CANADA #3 Direct Swap

Thunderbird Park is a park in Victoria, British Columbia next to the Royal British Columbia Museum. The park is home to many totem poles (mostly Gitxsan, Haida, and Kwakwaka'wakw) and other First Nation monuments. The park takes its name from the mythological Thunderbird of Indigenous North American cultures which is depicted on many totem poles. The park is part of the Royal BC Museum Cultural Precinct, an area around the museum that contains a number of historical sites and monuments.

Thanks Raul!

Sent on: 04/11/2014
Received on: 24/11/2014
Travel time: 20 days

UKRAINE #1

The Potocki Palace in Lviv  was built in the 1880s as an urban seat of Alfred Józef Potocki, Minister-President of Austria. No cost was spared to make it the grandest nobleman's residence in the city. The French architect Louis Dauvergne elaborated all of Beaux-Arts stylisic devices to produce a hypertrophied imitation of a French hôtel particulier. An open, parklike setting was scored to give the mansion a sense of depth.

Thanks Natalie!

UA-1182606

INDONESIA #1 & #2 Direct Swap

Balinese dances are a very ancient dance tradition that is a part of the religious and artistic expression among the Balinese people, native to Bali island, Indonesia. Balinese dance is dynamic, angular and intensely expressive.The Balinese dancers express the story of dance-drama through the whole bodily gestures; fingers, hands and body gestures to head and eyes movements.

Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park is located in East Java, Indonesia, to the east of Malang and to the southeast of Surabaya, the capital of East Java. It is the only conservation area in Indonesia that has a sand sea, the Tengger Sand Sea (Indonesian: Laut Pasir Tengger), across which is the caldera of an ancient volcano (Tengger) from which four new volcanic cones have emerged. This unique feature covers a total area of 5,250 hectares at an altitude of about 2,100 m. The massif also contains the highest mountain in Java, Mount Semeru (3,676 m), four lakes and 50 rivers.

Thanks Brenda!

Sent on: 18/10/2014
Received on: 19/11/2014
Travel time: 32 days

TURKEY #2 Direct Swap

Safranbolu is a town and district of Karabük Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is about 200 kilometres (120 mi) north of Ankara and about a 100 km south of the Black Sea coast, or more precisely about 9 km north of the city of Karabük. The name of the town derives from 'saffron' and the Greek word 'polis' (city), since Safranbolu was a trading place and a center for growing saffron. Today saffron is still grown at the village of Davutobası which is 22 km east of Safranbolu and probably one of the best quality saffrons in the world.

Safranbolu was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1994 due to its well-preserved Ottoman era houses and architecture.

Thanks Azat!

Sent on: 09/10/2014
Received on: 19/11/2014
Travel time: 41 days

KAZAKHSTAN #1 Direct Swap

Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a contiguous transcontinental country in Central Asia, with its smaller part west of the Ural River in Europe. Kazakhstan is the world's largest landlocked country by land area and the ninth largest country in the world; its territory of 2,727,300 square kilometres (1,053,000 sq mi) is larger than Western Europe. The terrain of Kazakhstan includes flatlands, steppe, taiga, rock canyons, hills, deltas, snow-capped mountains, and deserts. With an estimated 17 million people as of 2013.

Thanks Yelena!

Sent on: 14/10/2014
Received on: 18/11/2014
Travel time: 35 days

NEW ZEALAND #1 & #2 Direct Swap

Wellington is the capital city and second most populous urban area of New Zealand, with 393,600 residents. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. It is the major population centre of the southern North Island, and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region, which also includes the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa. Wellington is the world's southernmost capital city of a sovereign state.

Mount Ruapehu, or just Ruapehu, is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupo Volcanic Zone in New Zealand. It is 23 kilometres northeast of Ohakune and 40 kilometres southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupo, within Tongariro National Park. The North Island's major skifields and only glaciers are on its slopes. Ruapehu is one of the world's most active volcanoes and the largest active volcano in New Zealand. 

Thanks Kelly!

Sent on: 02/10/2014
Received on: 18/11/2014
Travel time: 47 days

GERMANY #8

Cham is the capital of the district of Cham in the Upper Palatinate in Bavaria in Germany. Cham lies within the Cham-Further lowland, which is bordered on the south by the Bavarian Forest and on the north by the Oberpfälzer Wald. The city lies on the Regen River, which joins the Danube at Regensburg.

Thanks Sven!

Sent on: 05/11/2014

Received on: 18/11/2014

Travel time: 13 days.

GERMANY #7

The Pope's body was moved from the Vatican grottoes to the chapel of Saint Sebastian after his beatification on 1 May 2011. The inscription "Beatvs" was changed in April 2014 to "Sanctvs" for his canonization.

Thanks Melanie!

DE-3646952

HUNGARY #4 Direct Swap

The Zsolnay Fountain was designed by Andor Pilch in 1912, and was placed in its present site in 1930. It was a present to the city from Miklós Zsolnay, in honor of his father, Vilmos Zsolnay.The four eosin water-spitting ox-head spigots and the fountain itself became one of the main attractions of Pécs.

Pécs is the fifth largest city of Hungary, located on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the south-west of the country, close to its border with Croatia.

Thanks Lilla!

Sent on: 31/10/2014
Received: 15/11//2014
Travel time: 15 days.

BELARUS #2

This postcard is a enigma for me! =]

Thanks Tanya!

BY-1425089

TAIWAN #1

The Qing dynasty, also Empire of the Great Qing, Great Qing or Manchu dynasty, was the last imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The Qing multi-cultural empire lasted almost three centuries and formed the territorial base for the modern Chinese state.

The National Palace Museum is a museum in Shilin, Taipei, Taiwan. It has a permanent collection of more than 696,000 pieces of ancient Chinese imperial artifacts and artworks, one of the largest in the world. The collection encompasses over 10,000 years of Chinese history from the Neolithic age to the late Qing Dynasty. Most of the collection are high quality pieces collected by China's ancient emperors.

Thanks Jessie!

TW-1403297

GERMANY #6

Schriesheim is a town located in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, north of Heidelberg on the Bergstrasse ("Mountain Road") and on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. The town's landmark is the Strahlenburg Castle. 

Thanks Tina!

DE-3652809

PERU #2 Direct Swap

Located principally in the city centre or Cercado de Lima and Rímac areas, the Historic Centre of Lima is among the most important tourist destinations in Peru. In 1988, UNESCO declared the historic center of Lima a World Heritage Site for its originality and high concentration of historic monuments constructed in the time of Spanish presence. Some examples of colonial architecture include the Monastery of San Francisco, the Plaza Mayor, the Cathedral, Convent of Santo Domingo, the Palace of Torre Tagle, and much more.

Thanks Victor!

Sent on: 04/11/2014
Received on: 15/11/2014
Travel time: 11 days

RUSSIA #6

Nikolai Karamzin Memorial Monument dedicated to Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin (1766 - 1826) a famous Russian author and historian who resided part of his life in Ulyanovsk (then Simbirsk).

Thanks Galina!

RU-3140900

ESTONIA #1 Direct Swap

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is an orthodox cathedral in the Tallinn Old Town, Estonia. It was built to a design by Mikhail Preobrazhensky in a typical Russian Revival style between 1894 and 1900, during the period when the country was part of the Russian Empire. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is Tallinn's largest and grandest orthodox cupola cathedral. It is dedicated to Saint Alexander Nevsky who in 1242 won the Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipus, in the territorial waters of present-day Estonia

Thanks Natalja!

Sent on: 03/11/2014

Received on: 15/11/2014

Travel time: 12 days

PERU #1 Direct Swap

The Basilica Cathedral of Arequipa ("Basílica Catedral", in Spanish) is located in the "Plaza de Armas" of the city of Arequipa, province of Arequipa, Peru. It is the most important Catholic church of the city and also of the larger Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Arequipa since it is the base of the Archbishop and the Metropolitan Council. The cathedral is also considered one of Peru's most unusual and famous colonial cathedrals since the Spanish conquest.

Thanks Vanessa!

Sent on: 04/11/2014
Received on: 15/11/2014
Travel time: 11 days

BRAZIL #1 Direct Swap

Mole Beach (Portuguese: Praia Mole) is located in the city of Florianópolis, Brazil. The beach extends 960 metres and the width varies from 10 m to 120 m. It is one of the many LGBT touristic spots of Florianópolis. Mole beach is also known for its strong and long waves making it ideal for surfing. The beach is also a traditional point for the youth of this island.

Thanks Ana!

Sent on: 04/11/2014
Received on: 15/11/2014
Travel time: 11 days

ROMANIA #1 Direct Swap

The Palace of Parliament (Romanian: Palatul Parlamentului) in Bucharest, Romania is a multi-purpose building containing both chambers of the Romanian Parliament. According to the World Records Academy, the Palace is the world's largest civilian building with an administrative function, most expensive administrative building and heaviest building. The Palace was designed by architect Anca Petrescu when she was only 28 years old and nearly completed by the Ceaușescu regime as the seat of political and administrative power.

Thanks Razvan!

Sent on: 03/11/2014
Received on: 15/11/2014
Travel time: 12 days

TURKEY #1 Direct Swap

Ephesus was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, three kilometers southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of the former Arzawan capital by Attic and Ionian Greek colonists. During the Classical Greek era it was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League. The city flourished after it came under the control of the Roman Republic in 129 BC. According to estimates Ephesus had a population of 33,600 to 56,000 people in the Roman period, making it the third largest city of Roman Asia Minor after Sardis and Alexandria Troas.

The library of Celsus it was built in honor of the Roman Senator Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus (completed in 135 AD) by Celsus' son, Gaius Julius Aquila (consul, 110 AD).Construction on the library began in 117 A.D. and was completed in 120, in Ephesus, a territory that was traditionally Greek. The building is important as one of the few remaining examples of an ancient Roman-influenced library. It also shows that public libraries were built not only in Rome itself but throughout the Roman Empire.

Thanks Sude!

Sent on: 08/10/2014 (presumed)
Received on: 07/11/2014
Travel time: 30 days

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC #1 Direct Swap

The Basílica Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and cathedral in Dominican Republic dedicated to Our Lady of Altagracia, patroness of the nation. It is in Salvaleón de Higüey. The basilica is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey.

The cathedral was raised to the honor of a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI on December 17, 1970. It was visited by Pope John Paul II during his visit to the country in 1992.

Thanks Ana!

Sent on: 15/10/2014 (presumed)
Received on: 07/11/2014
Travel time: 23 days

CROATIA #4 Direct Swap

Krapina-Zagorje County (Croatian: Krapinsko-zagorska županija) is a county in northern Croatia. It encompasses most of the historic region called Hrvatsko Zagorje. Bordering with Slovenia this region was a part of the Austrian Empire. From those times originates the majority of many castles spread around the county. Perhaps the most astonishing landmark of the area is the excavation site of a 100,000-year-old Neanderthal man in caves near the central town of Krapina. Existence of "modern"-day Krapina itself has been verified since 1193, and was always a favorite site for castles and other country houses of Croatian and Hungarian rulers.

Thanks Darko!

Sent on: 16/10/2014
Received on: 03/11/2014
Travel time: 18 days

CROATIA #3 Direct Swap

Another amazing postcard from Croatia! Sent me by Martina!

Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar County and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Zadar is a historical center of Dalmatia as well as the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zadar. Zadar gained its urban structure in Roman times; during the time of Julius Caesar and Emperor Augustus, the town was fortified and the city walls with towers and gates were built. On the western side of the town were the forum, the basilica and the temple, while outside the town were the amphitheatre and cemeteries. The aqueduct which supplied the town with water is partially preserved. Inside the ancient town, a medieval town had developed with a series of churches and monasteries being built.

Thanks Martina!

Sent on: 20/10/2014

Received on: 03/11/2014

Travel time: 14 days

JAPAN #1 Direct Swap

Mount Fuji, located on Honshu Island, is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776.24 m (12,389 ft). Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone, which is snow-capped several months a year, is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and photographs, as well as visited by sightseers and climbers.The mountain has been selected as a “cultural” rather than a “natural” heritage site. As per UNESCO, Mount Fuji has “inspired artists and poets and been the object of pilgrimage for centuries”. 

Lake Ashi, also referred to as Hakone Lake or Ashinoko Lake, is a scenic lake in the Hakone area of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshū, Japan. It is a crater lake that lies along the southwest wall of the caldera of Mount Hakone, a complex volcano that last erupted in 1170 CE at Owakudani. The lake is known for its views of Mt. Fuji and its numerous hot springs. 

Thanks Natasha!

Sent on: 26/10/2014
Received on: 03/11/2014
Travel time: 8 days

BELGIUM #2 Direct Swap

Another beautiful postcard from Belgium, this time, besides the beautiful stamps with the works of Magritte, have one with Tintin. A deserved tribute to the Belgian culture.

Frahan (Walloon: Frôhan) is a Belgian hamlet of Rochehaut , situated on the territory of the town of Bouillon in the province of Luxembourg in the Walloon Region. This pretty village was once famous for its tobacco plantations and dryers that can still be seen, is located in a green setting, surrounded by a loop of the Semois surrounded by forested ridges. Seen from the balcony of Rochehaut, it is one of the most famous views of Belgium.

Thanks Nathalie and Cleo!

Sent on: 22/10/2014
Received on: 03/11/2014
Travel time: 12 days.