Ah! the Memories!

Many years ago, when we lived in Germany, we took

a trip to Holland to see the tulips (among other things!)

When we were in Amsterdam, we didn't know where

to park our Volkswagen minivan. We were told we

could park it in a big excavation pit right across

the way from this railway station. Some cars were

leaving and were having trouble climbing out of the

pit, but we parked there anyway. When we were

ready to leave, our little minivan climbed right on

out just like it was made for climbing hills!

This postcard, which I received today from Peter,

brought back these memories as clearly as if

they were yesterday!

Thank you so much, Peter, for such a wonderful

postcard!

A Beacon of Hope

From the Ukrainian city of Odessa comes

this picture of Vorontsov lighthouse.

The card comes from Anna, who lives in

Odessa city. She tells me it is called the

City of Humor' because their people never

lose heart and stay full of energy and happiness.

What a nice thought!

Anna also says there are lots of artists, writers,

musicians, and scientists living there.

Thank you, Anna, for introducing me to your

wonderful 'hometown'!

This stamp, showing beautiful grains of wheat,

brought the card from Ukraine to Texas!

First Card From Sweden

This beautiful mapcard comes from Vinda.

It is from Dalakarlia, Sweden, where, Vinda says,

there is a beautiful area with forests, lakes, and

farms. She says she used to celebrate midsummer

there when she was younger.

Thank you, Vinda, for the great card!

Vinda said she hasn't sent any postcards for a

long time, but she found these cute stamps.

Than she looked a little more and found

this card, and, BINGO.

I'm so glad she found the stamps and card,

because they are beautiful and they are

my first ones from Sweden!

Thanks, again, Vinda!

A Card From Tommi, the Artist!

Tommi, a clever artist from Finland, sent me this

beautiful card. It looks like 'The Yellow Rose of Texas'!

But wait...there's more!!!

Tommi said my nickname (beachcomber)

inspired him, so look what was on the back

of the card:

I LOVE it, and I think it is so clever! I am

proud to be the inspiration for Tommi's

drawing!

Thank you, Tommi, for the great artwork

and for the card!

The Card Without An Identity!

Do YOU know this card???

I received this very nice 'Earth' card from Beth

in St. Louis, Missouri. However, Beth

forgot to put the ID number on it and I

cannot register it. If you are Beth, or if you

know Beth, please tell her to contact me so I

can register her card.

Thank you, Beth, for the card. I really like the

astronauts heading to their rocket. I have

never received an astronaut card before!

First Card From Berlin

I have received quite a few cards from Germany

(Deutschland), but this is the first one I have

gotten from Berlin. It comes from Svenja, a

27-year-old newlywed! She says she loves traveling

and has been to the USA several times. She has

also lived in Egypt and Tunisia!

Thank you, Svenja, for the nice card!

Cute card!

This cute card came to me from Elke and

her family, who live in Saarbrueken.

I think it's nice that this doggie's 'people' put a

basket outside the door where he can wait

until someone lets him in!

Thank you, Elke, for the card, and best wishes to

you and your family!

How about THIS great card?

This beautiful card is from Lapland.

Maria, who lives above the Arctic Circle in Finland,

send me this card and I am thrilled with it!

It is painted by Merja Aletta Ranttila, a Sami artist.

Sami people are the indigenous people of Lapland,

and they have their own culture, traditions and

language, according to Maria. She says they

have inhabited the northern Isolated areas

for thousands of years. The card shows a bit

of their traditional costume as well as someof the

ancient symbols.

You can see the symbols around the edge of the

painting, and then there is a symbol showing

a hunter in the lower left corner. I can also see

the reindeer, the midnight sun, and the Northern

Lights represented here.

Thank you so very much, Maria, for this wonderful

introduction to Laplanders!

Flowers from Holland

I'm not quite sure, but I think these flowers

look like asters. The beautiful PURPLE

(my favorite color) flowers comes to me

from Petula in Holland.

Thank you, Petula!

American Indian Symbols

This is a great postcard of American

Indian symbols. It was sent to me by Elia,

who lives in Arizona.

According to the legend on back of the card,

the earliest writings of American Indians were

those of signs and symbols. These symbols are

always apparent in their handicraft and jewelry.

Thank you, Elia, for the great card! My son is

very interested in Indian pictographs and

petroglyphs, and he likes the card too!

'Dancing on the River'

This is one of my all-time favorite postcards!

It comes to me from Linda, who lives in

Finland. The photograph is entitled,

'Dancing on the River' and was taken by Quint

Buchholz. Isn't it great?

Linda also tells me that she has a dog,

a pug named Oona who is 2 years old.

Linda says that dogs make her so much happier

and that maybe it is the same as I feel about

the sea. Very true, Linda, and I thank you

for the wonderful card!

Beautiful Architecture in Minsk (Belarus)

Nadya, who was born in Hamel but now lives and

studies in Minsk, Belarus, sent me this beautiful

etching of the Church of Simon and Alena.

She is studying journalism at the University.

Thank you so very much, Nadya, for sharing

this beautiful picture with me!

A Penghu Stone Weir

Here is a very unusual card. It was sent by

Linnet Wu, who traveled here to celebrate finishing

University in June. The Penhu Islands (also called

Pescadores (Portuguese for 'fishermen') are off the

western coast of Taiwan. It has become a resort area.

Stone weirs were built by fishermen to catch fish.

They were built when tide was out and then the rising

tide would bring in the fish, which were trapped by

the outgoing tide. The weirs usually have only one

layer, but this one has two. People speculate that the

first one was built too deep and the fish were getting

away. Therefore, a second one was built and it

accidentally created the double heart shape.

Thank you Linnet Wu, for a very interesting card!

Tis Summer in Finland!

This beautiful card with its beautiful flowers,

lucious berries, and grassy meadow, comes

to me from Sari, who lives in Mantsala, a

county in Southern Finland. Sari is a food service

superior at the Health Central

I love the card, Sari! Thank you so much!

More Water--In Its Natural Habitat!

This beautiful waterfall is in one of Indiana's

state parks. It is called Clifty Falls, and

the postcard comes to me from Kara.

She shares my love of beaches and collecting shells.

Quite the animal lover, Kara has 5 ducks, one

baby chicken, 5 cats, one dog. Her ducks

are part of a 4-H project this year.

Thank you, Kara, for the lovely card and for telling

me a little about your animals!

An 'Arty' card from Austria--very Unique!

In my Postcrossing profile, I have mentioned

that I like cards that are 'unique'.

These next few cards fit that description nicely!

This card, a beautiful flower of some kind, came

to me from Alberto, who lives in Vienna, Austria.

I do love the card, Alberto! Thank you very much!

Alberto is working on a postcard project for

world peace. You will find it at

http://www.postcardworldpeace.blogspot.com

If you would like to have a part in this project,

you can check out the website and send a postcard

with a 'message of peace' on it. The addresses

are on the website.

Uniquely Japan!

It looks like a million starbursts! Or maybeit is

more like fireworks, or thousands of little fuzzy insects.

Actually, they are flowers floating down a river

in Japan's southern island of Iriomote.

Just beautiful!!!

It was sent to me by Emi who lives in Osaka,

Japan's largest city.

Thank you, Emi, for the beautiful card!

A Satellite Image From India

This satellite image postcard comes to me from

Prashant in India. The image is of Ahmadabad City

in India. I find the river particularly interesting

because it is flowing so heavily for awhile and then

it narrows to a trickle. I suppose it must be dammed

up for use as a water resource. It is a unique card!

Thank you, Prashant, very much!

An Unusual (unique) Postcard From Taiwan

This great postcard comes from Chiang in Taiwan.

It looks like some kind of weather phenomena,

perhaps a typhoon blowing in, or maybe a

dust storm being picked up by the wind.

I really like it because it satisfies my desire

for something unique! Thank you very much,

Chiang!

A 'Thank You' from Denmark

Rita sent this lovely card from Fredericia in Denmark.

Isn't it beautiful? I love Denmark, and this is my first

card from there. I have so many wonderful

memories from the vacation we took to that country:

visiting Copenhagen, the Langelinie (Little Mermaid),

Tivoli Gardens, Odense, Hans Christian Andersen's home,

Roskilde and the Viking Museum.

Thank you, Rita, for your postcard and reminding me

of what a wonderful place Denmark is!

The Temple of the Dawn

This lovely picture comes to me from Thailand.

Sirawit, who is a newcomer to Postcrossing,

sent it to me from his hometown,

Bangkok, Thailand.

Thank you very much, Sirawit, for the

very nice picture of the Temple of the Dawn!

A Beautiful Finnish River

I love the beautiful 'whitewater' river rushing

through the woods in this picture.

My kind of place!

The card comes from Hovila who lives in

a small town near Tampere, Finland.

Thank you, Hovila, for the great card!

I also love the stamp with the Finnish flag.

I think Finland has a beautiful flag and they

also issue such beautiful stamps!

How About a Sauna?

Hanna, who lives in Lapland, above the Arctic

Circle, sent me this great card of a sauna, which,

she says, is an essential part of Finnish culture.

The stamp below is also of a sauna near a lake.

As Hanna says, it is so you can go to swim to cool down

and then again to the sauna. It also shows the midnight

sun in Lapland.

Thank you, Hanna, for a great card!

A Nice Brazilian Beach

This card comes to me from Debora, who

lives in Santo Andre, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

It is a beautiful beach with a nice skyline

behind it. Thank you, Debora, for a great card!

Superheroes, Unite!

This great Marvel Comics postcard

came to me from Canada.

The name of the person who sent it is not on the card,

But I do like it. She (he?) says that she does not

share my love of water because she becomes queasy.

She also said that she got sea-sick on a whale-watching

vacation where she only saw some seals!

Thank you for the card, and better luck on your

next boat trip!

Virginia is for (Lighthouse) lovers!

Here are four lighthouses in Virginia, sent to me

by Jessi, who is majoring in Spanish and German.

She said that, when she received my address for

sending a card, she had just bought this card.

Isn't that perfect for me???

Sam and I have visited all four of these lighthouses.

From left to right, they are Assiteague Island,

New Point Comfort, Old Cape Henry, and New

Cape Henry. So this card brings back memories.

Thank you, Jessi, for a wonderful card!

A Greeting from Lithuania

This very unusual card comes to me from

Siauliu in Lithuania. The legend says it is

the Hill of Crosses near Siauliu, but I have

no further information on it at this time.

I am supposing that people come here to ask

for favors from God and they leave crosses on

the hill. Maybe I can find more information later.

The card was not signed, but I wish to thank

the sender. I am intrigued by the card!

The snows of Finland

Katri, a 16 year old school girl from Jyvaskyla,

Finland sends greetings. She apologized for sending

pictures of snow in May. However, I think no

apologizes are necessary--it looks good when

the temperature here is in the 90's!

Katri says that now the sun is shining and

it is warm, and that she loves summer. She was

also excited because she had only two weeks of

school left.

Best wishes to you, Katri. Thank you for your card

and I hope you enjoy your summer holidays!

Kopu Lighthouse, Finland

Just look at THIS lighthouse! It was sent

to me by Pirjo, who lives in Finland. She says that

she was here at Kopu lighthouse in 2007.

According to the legend on the card, there

is a cafe here at the lighthouse. Would that

not be a great place to dine???

Thank you, Pirjo, for your wonderful lighthouse card!

The Four Seasons in Finland

I received this great card from Mia.

She sent greetings from the land of a thousand

lakes. The card shows each of the seasons

in Finland. I am especially drawn to the Fall

scenery in the upper left corner!

Thank you, Mia, for your beautiful card!

Water, Water, Everywhere

Mitchell, from Holland, sent me this water-y postcard.

He says that app. 40% of the land in Holland,

including the densely popul;ated parts, would

be sea if it weren't for the dikes.

Thank you, Mitchell, for the great card.