One More Update Before 2012 Expires

I seem to have a little spare time this afternoon , so what better way to spend it - with postcards.I won't commit to a specific number of cards , we'll just see how it goes. Today's first card is from Hillegom, Netherlands , a town of 20,000 plus located in western Netherlands. The "This Way "sign on the card is actually in Kyoto, Japan. Monique wrote that she loves to travel and I guess This Way is the best way to go.

Monique used 3 of 10 Netherlands self- adhesive 2012 Christmas stamps.













                                             ************************************

Now we have a card posted in Ekaterinburg or Yekaterinburg, depending on which you prefer. The city of 1.3 million people , the 4th largest city in Russia, is located in the middle of the Eurasian continent. Daria writes that the picture on the card is from a local artist and represents the collisions of Russian culture : a monuments to Communism and an Orthodox Cathedral, facing each other.

Daria used 2 large stamps on her card. The left stamp is from 2011 and celebrates 225 Years of Insurance in Russia. The stamp on the right was issued this year and celebrates 1150 Years of the Russian State.


                                       ********************************************

My next card is from China. It shows a Pink Frangipani.

The flower is well-known for its intensely fragrant,

lovely, spiral-shaped, reddish blooms which appear at

branch tips . The tree

itself is rather unusual in appearance; the 12 to 20-

inch-long, coarse, deciduous leaves cluster only at the

tips of the rough, blunt, sausage-like, thick, grey-green

branches. Branches are upright and rather crowded on

the trunk forming a vase or umbrella shape with age.

They are rather soft and brittle and can break but are

usually sturdy unless they are mechanically hit or

disturbed. The crown loses its leaves for a short time

during the winter displaying the coarse-textured,

stubby branches. A milky sap is exuded from the

branches when they are bruised .

My card arrived with 2 copies of the high value in a set of 5 featuring musical instruments. On this stamp the instrument is called a Horsehead. The set was issued in 2002.












                                **************************************************************************




 


                            
Strasbourg, France is featured on  this next card . On it we see the Astronomical Clock of the Strasbourg Cathedral, which is the highest still standing structure built entirely in the middle ages. Although the Cathedral dates from 1439, the clock only dates from 1843.

Dominique used a recent 2012 stamp, 1 of which I think was issued in a souvenir sheet of 2 different stamps .
















Thanks to Monique, Daria and Dominique for their cards. Take care, see you soon. I might be able to squeeze one more update in to close out 2012. Enjoy your cards.