Friday, November 4, 2011

Odessa

Received from: Ukraine
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: November 2011
Distance: 694 km
Time of travelling: 26 days

Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast (province) located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 (as of the 2001 census).

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Nuremberg

Received from: Germany
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: November 2011
Distance: 842 km
Time of travelling: 77 days

Nuremberg is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about 170 kilometres (110 mi) north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population (as of December 2010) is 505,664. The "European Metropolitan Area Nuremberg" has 3.5 million inhabitants.

Lübeck

Received from: Germany
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: November 2011
Distance: 716 km
Time of travelling: 5 days

The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League ("Queen of the Hanse") and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. In 2005 it had a population of 213,983.

France

Received from: France
Category: private swap
Date: November 2011

The French Republic is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km2 / 4,383,000 sq mi).

Minsk

Received from: Belarus
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: November 2011
Distance: 474 km
Time of travelling: 12 days

The earliest references to Minsk date to the 11th century (1067), when it was a provincial city within the principality of Polotsk. In 1242, Minsk became a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and it received its town privileges in 1499. From 1569, it was a capital of the Minsk Voivodship in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was annexed by Russia in 1793, as a consequence of the Second Partition of Poland. From 1919–1991, Minsk was the capital of the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Michigan's Upper Peninsula

Received from: the USA
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: October 2011
Distance: 7295 km
Time of travelling: 8 days

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan. It is commonly referred to as the Upper Peninsula, the U.P., or Upper Michigan. It is also known as the land "above the Bridge" linking the two peninsulas. The peninsula is bounded on the north by Lake Superior, on the east by the St. Mary's River, on the southeast by Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and on the southwest by Wisconsin.

Rio de Janeiro

Received from: Brazil
Category: private swap
Date: October 2011

Rio de Janeiro, commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th largest in the Americas, and 26th in the world.

Kyoto

Received from: Japan
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: October 2011
Distance: 8361 km
Time of travelling: 8 days

Kyoto is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.

Seoul

Received from: South Korea
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: October 2011
Distance: 7757 km
Time of travelling: 12 days

Seoul, officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world. The Seoul National Capital Area is the world's second largest metropolitan area with over 25 million inhabitants, which includes the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province. Over half of South Korea's population live in the Seoul National Capital Area, and nearly a quarter in Seoul itself, making it the country's foremost economic, political, and cultural center.

Ayutthaya

Received from: Thailand
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: October 2011
Distance: 8095 km
Time of travelling: 8 days

Ayutthaya is the capital of Ayutthaya province in Thailand. Located in the valley of the Chao Phraya River. The city was founded in 1350 by King U Thong, who went there to escape a smallpox outbreak in Lop Buri and proclaimed it the capital of his kingdom, often referred to as the Ayutthaya kingdom or Siam. Ayutthaya became the second Siamese capital after Sukhothai. Its remains, characterized by the prang (reliquary towers) and gigantic monasteries, give an idea of its past splendour. It is estimated that Ayutthaya by the year 1600 CE had a population of about 300,000, with the population perhaps reaching 1,000,000 around 1700 CE, making it one of the world's largest cities at that time. In 1767, the city was destroyed by the Burmese army, resulting in the collapse of the kingdom. The Ayutthaya historical park is the ruins of the former capital of the Kingdom of Siam. It is the site of mass murder, rape and enslavement of Siamese people and destruction of the Ayutthaya city, its art and buildings by the Burmese in 1767, which is recognized internationally as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was refounded a few kilometers to the east. The city is sometimes called "Venice of the East".

South Sumatra

Received from: Indonesia
Category: Slavic Countries RR
Date: October 2011

South Sumatra (Indonesian: Sumatera Selatan) is a province of Indonesia.
It is on the island of Sumatra, and borders the provinces of Lampung to the south, Bengkulu to the west, and Jambi to the north. Off the east coast are the islands of Bangka and Belitung, which were split from South Sumatra province to form the new province of Bangka-Belitung in 2000.

Flowers ;)

Received from: the Netherlands
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: October 2011
Distance: 1078 km
Time of travelling: 6 days

Latvia

Received from: Latvia
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: October 2011
Distance: 561 km
Time of travelling: 3 days

Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republika), is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia (border length 343 km), to the south by Lithuania (588 km), to the east by the Russian Federation (276 km), and to the southeast by Belarus (141 km). Across the Baltic Sea to the west lies Sweden. The territory of Latvia covers 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi) and it has a temperate seasonal climate.

Verona

Received from: Italy
Category: City you live in tag
Date: October 2011

Verona is a city in Veneto, northern Italy, home to approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the second most populous municipality of the region and the third of North-East Italy. The metro area of Verona has an area of 1,426 km2 (550.58 sq mi) and has a population of 714,274 inhabitants. It is one of the main tourist destinations in northern Italy, thanks to its artistic heritage, several annual fairs, shows, and operas, such as the lyrical season in the Arena, the ancient amphitheatre built by the Romans.

Australia

Received from: Australia
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: October 2011
Distance: 15590 km
Time of travelling: 8 days

The flag of Australia is a defaced Blue Ensign: a blue field with the Union Flag in the canton (upper hoist quarter), and a large white seven-pointed star known as the Commonwealth Star in the lower hoist quarter. The fly contains a representation of the Southern Cross constellation, made up of five white stars – one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars.