BELARUS #3

Thanks Zina, I realy liked the postcard, the stamp and the envelope!

BY-1511075

BRAZIL #9 Direct Swap

Praça da Liberdade (Liberty Square) is a principal square in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and surrounding building complex were erected to house the administrative offices of the state government. It soon became the population’s most loved leisure site and one of the city’s most democratic spaces.

Thanks Luciano!

Sent on: 23/02/2015
Received on: 26/03/2015
Travel time: 3 days.

AUSTRALIA #2 Direct Swap

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The name "Melbourne" refers to an urban agglomeration area (and census statistical division) spanning 9,900 km2 (3,800 sq mi) that comprises the greater metropolis – as well as being a common name for its metropolitan hub, the Melbourne City Centre. It is a leading financial centre in Australia, as well as the Asia-Pacific region, and has been ranked the world's most livable city since 2011 (and among the top three since 2002), according the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). In 2013 the EIU also ranked Melbourne the fourth most expensive city in the world, tying with Oslo, Norway. Melbourne is rated highly in the areas of education, entertainment, healthcare, research and development, tourism and sports

Thanks Natasha!

Sent on: 06/02/2015
Received on: 26/02/2015
Travel time: 20 days

CHINA #3

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho, is a Brazilian footballer. He won the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2004 and 2005. Renowned for his technique, tricks, dribbling, overhead kicks, no-look passes and free kicks, Ronaldinho is regarded to be one of the best players of his generation. "Ronaldinho", the diminutive and term of endearment for "Ronaldo", is accompanied in Brazilian usage by the nickname "Gaúcho" (since he hails from southern Brazil).

Thanks Dengko!

CN-1417147

USA #5

Sequoia sempervirens is the sole living species of the genus Sequoia in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal redwood and California redwood. It is an evergreen, long-lived, monoecious tree living 1,200–1,800 years or more. This species includes the tallest living trees on Earth, reaching up to 379 feet (115.5 m) in height (without the roots) and up to 27.4 feet (8.4 m). These trees are also among the oldest living things on Earth. On its own, the term redwood usually refers to the coast redwood, which is covered in this article, and not to the other two species.

Thanks Anna!

US-3180760

INDONESIA #3 Direct Swap

Borobudur, or Barabudur, is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist Temple in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument consists of six square platforms topped by three circular platforms and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues each of which is seated inside a perforated stupa. It is the world’s largest Buddhist temple, as well as one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, following which the monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Thanks Wara!

Sent on: 02/01/2015
Received on: 14/02/2015
Travel time: 43 days

UKRAINE #3

St Volodymyr's Cathedral is a cathedral in the centre of Kiev. It is one of the city's major landmarks and the mother cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchy, one of two major Ukrainian Orthodox Churches.

Thanks Ann!

UA-1232325

GERMANY #12 Direct Swap

Chemnitz, known from 1953 to 1990 as Karl-Marx-Stadt, is the third-largest city in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the Freistadt Sachsen. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is part of the Central German Metropolitan Region. The city's economy is based on the service sector and manufacturing industry. Chemnitz University of Technology has around 10,000 students.

Thanks Carina!

Sent on: 30/01/2015

Received on: 14/02/2015

Travel time: 15 days

POLAND #11 Direct Swap

The Cathedral Basilica of St. James the Apostle, Szczecin was built by the citizens of the city and modeled after the Church of St. Mary in Lübeck. It is the largest church in Pomerania and for many years after the reformation was part of the Pomeranian Evangelical Church, but since World War II and the handing over of Stettin to Poland it has been rebuilt as a Roman Catholic cathedral. The church was established in 1187 and the Romanesque-style building was completed in the 14th century.

Thanks Joanna!

Sent on: 23/01/2015
Received on: 11/02/2015
Travel time: 19 days

BRAZIL #8 Direct Swap

Another beautiful postcard from Florianópolis. The name Florianópolis was meant to be a tribute to Marshal Floriano Peixoto, the second President (1891–1894) of the Republic of the United States of Brazil and from Greek term polis, meaning "city". Until 1893, the city was called Nossa Senhora do Desterro (Our Lady of Banishment) or simply "Desterro".


Thanks Ana!

Sent on: 03/02/2015
Received on: 11/02/2015
Travel time: 8 days

SOUTH KOREA #2 Direct Swap

Gyeongbokgung, also known as Gyeongbokgung Palace or Gyeongbok Palace, was the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty. Built in 1395, it is located in northern Seoul, South Korea. The largest of the Five Grand Palaces built by the Joseon dynasty, Gyeongbokgung served as the home of Kings of the Joseon dynasty, the Kings' households, as well as the government of Joseon.  In the early 20th century, much of the palace was systematically destroyed by Imperial Japan. Since then, the walled palace complex is gradually being restored to its original form. Today, the palace is arguably regarded as being the most beautiful and grandest of all five palaces. It also houses the National Palace Museum of Korea and the National Folk Museum within the premises of the complex

Thanks Jaemin!

Sent on: 09/01/2015
Received on: 07/02/2015
Travel time: 29 days

NETHERLANDS #4 Direct Swap

Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, has more than one hundred kilometres of canals, about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges. The three main canals, Herengracht, Prinsengracht, and Keizersgracht, dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form concentric belts around the city, known as the Grachtengordel. Alongside the main canals are 1550 monumental buildings.The 17th-century canal ring area, including the Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht, Herengracht and Jordaan, were placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2010.

Thanks Natasha!

Sent on: 05/01/2015
Received on: 07/02/2015
Travel time: 33 days

CHINA #2 Direct Swap

Nanning is the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. It is known as the "Green City" because of its abundance of lush tropical foliage. Nanning has many parks with tropical lush green landscape, it is one of the "greenest" cities in China, and it's known as "Green City"(绿城). Nanning's downtown skyline is rapidly changing and the city is becoming an important hub in China.

Thanks Jai Pan!

Sent on: 25/10/2015
Received on: 07/02/2015
Travel time: 105 days

SOUTH KOREA #1 Direct Swap

Hwaseong (Brilliant Castle/ Fortress) is the wall surrounding the centre of Suwon, the provincial capital of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. This fortress was built from 1794 to 1796 by King Jeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty to house and honour the remains of his father Prince Sado, who had been murdered by being locked alive inside a rice chest by his own father King Yeongjo after failing to obey the command to commit suicide. Located 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Seoul and enclosing much of central Suwon, the Fortress includes King Jeongjo's palace Haenggung. The site was designated as a World Heritage site by the UNESCO in 1997. The Suwoncheon, the main stream in Suwon, flows through the centre of the fortress.

Thanks Yeji!

Sent on: 09/01/2015
Received on: 07/02/2015
Travel time: 29 days

BELGIUM #3

Saint Peter's Church  of Leuven, Belgium, is situated on the city's Grote Markt (main market square), right across the ornate Town Hall. Built mainly in the 15th century in Brabantine Gothic style, the church has a cruciform floor plan and a low bell tower that has never been completed. It is 93 meters long. The first church on the site, made of wood and presumably founded in 986, burned down in 1176. It was replaced by a Romanesque church, made of stone, featuring a West End flanked by two round towers like at Our Lady's Basilica in Maastricht. Of the Romanesque building only part of the crypt remains, underneath the chancel of the actual church

Thanks Marie!

BE-338748

UKRAINE #2 Direct Swap

The Carpathian Mountains are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly 1,500 km (932 mi) long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe. The Carpathians consist of a chain of mountain ranges that stretch in an arc from the Czech Republic (3%) in the northwest through Slovakia (17%), Poland (10%), Hungary (4%) and Ukraine (11%) to Romania (53%) in the east and on to the Iron Gates on the River Danube between Romania and Serbia (2%) in the south. 

Thanks Maria!

Sent on: 21/01/2015
Received on: 04/02/2015
Travel tme: 14 days

RUSSIA #7

The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is a cathedral in Moscow, Russia, on the northern bank of the Moskva River, a few blocks southwest of the Kremlin.It is the tallest Orthodox Christian church in the world.The current church is the second to stand on this site. The original church, built during the 19th century, took more than 40 years to build. It was destroyed in 1931 during the Communist rule of Joseph Stalin. The demolition was supposed to make way for a colossal Palace of the Soviets that was never built, so the church was reconstructed in the 1990s on the same site.

Thanks Inga!

RU-3368554

GERMANY #11

Monument to Johann Wilhelm II von der Pfalz (1658-1716), Elector Palatine from 1690 to 1716, son of Philip Wilhelm von Pfalz-Neuburg and Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt. The Jan-Wellem Platz (Johann Wilhelm Plaza) in Düsseldorf is named for him. Artist: Gabriel de Grupello (1711), material: bronze, base: design by Adolf von Vagedes (1830). Düsseldorf's landmark is considered one of the most beautiful equestrian statues north of the Alps. 

Thanks Delia!

DE-3866230

ITALY #3 Direct Swap

The Palazzo della Ragione is a medieval town hall building in Padua, in the Veneto region of Italy. The building, with its great hall on the upper floor, is reputed to have the largest roof unsupported by columns in Europe. The Palazzo was begun in 1172 and finished in 1219. 

Thanks Andrea!

Sent on: 13/01/2015
Received on: 02/02/2015
Travel time: 20 days

NETHERLANDS #3

Antoni Pitxot is a Spanish painter who was a longtime friend and collaborator of Salvador Dalí. Pitxot was born into a family with many artists in its ranks, among them, his uncle Ramon Pichot. He began studying drawing at the age of thirteen, and he exhibited regularly in Lisbon, Bilbao, Barcelona, and Madrid in his twenties and thirties, winning many prizes, including the Gold Medal painting prize in Barcelona's La Punyalada competition in 1965.

Thanks Lois!

NL-2838810