#400

Received: September 9th, 2014

From: Constance (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

Depicts: Views from Dubai, United Arab Emirates

This is my 400th card!! I'm amazed by how many cards I've been able to gather in thirtheen months and how many good things Postcrossing has brought me! For example, this card: it came all the way from Dubai, it's a rarity, really, and I'll be holding on to it dearly because I don't think I'll ever get another! So it was the best possible card I could use as my number 400. It shows the Arabian desert and the famous Emirates twin towers, both at day and night.

Postcard stamp:

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#399

Received: September 9th, 2014
From: Gerraldo (Minneapolis, USA)
Depicts: Map card (California, USA)

I'm fond of map cards that show you some of the particularities of the place they depict, and this one is very good at that; plus, it also serves a state card, and that's a collection I'm also interested in completing, although I know it won't be easy to get 50 cards from 50 states in the USA! But still, one can dream and Gerraldo helped me already.

Postcard stamps:

With these amazing stamps, Gerraldo was also able to combine two things I really like: sports (especially with the Joe DiMaggio stamp, who I know because he was married to Marilyn Monroe), and then Harry Potter: I didn't have a Draco Malfoy stamp yet and I love it!

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#398

Received: September 9th, 2014

From: Yrsa (Sweden)

Depicts: Swedish countryside

Yrsa sent me a card with pictures of what she calls the typical Swedish countryside; apparently, it's not easy at all to find this kind of landscape anymore there, so I was happy to get it and get a different view of the country from the one I've been making up in my head.

Postcard stamps:

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#397

Received: September 9th, 2014
From: Choi (Hong Kong)
Depicts: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of United Kingdom

I was quite happy to get this official card because, as anyone who follows this blog knows, I'm quite interested in royal families! And I was still missing this card of the Queen of England. Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997 and Choi told me that Queen Elizabeth II used to be on stamps and coins everywhere, but not anymore, of course; plus, her nickname there used to be "Lady Boss"!

Postcard stamp:

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#396

Received: September 9th, 2014

From: Pei (Stavanger, Norway)

Depicts: Disney official card

I absolutely loved this official card! Not only it's official from Postcrossing, it's also original from Disney, and it came all the way from Walt Disney World!! Pei visited last year and got some cards and I was lucky enough to get one! It has all the "classical" Disney characters, which include my favorite: Minnie. And it's all glittery! Plus it was my first official card from Norway!

Postcard stamps:

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#395

Received: September 9th, 2014

From: Jeanette (New York City, USA)

Depicts: Lower Manhattan Skyline (New York City, USA)

Jeanette was going through my Favorites wall on Postcrossing and found out that I had marked this card as a favorite several times, so she sent it to me, the dearest! I really, really love the card though; isn't it absolutely amazing? I love the big moon, the colors of the sky, the city lights... I just really want to go to Manhattan one day!

Postcard stamps:

I really liked the two stamps with food and vegetables!

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#394

Received: September 9th, 2014

From: Lucy (Taunton, England)

Depicts: Saint Peter's Basilica (Vatican City, Vatican)

This is my first card from the Vatican and I'm so happy I could get it! Lucy hosted a lottery in the Postcrossing forum to send a card from her holiday to a few lucky winners and I was one of them, therefore this beauty of a card arrived at my home! I really love it - I was in Saint Peter's Basilica myself back in 2008, and I remember how huge it was; the kind of building that makes you feel overwhelmed because it's so amazingly beautiful and grandious. I really liked it.

Postcard stamp:

Even the stamp relates to the Vatican and is amazing!

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#393

Received: September 9th, 2014

From: Sonia (Pamplona, Spain)

Depicts: Views from Berlin, Germany

I won this card through a lottery that Sonia held in the Postcrossing forum, and I was really happy with it. Sonia told me a little about her fortnight trip to Berlin and all the things she did there, which made the time fly, and I definitely can relate with that, because it seems that whenever I travel, I never have enough time to do everything I wanted to!

Postcard stamp:

This stamp made me want to go and see all the castles in Germany!

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#392

Received: September 9th, 2014

From: Olga (Novosibirsk, Russia)

Depicts: Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy

I absolutely loved getting this official card, because it has two of my favorite skaters in it: the German pair Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy. They're kind of the greatest rivals of my favorite pair of skaters ever (who are Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov), but even though I can't really root for the Germans when they're competing against my favorite Russians, I do recognize their quality and appreciate them anyway!

Postcard stamps:

I always love these corner stamps!

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#391

Received: September 1st, 2014

From: Pavla (Prague, Czech Republic)

Depicts: Happy birthday card

This one is pretty self-explanatory: it was just another nice card to celebrate my birthday, and I was really thankful for it. Plus it has an amazing 3D sticker in the back, which I found really sweet!

Postcard stamp:

None, since it came in an envelope.

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#390

Received: September 1st, 2014
From: Pavla (Prague, Czech Republic)
Depicts: Views from Pardubice, Czech Republic

Pavla told me she lived in Pardubice for seven years, so she decided to send me a card from there, which I appreciated, because I don't have that many cards from Czech cities that are not Prague! In this card, you can see an image of Pardubice from the beginning of the 20th century, and then another that was taken in 2009 - it's a good way to see how things can change so much, and at the same time stay the same, in a matter of a century.

Postcard stamp:

None, since it came in an envelope.

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#389

Received: September 1st, 2014

From: Pavla (Prague, Czech Republic)

Depicts: Princess

Pavla and I agreed to exchange cards and letters and I couldn't have been happier when I got her package: she sent me tons of unwritten postcards, plus three written ones that I really liked too, especially because they were meant to celebrate my birthday and she decorated them with beautiful stickers!

Postcard stamp:

None, since it came in an envelope.

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#388

Received: September 1st, 2014

From: Baris (Istanbul, Turkey)

Depicts: Pamukkale (Denizli, Turkey)

I was really, really glad to get this postcard, because if there's a place in Turkey I want to visit, it's Pamukkale. The word "Pamukkale" means "cotton castle" in Turkish, and Pamukkale always does remind me of cotton candy for some reason! Pamukkale are travertines, "terraces" of carbonate minerals made of very unique chemical stones that make them look intensely and beautifully white. There are small lakes where people used to be able to bathe themselves - I really wanted to do that! - but nowadays it's forbidden, for the government wants to protect the original landscape. I love this card!

Postcard stamp:

None, since it came in an envelope.

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#387

Received: September 1st, 2014
From: Angela (Hannover, Germany)
Depicts: Reichstag (Berlin, Germany)

This beautiful postcard came from Hannover, although it shows a famous building in Berlin: the Reichstag. Like its name says, it was built (between 1884 and 1894) to house the Reichstag (the Imperial Diet, the Parliament) of the German Empire, which it did until 1933. Then, after the World War II, it stopped being used. After its 1999 reconstruction, it started being used again as the German Parliament's house, and I think it still serves that purpose. I think it's a really beautiful building!

Postcard stamp:

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#386

Received: September 1st, 2014

From: Maren (Bremen, Germany)

Depicts: Weserstadion (Bremen, Germany)

Maren lives in Bremen, hometown of Werder Bremen, a quite known German football team, and knowing I like football, she decided to send me a card with their stadium: the Weserstadion. She's been holding a season ticket for more than 20 years, which I admire! Plus, I really liked the landscape around the stadium, it seems really beautiful there! Oh, and I have zillions (not quite, but sometimes it feels like it!) of postcards from Germany already, and this is my first one from Bremen. Plus, Maren also wished me a happy birthday in the card, and I really like being remembered - or, at least, that people DO pay attention to what I write on my Postcrossing profile!

Postcard stamp:

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#385

Received: August 29th, 2014

From: Cris (Girona, Spain)

Depicts: Painting (Lanzarote, Spain)

My dear Cristina never ceases to amaze me and she sent me a little package with amazing things to celebrate my birthday: this beautiful and original card, a little notebook that I absolutely loved, and also a little "regalito" that she made herself and which picture you can see right under this text. I am so grateful to have proposed her a swap many months ago, because she truly is one of the best people I've had the honor to find through Postcrossing!

She really is amazing!

Postcard stamp:

None, since it came in an envelope.

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#384

Received: August 28th, 2014
From: Julia (Grodno, Belarus)
Depicts: Stamps sports postcard

Julia proposed to me that we swapped cards and I agreed, and here's the first one she sent me: it's a card I had in my favorites, because I love these cards made of a "patchwork" of stamps, and if they're sports related, even better! This one shows winter sports practiced in Belarus: hockey, biathlon and freestyle. She told me that tennis, football and athletics are other sports also popular in her country.

Postcard stamp:

None, since it came in an envelope.

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#383

Received: August 28th, 2014
From: Sorin (Bucharest, Romania)
Depicts: Bistrita Monastery (Vâlcea, Romania)

I appreciated this card because it's only my second from Romania, they seem to be so rare! It was a little difficult to figure out exactly what this building was, because although the card has a lot of information on its backside, it's all written in Romanian and of course, I don't know a word. But I could figure out this is the Bistrita Monastery, built between 1492 and 1494. Plus, I also quite liked the little detail of the cut-out car that Sorin put in the bottom right of card!

Postcard stamp:

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#382

Received: August 28th, 2014

From: Luis (Barcelona, Spain)

Depicts: Santa María del Mar Church (Barcelona, Spain)

Luis has sent me a great deal of postcards from Barcelona already, and they're always amazing! I really like this one too; it shows the Santa María del Mar Church (or "the Cathedral of the Sea", as it's also known), which is the last gothic church left in Barcelona, and is quite beautiful, at that.

Postcard stamp:

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#381

Received: August 28th, 2014
From: Subramanya (Karnataka, India)
Depicts: Stone Chariot (Hampi, India)

Subramanya and I had exchanged cards twice before, and then we naturally stopped, as it has happened to me with so many swaps already! So when I got this card just in time for my birthday, and congratulating me for it, I was really surprised, but of course it was a good surprise. The postcard shows the most known attraction of the Hampi ruins: the Stone Chariot, which is, of course, not a real chariot, but a shrine built like one. The Hampi ruins, in northern Karnakata state, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Postcard stamps:

I loved the football themed stamp!

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#380

Received: August 27th, 2014
From: Marta (Guarda, Portugal)
Depicts: Sardine cans

I absolutely love this card and it had been on my favorites for a long time until Marta decided to send it to me, after I won a postcard from her on the Postcrossing forum! It's right up my alley of vintage things I love! Plus, it's always nice to get a card from your own country, written in your own language.

Postcard stamp:

How cute are those walls?

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#379

Received: August 26th, 2014

From: Trisk (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Depicts: Air view of the Corcovado with Pão de Açúcar in the background

I absolutely loved this card, it's probably one of my all-time favorites from all those I've received! It's amazing and huge and really makes me want to go and visit Brazil! Plus, a nice detail: Trisk says you can find her home in the right side of the card, which is so nice - I'll never get to see my house on a card, haha!

Postcard stamps:

I liked especially the stamp on the right, because it's from the World Cup 2014.

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#378

Received: August 26th, 2014
From: Trisk (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Depicts: Ipanema Beach (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

I won a lottery that Trisk held in the Postcrossing Forum and was very happy, because I don't have that many cards from Brazil and they're always welcome, of course! It's a country that fascinates me and that I really want to visit one day. Trisk said this card is one of her favorites, because she loves its colors and it shows the exact spot she usually chooses to stay at the Ipanema beach! I really loved it!

Postcard stamps:

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#377

Received: August 25th, 2014
From: Andrea (Venice, Italy)
Depicts: Views of Kos, Greece

When I got this card, my first sentiment towards Andrea was envy - I'm dying to go to Greece and still couldn't fulfill this year! Plus, he told me that he was writing the card at the Lambi beach and that the sea is beautiful and you can see the coast of Turkey from there! How lucky! And well, when I got past the envy, I realized I'm also quite lucky because I got another card from Greece, and those are always more than welcome!

Postcard stamps:

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#376

Received: August 25th, 2014

From: Claudia (Rome, Italy)

Depicts: The Duke and the Duchess and Prince George of Cambridge

My dear Claudia sent me this card as a birthday present and I loved it - royal families amaze me, and this one couple in particular is my favorite! Claudia also asked me how I manage to live in a hot country the whole year - but the truth is that my country is not that hot, at least not when compared to Italy, and Rome in particular! So I do pretty fine.

Postcard stamps:

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