0629 LAOS (Luang Prabang) - Nang Songkran at Luang Prabang

Songkran refer to the celebration of the New Year by the people from Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, but also by the some minorities of Vietnam, Yunnan province of China, Sri Lanka and eastern of India, when the sun transits the constellation of Aries, the first astrological sign in the Zodiac. In Laos is also named Pii Mai, and lasts generally for three days, from April 13 to April 15, with few exceptions, like Luang Prabang, where lasts a week. The first day is the last day of the old year, the second is the "day of no day", and the last one marks the start of the new year.

0628 NETHERLANDS (Netherlands / North Holland) - The stolen bikes in Amsterdam

This postcard is one of the unusual that I've received so far regarding the subject. Besides canals, architecture, museums and liberal atmosphere, Amsterdam is also known as one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world. The earliest well-known community bicycle programme, so-called White Bicycle Plan, was started in 1965 in this city. Now, bike racks are ubiquitous, because 60% of all journeys in the inner city are made by bicycle. On the other hand, each year about 100,000 bicycle (between the existing 100,000,000) are stolen and 25,000 of them end up in the canals, which therefore must be constantly cleaned. It's what do the people from the image.

0156, 0238, 0627 GERMANY (North Rhine-Westphalia) - Der Neue Zollhof and other stuff from Düsseldorf

Posted on 25.03.2012 and completed on 05.06.2012 and 03.05.2013
Grown on the mud and the sand of the east bank of the Lower Rhine, where the delta of the River Düssel flows into the Rhine, almost a thousand years ago, Düsseldorf granted the town privileges în 1288. Rival of the older and wealthy Cologne (located just 40 km upstream, which today means 18 minutes by Regional Bahn), the city has constantly developed as commercial, but also as cultural center, both under the dukes of Jülich-Cleves-Berg and under the house of Wittelsbach, peaking during the Elector Palatine Johann Wilhelm II (r. 1690-1716). Strongly affected by the Napoleonic Wars, Düsseldorf enjoyed a revival by the mid-19th century, thanks to the Industrial Revolution. Heavily bombed by the allies in WWII, in 1946 Düsseldorf was made capital of the new federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Located now centrally within The Blue Banana, in the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, is one of the country's five global cities (together with Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg and Berlin). The city itself has only 590,000 inhabitants (of which 110,000 are foreigners), but this doesn’t prevent to be one of the top telecommunications centres in Germany, and also one of advertising and fashion industries.

In the largest picture on the first postcard, but also in the second one, can seen Der Neue Zollhof (New Customs House), located in Unterbilk. The complex, consisting of three separate buildings, was designed in a style commonly considered deconstructivism by American architect Frank O. Gehry (which designed, among others, Olympic Fish from Barcelona, and Dancing House from Prague) and was completed in 1998. Floorplans and facades of all three buildings are curve and lean (constructed of concrete flat slab), reason for them being likened to leaning towers. Each building has a different facade cladding - the outer two in white plaster and red brick respectively; the central building's stainless steel facade reflects material and shapes of its two neighbour buildings. Otherwise geometry, massing and exterior material, provides each of the buildings with a unique identity. The buildings currently occupied primarily by… warehouses.

In the background of the second postcard is Rheinturm (Rhine Tower), a 240.5m high concrete telecommunications tower, built between 1979 and 1981. It houses a revolving restaurant and an observation deck at a height of 170m. As a special attraction, there is a light sculpture on its shaft which works as a clock, the biggest digital clock in the world. This sculpture was designed by Horst H. Baumann and is called Lichtzeitpegel (Light Time Level).

The other five figures illustrate in the first postcard, from left to right, are:
● a sculpture made by Horst Antes in 1986-1987, located in Bertha von Suttner Square, behind the Düsseldorf Central Station (Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof)
● promenade along the banks of the Rhine to the Medienhafen. In background can seen the Theodor Heuss Bridge, also known as the Nordbrücke (North bridge), a cable-stayed bridge built from 1953 to 1957, the clock tower of the ancient collegiate church of St Lambertus, and castle tower
● Central Station (Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof)
● Galeria Kaufhof 'an der Kö' (on Königsallee), a department store located centrally on Düsseldorf’s internationally renowned shopping boulevard in the heart of the city, between the Altstadt and Schadowstrasse.

0619, 0625, 0626 GERMANY (Bavaria) - Bad Tölz

Posted on 28.04.2013 and completed on 03.05.2013
Located in Upper Bavaria, on the Isar River, Tölz was mentioned for the first time in 1180, and in 1331 it became a market town, with an extensive Marktrechte, due to the fact that there was on a crossroads for the salt and lumber traffic on the river. A great fire destroyed large parts of the town in 1453, but soon it was reconstructed, and flourished again. It became also famous for crafts with the beautiful coloured chests, cases and beds. In 1845, iodine was found close to the town, so Markt Tölz became Bad Tölz (spa resort) in 1899. During the WWII near the town was an officers' training school for the Waffen-SS, and also a subcamp of the Dachau concentration camp.

In the second postcard is the historic Marktstrasse (Market Street), with Stadtmuseum (City Museum) and Bürgerbräu, which is characterized by Lüftlmalerei, frescoes illustrating Bavarian myths, religious scenes, fairytales or architectural trompe-l'œil found on many buildings. Lüftlmalerei is common for Oberbayern (Upper Bavaria) and its name may be derived from an Oberammergau house called Zum Lüftl, which was the home of facade painter Franz Seraph Zwinck (1748-1792). On the buildings can be seen also the town's flag, with the colours black and gold, and Bavaria's flag, with the colours white and blue.

A climb to Kalvarienberg (Calvary) is rewarded not only by the wide view of the Isar valley and the city, but also by a baroque church with the double two slim towers, Krone von Tölz (Crown of Tolz). The Holy Stairs can be found inside the church; these stairs were initially built outdoors and the church was built over it later on. In addition, visitors can take a look at the Golgotha hill with its larger-than-life crucifixion ensemble, which was erected in 1735. Another cruciform church with a holy sepulcher was built at the base of the hill between 1723 and 1726.

0624 SPAIN (Community of Madrid) - Monastery and Site of the Escurial, Madrid (UNESCO WHS)

Originally a property of the Hieronymite monks, now a monastery of the Order of Saint Augustine, the Royal Seat of San Lorenzo de El Escorial is an historical residence of the King of Spain, located in the town with the same name, about 45km northwest of Madrid, at the foot of Mt. Abantos in the Sierra de Guadarrama. It comprises two architectural complexes of great historical and cultural significance: the royal monastery itself and La Granjilla de La Fresneda, a royal hunting lodge and monastic retreat.

0217, 0623 UNITED KINGDOM (Gibraltar) - Aerial view of Gibraltar

0217 Aerial view of Gibraltar (1)

Posted on 23.05.2012, 01.05.2013
For the ancient Greeks, this was the west edge of the world. Gone to fulfill the tenth labour ordered by King Eurystheus, i.e. to fetch the red cattle of Geryon, Hercules marked the place where Libya meets Europe with two rocks, one on each shore, to immortalize his journey. Since then, these promontories were named Pillars of Heracles (Hercules for Romans). The 14 km of water that separates Africa from Europe have never been an obstacle for those who wanted to cross from one continent to another, be they Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Visigoths, Byzantines or Muslims.

0623 Aerial view of Gibraltar (2)

Actually, the Muslim Berber general who led the Islamic conquest of Visigothic Hispania in 711-718 A.D., Tariq ibn Ziyad on his name, gave the current name of the Mons Calpe, respectively Gibraltar (Jabal Tāriq - mountain of Tariq). Strait of Gibraltar was also, during many hundreds of years, a easy way to pass from the Mediterranean into the Atlantic or vice versa. And all those listed before did it easily, plus the Vikings, Venetians, Spaniards and others, including pirates of all nations, only the development of artillery complicating things later.

0622 SPAIN (Castile and León) - Old City of Salamanca (UNESCO WHS)

0622 Old and New Cathedral in Salamanca

Situated approximately 200km west of Madrid and 80km east of the Portuguese border, on several hills by the Tormes River, Salamanca is the oldest and most important university city in Spain. Built by Celts and conquered by Carthaginians in the 3rd century B.C., it then became a Roman settlement (Helmantica) before being ruled successively by Alans, Visigoths and Moors. After the battle of Simancas (939) the Christians resettled this area.

0620 & 0621 PORTUGAL (Porto) - Historic Centre of Oporto (UNESCO WHS)

Located along the hillsides overlooking the Douro river estuary in northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European centres, with a 2,000-year history. At the beginning an outpost of the Roman Empire, Portus Cale (considered to stand at the origin of the name "Portugal"), the town became, with the arrival of the barbarians, an important administrative and trading centre, and was established as part of the Castilian realm in the 11th century, after a short period of Moorish domination.

The first period of expansion came with the construction in 1374 of a new town wall protecting the two urban nuclei - the original medieval town and the extramural harbour area. In 1387 it was the site of the marriage of John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, which has been concluded with a military alliance between Portugal and England, in effect even today (the world's oldest recorded military alliance). Between 15th and 17th centuries it played a crucial role in the Portuguese Age of Discovery. In 1996 Historic Centre of Oporto was designed an UNESCO World Heritage Site, because "is a townscape of high aesthetic value, with evidence of urban development from the Roman, medieval, and Almadas periods. The rich and varied civil architecture of the historic centre expresses the cultural values of succeeding periods - Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical and modern."

Undoubtedly, all these are important, but probably that the city is known first for port, the fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley. In the 13th century it was already transported to Porto in flat sailing vessels named barcos rabelos (in the first postcard). Although not in use anymore, still today we can admire these graceful vessels belonging to the Port Wine Companies in the banks of the Douro river. Every year on June 24, St. John's Day, is held a race of Rabelo boats, an important and popular event of the festivities of Porto city.

0587 & 0618 MYANMAR / THAILAND - Kayan Lahwi

Posted on 05.04.2013 and completed on 27.04.2013
The woman on the postcard is part of the ethnic subgroup Kayan Lahwi (also called Padaung). The Kayan is in its turn a subgroup of the Red Karen (Karenni) people, a Tibeto-Burman ethnic minority of Myanmar. In the late 1980s due to conflict with the military regime in Myanmar, many Kayan tribes fled to the Thai border area. Among the refugee camps set up there was a Long Neck section, which became a tourist site. Although some countries are willing to accept a number of refugees, Thai authorities didn't let go to Kayan Lahw, because it would lose earnings from tourism.

Women of this tribe are known for wearing brass coils (in spiral) that are placed around the neck, appearing to lengthen it. Girls first start to wear rings when they are around five years old. Over the years the coil is replaced by a longer one, and more turns are added. The weight of the brass (up to 10 kg) pushes the collar bone down and compresses the rib cage. The neck itself is not lengthened; the appearance of a stretched neck is created by the deformation of the clavicle. Many ideas regarding why the coils are worn have been suggested, often formed by visiting anthropologists, who have hypothesized that the rings protected women from becoming slaves by making them less attractive to other tribes. Contrastingly it has been theorised that the coils originate from the desire to look more attractive by exaggerating sexual dimorphism. The coils might be meant to protect from tiger bites, perhaps literally, but probably symbolically.

The full set of neck rings is made from three separate coils, the main neck coil and a wider coil near the shoulders with a small coil wrapped around it at 90 degrees. Few women wear this full set. Brass coils are also worn around the legs. The rings rubbing against the skin can cause discomfort and abrasions over a period of time. Some of the women, especially the young ones, don’t want anymore to be human exhibits and removed their coil. Contrary to popular belief, this has no effect on women's health, only a slight discomfort that lasts 3-4 days.

0617 IRELAND (Munster) - Will you come to Limerick?

"There was an Old Man of Kilkenny,
Who never had more than a penny;
He spent all that money,
In onions and honey,
That wayward Old Man of Kilkenny."

0616 PERU (Cusco) - Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu (UNESCO WHS)

"Dimly I began to realize that this wall and its adjoining semicircular temple over the cave were as fine as the finest stonework in the world. It fairly took my breath away. What could this place be?" wrote Hiram Bingham III in the book Lost City of the Incas, published in 1948, after 37 years of the discovery of the fabulous Machu Picchu. Even now, after another 66 years, it isn't known why was built this city, that was its goal, and why was abandoned.

0613 FRANCE (Île-de-France) - Pont des Arts - part of Paris, Banks of the Seine (UNESCO WHS)

Placed in downstream of the Pont Neuf, very close to it, the Pont des Arts is a pedestrian bridge which crosses the Seine River and links the Institut de France and the central square of the Palais du Louvre, named Palais des Arts under the First Empire, which can be seen on the postcard in background, in the right. On the location of the present day bridge was built between 1802 and 1804 the first metal bridge in Paris, initially conceived by the engineers Louis-Alexandre de Cessart and Jacques Dillon to resemble a suspended garden, with trees and banks of flowers. In 1977 it was closed to circulation, because it was weakened by bombardments sustained during WWI and WWII, and by the collisions caused by boats.

0612 GERMANY (Bavaria) - Old Town of Regensburg with Stadtamhof (UNESCO WHS)

 

Located in Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, Regensburg owes its foundation to Celts (Radasbona), but the Romans were the ones who built there a strong fort (Castra Regina). As seat of the Agilolfing ruling family, it became in 530 the capital of Bavaria, and it will maintain this status since the first half of the 13th century. Actually the 12th and 13th centuries were the Regensburg's golden age as trade center, but also as the cultural centre of southern Germany, in 1245 becoming a Free Imperial City. It adopted the Protestant Reformation in 1542, and between 1663 and 1806 it was the seat of the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire. In WWII it was home to both a Messerschmitt Bf 109 aircraft factory and an oil refinery, so it was severe bombed by the Allies, and between 1945 and 1949 it was the site of the largest Displaced persons (DP) camp in Germany.

0611 UNITED KINGDOM (Scotland) - St. Kilda (UNESCO WHS)

The archipelago of St Kilda, the remotest part of the British Isles, lies 66 km west of Benbecula in Scotland's Outer Hebrides, in the North Atlantic Ocean, and represents the remnants of a long-extinct ring volcano rising from the seabed plateau. Regarding the archipelago's name, there are several theories, but none seems to be satisfactory, especially there isn't known a saint by the name of Kilda. The largest island in the group is Hirta, which comprises more than 78% of the land area of the archipelago.

0610 HUNGARY (Veszprém) - A horse-drawn wagon in Ajka

As said Bernadett, this postcard is part of a series published in 2009, when the city Ajka, situated in the hills of Bakony, in western Hungary, celebrated 50 years of existence. At first glance it seems a bit strange the presence of a postcard showing a horse-drawn wagon in such a series devoted to a mining town founded in 1960, even if the Hungarians are passionate about horses and have a long tradition in their breeding, but things are not so, because the settlement, named after the Ajka clan, was first mentioned in 1214, to the age of the Árpád dynasty, when it was already about a hundred years old.

0609 CROATIA (Šibenik-Knin) - Kornati National Park and Telašćica Nature Park (UNESCO WHS - Tentative List)

In the central part of the Croatian Adriatic, in the northern part of Dalmatia, on the meeting point of Šibenik and Zadar islands, is situated a group of 140 islands, the densest in the Mediterranean Sea, called Kornati. Because of its exceptional landscape beauty, interesting geomorphology, diversity of the coastline and especially because of the rich biocoenoses of the marine ecosystem, greater part of the Kornati maritime zone has been declared a national park in 1980, and in 2007 was included on the Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Site, under the name Kornati National Park and Telašćica Nature Park.

0608 BRAZIL (Santa Catarina) - A Tyrolean settlement in the south of Brazil

No, isn't a mistake! The overwhelming majority of the more than 5,000 inhabitants of Treze Tílias (Dreizehnlinden in German), a municipality located in the state of Santa Catarina, has Austrian ancestors. It was founded on 13 October 1933 by Andreas Thaler, former minister of agriculture in Austria, who managed, despite strong political opposition, to obtain funds and to persuade some impoverished peasant families from Tyrol and Vorarlberg to emigrate in Brazil, where to start a new life. He drowned in circumstances insufficient explained during a flood in 1939, but the emigration continued until 1959, when the Austrian economy has fully recovered.

0606 GEORGIA (Samtskhe-Javakheti) - Vardzia-Khertvisi (UNESCO WHS - Tentative List)

0606 Vardzia

Vardzia-Khertvisi, comprising a vast territory in the upper reaches of the Kura River (Mt'k'vari in Georgian) basin, and spread over 18 km from Khertvisi (Medieval residence) to Vardzia is significant in many respects: unique natural conditions contributing to the specific microclimate and landscape, historical context and diversity of cultural heritage.Vardzia is a cave monastery site excavated in the slopes of the Erusheti Mountain on the left bank of the Kura River.