Early steps

This lovely picture of a little girl negotiating a curving staircase has long been in my list of favourites, and fortunately for me, someone noticed and sent it to me from Lithuania.

It is yet another from the Photo Fabrique postcard publishers, from their series "Genres", titled "Up the stairs".  It could of course be down the stairs. :)

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog, The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

Trakai (or sometimes Little Marienburg)

I'm going to be away for almost all of this week, so I thought I'd leave you some reflections.

Two postcards of the Trakai Island castle in Lithuania, both with wonderful reflections in Lake Galve.  I also have a postcard showing the inner yard of the castle.


"You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair. "
~ Proverb

Lighthouses

The Royal Mail issued a set of stamps in 1998 to commemorate both the end of manned lighthouses (they were fully automated in 1998) and also 300 years of the first lighting of the Eddystone lighthouse.  As usual, I'm showing the PHQ postcard of the same design as the stamps. I like these designs with the strip along the bottom showing the lighting pattern.

One other stamp arrived on a recent Postcrossing card from Lithuania:

I'm afraid I know nothing about it.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, now hosted by Violet Sky at "See it on a Postcard!"

Snow and sparkles

A pretty card from Lithuania.  The sender tells they have snowy winters there and that she likes to walk in a nearby forest on sunny and frosty days, when nature looks almost the same as the card.

Nida

The only word of explanation on this lovely card was "Nida", apart from the Lithuanian stamp.  That was enough for Googling though, and I found out that Nida is a resort on the Baltic Sea, on what is called the Curonian Spit, and the Curonian Spit is what you see on the card.  It is a long curved sand dune that separates the Baltic Sea from a lagoon.

The spit is special because the shifting sand dunes are under constant threat from the winds and the sea.  It isn't only sand though.  There are wetlands and forests too, and it is an important stopover point for migratory birds.  It is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Trakai

From the back of the card:

"Gothic style castle was constructed by the Lithuanian Grand Dukes - Kestutis and Vytautas at the end of XIV century and the first decade of the 15th century."

Stunningly beautiful.

Lietuva

Two maps of Lithuania.  Lietuva is the name for the country in the Lithuanian language.

Trakai Island Castle

Trakai Island Castle was built in three phases, starting in the 14th century and finishing almost 100 years later.   The island on which it's built is one of 21 islands in Lake Galvė, south eastern Lithuania.   Many of the lakes and islands in the area, and the castle too, are said to be haunted.  Nevertheless, or maybe because of it, the castle is a great tourist attraction.

It's good that you're you ...

... and I can be myself...
A postcard sent from Lithuania.  I used Google translate to tell me what the Lithuanian words mean so I am prepared to be corrected. :)

The little boy's saxophone is almost as big as he is, so I'm fairly confident this displays some artistic licence.  I do enjoy street musicians.  The very best can be found near good music schools, a great treat for passers-by.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

Bales of hay

Moments of inspiration

Further to my post about the haystacks here are the types of hay bale we see more often, I think.  The first one comes from Lithuania and I think you can probably guess the second one.

Kaunas

The central street in Kaunas, taken about some time ago apparently.  The sender tells me people dress very differently now.  They look fairly modern to me but I suppose I don't have the same perspective as an 18 year old girl.

The stamp is one I've received a few times now, Galileo Galilei, a physicist, mathematician and astronomer.  In fact I nearly trotted him out when the theme was astronomy.  He featured on one of the Lithuanian Europa stamps for 2009 when the theme was ..... astronomy!

Hill of Crosses

I've heard of this amazing sight (or is that site?), now a UNESCO World Heritage Site so I'm delighted to have received a card showing the Hill of Crosses in northern Lithuania.

Its precise origins are a little obscure but it seems that people started putting crosses on a hill after an uprising in 1831.  the numbers of them have grown from about 130 in 1900 to an estimated 100,000 in 2006.  This is in spite of repeated bulldozing during the Soviet era.  There are now not only the crosses, but also crucifixes, statues, carvings and rosaries.

Kaunas, Lithuania

Sent from Kaunas in Lithuania on 30 October 2009, this card shows a fountain in Laisvės Avenue, one of the longest pedestrian streets in Europe.  Kaunas is the second largest city in Lithuania and was the capital for a time.  In 1897, only 6% of the population was ethnic Lithuanian.  Now the proportion is 93%.  That must be remarkably high for any large city.

Vilnius, Lithuania

Postmarked Vilnius, dated 22 October 2008. An interesting tear-drop shape of stamp, one that I've never seen before.

Vilnius
The Cathedral Square

This card shows the cathedral, its belfry and a monument to the Grand Duke Gediminas. Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania. Once it was geographically more or less at the centre of Lithuania. Nowadays, after centuries of changing borders, it is near the south eastern border. Nearby, it is claimed, is the geographical centre of Europe.