#96

Received: February 28th, 2014

From: Colte (Canterbury, United Kingdom)

Depicts: Canterbury Cathedral (Canterbury, United Kingdom)

First of all, this was one of the fastest cards ever - it took less than two days to arrive! Just wow. And it hit pretty close to home because I've spent a week in Canterbury back in 2010 and loved it to death, so this cathedral is a sight that's always welcome and I was really thankful to Colte because she so promptly accepted my cards' exchange proposal. Plus, we've been emailing back and forth these past two days and I've grown to like her quite a bit, which also makes this card more special.

Postcard stamps:

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#95

Received: January 27th, 2014

From: Anna (Côte d'Azur, France)

Depicts: View from Île de Ste. Marguerite (Cannes, France)

I loved the card from Turkmenistan, yes, but I loved this one even more! I've been amazed by the French Riviera since I can remember, but especially since I visited back in 2008, and this card came to remind me once again why I love it so much! It's really, really pretty and made my list of favorites received cards ever! Better than the card itself, just the words that Anna wrote in it - proving to me, once again, that I was really lucky choosing her to swap cards with!

Postcard stamp:

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#94

Received: January 27th, 2014

From: Anna (Côte d'Azur, France)

Depicts: Gonur Depe (Turkmenistan)

When I proposed this swap to Anna, she immediately offered to send me not only a postcard of her town, but also one from Turkmenistan, which I accepted because they're so rare and I'm pretty sure I'll never get one through Postcrossing! So she sent this one to me which shows a few views from Gonur Depe, a Bronze Age site in Turkmenistan, which dates from two milleniums b.C! It's just too cool and Anna was a sweetheart.

Postcard stamp:

*

#93

Received: February 26th, 2014

From: Thomas (Wien, Austria)

Depicts: The Gloriette (Schönbrunn Palace, Wien)

So, here I was quietly checking my mailbox when I get this one card. I knew immediately who it was from because I had proposed a direct swap to Austria just a week ago - but I never could have imagined that inside this apparently normal card was something much more beautiful...

Yes! It was a panoramic card with a beautiful view from Wien! I almost squealed with delight because it really is beautiful, it is now one of my favorite cards ever! I don't even have words - I'm just glad I had chosen one of the most beautiful cards I have to send Thomas back, because he really deserves that and more.

Postcard stamp:

*

#92

Received: February 26th, 2014

From: Elena Loddo (Porto Torres, Italy)

Depicts: View from Porto Torres

I really like this one. It was a direct swap that I proposed to Elena, because I love Italy and I love Sardinia and it was, unfortunately, one of the regions I couldn't visit when I was in the country in 2008. But with this card I felt even more sorry I didn't visit - look at that water!

Postcard stamp:

What stroke me most about this card was... five cents? Really? I spend about 14 times more than that just to send one card. Some countries really are the best!

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#91

Received: February 24th, 2014
From: Jeanette (New York City, USA)
Depicts: Bethesda Fountain (Central Park, NYC)

Jeanette never fails me and here is another beautiful card from one of my dream cities, New York. This is the famous Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, in a beautiful image in the fall. I bet that the pond is perfect to row boating and taking pictures next to it, it must be amazing.

Postcard stamp:

*

#90

Received: February 12th, 2014
From: Yuliya Pahomova (Simferopol, Ukraine)

Depicts: Traditional Ukrainian card

Yuliya proposed a direct swap with me and I gladly accepted, as I pretty much always do, because the many cards, the merrier I get. A few days after we talked, I got the card and it was really nice, it's very traditional and I love it. Another thing that stuck with me from this card: Yuliya is 21 and she's already married and has a kid; I'm 20 and have no perspectives of that whatsoever which just shows how different cultures and people around the world are - this is not any kind of criticism at all, just a comment!

Postcard stamps:

*

#89

Received: January 30th, 2014

From: Soni (St. Petersburg, Russia)

Depicts: The Mikhailovsky Castle/ Monument to Peter, the Great (St. Petersburg, Russia)

Another nice card from Russia which confirms what I already knew - that Mother Russia is a majestic and beautiful country I very much wish to visit one day. Soni wrote this card to me on January 12th and said that the day before she had experienced the first snowfall of the year, which I found interesting, I thought it snowed pretty much every day in the winter there, haha.

Postcard stamps:

*

#88

Received: January 30th, 2014

From: Kira (Moscow, Russia)

Depicts: Donald Duck - Disney Official Postcard

As I said before, I say in my profile that I like Disney very much, and it was nice to get a different card! I love it, it's funny and colorful and once again it proved to me that people read what I write and value it enough to try and get me what I wish for - that's makes it all very much worth it.

Postcard stamp:

How beautiful is this one?

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#87

Received: January 29th, 2014
From: Shoko (Nagaoka, Japan)

Depicts: Mount Fuji (Japan)

I remember that in the day before I got this card, I had to send a card out to Japan and I thought to myself "This is one of the countries I still haven't gotten anything from"... Well, the next day my wishes were fulfilled, which was really cool, especially because this became one of my favorites cards right away. It just looks so dreamy and the back is decorated with a lot of stickers and motifs and it's all too cute. Shoko said she chose this card because Mount Fuji represents Japan's culture and spirit and that the sunrise over Mount Fuji is considered a sign of good luck - maybe this is my lucky card! I love it.

Postcard stamps:

Like the card itself, the stamp on the right is seriously competing for the spot of my favorite one ever!

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#86

Received: January 28th, 2014
From: Minnie (Honk Kong)

Depicts: Floral pattern

Since there isn't much to talk about when it comes to postcard theme, Minnie told me a little about herself, her family and their last vacation to China, where they could enjoy a "white Christmas" with all the snow.

Plus, she added this little decorative detail that I even photographed because I liked so much:

Postcard stamp:

Legislative council - Hong Kong

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#85

Received: January 28th, 2014

From: Sergey (Brest, Belarus)

Depicts: Traditional musical instrument (Belarus)

I really like traditional postcards because they always manage to show me little characteristics of the countries and cultures I wouldn't have gotten to know otherwise. All I'd ever gotten from Belarus up until this card were view cards of Minsk, so this was a really nice change.

Postcard stamp:

I wish I could tell you who the person in the card is, but I obviously can't understand the alphabet.

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#84

Received: January 28th, 2014

From: Jeanette (New York City, USA)

Depicts: National 9/11 Memorial

When I least expect it, dear Jeanette sends me a card again, and this one made me as happy as sad. I was only 8 when the 9/11 tragedy happened and, fortunately, no one I knew was involved, but it still touches me deeply and each year I read and watch testimonies and stories and it really breaks my heart how something like this could have happened, conspiration theories aside. Jeanette said this was a very touching and close to her heart postcard, and I can barely imagine how that must have been, to see the city unravel beneath your eyes and to lose people on such a day. Well, I'll focus on the positive: another card from NYC and a person who I consider a friend is always good to get.

Postcard stamp:

I didn't cut out the stickers because they're so cute! And this card alone had nine of them :)

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#83

Received: January 28th, 2013

From: Andrey (Moscow, Russia)

Depicts: Czar Nikolai II leading the troops (1913)

When I got this card, at first I was really sad - it didn't have a Postcrossing ID so I wouldn't be able to register it, and I knew it couldn't be a direct swap because I hadn't asked for anything! Then I looked at the signature and thought I had heard that name before. I looked for it on Postcrossing servers and found out that I had already received a card from that person: Andrey, whom you may remember from a few posts back! I contacted him to figure out if he had sent the card by mistake or something, but it turns out that he was just the sweetest and had just sent the card because he knew I liked royal families and the Czar's era, and when he sent me the other card he couldn't find a postcard related to that. Then he saw this one and sent it out just like that, which was great because it's the only one I've got Czars-related! Of course I thanked him a lot and sent him one back, as a thank! As I've said many times before since I joined Postcrossing: the world is full of good people and I've been really lucky to find a few of them.

Postcard stamp:

*

#82

Received: January 28th, 2014

From: Jenny (Yarrawonga, Australia)

Depicts: Murray River (Victoria, Australia)

Jenny told me this picture shows Murray River and it was taken near Cobram, Victoria. She also told me she lives only 2km away from the river and that the Murray is Australia's longest one, with 2375km and that it forms the border between the states of Victoria and New South Wales. Australia just seems like a truly fascinating country to me.

Postcard stamps:

Such nice stamps of government houses! Top left: Tasmania; top right: South Australia; bottom left: Western Australia; bottom right: New South Wales.

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#81

Received: January 22nd, 2014
From: Konstantin (Minsk, Belarus)

Depicts: View from Minsk

Konstantin told me this is one of the principal steets in Minsk and I confirmed what I already thought from previous postcards: I really want to visit and get to know the city one of these days.

Postcard stamp:

*

#80

Received: January 16th, 2014

From: Minna (Lohja, Finland)

Depicts: New Year's Eve postcard

How cute is this card? I really like it, it's so funny and original. Plus, Minna wrote it to me during her breakfast and talked a little about the end of her vacations. I love those simple things.

Postcard stamp:

Another one of my all-favorite stamps!

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#79

Received: January 16th, 2014

From: Irina (Joensuu, Finland)

Depicts: Disney Official Postcard - Princesses Aurora and Snow White

I LOVE this card! Another of my all-time favorites. Yes, I'm a girly girl who still loves Disney! All glittery and with two of my favorite princesses, how could I not like this, really? Plus, the stamp!!

Postcard stamp:

This is also one of my favorite stamps ever, if not the all-time favorite! I wish Portugal had something like this, but we're not a lot of Postcrossers here. (Notice Irina's little note, aww.)

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#78

Received: January 16th, 2014

From: Maija (Tampere, Finland)

Depicts: Couple skating

I present to you another one of my all-time favorites. Even though in this picture that isn't really seen, this card is full of glitter, which you already know I love, plus it depicts one of my favorite activies ever: figure skating. I've practiced the sport for years, but unfortunately have never skated on ice, just on wood. Maija said she, as I do, loves sports and especially figure skating, and she's from Finland, so she probably knows even more about it than I do. I loved this one.

Postcard stamp:

Another funny stamp I really loved.

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#77

Received: January 16th, 2014

From: Saulius (Kaunas, Lithuania)

Depicts: Painting

Saulius is an art teacher, so he likes to send and receive art-related cards. I liked it, it's different from the majority of the cards I usually get. Plus, sometimes just from looking at a picture of reading a few words from a person you can get the feeling if they're a good or bad person and from Saulius I got a really good vibe. Oh, and this is the only postcard from Lithuania I've gotten up until now.

Postcard stamp:

*

#76

Received: January 16th, 2014

From: Jürgen (Landsberg am Lech, Germany)

Depicts: King Ludwig II of Bavaria

As you may remember from a few posts ago, this was the second card I've gotten with King Ludwig II of Bayern, and that's why I mentioned that he may must be really famous and/or loved around there! Maybe because he was the one who built that delicious castle I love and want to visit so much, Neuschwanstein! Jürgen told me he lives in the most southern province in Germany, which is a nice curiosity.

Postcard stamps:

*

#75

Received: January 16th, 2014

From: Helle (Vana Vinni, Estonia)

Depicts: Quote card

I really liked this card - first of all, it came all way from Estonia, and up until now it's the only one I've got from there. Then, it's super original, I could even hang it somewhere if I wanted to. It's also beautifully decorated and I love that people take the time to do that, always makes me feel a little special - like the card quote says! "Special voor jou": you are special!

Postcard stamps:

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#74

Received: January 16th, 2014

From: Gerlinde (Mijdrecth, The Netherlands)

Depicts: Dutch royal family

I love this card, because it shows that people actually read my profile and try to please me, which is so awesome! I always try to do the same for other people, so it's nice to be recognized for that, even if that may be indirect. Anyway: I really really like royal families. This is the new Dutch king Willem Alexander, Queen Maxima and the little princesses, Amalia, Alexia and Ariane. Plus, I love the back of this card even more than I do the front! Gerlind decorated it with a pink sash and stamped her Postcrossing ID with flowers and birds, plus she used a sticker with a figure skater - I practiced figure skating for many year and say so in my profile! She was a sweetheart.

Postcard stamp:

Even the stamp is beautiful!

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#73

Received: January 16th, 2014

From: Ute (Kleve, Germany)

Depicts: Dog cartoon

I really liked this card, it's so funny! And very different from any other I've ever gotten. Plus, Ute told me she and her family spent their vacation at Azores, in Portugal, and now she's trying to learn Portuguese but she finds it quite difficult - I can understand her, because I myself find German really difficult to understand!

Postcard stamp:

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