anywhere on Earth in the last 25 million years! (ahm !!!) According to the Toba catastrophe theory , it had global consequences , killing most humans then alive and creating a population bottleneck in Central Eastern Africa and India that affected the genetic inheritance of all humans today . This hypothesis is not very widely accepted due to lack of evidence of any other animal decline or extinction even in enviromentally sensitive species , however it has been accepted that the eruption led to a volcanic winter with a worldwide decline of temperatures between 3 to 5°C ! ...   By looking at the deep blue of the picture I would never have thought all this to be honest :)

Nice , France

An official from France and especially from the beautiful city of Nice. It located in the southern part of France in the Mediterranean coast , in French Riviera very close to Italian border and Monaco !!

Stonington ( Maine ), USA

Official card from USA.  Excellent view from the fishing village of Stonington in the state of Maine

The first people to live on Deer Isle, as early as 6,100 years ago, were Native Americans. Their descendants were known to early French explorers as Etchemins; some continued to live on the island even after Anglo-Americans established settlements. The first European to venture into the region was Estevan Gomez, a Portuguese working for the Spanish Crown. Gomez sailed his ship La Anunciada up Eggemoggin Reach, which divides Deer Isle from the mainland. The French, however, would be the most active in the region, establishing a fort in Castine and intermarrying with Abenaki natives. A body buried in full armor (believed to be French) was discovered on nearby Campbell Island. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,152 people, 502 households, and 326 families residing in the town. ( Wikipedia )

Funny card :)

An official one from Japan. Card is from "fuwamoco friends" series and it looks so typical Japanese :) Cutie 

Danshui, Taiwan

Hello again everybody ! A small update to show you the incoming mail for this week so far . Let's start with an official one from Taiwan. It depicts Danshui (or Tamsui ) which is a sea side district of New Taipei City , named after Tamsui River (means fresh water ).. Located in the northern part of the island it is popular as site for viewing the sunset in to the Taiwan strait (and that's what card is about ). So I guess that mountain slightly shown at the back is in mainland China , well maybe :D Thanks to Cathy ( or 多謝  :D)

Hrodna , Belarus

Another small update for the cards that have arrived since the last time I was here. Let's start with the official one coming from the city of Hrodna in Belarus ! Although Belarus is mainly an orthodox country , Hrodna is the center of Catholicism due to its proximity to Poland and a significant Polish minority in the city ! So here it is the Franciscan monastery of the city build in 1635. This card made my day due to to the sender's artistic mood at the back of the card. It put a huge smile in my face this morning :) Thanks!

Canada

and the second card for today is an official from Canada. As you can read it depicts a ship of the Canadian Coast Guard! Nice to receive a card with such theme as my dad was serving our Coast Guard for 25 years! Well with a brief googling I did I saw that the Canadian Coast Guard is different in structure but nonetheless it's really cool to receive such a card. day of issue was January 16th 2012 and it would be no interest for stamp collectors as it is a prepaid one !

Danish -Swedish borders !

 An amazing card of Øresundsbron , the bridge that connects Denmark with Sweden ( Copenhagen & Malmo). I guess the point shown here is where Denmark ends and Sweden begins ( or exactly the opposite :D) The Danes call it Øresundsbroen and the Swedes Öresundsbron so we got the joint name of Øresundsbron !! The bridge covers a distance of 8 km between the swedish coast until the artificial island of Peberholm and the remainder is a 4km tunnel from Peberholm until the island of Amager (Denmark ). Its constuction began  in 1995 and finished in 1999. Card was mailed from neighbouring Norway though !

Kaunas , Lithuania

Yayyyyy ! A new country for my collection ! Lithuania !! I have a couple of cards from there thanks to my dear friend Grazina but this is the 1st written & stamped I get from that country . The sender tried very succesfully to find a card that fits to my "postcrossing " wish list ! Bridge& Cathedral in one card ~super :)

In his own profile he is wondering what people actually know of Lithuania and right here I'm confessing that it is among the "less-known" European countries for me ! The distance between Mediterranean & Baltic states is not only actual , I guess , but also cultural . What first comes to mind when I hear Lithuania is their basketball team and its great players : Arvydas Sabonis , Valdemaras Chomicius (from the old team )& Sarunas Jasikevicius , Ramunas Siskauskas( current playing ) among MANY others !Other than that not much ! Back to the card now and to Kaunas . On the top is view of the city ( do I really see a basketball next to Lietuva sign? ). Down left is the Town Hall and the other two pics are from the Cathedral of St Peter & Paul. Ačiū to Marius :)

Guizhou , China

A wonderful card has arrived from China ! The girls shown here belong to Miao nationality , one of the 56 nationalities who are currently living in this vast country. Here I would like to admit my ignorance that I know only 2 of them ( except the actual Chinese ) the Tibetans & the Uyghurs ! Well today I heard about Miao people too. Miao people in China are about 10 million , about 3.600.000 of them live in Guizhou. Card is from there depicting a festival which is held on March 15, a "girls-meeting-boys" kinda festival . Absolutely fantastic card , Thanks to LinLin :)

Tomsk, Russia

Tomsk ( Томск ) is a city situated in Siberia located by Tom river and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast . Being one of the oldest cities in Siberia it celebrated its 400th aniversary in 2004. The statue here is really cute , I'm not sure what it is but it strongly reminds me a Russian cartoon I used to watch as a child :)) Are they the same wolves or ??? :D