Lapinvuokko (Avens Flower) in The Arctic Circle of Finland

Lapinvuokko

Nuorsa

Dryas octopetala

Reinrose

Fjallsippa

The sender writes:

Rovaniemi

Arctic Circle

Let's See if we get a special cancellation from Santa Claus.  

- (Yes, we did - see stamp below  :D ) 

This postcard is postmarked in 2016 from Finland.  

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Dryas octopetala is an Arctic–alpine flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. 

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Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland and is situated about 10 kilometres (6 miles) south of the Arctic Circle.

Finland stamp 2014

Bridges and Waters, 1 lk kl

Hong Kong - The Island from Tsim Sha Tsui

Hong Kong Island from Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
This spectacular view of Central and the island is from the Masterpiece apartment block on Hanoi Road, home also to the Hyatt Regency hotel.

Photography:  Keith Macgregor in 2010.

This is postmarked in 2015 from Hong Kong.

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I believe the helicopter pads are located on the top of The Peninsula Hotel.

The Cruise Ship line is Star Cruises.

The building in the far left of the postcard that juts out on the water is The Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Hong Kong stamp 2014

Landscapes of Hong Kong 

Kang Lau Shek, 3.70

Zoolander with Ben Stiller

Zoolander
In theatres September 28

Skyy Vodka and Martinis

This is an unused 'Go-Card' Advertising postcard.

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Zoolander is a 2001 American satirical comedy film directed by Ben Stiller and starring Stiller, Owen Wilson and Will Ferrell. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards television specials in 1996 and 1997. The short films and the film itself feature a dimwitted male model named Derek Zoolander, played by Stiller. The film involves Zoolander becoming the pawn of corrupt fashion executives in order to assassinate the Prime Minister of Malaysia. 

A Manatee Mother and Her Calf

Manatees vocalize using chirps and whistles to maintain a contact between mother and calf.

Photo by Gregory Sweeney

This postcard is postmarked in 2016.

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Manatees typically breed once every two years; generally only a single calf is born. Gestation lasts about 12 months and a further 12 to 18 months to wean the calf.

USA stamp 2015

Coastal Birds

Red Knot

Postcard Rate

Bacunayagua Bridge in Matanzas, Cuba

Puente de Bacunayagua 

Matanzas

This postcard is postmarked in 2016 from Cuba. 

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Bacunayagua Bridge opened on September, 26, 1959 and is considered to be one of the seven wonders of Civil Engineering in Cuba.

Cuba stamp 2016

A Mailman on a Bicycle

Aniversario 260 de la Creacion del Primer

Servicio Oficial de Correos en Cuba

The 260th Anniversary of Postal Delivery in Cuba

85

Royal Crown Cola with Lucille Ball

"RC tastes best!"
says Lucille Ball
Star of"The Dark Corner"
A 20th Century-Fox Picture

The cola taste-test proved Royal Crown Cola tastes best.  Try it! Say "RC for me!"  It's the quick way to get a quick-up with Royal Crown Cola - best by taste-test! - Lucille Ball

This postcard is from:
Celebrity Sell - Star Endorsements in the Classic Age of Advertising

It is postmarked in 2016.

USA stamp 2011

Forever - Celebrate 

Hemingway y El Floridita in Cuba

Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway y El Floridita
Cuba

This is a 'fold open and close' postcard.  It is mailed from Cuba with two stamps in 2016.  The picture below shows you what the card looks like when it is open.

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El Floridita is a historic fish restaurant and cocktail bar in the older part of Havana (La Habana Vieja), Cuba.  It is famous for its daiquiris and for having been one of the favourite hangouts of Ernest Hemingway while he was in Havana.

Cuba stamp 2014

Marine Life

Sepia officinalis

Common Cuttlefish, 10

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Cuba stamp 2015

50 Aniv. Museo Postal Cubano 

"Jose Luis Guerra Aguiar

The 50th Anniversary of Postal 

Museum José L. Guerra Aguilar

65 Correos 

Missiles on Display, Wallops Flight Facility

Visitors to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Wallops Main Base near Chincoteague, Virginia are impressed wth the mock-ups of missiles on display.  Shown here are part of the display.  Left - RAM, a three-stage solid-propellant vehicle.  The name stands for Radio Attenuation Measurements.  41 feet long, weighs about 13,000 pounds.  Center - Nike-Asp sounding rocket that rises approximately 102 miles in altitude to discharge vapor trails used in visually determining upper atmosphere characteristics.  Right - Little Joe booster vehicle used to perform check-out tests in NASA's Man-in-space Test Program.

This vintage postcard is unused. 

Smithsonian National Postal Museum, Mailboxes in Washington D.C.

Smithsonian
National Postal Museum

Beginning in the 1950s, many cities offered separate mailboxes for local and out-of-town mail to speed processing.  Marketing photo's like this promoted their use to increase efficiency.

The sender writes:
How adorable is this postcard displaying the old Post Boxes here in D.C.?!  I might just frame this one, I love it so much!

This is postmarked in 2016 from Washington D.C. 

USA stamp 2015

Coastal Birds

Spoonbill

Postcard Rate

The National Flag of Belize

The Belize Flag

This unused postcard was bought in 2013.

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The Belize flag was adopted on September 21, 1981. It features the coat of arms that recalls the logging industry that led to the British settlement in Belize. The figures, tools, and mahogany tree represent this industry. The entire coat of arms is surrounded by fifty mahogany leaves.  The national motto, Sub Umbra Floreo, meaning “I Flourish in the Shade”, is written in the lower part of the coat of arms.

The flag of Belize is one of the few national flags to have humans as a major part of the design.  

Two Postcards from Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery
Our nation's most hallowed ground was officially designated as a military cemetery in June 15, 1846 on the grounds of the Arlington House, once house of Robert E. Lee and occupied by Union soldiers during the Civil War.  One of the most visited places at the cemetery is the eternal flame and state marker identifying the grave of President John F. Kennedy. The sign directs also to the Tomb of Unknown, that contains the remains of unknown American soldiers from World Wars I and II the Korean Conflict and (until 1998) the Vietnam War.

Photos by Eduardo Arrossi

This postcard is postmarked in 2016
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Virginia

Arlington National Cemetery

More than 250,000 gravestones of American veterans and their families line the Virginia hillsides of Arlington National Cemetery.  Keeping watch over them is Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial.  Once the home of the famous general and his wife, Mary Custis Lee, a descendant of George Washington, the property was seized by the federal government and esteablished as a national cemetery in 1864.  Today, the sacrifices of all American veterans are honored here.

Photo: Carol M. Highsmith 

This is postmarked in 2001.

The Legend of the Florida Skunk Ape

Greetings from sunny
FLORIDA
enjoy our Skunk Ape!

National Postcard Week
May 3 - 9, 2015

Did You Know?
The Myakka Skunk Ape is Florida's Bigfoot?  These hairy creatures stand up to 7 feet tall and can weigh more than 450 pounds.  Skunk Ape sightings are reported throughout Florida but most often in the wilderness of the Everglades.  Evidence suggests that Skunk Apes spend a great deal of time in underground caverns or alligator caves.  Many people believe that methane gas emitted by decaying matter in these low lying areas are what gives the Skunk Ape its unique skunky / rotten egg odor.

This is postcard number 12 in a limited edition of 50 and was created by Michelle Mullins. 

Skogskyrkogården, Almhojden, UNESCO Site in Sweden

UNESCO 

World Heritage

Varldsarvet Skogskyrkogarden

Granitkorset med Almhojden till vanster och Minneslunden till hoger.  

The Granite Cross

Translation:

Granite Cross with Almhojden left and memorial garden to the right.

Foto: Susanne Fesse

This is postmarked in 2016 with two bee stamps from Sweden. 

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Almhöjden, or meditation grove, is the umbrella elms meditation place in Woodland Cemetery in Stockholm. 

Sweden (Sverige) stamp 2015

The Story of Bees, 6,50

Seward Alaska and the 1964 Alaskan Earthquake

Seward, Alaska, on the Kenai Peninsula is the southern terminus of the Alaska railroad and one of the stops in the Western Alaska Marine Highway System.  This picture shows Main Street, rebuilt after the 1964 tidal wave.

Color Photo by Reggie Hibshman
Color by Mike Roberts

This postcard is postmarked in 1968.

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The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 P.M. AST on Good Friday, March 27.  Across south-central Alaska, ground fissures, collapsing structures, and tsunamis resulting from the earthquake caused about 139 deaths.

Lasting four minutes and thirty-eight seconds, the magnitude 9.2 megathrust earthquake was the most powerful recorded in North American history, and the second most powerful recorded in world history.

USA Stamp 1966

President Franklin D. Roosevelt 

6 cents

I 'Heart' Hamburg (Germany)

I Love (Heart) Hamburg

GruBe aus der  Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg

(The sender writes this translation: Hello (greetings from) Hamburg, where I live)

This postcard is postmarked in 2016. 

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Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany and the eighth largest city in the European Union.  The city is situated on the river Elbe.

Germany (Deutschland) stamp 2013

Deutsche Rosenschau

The 100th Anniversary of the 

Rose Garden, Forst (Lausitz), 45

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Germany (Deutschland) stamp 2016

The 500th Anniversary of the 

German Beer Purity Law, 45

A Map of UNESCO Shrines in Hiroshima, Japan

Hiroshima

Miyajima Itsukushima Shrines

In December 1996, Miyajima Itsukushima Shrines was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

This postcard features a map of the shrines, was printed in 2012 and was mailed from Japan in 2016. 

Japan (Nippon) stamp 2014

 International Letter-Writing Week

Birds, 70

Cats Playing Music and Fishing in Taiwan

Taiwan
Music all the way . . .

The 'cat band' is pretty cute  :D  I like the one fishing and listening to the music.

The sender writes:

May 31, 2016
Happy Summer! We just broke a record - of having the hottest day in 120 years.  Today the temperature soared to 42 degrees C.!  This is very unusual as the summer temperate rarely goes over 35 degrees C. (usually 32 C. is the max).

--Then they go on to talk about the commemorative stamp.  However the stamp is missing on the card  ;-(

This is postmarked in 2016 from Taiwan.  

The 32 UNESCO Sites in India

 The sender writes:
Dear Brenda,
This postcard contains all 32 UNESCO sites of India.  I have visited 5, 6, 16, 17, 18, 21 and 22.  The CST is the only Railway Station to be included in the UNESCO list.

The list on the bottom of the card is written in very small letters, so I hope I got them all correct. . . . .

1. Kaziranga National Park
2. Manas National Park
3. Mahobodhi Temple Complex, Bodh Gaya
4. Humayun's Tomb, Delhi
5. Qutab Minar, Delhi
6. Red Fort Complex
7. Churches and Covents, Goa
8. Champaner-Pavagadin Archeological Park
9. Group of Monuments, Hampi
10. Group of monuments, Pattadakal
11. Buddhist Monuments, Sanchi
12. Rock Shelters, Bhimbetka
13. Khujuraho Group of Monuments
14. Ajanita Caves
15. Ellora Caves
16. Elephanta Caves
17. Chhafrapati Shivaji Terminus
18. Sun Temple, Konark
19. Keoladeo National Park
20. Jantar Maniar, Jaipur
21. Great Living Chola Temples
22. Group of Monuments, Mahabalipuram
23. Agra Fort
24. Fatehpur Sikri
25. Taj Mahal
26. Mountain Railways, India
27. Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks
28. Sundarbans National Park
29. Western Ghats
30. Hill Forts of Rajasthan
31. Rani Ki Vav
32. Great Himalayan National Park

This is postmarked in 2016 from India with two Rhino stamps and two matching Gandhi stamps.

India stamp 2015

3rd India-Africa Forum Summit

Rhinoceros, 5.00

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India stamp 2009 (might be a 2008 issue)

Mahatma Gandhi, 1.00

Polar Bears (Isbjorn) from Norway

Isbjorn (Norwegian for Polar Bear)

Photo: Minden Pictures

This postcard is postmarked in 2016 with two stamps from Norway.

If I am laying out like the bear in the front, I want the sun beating down on me while I'm on some tropical island.  No snow for me! 

Norway (Noreg) stamp 2011

Wildlife in Norway

Polar Bear, Ursus maritimus 

17.00

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Norway (Norge) stamp 2001

Posthorn

Norge, Postfrim. 1 KR

New York City and The Twin Towers by J. Lemieux

New York
New York

Artwork: J. Lemieux

This unused postcard is pre- 9-11 and is from The Postcard Factory. 

Koh Panyi Islands, Thailand - With Matching Stamp

Koh Panyi Islands

Phang-nga
Thailand

This is postmarked in 2012 with a matching stamp.

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Ko Panyi is a fishing village in Phang Nga Province, Thailand notable for being built on stilts by Indonesian fishermen. The population consists of roughly 200 families or between 1,500 and 2,000 people.

The settlement at Ko Panyi was established at the end of the 18th century by nomadic Malay fisherman.  It was during this time that the law limited land ownership solely to people of Thai national origins, and due to this fact the settlement was, for the most part, built on stilts within the protection of the island's bay, providing easy access for the life of a fisherman. With the increase of wealth for the community, due to the growing tourism industry within Thailand, purchase of land on the island itself became a possibility, and the first structures of relevance were built; a mosque and a freshwater well.

In the late 20th century, the community found it difficult to subsist solely on the fishing industry and the postman proposed to invite tourists to the village to benefit the residents. Nowadays this is one of the main attractions on tours of Phang Nga Bay from Phuket, often serving as a lunch stop. With the increasing number of tourists, a number of seafood restaurants are present on the island, as well as various stalls selling souvenirs. The village became a pit stop during a leg of the 19th season on the hit U.S. reality-competition show, The Amazing Race.

Radom Village Museum, Muzeum Wsi Radomskiej in Poland

Muzeum

Wsi

Radomskiej 

(Random Village Museum)

fot: (photo) A. Porochnenko 

This is postmarked in 2016 from Czech Republic. 

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This open-air museum was founded in 1977 and features the culture and architecture of the region of Radom in Poland.

Czech Republic (Ceska Republika) stamp 2010

The Beauty of Flowers

Tulpan, Tulip Flower 30 Kc

Austria - Steiermark Multiview

Steiermark - Austria

Herbst im steirischen Weinland

Bildreihe links von oben:
Weinlese - Weinpressen - Maronibraten
Bild Mitte:
Klapotetz - Wahrzeichen des steirischen Weinlandes
Bildrehe rechts von oben
Hopfenpfluchen - Kurbisputzen - Woazschalen

translation:

Styria - Austria

Autumn in the Styrian wine

Image series from top left:
Vintage - wine presses - chestnuts roasting
Middle:
Klopotec - symbol of the Styrian wine country
Bildrehe right from top
Hopfenpfluchen - Kurbisputzen - Woazschalen

This is postmarked in 2009.

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Styria (Steiermark) is a state or Bundesland, located in the southeast of Austria. The capital city is Graz.

Austria (Osterreich) stamp 2008

Animal Protection

Loubfrosch

Hyla arborea 

(European Tree Frog), 6

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Austria (Osterreich) stamp 2008

Animal Protection

Hummelschwarmer

Hemaris fuciformis 

(Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth), 75

Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

Wickaninnish Beach, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Experience the beauty and grandeur of this magnificient beach in the Pacific Rim National Park.

The sender writes:
There are many beaches like this in British Columbia and Victoria.  We have a lot of trees and forests here as well.  We don't have a lot of fairs or community functions but we have a few.  There is the Luxton Rodeo, which has horse shows and rides with food that happens at the end of May!  We also have a lot of races (running) and walk-a-thons that raise money for different kinds of cancers and diseases like MS.  Camping is also a big thing here in Canada.  Taking a tent and traveling outside the city you live in.

This is postmarked in 2009.

Canada stamp 2009 

Mascot Miga skiing 

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

98