Biggest postcard week ever!

This past week I have received more postcards than ever before in any week in comparison. It is so many that I while I had to cull down the amount I choose to post here, I still wound up with 36 cards--that is 36 cards to post! Needless to say, I cannot spend the time detailing each and every card, but I will title it if I can :)

I also want to say that I'm learning a truth about postcard collecting. To save postage, I have been doing more and more "large" trades--10 or more cards in an envelope with multiple traders. Yet when I trade like that, I find that I do not get all the interesting detail on the back of the cards. So while I asked for many of these cards because I like the image on the front, I know nothing about it. Sometimes, because I can't read the language, I can't even say what it is I am looking at! So I think for that reason, I would like to make many smaller-quantity swaps so as not to lose sight of what I enjoy about this hobby. It is not the quantity of cards that count...but the knowledge gleaned through them!

Anyway...so forgive the lack of detail here. I do have information on some of them but am not including it due to time. But, frankly, for most of them I simply have no detail! Thanks to everyone for trading :) I still love the cards :)

1. Map of Estonia showing counties



2. Map of Bulgaria, shaped like the country!



3. Kirkkonummi, Finland; near the border of the the old USSR.



4. Berlin, Potsdamer Platz (the most modern area in Berlin; before 1989 there was nothing here but the Wall!)



5. Hapag Llyod Express; Fokker F-100



6. Gesterby Museum in Kirkkonummi, Finland. (I want to point out that this is a lovely homemade card by Satu; she also did the other Kirkkonumi card above, and shared many fantastic details on both!)



7. Map of Zeeland, a providence in the Netherlands.



8. Skyscrapers in Jakarta, Indonesia (love this view!).



9. Art card, Lapland, which is the northernmost area of Finland...sparsely populated.



10. Map of Lahti (in Lapland), Finland...the Business City.



11. Mushrooms in the rain (from Finland, lovely image!).



12. Art card from Lapland.



13. Portugal: inspiration, go deeper.



14. Air New Zealand, Boeing 737-300.



15. Map of the Metro, Paris.



16. Paris, La Defense.



17. Hostel Dieu, Main Courtyard, the Tower (Paris, France).



18. Satellite array, Raisting, in the state of Bavaria, Germany. (I didn't know Germany had states till now! Also love this image with the white and blue, blue sky!)



19. Modern Art Museum, Kiasma, in Helsinki, Finland (learned from the sender that this is the most "modern" building in Helsinki...when it was built everyone hated it...but now they're used to it :).



20. Casino in Dortmund, Germany.



21. Dusseldorf on the Rhein; Airport.



22. Bergbaumusem in Bochum, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.



23. Barnegat Lighthouse, Barnegat, New Jersey. (Being an old Jersey-ite who frequented the shore, I love cards that remind me of those time :)



24. The Roman Baths, in Bath. According to the sender, these baths are still operational today...even after 2000 years!



25. The Schwebebahn Wuppertal, a suspension railway in Wuppertal, Germany. Pretty awesome!



26. Koln, Germany. Magnificant.



27. The Crayola Factory, Easton, Pennsylvania.



28. The Ark with Elephants. Kenya's Forest Lodge in the Aberdare Mountains.



29. Famous Finnish painting by Akseli Gallen-Kallenlan.



30. University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada (awesome!).



31. Powerpark in Harma, Finland.



32. HundertwasserHaus, Wein.



33. Lufthansa, Airbus A320-200.



34. Afrikaans Language Monument, Paarl, South Africa.



35. Tycho Brahe Planetarium, Denmark.



36. Art card by Dick Bruna, Amsterdam.

Saudi Arabia...Taiwan...Doors!

Out of the many postcards I received over the last week, I'd say about 1/3 of them could have been posted here to my blog--they were that good :) But because time is a factor in how much I can scan and load, I've only upload the best of the best here.

1. The Market Square, Helsinki, Finland from my postcard pal Johanna. I love this card because it shows a real shot of a day-in-the-life in Helsinki at this particular location. I love the colors of the umbrellas; that most people are wearing jackets or long sleeves (save for one young guy in short sleeves!), which speaks of, probably to Fins!, very cold weather; the colorful flag and Finnish text on the stall on the right side. Thanks Johanna :)



2. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Views from Jeddah, from a private trade with Kim. Needless to say I love this card from such a far-away, exotic land. I love the city view...the art/fountains (aren't they spectacular???)...the shopping center...the youth playing in a lot! A nice mix of day-in-the-life, art and regular postcard-type photos! Thanks Kim! :)



3. Montreal Stairways, from Christine. Another excellent atypical postcard showing me a real snippet of a real place in Montreal! Love the color! I can almost envision walking into one of these places as a guest visiting from the states :) Thanks!



4. Night view of Taipei, Taiwan, from Yvan. I think just about anyone would love this card: exotic city, sparkly night-time view, HUGE unique building in the center...what an awesome, bustling place Taipei must be! Thanks Yvan!



5. Doors of Trondheim, from a private trade. Trondheim, a city in Norway, obviously has lots of beautiful doors :) I love this card...colorful! And I can only imagine how colorful and different are the homes within each of these doors!



6. Daytona International Speedway, from 2004 Daytona 500. My son loves all things racing...I love the coloful cars :) Need I say more? :) From a private trade.



7. Continental Divide, from a private trade. I would love to drive down this road. Nuff said. :)



8. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, View of King Fahd Fountain and Jeddah City Center. Again, from my private trade with Kim. These images are awesome! Check out SIZE of that fountain (which looks like it's spewing oil, by the way :))...and the architecture of that building. Wonderful images!

China...Africa...Europe...South America.... Wow!

The postcards are coming in more quickly than I can process them :) Here are 8 cards from the last two days, plus two bonuses :)

1. Chinese booklet on The Great Wall of China, from a tag with Yan in the People's Republic of China. This is a very lovely book with almost archival quality paper and many beautiful images, although written in Chinese. According to Yan, the English version is very rare...and therefore out of his budget for penpalling purposes. Quite a treasure...thank you! ;)



2. eLong.com discount card, as an added bonus from Yan in the tag above! I love how there's an "e" and then, I presume, the word "long" in Chinese. :) Very neat!




3. Before I turned this card over, I looked at it and said, "Hmmm.... Europe." Then I tried to narrow it down: "Germany?" Nope! This is a great aerial view of Szeged , Hungary, from a tag with Hanan! I love the card...the city looks so lively and busy and bustling...just not what I have in mind when I think "Hungary." My mind is obviously skewed and does not perceive reality properly :) But that's what this hobby is about...it's to correct my misperceptions and clarify my view of the world :) Thanks Hanan! Love the card!



4. Pottinger Street, Hong Hong, from a private swap with Ameko. I love this view! It is almost like I am stepping into a busy street in an average day-in-the-life of a native! And look at all the detail: the signs have both Chinese and English (shoes, fruit juice, photo supplies); on the right see the box of cereal featuring Tony the Tiger. And on the back, "Chinese" English: "Neighbored with modern buildings, this is where old and new charmingly mix." :) Love it! :)



5. The Olive Pit, Corning, California. A unique card from a private trade with Amy in Oregon! I love it! It's unusual...it's local...it's a real establishment! Thanks, Amy! :)



6. Atomium, Brussels. This card is from a private trade with Ron in New Jersey. I love science...especially cutting-edge stuff like M-theory...so this really appealed to me! I would love to visit this place...bet they have some cool souvenirs to be had! :)



7. Cape Town, South Africa, another card from my trade with Ron. I selected this card because it seems so hard to get cards from African nations...they are therefore rare and exotic to me...and any view I get is a treasured one :)



8. Ruta de los Volcanes, Quito, Banos, Ecuador...this, another card from Ron...chosen for the same reason. How many people have a card from Ecuador??? :)



9. Som Moro, Hervannan Kirjasto...an official postcrossing card from Maija in Finland! I love this card as well! It shows contemporary architecture...Finnish text...and it's just not your typical Finnish landscape-snow-bird card :) It represents the Finns well! :) Although it was not easy, Maija attempted to translate this card for me: "Words, this is a weird thing! Your dream has come true. Every one has it's own place and has been organized to lines. Just come in sight with smile." Now isn't that just the coolest?!? :)



10. The Forth Rail Bridge, also from Ron. This bridge is so unusual looking--and I just love unusual looking things :) It is a view from North Queensferry in Fife..which, I learned when I looked it up...is in Scotland, in the U.K. :)