Kyiv

Received from: Ukraine
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: September 2011
Distance: 566 km
Time of travelling: 8 days

Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press. Kiev is an important industrial, scientific, educational and cultural centre of Eastern Europe. It is home to many high-tech industries, higher education institutions and world-famous historical landmarks. The city has an extensive infrastructure and highly developed system of public transport, including the Kiev Metro.

Hawaii

Received from: the USA
Category: from friend
Date: September 2011
Time of travelling: 20 days

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The card received from the friend who spent some time on Hawaii. I'd been asking about this card since only I got to know that he's going there. And today I finally received it ;)

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The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles (2,400 km) from the island of Hawaiʻi in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll (the northwesternmost island in Hawaii is Green Island, which is joined to the Kure Atoll). Excluding Midway, which is an unincorporated territory of the United States, the Hawaiian Islands form the U.S. state of Hawaii. Once known as the "Sandwich Islands", the archipelago now takes its name from the largest island in the cluster.

Zaporizhia

Received from: Ukraine
Category: Slavic Countries RR
Date: September 2011
Time of travelling: 15 days

Zaporizhia or Zaporozhye [formerly Alexandrovsk (Russian: Александровск)] is a city in southeastern Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative center of the Zaporizhia Oblast (province). Currently the city is the sixth largest one in Ukraine and has population of 776,000 people (as of 2011).

Casarea

Received from: Spain
Category: Choose a Country RR
Date: September 2011
Time of travelling: 3 days

Casares is a town and municipality in Spain, located in Málaga province, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. The municipality has a population of 4,051 (male: 2,139, female: 1,912), an area of 160 km² and a density of 25.3. Its geographic coordinates are: latitude: 36° 27' 0N, longitude: 5° 16' 60W, altitude: 246 msl. The municipality borders with the following ones: Estepona, Manilva, and Gaucín. The town of Casares has Moorish cliff-hugging buildings.

The Netherlands

Received from: the Netherlands
Category: Tag within Europe
Date: September 2011
Time of travelling: 3 days

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders with Belgium, Germany, and the United Kingdom. It is a parliamentary democracy organised as a unitary state. The country capital is Amsterdam and the seat of government is The Hague. The Netherlands in its entirety is often referred to as Holland, although North and South Holland are actually only two of its twelve provinces (a case of pars pro toto; see terminology of "the Netherlands").

Cyprus - Euro coins

Received from: Norway
Category: Choose a Country RR
Date: September 2011
Time of travelling: 2 days

Cypriot euro coins feature three separate designs for the three series of coins. Cyprus has been a member of the European Union since 1 May 2004, and is a member of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union. It has completed the third stage of the EMU and adopted the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2008.

Sacramento

Received from: USA
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: September 2011
Distance: 9425 km
Time of travelling: 13 days

Governor's Mansion State Historic Park is the location of Historic Governor's Mansion of California, the former official home of the Governor of California. The mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Located at 1526 H Street in Sacramento, the mansion is now used primarily for public and state ceremonies and events. George Pardee was the first governor to live in the house; Ronald Reagan, who lived in it for only four months, was the last. The thirty-room Second Empire-Italianate Victorian mansion was built in 1877 for local hardware merchant Albert Gallatin. The State of California purchased the house in 1903 to serve as a governor's mansion. Many furnishings remain from former governors, including Pardee's 1902 Steinway piano, velvet chairs and sofas belonging to Governor Hiram Johnson, and Persian rugs bought by Mrs. Earl Warren. The structure has been renovated a number of times.

Finland

Received from: Finland
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: September 2011
Distance: 1005 km
Time of travelling: 7 days

The flag of Finland dates from the beginning of the 20th century. On a white background, it features a blue Nordic cross, which represents Christianity. The state flag has a coat of arms in the centre, but is otherwise identical to the civil flag. The swallow-tailed state flag is used by the military. Like Sweden's, Finland's national flag is based on the Scandinavian cross. It was adopted after independence from Russia, when many patriotic Finns wanted a special flag for their country, but its design dates back to the 19th century. The blue coloring is said to represent the country's thousands of lakes and the sky, with white for the snow that covers the land in winter. This color combination has also been used over the centuries in various Finnish provincial, military, and town flags.

The Netherlands

Received from: the Netherlands
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: September 2011
Distance: 1140 km
Time of travelling: 4 days

Turkey

Received from: Turkey

Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: September 2011
Distance: 1295 km
Time of travelling: 10 days

Written on the card:

Painter: George Nicolaoy
Oil on canvas (80x120 cm)
Özel Koleksiyon (1988)

Montenegro

Received from: Montenegro
Category: from friend
Date: September 2011

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A card received from one of my best friends, after his coming back from the holidays. He wanted to send it normally, but - as he said - post offices in Montenegro work conspiratiorially and he couldn't find any of them... Anyway, I love this card so much! :)

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Montenegro, meaning "Black Mountain", is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the southeast. Its capital and largest city is Podgorica, while Cetinje is designated as the Prijestonica (Пријестоница), meaning the former Royal Capital City.

Russia

Received from: Russia

Category: Slavic Countries RR
Date: September 2011
Time of travelling: 12 days

Russia, officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation, is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the United States by the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the ninth most populous nation with 143 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning nine time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources. It has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.

Minsk

Received from: Belarus

Category: Poland x Other Countries RR
Date: September 2011
Church of Saints Simon and Helen, Minsk (Belarusian: Касцёл святых Сымона і Алены) also known as the Red Church (Belarusian: Чырвоны касцёл) is a Roman Catholic church on the Independence Square in Minsk, Belarus. The church was built in 1905-1910. The construction was financed by Edward Woyniłłowicz, a prominent Polish and Belarusian civic activist. The church was named and consecrated in the memory of Woyniłłowicz's departed children Szymon (Simon) and Helena (Helen).

Moscow

Received from: Russia

Category: Slavic Countries RR
Date: September 2011
Time of travelling: 15 days

All-Russia Exhibition Centre (Всероссийский выставочный центр - called also: "All-Russian Exhibition Center") is a permanent general-purpose trade show in Moscow, Russia. The "All-Russia Exhibition Centre" is a state joint-stock company, officially abbreviated as GAO "VVC", which stands for "Gosudarstvennoye Aktsionernoye Obshchestvo 'Vserossiyskiy Vystavochny Centr'". VVC is a member of exhibition associations: IUEF (since 1991) and UFI (since 1997).

Lviv

Received from: Ukraine
Category: from family
Date: September 2011

The Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet (Ukrainian: Львівський Державний академічний театр опери та балету імені Соломії Крушельницької, L'vivs'kyi Derzhavnyi akademichnyi teatr Opery ta baletu imeni Solomyiyi Krushel'nyts'koii; Eng. Lviv State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre of Solomiya Krushelnytska) is an opera house and theatre located in Lviv, Ukraine. The building was built between 1897 and 1900. The Lwów Opera was originally called the Grand Theatre (Polish: Teatr Wielki; Ukrainian: Великий міський театр, Velykyi Mis'kyi Teatr) until it was renamed in 1939 by the Soviet authorities.

St Petersburg

Received from: Russia
Category: Poland x Other Countries RR
Date: September 2011

Palace Square, connecting Nevsky Prospekt with Palace Bridge leading to Vasilievsky Island, is the central city square of St Petersburg and of the former Russian Empire. It was the setting of many events of worldwide significance, including the Bloody Sunday (1905) and the October Revolution of 1917.
The centre of the square is marked with the Alexander Column (1830–34), designed by Auguste de Montferrand. This red granite column (the tallest of its kind in the world) is 47.5 metres high and weighs some 500 tons. It is set so well that no attachment to the base is needed.

Huangshan

Received from: China

Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: September 2011
Distance: 8101 km
Time of travelling: 80 days

Huangshan (literally "Yellow Mountain"), is a mountain range in southern Anhui province in eastern China. The range composed of material that was uplifted from an ancient sea during the Mesozoic era, 100 million years ago; the mountains themselves were carved by glaciers during the Quaternary. Vegetation on the range is thickest below 1,100 meters (3,600 ft), with trees continuing until 1,800 meters (5,900 ft).
The area is well known for its scenery, sunsets, peculiarly shaped granite peaks, Huangshan Pine trees, and views of the clouds from above. Huangshan is a frequent subject of traditional Chinese paintings and literature, as well as modern photography. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of China's major tourist destinations.

Lisbon

Received from: Portugal
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: September 2011
Distance: 2829 km
Time of travelling: 8 days

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal, with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of 84.8 km2 (33 sq mi). The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on a area of 958 km2 (370 sq mi), it is the 9th most populous urban area in the European Union. About 2,831,000 people live in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (which represents approximately 27% of the population of the country). Lisbon is the westernmost large city located in Europe, as well as its westernmost capital city and the only one along the Atlantic coast. It lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the Tagus River.

Dziwnówek

Received from: Poland
Category: from a friend
Date: September 2011

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Completely in my style. A friend wrote on his Facebook wall he's on his holidays and what did I do? Commented: 'I want a postcard' :D. And I got it! ;)

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Dziwnówek (German: Wald-Dievenow or Klein Dievenow) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Dziwnów, within Kamień County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It lies approximately 4 kilometres (2 mi) north-east of Dziwnów, 8 km (5 mi) north of Kamień Pomorski, and 70 km (43 mi) north of the regional capital Szczecin.

Panama

Received from: Panama
Category: from friend
Date: September 2011
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When I published this blog in the Internet I put the link on my Facebook, asking if anybody wants to send a card to me. My friend from Panama, whom I got to know in Sweden, asked about my address and we exchanged cards. She received mine after 3 months, I got her one after less than one month. We were so shocked, she had already wanted to write on it 'Merry Christmas'... ;)

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Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital is Panama City. Explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, Panama broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela – named the Republic of Gran Colombia. When the latter dissolved in 1830, Panama and Nueva Granada stayed joined. Nueva Granada later became the Republic of Colombia.

Belgrade

Received from: Serbia
Category: Slavic Countries RR
Date: September 2011

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. The city proper has a population of 1.21 million people, while the official metropolitan area has about 1,67 million people. Its name in English translates to White city. Belgrade has a special administrative status within Serbia. Its metropolitan territory is divided into 17 municipalities, each with its own local council. It covers 3.6% of Serbia's territory, and 15% of the country's population lives in the city.

Switzerland

Received from: Switzerland
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: September 2011
Distance: 1094 km
Time of travelling: 10 days

The flag of Switzerland consists of a red flag with a white cross (a bold, equilateral cross) in the centre. It is one of only two square sovereign-state flags, the other being the flag of the Vatican City. (The civil and state ensign, used by Swiss ships and boats, has more traditional proportions of 2:3.) Only the dimensions of the cross are formally established since 1889: "The coat of arms of the federation is, within a red field, an upright white cross, whose [four] arms of equal length are a sixth longer than their width. The size of the cross in relation to the field is not formally established except on the naval ensign, for which the ratio of the size of the cross to the height is 5:8, and to the length is 5:12. A ratio of 2:3 or 7:10 to the span of the flag is usual.

Heilbronn

Received from: the Netherlands
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: September 2011
Distance: 1197 km
Time of travelling: 4 days

Heilbronn is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is completely surrounded by Heilbronn County and with approximately 122.000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state.
The city on the Neckar is a former Imperial Free City and current independent city (i.e. not part of any county) and seat of Heilbronn County. Heilbronn is also the "major economic centre" of the Heilbronn-Franken region that includes almost the entire northeast of Baden-Württemberg.

San Francisco

Received from: the USA
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: September 2011
Distance: 9605 km
Time of travelling: 6 days

The Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, is a monumental structure originally constructed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in order to exhibit works of art presented there. One of only a few surviving structures from the Exposition, it is the only one still situated on its original site. It was rebuilt in 1965, and renovation of the lagoon, walkways, and a seismic retrofit were completed in early 2009.

Bergen

Received from: Norway
Category: from a friend

Date: September 2011

Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of 262,900 as of September 5, 2011. Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of 386,900 as of September 5, 2011.