Lake Baikal

Two postcards from Lake Baikal (near Irkutsk in Russia) which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It is an ancient rift valley, thought to be the oldest in the world.  It is the deepest in the world and because of that, it also contains the largest amount of freshwater in the world.  To give a comparison, it contains more water than all the Great Lakes combined.

It is because of its unique ecosystem that it has been declared a World Heritage Site.  It contains an exceptional diversity of flora and fauna, with many endangered (IUCN Red List) species.

Young roe deer

I travel home tomorrow, so I hope to post more regularly and with a little more to say for myself. The postcsrd showing the young deer came from Belgium.

The Dolomites

The Lake of Carezza (called Karersee in German) is a crystal clear lake with beautiful colours at the foot of the Latemar, a mountain in the Dolomite range, in north east Italy and part of the Alps.

The Dolomites are a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the spectacular landscape, and also because of the geological significance of the area.

Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery

The Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery was once the largest monastery in Russia though it started out as a cave dug by St Cyril (Kyrill) on the bank of Lake Siverskoye. It now covers 12 hectares and has 11 churches, all surrounded by a wall.

Salon d'Agriculture

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2013 was the 50th anniversary of the International Agricultural Show which is held, rather strangely to my mind, in Paris each year.  La Poste marked the 50th anniversary with a special issue of stamps and you can indeed see the Eiffel Tower in the background behind the cow carrying all those animals.

It is more than animals though, there are sectors for produce, gastronomy (this IS France we're talking about) crops, plants, nature and lifestyle, and agricultural services and professions.

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

Games - Olympic and others

During 2012 (I nearly said last year) when the Olympics were in London I had more commemorative cards and stamps than I knew what to do with, so of course I sent them to people who showed an interest in the Games.  As a result I have very little to show of that time but I did receive a lovely card of the Rocky Mountain National Park with a Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games stamp.

All that I have from 2012 are these "left overs", for first class domestic mail and worldwide up to 20g.

I'm including a commemorative card and stamp mini-sheet from the 2013 University Games held in Kazan in Russia because I was so delighted to receive them very recently.

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

Hongcun, Anhui

Hongcun is one of the two Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui, now inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.  There are only about 150 houses in the village but they date back to the 12th century and have preserved a remarkable water system which runs through every house in the whole village.  This is the second card I have received from this beautiful place.

Here, on the river's verge, I could be busy for months without changing my place, simply leaning a little more to right or left. 
- Paul Cezanne

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

Lucerne and the lake

Lucerne or Luzern towards the north of Swizerland lies on the side of Lake Lucerne (or Vierwaldstättersee in German).  One of its main attractions is the wooden Chapel Bridge and water tower shown on this poster from 1936. Sadly the bridge was almost burnt down in 1993 though it has since been restored, but many the original interior painting were destroyed.  There used to be three of these pedestrian bridges but only two remain, this and the Spreuerbrücke.  All had 17th century paintings in the triangles formed by the roof trusses.

The poster has been reproduced as a very attractive postcard by the Museum für Gestaltung, the Museum of Design, in Zurich.

Visitor from Canada

To mark my sister's visit to me, from Canada.  (Her hat is a little different.)

Two from Minnesota

Some of the 10,000 Minnesota lakes mentioned in the top map card are shown in the lower card.

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.

Traditional village of the Russian north

The card shows a northern village in Russia (from the series "Russina North", while the stamps show the Western Caucasus which includes a UNESCO World Heritage Site, unique in that it has suffered almost no human impact.

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

A dell within a garden within an arboretum

When I imagine Texas, this is not the first image that comes to my mind.  However I'd be wrong because this postcard shows the Palmer Fern Dell which is part of the Jonsson Color Garden which is itself part of the Dallas Arboretum.  During the summer, a misting system (designed by NASA) is used to keep the area several degrees cooler than the surrounding area.

Four seasons in Finland

We're experiencing some unseasonably warm spring weather here, so much so that it's sometimes hard to believe that summer hasn't arrived, and that we really mustn't start planing yet.  I thought it would be a good time to remind ourselves what the four seasons look like, in Finland.

Loch Awe and Kilchurn Castle

Loch Awe seems very aptly named to me - it is stunning - though it comes from the Gaelic "Obha" which has no connection with awe.  It is the third largest loch in Scotland and home to four castles of which Kilchurn is one.

Kilchurn was built in the 15th century as a five storey tower and enlarged in the 17th century to provide "modern" barracks.  It was used as a garrison for government troops during both Jacobite rebellions (1715 and  1745), then in 1760 was badly damaged in a storm.

During all this time Kilchurn was on a small island hardly any bigger than the castle.  In 1817 the lake's water level was lowered and now Kilchurn is on the mainland.  People still do arrive by boat but you can now walk to visit.

Donjon Carondelet

Is it a fortified house, is it a keep, is it a castle?  I'm never sure of the different definitions though it is without a doubt old and beautiful.  It may have been built as early as the 11th or 12th century although wasn't actually mentioned in documents until the 14th.   It is private property and can't be visited by the public.  We can admire it from here all the same.

It is in a little village called Crupet in Wallonie, Belgium, and listed on the website, The Most Beautiful Villages of Wallonia which is part of a network of similar sites also in Italy and France.  I've often visited similar villages in France and they are always a delight.

This card was sent to me by Gerda, from My Postcard Page.  Thank you, Gerda!

Hartbeespoort Dam

From South Africa, just in time, came this lovely card of Hartbeespoort Dam.  It was built in 1925 and, apart from its primary use for collecting water for irrigation, it is also a popular resort for water sports of all types.

The stamp shows the West Wind Gladiator or Mantophasma zephyra, issued in 2008 for the International Congress of Entymology.  West Wind Gladiator is a lovely name for an insect I'd prefer not to meet.  I prefer not to meet very many insects at all.  Bees are OK.  Ladybirds.  That's about my lot.

Updated when I remembered my stamps from Egypt:

Blogger won't let me size the last one the way I want.  In fact it's much smaller than the others.

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

Grande Dixence dam

Who would have thought the subject of dams could be interesting?  This, the Grande Dixence, is the highest gravity dam in the world, in the south west of Switzerland at the head of the Val de Dix.  It is 285 metres (935 ft) high with a triangular cross section.  This apparently is what makes it a gravity dam.  Other possible types of dam are arch, buttress, or embankment dams, but Grande Dixence is a gravity dam.

The dam collects the water from 35 glaciers in the area as they melt in the summer and then it's used to drive the turbines in two power stations.  The power produced is enough for 400,000 households.

It's possible to do tours of of the dam itself, and of the pumping stations.  There is a bar and hotel at the base of the dam where you can even arrange to be married.  They seem to cater for every possible occasion.

Peace is

Peace is when time doesn't matter as it passes by.  ~ Maria Schell

An island somewhere in Finland.