Alkmaar, Netherlands

This one was sent in an envelope. :(



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Alkmaar is located in the province of North Holland. Edam cheese is made here, and every Friday morning from April to September they have a cheese market, which is mainly a show for tourists. In fact, you can't even buy cheese at the cheese market - it is just a demonstration of how the market used to work in the old days. Alkmaar also has a cheese museum.

I've been postcrossing for about 4 years and these are the only two cards I've ever received from Alkmaar. I got them within 2 weeks of each other.

 Stamps from 2003 (left), 2002 (middle) and 2010 (right).

Glen Canyon, Utah

Slot Canyon, Utah

From mmtnsage for the vacation RR.

Slot canyons are very narrow canyons that are taller than they are wide, formed when rivers carve a path into the rock over time. They can be found across the American Southwest as well as in other countries. For example, the Siq, a slot canyon in Petra, Jordan was a location for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Slot canyons can be dangerous to hike in because of the danger of drowning in flash floods.

The 2011 definitive for the domestic postcard rate, showing sage (Salvia officinalis).

Love Horses, Ukraine

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Sender Ksenia writes that this is scenery from eastern Crimea. Crimea is an autonomous parliamentary republic within Ukraine.

 These are from the 2010 Europa issue on children's books. The blue one with the horse is "mare's head" and the golden one with the people is "gold shoe."

Happy Lunar New Year - Year of the Snake

A Japanese new year card featuring this year's zodiac animal, the snake.

I know I am a bit late, but I figure it's still okay to wish everyone a happy Lunar New Year 2013 - Heisei 25.
Thanks Lara. ♥

Two definitive stamps.

Lääne-Virumaa, Estonia

Lääne-Virumaa

Lääne-Virumaa is one of the 15 counties of Estonia. It was settled in prehistoric times by the Vironians,  a Finnic tribe. Twelve landscape preserves and 3 state nature reserves are located at least partially in the county.

According to the county's English website:

"The development of the Estonian culture and population has been directed and influenced by the sea. According to the common law, every kind of profit gained from the sea is lawful and so the profession of coast watchers is well-known since ancient times: he was a man, who kept watch on a high shore, lit signal fires, informed about ship accidents and the arrival of the enemy, observed the movements of fish shoals. The villages were situated away from the coastline then, because of the lack of farmland near the sea and also to avoid the frequent looting raids from the ships. Fish was mainly caught from inland waters, coastal fishing took place only during the spring and autumn seasons."

I got this card from Eellaa for the favorites tag. Looks like a lovely place to visit... picnic in the poppy fields, go out on the water in the little boat in the foreground...

The stamp on the right is a Christmas stamp from 2002. The stamp on the left is from 1996.

Welsh Countryside

Getting well immersed in the countryside...

I got this card from my brother when he was on a bike trip in the U.K. He wrote that this was him one night wild camping in a Welsh forest.

The stamp is from a 2011 set of ten and features Daisy from the children's cartoon Thomas the Tank Engine.



This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday, hosted by Beth. Click on the icon to visit her blog and join in.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

North Gate of Angkor Thom

I bought this card on my trip to Cambodia in January 2012. Angkor Thom is one of the temples of the Angkor complex, surrounded by four gates, one facing each of the cardinal directions. Each one is crowned by four faces of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.

I have been having a very hard time lately and tonight is no exception. So, I decided to post a few cards that remind me of happy things, and this is one of them.

Here is my favorite photo of one of the gates of Angkor Thom.  That's my tuktuk driver and tour guide, Pheng, in the picture. He took good care of me and I know I would not have had as good a time without him.