Taipei, Taiwan

Taipei City, Taiwan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei

The tower in the photo is Taipei 101, and 101-story skyscraper.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei_101

The back of the card. I don't usually include the entire back, but in this case I had to share. This handwriting is lovely, and almost looks like a font instead of handwriting. I love the Chinese writing!

Canada!

I received my first postcard from Canada, a cute map card:

The Canadian coat-of-arms, as well as the coat-of-arms for each individual province, are all along the bottom of the postcard.

Ebersberg, Germany

This card comes from Ebersberg, Germany. It is located in the southeastern portion of the country, near Munich.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebersberg

Campanula. I don't know if this is a popular flower in Germany, but it seems I've received several postcards with this flower on the stamp from Germany, Netherlands, etc. 

Carcassonne, France

Carcassone is a fortified town in France and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I received this postcard from a postcrosser who had visited Carcassonne this past summer and loved it.

http://www.carcassonne.culture.fr/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcassonne

http://www.unesco.org/archives/multimedia/index.php?s=films_details&id_page=33&id_film=213

The stamp features Willem van Oranje, Prince of Orange. 

http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_van_Oranje

Views from the Netherlands

I LOVE receiving postcards from the Netherlands! This one has scenes from Friesland, a province in the north.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friesland

The dog in the upper right-hand corner is a Stabyhoun, a rare Frysian breed. "Staby" means "stand by me" in Dutch. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stabyhoun

A moody card from Hong Kong

My sender says he hopes I enjoy this moody postcard he chose for me. It's from a Cafe in Hong Kong.

The stamp:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-whiskered_Bulbul

The Queen's Carriage

Queen Elizabeth II traveling in Queen Victoria's 1842 ivory-mounted phaeton drawn by two Windsor Grey horses. The driver, or postillion, is dressed in full state postillion livery. 

Yes, this postcard came from New Zealand, and here's the proof! 

Novodevichy Convent revisited!

This photo shows the Belfry on the right (built 1689-1690) and Prokhorov Chapel in the foreground (built 1911). 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novodevichy_Convent

When I started writing this post, I thought the name Novodevichy Convent was quite familiar. Then I realized I had received another postcard of this convent, and discovered it was more than a year ago. My previous card was a winter scene. Here is the link to my previous post on that card:

http://acollectionofpostcards.blogspot.com/2010/07/novodevichy-convent-moscow.html

Here is what I wrote about this Convent:

The location itself has quite an interesting history.  The Novodevichy Convent was founded in 1524, and originally built as a fortress. In the years following, it has served as a fortress, a convent and monastery, a shelter for royal Russian ladies (those that had to "take the veil"), a military hospital, orphanage, museum and apartments. There is also a cemetery on the grounds.  In 1812, Napoleon's army tried to  destroy it, and Tolstoy used it as a setting for scenes in both 'War and Peace' and 'Anna Karenina'.

Monument in Poznań, Poland.

 Crosses in Poznań commemorating the 1956 protests and subsequent Polish protests against the Communist political system. 

This photo shows the monument from a different angle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Poznański_Czerwiec_reforma_RB1.JPG

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poznań_1956_protests

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Poznań

Interesting stamps!

Palace of Rumyantsaus-Paskevichs, Gomel, Belarus

The Palace of Rumyanstsaus-Paskevichs, or the Gomel Palace in Gomel, Belarus. I love the fact that it is yellow! 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomel_Palace

Russian Village watercolor

"Russian Village" by Anna Sosenskaya. Watercolor on paper, 2007.

The stamps. 

A Happy Home in Finland

My sender says this is her yard, and the photo was taken by her husband from the roof of the cowshed. It is very pretty.

Scenes from Taiwan

This card comes from a high-school student in Taiwan. She's told me about the photos on the card:

The top photo is of the highest mountain in Taiwan.

The second photo is a famous train up a mountain in Taiwan.

The third photo is of a coral reef in the shape of a heart.

The bottom photo is a popular beach. 

The State Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia

This card arrived from St. Petersburg, showing the State Hermitage Museum, a museum of art and culture.  This is one of the oldest museums in the world, founded by Catherine the Great in 1764. It has been open to the public since 1852. This is also one of the largest museums in the world.  

http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/index.html

Alvar Aalto

Alvar Aalto was a Finnish designer. He designed architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvar_Aalto

http://www.alvaraalto.fi/index_en.htm

Happy frog stamp. 

Mir Castle, Belarus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mir_Castle_Complex

This castle was built in the 15th - 16th centuries.

Nice stamps on the back!

Royal Wedding - The Kiss

Another postcard via private swap. This is my favorite!

These stamps were issued to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Royal Shakespeare Company. 

http://www.norphil.co.uk/2011/04a-royal_shakespeare_company-stamps.htm

http://www.rsc.org.uk/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nambung_National_Park

Antibes, France

What a beautiful locale! The sender is from Finland, but had recently visited Antibes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Riviera

The stamp is pretty, too:

Priory Palace, Gatchina, Russia

Gatchina is located about 50 km (31 miles) south of St. Petersburg, Russia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatchina

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/gatchina/priory-palace.asp