Brandaris Lighthouse, The Netherlands

I thought I'd post about some official cards today. I haven't been sending & receiving too many recently, but there have been some really nice ones amongst the ones I've received. The first one is a lovely lighthouse card from the Netherlands. It's from Diana -Diashaliz. It's always nice to receive officials from forum members!


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The Brandaris is a lighthouse on the Dutch Wadden Sea island Terschelling, in Friesland. The first Brandaris was built in 1323, but it was destroyed in 1570. The current tower was built in 1594 and is listed as a Rijksmonument and is rated with a very high historical value.



The stamp is from a set of 5 stamps issued in 2008, under the theme "Jubilee". It looks like there was a second stamp on the card as well when it was mailed but it fell off during its journey here. Or at least that's the impression I get from the cancellation. Weird...

Dominican Republic

One more card for today. This is somewhere I'd quite like to be right now... *sigh* I just looked out of my window and it's started snowing. They're predicting more snow for the rest of the week, I'm not very happy. Snow has such an annoying tendency to disrupt a lot of things in this country. :/



Anyway, this card is from my friend Katya in Russia. She went on holiday in Dominican Republic this October. Lucky girl! It would've been great if she had actually mailed the card directly from there, but then maybe it was easier this way - I've heard it's not always very easy to find stamps in Dominican Republic...



...and I really like Russian stamps anyway. These were both issued earlier this year. The smaller one is from a set of 2 stamps showing Coats of Arms. The larger stamp commemorates the 50th anniversary of the space trip of famous Soviet dogs Belka and Strelka.

Lighthouses of Alaska's Inside Passage, USA

This card is from the swap with Helen. She's been lucky enough to get to visit Alaska recently. I'd really like to visit there one day, too, although at least right now it seems highly unlikely I'll ever have that much money.



On this card you can see Lighthouses of Alaska's Inside Passage:
Left: Sentinel Island, Upper right: Eldred Rock, Lower right: Russell

The Sentinel Island Light is a lighthouse in Alaska adjacent to Lynn Canal in Alaska. It is located at the northern entrance to the Favorite Channel, between the mainland and Lincoln and Shelter Islands. It was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 2, 2002.

The Eldred Rock Light is an historic octagonal lighthouse adjacent to Lynn Canal in Alaska. It is the last of the ten lighthouses constructed in Alaska between 1902 and 1906. On December 30, 1975, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Eldred Rock Lighthouse.

As for Russell... I couldn't find any info on it.

Erie, Pennsylvania, USA

More cards from friends, this one is from Christine in Canada. She visited Erie in the spring (as it's only 3 hours from her place).



Erie is an industrial city on the shore of Lake Erie in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth largest city (after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Allentown), with a population of 104,000.

Erie is in proximity to Cleveland, Ohio; Buffalo, New York; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Once teeming with heavy industry, Erie's heavy manufacturing sector now consists mainly of plastics and locomotive building. Known for its lake effect snow, Erie is in the heart of the snow belt and has begun to focus on tourism as a driving force in its economy. More than four million people each year visit Presque Isle State Park, for water recreation, and a new casino named for the state park is growing in popularity.



I really, really like Canadian stamps are these are no exception. They were all issued earlier this year. The one on the right commemorates Canada's first Olympic Gold on Canadian soil. The stamp in the middle is from a set of two stamps depicting Marine Life, and is also a joint issue with Sweden. The stamp on the left is one of the cutest stamps I've ever seen - the penguins look totally adorable inside that sprinkler! It's from a set of 5 stamps with the theme 'photography - animals'.

Mespelbrunn Castle, Germany

Another card from Germany, this one is from my Germany friend Tami (who, incidentally, attended the Bielefeld meetup as well :)).



Doesn't the Mespelbrunn Castle look adorable? It is a medieval moated castle on the territory of the town of Mespelbrunn, between Frankfurt and Würzburg, built in a remote tributary valley of the Elsava valley, within the Spessart forest. It is one of the most visited water castles in Germany.

The castle dates from the 15th Century, although it has changed considerably since then. The main building of Mespelbrunn Castle is built on an almost square base on the eastern side of a pond. On the whole northern, western and southern side, the court is surrounded by two storied houses. On the northeastern and southwestern corner, towers of similar height are added to the houses. These are decorated with stepped gables on the western side. The main entrance is on the left side of the southern building. On the western side, the court is limited by two framed transits to the water and the main tower in center, which surmounts the castle.



The larger stamp was issued in 2006 and represents 'spring'. Unless I'm very much mistaken, it's from a set of 4 stamps depicting the four seasons (and I'm still missing summer and autumn :(). The smaller stamp is from a set of 3 definitives issued in 2007, depicting flowers. This one here is Tulip.

Bielefeld, Germany

The recent International Postcrossing meetup in Bielefeld, Germany sounded like SO much fun! I've been to a couple of meetups before (an international one in London, and a mini meetup in Helsinki) and they were great, but this one sounds even more amazing. Postcrossers really are a lovely bunch of people for organising events like this! A few of my friends attended this meetup so I was lucky enough to receive a few cards from there. This one is from Astrid, my lovely friend from the Netherlands.



Bielefeld is the largest city of the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in north east Germany Founded in 1214 by Count Hermann IV of Ravensberg to guard a pass crossing the Teutoburg Forest, Bielefeld was the "city of linen" as a minor member of the Hanseatic League.

After the Cologne-Minden railway opened in 1849, the Bozi brothers constructed the first large mechanised spinning mill in 1851. The Ravensberg Spinning Mill was built from 1854 to 1857, and metal works began to open in the 1860s.

Between 1904 and 1930, Bielefeld grew, opening a railway station, a municipal theatre, and finally, the Rudolf-Oetker-Halle concert hall, famous for its excellent acoustics. The Dürkopp car was produced 1898-1927. After printing emergency money in 1923 during the inflation in the Weimar Republic, Bielefeld was one of several towns that printed very attractive and highly collectable banknotes with designs on silk, linen and velvet. These pieces were issued by the Bielefeld Stadtsparkasse (town saving's bank) and were sent all around the world in the early 1920's. These pieces are known as 'stoffgeld' - that is, money made from material.

Sparrenburg Castle is the most famous landmark in Bielefeld. It was built between 1240 and 1250 by Count Ludwig von Ravensberg. The 37m high tower and the catacombs of the castle are open to the public.

The Old City Hall (Altes Rathaus) was built in 1904 and still serves the same function. Its facade features elements of various architectural styles, including Gothic and Renaissance. Though the mayor still holds office in the Old City Hall, most of the city's administration is housed in the adjacent New City Hall (Neues Rathaus).

Bielefeld has a population of 323,084 (in December 2009).



A very well-known German stamp...

Marshall Islands

One more card for today... and it's a new country, too! My first ever postcard from Marshall Islands, and it really does look pretty.



The Republic of the Marshall Islands is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. The islands are located north of Nauru and Kiribati, east of the Federated States of Micronesia, and south of the U.S. territory of Wake Island, to which it lays claim. The population is about 62,000. In 1986 independence was attained under a Compact of Free Association with the United States.

The country consists of 29 atolls and 5 isolated islands. The atolls and islands form two groups: the Ratak Chain and the Ralik Chain (meaning "sunrise" and "sunset" chains). 24 of them are inhabited.

The climate is hot and humid, with a wet season from May to November. The islands occasionally suffer from typhoons. Many Pacific typhoons start in the Marshall Islands region and grow stronger as they move west toward the Mariana Islands and the Philippines.



The stamp is from a set of 4 stamps issued earlier this year, depicting shells.

Sri Lanka

Ravindra sent me this gorgeus card of a Sri Lankan beach some time ago. It came as a total surprise, and a lovely one at that. Thank you so much, Ravindra!



I have no idea of the exact location of this beach, the card only says it's somewhere on the Soutwest Coast of Sri Lanka. It sure looks nice, shame I can't Apparate or Disapparate; that would make travelling so much easier! (Yeah, I went to see the new Harry Potter film yesterday. :p)



The stamps are gorgeous! They were all issued earlier this year. The one in top left corner commemorates World Post Day, while the one next to it commemorates the 125th Anniversary of Diocesan Council - Diocese of Colombo. The stamp in bottom left corner shows a Stupa (a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics) in Mahiyangana, and the stamp next to it commemorates the 150th Anniversary of St Michael's Church in Morutuwa.

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Can you tell I long to be somewhere warm right now? :P Let that be the theme for today then. This is another card from Helen in the USA.



Montego Bay is the capital of St. James Parish and the second largest city in Jamaica by area and the third by population (after Kingston and Spanish Town).

It is a tourist destination known for its duty free shopping, cruise line terminal and the sheltered Doctor's Cave beach with clear turquoise waters which is one of the most famous beaches on the island. The city is backed by picturesque low mountains.

Florida and Bahamas

This card is from a swap with the lovely Helen in the USA. She always sends me the most amazing cards and this is no exception. :)



I would really love to be lying on a beach somewhere in Florida or the Bahamas right now. It's been SO cold here for ages now and our house is freezing again. At the moment I'm sitting in front of my laptop with a little heater blowing hot air next to me, and I'm also wearing a knitted hat my mum sent me earlier this week. Trying to keep warm... :P There were jokes at my volunteering job about relocating to the Caribbean for the winter.. wouldn't that be nice? :p It isn't actually that bad at work as it's really warm there, but you can't take that warmth home with you unfortunately.



The three small stamps are all various definitives. The stamp on top left was issued earlier this year and shows Julia de Burgos. It's the 26th stamp in the 'Literary Arts' series. The stamp next to it is from a set of 5 stamps issued earlier this year, showind 'Sunday Funnies'. The Archie stamp here features Archie sharing a chocolate shake with brunette Veronica Lodge on his right and blonde Betty Cooper on his left.

Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Things haven't exactly gone to plan with this blog for a while now. I wanted to update a lot more often but I never seem to find the time. I do have some pretty good reasons, though - I've had a couple of translation assignments to do, which have been very welcome as extra £££ is very much welcome at the moment. Christmas is so expensive, even if I try to be careful.. :/

I've had these Malaysian cards for quite some time now, I thought now would be the appropriate time to post them. A friend of mine from our Aikido group recently moved back to Malaysia. She finished her studies here and couldn't find a job here so she couldn't have afforded to stay here. I really miss her, I hope she'll get to visit here some time. She lives in Kuala Lumpur now. I need to make a post about the city at some point... Meanwhile, these two cards of Cameron Highlands will have to do.



The Cameron Highlands is one of Malaysia’s most extensive hill stations. It covers an area of 712 square kilometres. To the north, its boundary touches that of Kelantan; to the west, it shares part of its border with Ipoh. Situated at the north-western tip of Pahang, the “Camerons” is approximately 200 km from Kuala Lumpur.

During the day, the temperature seldom soars above 25°C; at night, it is the opposite: the temperature can sometimes drop to as low as 12°C. The hill station was first developed by the British in the 1920s. It has a population of more than 34,000 people comprising Malays, Chinese, Indians and other ethnic groups.

The card above shows Orang Asli Village in the Cameron Highlands.



Here you can see the Orang Asli (aborigines) preparing a meal - baking rice/tapioca root in bamboo tubes. Orang Asli is a general Malaysian term used for any indigenous groups that are found in Peninsular Malaysia. They are divided into three main tribal groups – Semang (Negrito), Senoi, and Proto-Malay (Aboriginal Malay). The Orang Asli are further divided into 18 sub-ethnic group according to their different languages and customs. The Negritos are usually found in the northern region of the peninsula, the Senois in the central region, and the Proto-Malay in the southern region.



The stamp on the right is a definitive issued in 2005 in a set of 8 stamps, depicting birds. The other stamp I'm not sure of, although I do wonder if it's a definitive as well as I remember seeing it years and years ago on letters from penpals I used to have in Malaysia.

Cambridge, England

This week has been really cold over here. Today's been the worst so far - this morning it was only +9 C in my bedroom! I've got the little heater on but I still feel like an icicle, and my fingers are pretty stiff. Fun time typing... :p We haven't had any snow in this area so far, but might get some this weekend. I hope the weather reports are wrong. :/ I don't like it when everything stops thanks to half an inch of snow, and also because our house is so stupidly cold. I should probably move to the front room where it's nice and warm as the fire's on in the fireplace. ...but then I can't DO anything, grrr.

Anyway, I thought this postcard would be fitting for now. You don't usually get scenes like this in this country, it only snows a couple of times a year on average. It's pretty but sooo inconvenient.



Snow aside this is a very typical view in Cambridge. There are bicylcles EVERYWHERE, I remember that from when I visited there some years ago. Jacqueline who sent me this card explains that there are very few places to park a car, so bicycles are an ideal means of transport. They are also fairly cheap for students to use. ...I guess it's also safer to cycle in Cambridge than in the West Midlands. I wouldn't risk using a bicycle over here, there's way too much traffic over here and I wouldn't trust drivers to be careful enough. It's a shame because it would be a great way to get some exercise too, but what can you do. *sigh*

Cambridge is also very topical to me at the moment in a different way... That is, because of Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie who went to university there. They were on tv yesterday, together for the first time in 15 years! There's more about Fry And Laurie Reunited here if you're interested and want to watch clips of the program. It was excellent, SO good to see them together again! Hehe, and now I really want to rewatch 'A Bit of Fry and Laurie' :D







I love this year's Christmas stamps in the UK. Wallace & Gromit! It's just a shame they have to be so small.