3453 GERMANY (Saxony) - Elbe Sandstone Mountains

3453 Elbe Sandstone Mountains - The Bastei bridge in Saxon Switzerland

The Elbe Sandstone Mountains is a mountain range straddling the border between Saxony in southeastern Germany and the North Bohemian region of the Czech Republic, with about three-quarters of the area lying on the German side. The river Elbe breaks through the mountain range in a steep and narrow valley. Their highest peak (723 m) is in Bohemia on the left bank of the river. The most striking characteristic of this deeply dissected rocky mountain range is the extraordinary variety of terrain within the smallest area.

3448 UNITED STATES (Maryland) - Chesapeake Bay Bridge

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge is a major dual-span bridge spanning the Chesapeake Bay, and connecting the state's rural Eastern Shore region with the urban Western Shore. The original span, opened in 1952 and with a length of 6.9 km, was the world's longest continuous over-water steel structure. The parallel span was added in 1973. The bridge is officially named the Gov. William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge after William Preston Lane Jr. who, as the 52nd Governor of Maryland, initiated its construction in the late 1940s.

0071, 3447 SINGAPORE (Central Region) - Fullerton Hotel and Cavenagh Bridge

3447 Fullerton Hotel in broad daylight

Named after Robert Fullerton, the first Governor of the Straits Settlements (1826–1829), the Fullerton Hotel, whose the northern end covers the site of Fort Fullerton was commissioned in 1919 as part of the Crown colony's centennial celebrations. The building was designed as an office building by Major P.H. Keys, and was opened in 1928. Initially, General Post Office covered the two lower floors (until 1996), and the exclusive Singapore Club rented premises on the upper floors (until 1961).

0071 Fullerton Hotel and Cavenagh Bridge by night

 

In the WWII the building was the one in which General Percival discussed with Sir Shenton the possibility of surrendering Singapore, and subsequently became the headquarters of the Japanese Military Administration. In 1997, Sino Land (Hong Kong) Company Ltd acquired the Fullerton Building and converted it into a five-star luxury hotel, officially opened in 2001. Its architecture follow the principals of 20th-century Beaux-Arts tradition of classicism. Relating to the design, it is largely Monumental and Ornamental.

2868, 3345 CZECH REPUBLIC (Prague) - Charles Bridge - part of the Historic Centre of Prague (UNESCO WHS)

3345 Charles Bridge and city skyline in the morning

Charles Bridge is an historic bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague. It is 621m long and nearly 10m wide, following the example of the Stone Bridge in Regensburg, and was built as a bow bridge with 16 arches shielded by ice guards. Protected by three bridge towers, it is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, originally erected between 1683 and 1714. They depict various saints and patron saints venerated at that time. Beginning in 1965, all of the statues have been systematically replaced by replicas.

2868 Charles Bridge and city skyline on sunset

The construction of the bridge started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of the 15th century. It  replaced the old Judith Bridge built 1158-1172 that had been badly damaged by a flood in 1342. This new bridge was originally called Stone Bridge or Prague Bridge but has been Charles Bridge since 1870. As the only means of crossing the river Vltava (Moldau) until 1841, it was the most important connection between Prague Castle and the city's Old Town and adjacent areas.

3335 ROMANIA (Ialomiţa / Constanţa) - King Carol I Bridge

King Carol I Bridge (renamed during the communist period Anghel Saligny Bridge) was built between 1890 and 1895 to ensure the railway connection between Bucharest and Constanța. The railway section between Constanţa and Cernavodă was built in 1860, and in 1879, one year after Dobrudja became part of Romania, began the construction of the Bucharest-Feteşti section. Had to be realized only the connection between Feteşti and Cernavodă, about 21 km, including two bridges, over Borcea Branch and over the Danube. At that time the last bridge over the Danube was the Franz Josef Bridge in Novi Sad, located 955 km upstream and inaugurated in 1883.

3315 UNITED STATES (California) - San Francisco

Located on the West Coast of the United States at the north end of the San Francisco Peninsula, San Francisco includes significant stretches of the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay within its boundaries. There are more than 50 hills within the city limits, and some neighborhoods are named after the hill on which they are situated. The nearby San Andreas and Hayward Faults are responsible for much earthquake activity, although neither physically passes through the city itself. Although it is only the 15th-most populous city in the United States with almost 900,000 residents as of 2018, is the second most densely populated large U.S. city.

2040, 2041, 2084, 2214, 2664, 2742, 2826, 3287 FRANCE (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) - Grenoble

2040 The map of Isère department and The Bastille in Grenoble

Posted on 16.11.2015, 29.11.2015, 14.01.2016, 23.07.2016, 06.09.2016, 15.10.2016, 10.12.2019
Located at the foot of the French Alps, where the river Drac joins the Isère, Grenoble is the capital city of the Isère department. The proximity of the mountains, as well as its size, has led to the city being known as the "Capital of the Alps". Its history goes back more than 2,000 years, at a time when it was a small Gallic village. While it gained in stature by becoming the capital of the Dauphiné in the 11th century, it remained for most of its history a modest parliamentary and garrison city on the borders of the Kingdom of France.

2742 Aerial view of Grenoble

The Bastille, an ancient series of fortifications at the south end of the Chartreuse mountain range, overlooking the city of Grenoble, was begun in the Middle Ages, but later years saw extensive additions, including a semi-underground defense network, credited as the most extensive example of early 18th-century fortifications in France, and then held an important strategic point on the Alpine frontier with the Kingdom of Savoy. A small garrison was maintained in the fort until 1940.

2826 The Palace of the Parliament of Dauphiné

 

The Palace of the Parliament of Dauphiné was constructed in Place Saint André around 1500 and extended in 1539. It was the location of the Parlement of Dauphiné until the French Revolution. It then became a courthouse until 2002. The left wing of the palace was extended in 1897. The front of the former seat of the nearby Dauphiné Parlement combines elements from a gothic chapel and a Renaissance façade. The building now belongs to the Isère Council (Conseil Général de l'Isère).

2041 Grenoble - The Isère's quai, the Bubbles,
the Marius Gontard Bridge, and Vercors Massif.

The Marius Gontard Bridge is historically the second Isère crossing site in Grenoble. The first stone bridge was built between 1621 and 1671. After much destruction and reconstruction, it was rebuilt in stone in 1839 and called the bridge of the Hospital. It carries since 1924 the same name as the street that continues, that of a General Counsel of Grenoble (1856-1923). With a total length of 73m, it has three spans, the central span, the longest, with a range of 27m.

2084 Grenoble - The Isère's quai on wintertime, and the Bubbles.

The first cable transport system was installed on the Bastille in 1875. Since 1934, the Bastille has been the destination of the Grenoble-Bastille Cable Car, known to locals as Les Bulles (the bubbles). It is one of the oldest urban cable cars in the world and runs all year round. The route takes the cars across the Isère and over the roofs of the old Saint Laurent quarter before passing over a bastion of the curtain wall of the fort and then over the Rabot and various successive fortifications before arriving at the upper station.

2214 Grésivaudan Valley - Funiculaire de Saint-Hilaire du Touvet,
villages with Belledone in background, Dent de Crolles, and the Bubbles.

Except for a few dozen houses on the slopes of the Bastille hill, Grenoble is exclusively built on the alluvial plain of the Isère and Drac rivers at an altitude of 214 metres. As a result, the city itself is extremely flat. Mountain sports are an important tourist attraction in summer and winter. Twenty large and small ski resorts surround the city, the nearest being Le Sappey-en-Chartreuse, which is about 15 minutes' drive away. Historically, both Grenoble and the surrounding areas were sites of heavy industry and mining.

2664 Grenoble

 

In 1987, Grenoble became the second French city to reintroduce trams, the first being the Nantes tramway. The current network is 35-kilometre long, and comprises five lines: lines A, B, C, D and E. Trams were first introduced to Grenoble in 1894, and this first generation tram system survived until 1952. The city is served by a total of 103 trams: the older 53, numbered from 2001 to 2053, are Alsthom TFS, whilst the newer 50, numbered from 6001 to 6050, are Alstom Citadis trams.

3287 Grenoble

 

3237 UNITED STATES (Ohio) - Cincinnati

Founded in 1788 at the north side of the confluence of the Licking River to the Ohio, Cincinnati was an American boomtown in the heart of the country, rivaling the larger coastal cities in size and wealth. Throughout much of the 19th century it was listed among the top 10 U.S. cities by population, and between 1840 and 1860 was the sixth-biggest. As it was the first city founded after the American Revolution as well as the first major inland city in the country, it is thought of as the first purely "American" City.

0711, 3228 FRANCE (Grand Est) - Strasbourg, Grande-Île and Neustadt (UNESCO WHS)

0711 Strasbourg - Little France; The covered bridges; Boating on the Ill 

Posted on 30.06.2013, 30.12.2017
Located on the Ill River, close to the border with Germany, actually historically German-speaking, as the entire Alsace, Strasbourg was built on the site of an ancient Celtic settlement (Argentorate), where Romans established a military outpost (Argentoratum). The town was occupied successively by Alemanni, Huns and Franks, and in the 9th century it was already known as Strazburg (the town at the crossing of roads). As major commercial centre, it came under control of the Holy Roman Empire in 923, in 1262 became an Imperial Free City, in 1681 was annexed by France, in 1871 by the German Empire, and after WWI reverted back of France.

3228 Strasbourg - Little France

Strasbourg's historic city centre, the Grande Île (Grand Island), surrounded by two arms of the River Ill, was designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988, the first time such an honour was placed on an entire city centre. The cathedral, the four ancient churches and the Palais Rohan - former residence of the prince-bishops - form a district that is characteristic of a medieval town and illustrates town's evolution between 15th and 18th centuries, being simultaneously the eastward vector of the Gothic art movement.

0614, 2308, 2357, 3219 AUSTRIA (Salzburg) - Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg (UNESCO WHS)

3219 Salzburg - View to the Old Town from Mönchsberg (507m)

As many other cities from Central Europe, Salzburg (Salt Fortress), located on the banks of the Salzach River, at the northern boundary of the Alps, was founded as a Celtic settlement, later developed by the Romans, under the name Juvavum. By the late 7th century it had become a "near ruin", but it began to rebirth in the 8th-century primarily due to trade on the river. Independence from Bavaria was secured in the late 14th century and lasted five centuries, till in the 19th century, when the city was annexed by the Austrian Empire (later Austria-Hungary).

2308 Salzburg - The Old Town with the fortress

Anyway, Salzburg has emerged intact from history, a Baroque town which owes much of its appearance to the architects Vincenzo Scamozzi and Santino Solari. Being considered the point where the Italian and German cultures met, influencing each other,  the Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg become an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. Salzburg’s most famous son was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose name is closely associated with the city. The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920, which takes place each summer.

0614 Salzburg: 1. Friedhof zu St. Peter (St. Peter's Cemetery);
2. Hofstallgasse (Hofstall Alley); 3. Mozartplatz (Mozart Square);
4. Residenzbrunnen; 5. Pferdeschwemme (Horse Well);
6. Getreidegasse (Grain Lane); 7. Mozarts Geburtshaus
(Mozart's Birthplace); 8. Makartsteg (Makart Bridge);
9. Mirabellgarten (Mirabel Gardens); 10. Dom (Cathedral).

Friedhof zu St. Peter (St. Peter's Cemetery) - the oldest cemetery in the city. Its origins date back to about 700, when was established St. Peter's Abbey, and was closed down in 1878. Into the rock of the Festungsberg were carved catacombs, that may date from the Early Christian days. Hofstallgasse (Hofstall Alley) - a street in Old Town, in the festival area, which connects the Max Reinhardt Square with the Herbert von Karajan Platz. Since the Mozart year 2006, it has a "golden" pavement. Mozartplatz (Mozart Square) - a square placed in the heart of the Old Town, known for the Mozart memorial by Ludwig Schwanthaler, opened in 1842.

2357 Salzburg - Mozart's birthplace

Residenzbrunnen - a grand baroque fountain, placed in the midle of the Residenzplatz (Residenz Square) and executed by Tomasso di Garona between 1656 to 1661. It's made of marble, and it's considered the largest baroque fountain of Middle Europe. Pferdeschwemme (Horse Well) - a well designed and built in 1693 by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach in the course of building the facade for the royal stables. The "Horse Tamer" by Michael Bernhard Mandl once stood in an oval basin axial to the portal of the royal stables. Getreidegasse (Grain Lane) - a busy shopping street in Old Town. The house at no. 9 is the place where Mozart was born and where he lived until the age of 17.

3205 GERMANY (Brandenburg) / POLAND (Lubusz) - International Postcrossing Meetup, Frankfurt (Oder) & Słubice, November 4, 2017

Frankfurt (Oder), also Frankfurt an der Oder, is a town in Brandenburg, located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the town of Słubice, which was part of Frankfurt until 1945, when the Oder was designated Germany's eastern border. The Oder Bridge (in the postcard) connects the two cities. On November 4, 2017 there tooke place an international Postcrossing meetup with the theme "Bridges connecting...", the main organizer being Holger Kaufhold.

3160 SWEDEN (Skåne) - Kristianstad

Located in Scania, the southernmost province of Sweden, on the river Helgeå (lit. "The Holy river"), Kristianstad has gone during the last 15 years from a garrison town to a developed commercial city, which today attract visitors in the summertime. Sweden's lowest point, at 2.41m below sea level, is located in Kristianstad. Because of this, parts of the city have to be protected from flooding by a system of levees and water pumps, but on other hand, the wetlands around the city are starting to be regarded as an asset, not least thanks to the creation of Kristianstads Vattenrike Biosphere Reserve, a Unesco biosphere reserve.