A Card from Gabi

My friend and penpal, Gabi and her husband, Klaus,

took a business/vacation trip to Prague in the Czech

Republic, and she sent me this great card. She said

they saw the castle from this bridge at night, and then

they visited the castle the next day. She also said

it was crowded, as there were masses of people from

all countries and continents! I can see why so many

people would want to go there. I would like to go too!

Thank you, Gabi, for the wonderful postcard!

Gruesse from Bickenbach

The postman brought me this great card

from Ernst who lives in this beautiful town.

He says it is a small town not far from

Darmstadt and Frankfurt.

It looks like a lovely town and I would love

to go strolling down the old streets and see the

pretty half-timbered buildings.

I would also enjoy that beach in the lower

right-hand corner!

Thank you, Ernst, for the wonderful card!

Dutch Lighthouses

Ruben, who is a disc jockey, sent me this

picture of sixteen lighthouses in Holland.

I had no idea that this small country had

so many lighthouses!

Thank you, Ruben, for introducing me

to so many great lighthouses.

The Taiwanese Coast

Amy, who lives in Kashsiung, sent me this very

nice picture of the coast of her country. She says

that her city is the second largest city there.

I think the top of the big rock in front looks like

the head of a polar bear! Very interesting!

Thank you, Amy, for the great card!

Amy also put an interesting stamp

of a lighthouse on an island. The lighthouse

was built in 1872.

She drew a cute little charicature

with her signature.

View of La Pedrera (Casa Mila')

The rooftop of Casa Mila', showing its

wavy lines and undulating form.

This nighttime view of Casa Mila' was sent to me by

Jordi, who lives in Barcelona. Casa Mila' is also known

as La Pedrera (The Quarry). Built between 1906 and 1910,

it was originally designed for a married couple,

Rosario Seginon and Pere Mila'. Mila' was the second

husband of the extremely wealthy widow, Rosario. He loved

the lifestyle of the rich and opulent surroundings, so much

so that many felt he married Rosario for her 'guardiola',

or 'piggy bank' instead of for love for the widow. The building

was designed by a famous architect, Gaudi, who built it

with wavy lines and undulating forms rather than

with straight lines. Gaudi also put some unique chimney

stacks atop the building. There was also a sculpture which

he said was 'the Virgin', although his biographer said

it was really the primeval earth goddess, Gaia. Casa Mila'

is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Thank you, Jordi, for the really great postcard!

Jordi also drew some cute little figures on the

back of his card!

Art Nouveau Architecture from Riga, Latvia

This is a beautiful example of Art Nouveau architecture

in Irba's hometown, Riga, Latvia. She says she lives

in the eautiful capital city of Latvia--Riga. It must

be a beautiful city if this is any example!

Thank you, Irba, for the great card!

The Other Card from OHIO

Tracy sent me this great card of Lake Erie lighthouses.

Although the card is from Ohio, Tracy lives in

West Virginia. She says she has been to Lake Erie

many times but has never seen a lighthouse!

Try to see one next time, Tracy. I think you will

fall in love with them!

Thank you for this wonderful card. I love all lighthouses,

but I am especially fond of some on the Great Lakes!

Second Card from Ohio in As Many Days

This card came to me from Bonnie Jeanne. Although

the card comes from Ohio, where she likes to go

biking, she lives in Pennsylvania but is originally

from Boston.

Thank you, Bonnie Jeanne, for a lovely card.

Another of my Handmade Cards

I made this card for Marika, who lives in Finland.

She says she likes donkeys (burros).

A Walk in Winnipeg

Rae, from Winnipeg in Canada, sent me this

picture of Assiniboine Park in her city.

She said that she just moved closer to the Park

in the Fall and she is now excited about

going for walks 'somewhere that is

actually green!'

Thank you, Rae, for the great card. I would

love to accompany you on those walks!

A Mother's Day Card from Taiwan

Minnie, from Taiwan, sent me this great Mother's

Day card with a beautiful picture of mother

and child. She said that they celebrated Mother's

Day on May 10th this year, the same day that we

celebrated it in the United States.

Thank you, Minnie, for the nice card.

Alisa's Card from Finland

Alisa, from Finland, sent me this beautiful picture

of a goose in front of the moon. She said the

photo is by a well-know photographer, Hanne Hautala,

in Finland. This picture is from a calendar and is

titled 'Free as a Bird'.

I love the picture, Alisa! Thank you so much for

sending it to me!

A Gift from Brenda

Look! Another Inge Look card!

This time the old ladies are (gasp!)

STEALING APPLES!

This one was given to me by Brenda (user Cinnamon1)

because she knows I like them and she had

two like this.

Thank you very much, dear Brenda!

Snow on the Mountain, New Hampshire

Steph, who lives in New Hampshire, sent me this

snowy picture of Mount Washington, which I believe

is the highest mountain on the East Coast. I know

they often have record-setting winds atop this

mountain. Steph apologized for sending a 'snowy'

card, saying that was all she had at the moment.

Hopwever, as I told her, you never have to apologize

for snow when sending a card to South Texas!

Thank you, Steph, for a 'cool' card!

Wing-Sam's First Postcrossing card!

I am the happy recipient of Wing-Sams first official

Postcrossing card. She lives in Haarlem, Holland, and says

that she is very excited because she 'has a

faxcination for America(ns)'. She chose this picture

of one of Amsterdam's canals because she read in my

profile that I like water. You chose exactly the right

card for me, Wing-Sam. It also makes me homesick,

although I have never lived in Amsterdam. I have,

though, visited this beautiful city on the Amstel river

and I love it and would like to return again!

Thank you so very much for the nice card and the

beautiful memories of traveling there.

First Card from HongKong

This is a great picture, a beautiful view of a little

village caled TaiO. It was sent to me by Deborah, an English

teacher who lives and works in HongKong. She says this

little village is near her home, about 20 minutes by bus.

She says that, by contrast, she lives on the 23rd floor of

an apartment building that is really pretty and modern.

She also says that TaiO is a nice place to visit. I think

I would really enjoy a vist here!

Thank you, Deborah, for the great card!

First Card from Iran

Yasi, from Tabriz in Iran, sent me this beautiful card.

The structure is a part of Maghbaratol-shoara, a

graveyard for poets in Tabriz. I think it is a

beautiful structure reflected in a beautiful pool.

Thank you, Yasi, for the great card!

A Card from Gliwic (Poland)

This is an aerial view of Paulina's home city

of Gliwice. She says it is an industrial city byt also

has an historical center. She also points out that,

in the middle of the picture, you can see the

market place. I love European market places

because it reminds me of Saturday mornings in Ulm,

Germany. We always went down to the marketplace

in front of the Muenster where there was a huge farmer's

market. This is true in most European cities.

Thank you, Paulina, for the nice card!

Happy Mother's Day!

This was the card on my Mother's Day gift

from Brenda and Charlie. The gift is a really

beautiful mandevilla vine with red flowers.

It is now planted near the family room window,

with a trellis behind it to climb on.

Since Brenda and I have been 'postcrossing'

we have found that postcards can be used for more

than just mailing! I LOVE it!

Thank you, Brenda and Charlie!

Flowers From Taiwan

Purin, from Taiwan, sent me these pretty

white flowers. (I love WHITE flowers!).

Thank you very much, Purin.

She also put these beautiful Taiwanese

stamps on her card. I especially like

the round one with the sea turtles!

A Baltic Sea Beach

Sandra, from Lithuania, sent me this picture

of a beautiful beach on the Baltic Sea.

She says they spend a lot of time there

in the summer. I think I would also spend

a lot of time there--it is magnificent, and I would

love to go beachcombing!

Thank you, Sandra, for a card that is just

right for me!

Taichung, Taiwan

Ju Min, from Taiwan, sent me this very old

picture of the train station in Taichung (central

Taiwan). She says it has changed a lot now, because this

picture was made about 60 years ago!

I do like the card, Ju Min! Age makes so many

things better!

Thank you very much!

From Wissenbourg, France

The old world charm of villages like this

always puts me in a nostalgic mood. I like to think

of all the people who have passed this way

or had a part in the making of these places.

This village, Wissenbourg, France, is a small

one of about 7500 inhabitants. The church in the

picture was built in the 13th century. I think it is

a lovely picture and I would love to see it for myself.

Since I can't, I am so glad that Guy sent me this

picture of his village. Guy is a teacher who is fortunate

enough to live here. He says they have many old houses

and many tourists who come to visit his town.

Thank you, Guy, for sharing it with me.

This is the pretty stamp that brought Guy's card to me.

A Painting From China

Shan, from China, sent me this lovely painting.

She said she had read on my profile thatI like oil painting,

so she chose this card for me. I think it's great.

Thank you, Shan, for the nice card!

Ahh=h=h=h! Schoene Ulm!

I received this card from my newest penpal,

Gabi, who was born in Ulm and now lives in

Weissenhorn. If you have never been to Ulm, you

cannot imagine what a beautiful old city it is!

Gabi shares my love of this city and, since Weissenhorn

is very close by, she can visit it often.

I found out, too, that Gabi and her husband, Klaus,

got married in the Muenster (above) and,

not only that, they got married while we were

living in Ulm. I wish I had known her then so that

I could have been at her wedding!

Thank you, Gabi, for the great card and for bringing

up so many great memories of Ulm!