Kotovasiya Christmas

From Olya for the favorites tag. She writes "This card perfectly depicts what happens every morning in Moscow buses not only in Christmas day, but every day when people go to work, school, university." I love the looks on the squished cats' faces. Seems a bit like the Tokyo subway at rush hour. How are people without cars supposed to get their Christmas tree home if not on the bus? I have a tiny fake tree so I don't have to worry about that.

 Two stamps from 1996, unfortunately damaged in the post. :(

Finnish Forest

FI-1205423
"Do what you believe in, and believe in what you do. Everything else is a waste of time and energy."

Tallinn, Estonia

Tallinn, Estonia

I have a number of cards from Estonia, so it's high time I posted one of them on this blog.
This card is from Tondinahk for the favorites tag. This is a great example of a really beautiful cityview. Even though I say on my profile I don't like them, sometimes I do. :) It's all in the composition of the photo, really. I'm sure the birds in this one are photoshopped, but I don't care. :p

Tallinn is the oldest capital city in Europe, and its old town is a UNESCO world heritage site. If I am not mistaken, this card shows three of the major structures of the old town: Toompea Castle in the foreground, St. Nicholas Church in the middle (shorter tower) and St. Olaf's church in the distance (taller tower). St. Olaf's church, built in the 12th century, is rumored to have been built by a man named Olaf, who died after falling off the tower. When his body landed, a snake and a toad crawled from his mouth. This scene is depicted inside an adjoining chapel. The tower was also used by the KGB as a surveillance point. Nowadays, surplus to the Catholic church, they let the Baptists use it.

The stamp is from 2010, showing Christmas artwork by Liisa Hallik and Maarja Kotkas.

Christian de Lanbodère

CA-189591
The sender of this card states that she found it at a French art show in Shanghai, China. As such, I'm not sure how to classify the nationality of the card!

However, it was mailed from Canada.

The stamp is from February 2011. It's a painting by Canadian Aboriginal artist Daphne Odjig entitled "Spiritual Renewal."

Sensoji Temple, Tokyo

The 100 Views of Edo: Sensoji Temple at Asakusa
by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)

This postcard shows a famous woodblock-print by one of Japan's most famous ukiyo-e artists. Hiroshige was born the son of a samurai in Tokyo (then called Edo). He followed in his father's footsteps to become a firefighter, dedicated to protecting Edo Castle from fire. However, his salary was small and he took to art to supplement his income. The series of 100 views of Edo was produced over a three year period from 1856-1859, and was completed by Hiroshige's pupil after his death. This painting is number 99 in the series (there are actually more than 100 of them).

I've been to Sensoji several times, but it seems I don't have any pictures of it. It's one of the best places in Tokyo to buy souvenirs, as they have different types all in one place. And you can buy a candle or incense to make an offering, or buy a luck charm. I've never seen it covered in snow like this, though.

The stamp is from the series "Anime Heroes and Heroines," issued in October 2009. This one is Sai from Naruto.

Kota Bharu, Malaysia

An early morning market scene in Kota Bharu. This is an official card, MY-50925 from Ethen.

Why did I choose this card for today, you may ask. Well, I have been hungry all day and no matter how much I eat, I get hungry again an hour later. Among the things I've eaten so far are two bananas, an apple, a pear, and some Japanese sweet potato, so it seemed appropriate to post a fruit market. :)

Kota Bharu is a city and its surrounding area, located in Kelanten, Malaysia, near the border with Thailand. In the city, you can visit the old royal palace to view its unique architecture -- but only from the outside, as the inside is still occupied by the sultan and sultanah. You can also go diving to the IJN Awazisan Maru, a Japanese transport vessel sunk in WWII, and mingle with giant barracudas, a mere 40 minutes from the city center. Just thinking about it makes me hungry again.

When researching this stamp, I discovered that Malaysia issued a large set of stamps depicting "traditional festive food" from many cultures in the same year as this stamp.


 If I can drag myself away from those, I can tell you that this stamp, issued in 2010, is from a set of Old Post-Offices! This is particularly fitting since today is World Post Day! This one is Seremban General Post Office.



Even though it's inactive, here is another post for Our Wonderful World Tuesday.

Stingray City, Grand Cayman

Another vacation RR card, this time TeamBearCat sent me a card from their trip to the Cayman Islands.

Stingray City is a series of shallow sandbars in the North Sound of Grand Cayman. Tourists can get up close and personal with stingrays. The name "stingray" comes from the venomous mucus-covered tail barb sported by this species. According to Wikipedia, their mouths have about as much suction as a powerful vacuum cleaner. So, snorkelers beware!

 The stamp is from the Cayman Islands Cultural Series Part 3: Catboats. Also known as cat-rigged sailboats, catboats are single-masted vessels, often painted blue to minimize glare. They were originally made for the activity depicted on this stamp: turtle fishing.

This is a post for Our Wonderful World Tuesday. Click the image to join in.