Jip and Janneke

 Meeting card from Rotterdam :)
Signed by Jetske,Octabis,Dandillion,MissMaple,Cindy79,Tijtske and Laura ;) Thank you very much ,you all made my day :)

Jip and Janneke (Dutch: Jip en Janneke) is a series of children's books in the Netherlands, written by Annie M.G. Schmidt and illustrated by Fiep Westendorp. The series is known for its simplicity and wit.

From Russia with love

Wonderful map card from Pal :) .Thank you very much.

Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 contributed to the Revolution of 1905, which resulted in the formation of a parliament and other reforms. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The Communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Iosif STALIN (1928-53) strengthened Communist rule and Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into Russia and 14 other independent republics. Since then, Russia has shifted its post-Soviet democratic ambitions in favor of a centralized semi-authoritarian state whose legitimacy is buttressed, in part, by carefully managed national elections, former President PUTIN's genuine popularity, and the prudent management of Russia's windfall energy wealth. Russia has severely disabled a Chechen rebel movement, although violence still occurs throughout the North Caucasus.

 

 My roots are also in Russia ,my dad is near from Yekaterinburg . Russia is worth visiting and russian people are kind :)

Lake Baikal

Wonderful Unesco card from Siberia(it is very special to me ,my dad was born in Siberia)

We visited Siberia in 1990 or 1991 ..I guess.I remeber it was really hot but I loved it.

Lake Baikal is the world's oldest and deepest lake; it is the second most voluminous lake, after the Caspian Sea. As the most voluminous freshwater lake in the world, with an average depth of 744.4 m (2,442 ft), Lake Baikal contains roughly 20% of the world's surface fresh water, and is located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia (between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, near the city of Irkutsk).
At 1,642 metres (5,387 ft), Lake Baikal is the deepest, and among the clearest of all lakes in the world. At more than 25 million years old, Baikal is also the world's oldest lake. Like Lake Tanganyika, Lake Baikal was formed as an ancient rift valley, having the typical long crescent shape with a surface area of 31,722 km2/12,248 sq mi, less than that of Lake Superior or Lake Victoria. Baikal is home to more than 1,700 species of plants and animals, two thirds of which can be found nowhere else in the world and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. It is also home to Buryat tribes who reside on the eastern side of Lake Baikal, rearing goats, camels, cattle and sheep, where the regional temperature varies from a minimum of −19 °C (−2 °F) in winter to maximum of 14 °C (57 °F) in summer.

Isle of Man

Beautiful card from Ria (from our private swap),sent from USA .

The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. The island is not part of the United Kingdom, but its foreign relations and defence are the responsibility of the UK Government. Although it does not usually interfere in the island's domestic matters, its "good government" is ultimately the responsibility of the Crown (i.e., in practice, the Government of the United Kingdom).
The island has been inhabited since before 6500 BC. It began to be influenced by Gaelic culture in the AD 5th century and the Manx language, a branch of the Gaelic languages, gradually emerged. In the 9th century, the Norse began to settle there. A Norse-Gaelic culture emerged and the island came under Norse control. In 1266, the island became part of Scotland. After a period of alternating rule by the kings of Scotland and England, the island came under the feudal overlordship of the English Crown in 1399. The lordship revested into the British Crown in 1764 but the island never became part of the United Kingdom and retained its status as an internally self-governing jurisdiction.
The island is not a member of the European Union, but has a limited relationship concerning the free movement of goods.

Sverige Julkort

Beautiful swedish christmascard from SusaTiina.New perfect card to my Sweden colllection.

Tack,Susa:)

Cambodia

Beautiful card from Cheerful,my blogger friend:) .My first card from Cambodia :)Thank you Cheerful:).

The Kingdom of Cambodia is a country in Southeast Asia that borders Thailand to the west and northwest, Laos to the north, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the south. The geography of Cambodia is dominated by the Mekong River and the Tonlé Sap.
The kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni as king who has reigned since 2004. Phnom Penh is the kingdom's capital and largest city, and is the center of political, commercial, industrial and cultural activities. Siem Reap, a city located near the famous ruins of Angkor Wat is the gateway to the Angkor region, and is Cambodia's main destination for tourism. Battambang, the largest city in western Cambodia, is known for its rice production, and Sihanoukville, a coastal city, is the primary sea port and beach resort.
Cambodia has an area of 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 sq mi) and a population of over 14 million ethnic Khmer. A citizen of Cambodia is usually identified as "Cambodian" or "Khmer", though they strictly refer to ethnic Khmers. Most Cambodians are Theravada Buddhists, but the country also have a minority number of Muslim Cham, as well as ethnic Chinese, Vietnamese and small animist hill tribes.
Agriculture has long been the most important sector to the Cambodian economy, with around 59% of the population relying on agriculture for their livelihood (with rice being the principal crop). Other important sectors include garments, construction and tourism - foreign visitors to Angkor Wat numbered more than 4 million in 2007.

Faroe Islands

Beautiful card showing Tórshavn ,a capital city of Faroe Islands.

Tórshavn is the capital and largest town of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the north west of the town lies the 347-metre (1,138 ft) high mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the 350-metre (1,150 ft) high Kirkjubøreyn. The city itself has a population of 19,000 (2008). The city was founded in the 10th century.
The Vikings established their parliament on the Tingenes peninsula in Tórshavn 825, thus Tórshavn was made capital of Faroe Islands and has remained so ever since. All through the Middle Ages the narrow peninsula jutting out into the sea made up the main part of Tórshavn. Sources do not mention a built-up area in Tórshavn until after the Protestant Reformation in 1539. Early on, Tórshavn became the center of the monopoly trade, thereby being the only legal place for the islanders to sell and buy goods. In 1856, the trade monopoly was abolished and the islands were left open to free trade. The town has grown rapidly ever since the turn of the 20th century into the undisputed administrative, economic and cultural center of the Faroes.

Greenland

It has neen a while without any new updates;).I have been busy with my job.But I have received so many beautiful postcards and I want to show them here to my friends too:).

This postcard is showing Greenland.

Greenland is an autonomus country within the Kingdom of Denmark,located between Arctic and Atlantic Oceans.

Greenland has been inhabited, though not continuously, by indigenous people since 2500 BC. There were Norse colonies in Greenland from AD 986 until sometime most likely in the 15th century. In the early 18th century contact between Scandinavia and Greenland was re-established and Denmark established rule over Greenland.

Bora Bora

Wonderful map card from Magali.Thank you soo much.

Bora Bora is an island in the Leeward group of the Soceiety Islands of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the Pacific Ocean. The island, located about 230 kilometres (140 mi) northwest of Papeete, is surrounded by a lagoon and a barrier reef. In the center of the island are the remnants of an extinct volcano rising to two peaks, Mount Pahia and Mount Otemanu, the highest point at 727 metres (2,385 ft). The original name of the island in the Tahitian language might be better rendered as Pora Pora, meaning "First Born"; an early transcription found in 18th- and 19th century accounts, is Bolabolla or Bollabolla.

The major settlement, Vaitape is on the western side of the island, opposite the main channel into the lagoon. The products of the island are mostly limited to what can be obtained from the sea and coconut trees, which were historically of economic importance for copra. During the August 2007 census, the population on the island was about 8,880 people.