Mass Transit Railway in Hong Kong

Postcard ID: HK-282363
Country: Hong Kong

I don't remember if I already received a railway maps, but I'm so happy to receive this one! Maybe, I should one more point to my preferences :)

Here is in Minsk we have subway scheme like X sign, so it's wonderful to discover so big metro maps.

The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong. It is one of the most profitable systems in the world, with a high farebox recovery ratio of 186%. Opened in 1979, the system now includes 218.2 km of rail with 152 stations, including 84 railway stations and 68 light rail stops. The MTR system is operated by MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL).

Under the government's rail-led transport policy, the MTR system is a common mode of public transport in Hong Kong, with over five million trips made in an average weekday. It consistently achieves a 99.9% on-time rate on its train journeys. The integration of the Octopus smart card fare-payment technology into the MTR system in September 1997 has further enhanced the ease of commuting on the MTR.

Construction of the MTR was prompted by a study, released in 1967, commissioned by the Hong Kong Government in order to find solutions to the growing road congestion problem caused by the expansion of the territory's economy. Construction started soon after the release of the study, and the first line opened in 1979. The MTR was immediately popular with residents of Hong Kong; as a result, subsequent lines have been built to cover more territory. There are continual debates regarding how and where to expand the MTR network.

As a successful railway operation, the MTR has served as a model for other newly built systems in the world, particularly in mainland China.

Also this card has amazing stamps with beautiful nature of Hong Kong:

Tough luck by Marja de Lange

Postcard ID: NL-2694641
Country: Netherlands

Unfortunately, my old scanner don't like the colors of this postcard so we see so bad quality of the image. Meanwhile the card is really cute :)

I really like brides in different styles. Also here is a cat. Who don't like cats?

As far as I understand this card painted by Dutch painter Marja de Lange, however I haven't found any good information in English about her.. but looked on her another work - they are also good :)

German Wine Route

Postcard ID: DE-3595638
Country: Germany

When I'm going to Germany, I'll take this card :)

The German Wine Route or Wine Road is the oldest of Germany's tourist wine routes. Located in the Palatinate region of the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, the route was established in 1935.

The German Wine Route is marked by numerous open-air wine festivals, held annually from March to October, that make it a major tourist attraction. The largest wine festival worldwide with more than 600,000 visitors each year is the Wurstmarkt in front of the world's largest wine barrel, the Giant Cask or Riesenfass, in Bad Dürkheim in September. Other important wine festivals are the German Wine Harvesting Festival (Deutsches Weinlesefest) in Neustadt an der Weinstraße where the German Wine Queen is selected in October, the festival in Freinsheim (Stadtmauerfest in July), and in Deidesheim (Deidesheimer Weinkerwe in August). The first wine fest on the wine route is the Mandelblütenfest (Almond Blossom Festival) in Gimmeldingen held in March depending on the start of the flowering.

On the last Sunday in August, the route is closed to motorized traffic for German Wine Route Day (Erlebnistag Deutsche Weinstraße) with many wineries and Straußwirtschaften open air (seasonal wine bars) open to the hundreds of thousands of hikers, cyclers and inline skaters who visit this festival.

Palace Square, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Postcard ID: RU-3101075
Country: Russia

Here is an amazing night view came to me from Kostya from Saint Petersburg. I think I should wait for spring-summer and visit thic city again :)

Palace Square, connecting Nevsky Prospekt with Palace Bridge leading to Vasilievsky Island, is the central city square of St Petersburg and of the former Russian Empire. It was the setting of many events of worldwide significance, including the Bloody Sunday (1905) and the October Revolution of 1917.

The earliest and most celebrated building on the square is the baroque white-and-azure Winter Palace of Russian tsars (1754–62), which gave the square its name. The opposite, southern side of the square was designed in the shape of an arc by George von Velten in the late 18th century. These plans were executed half a century later, when Alexander I of Russia envisaged the square as a vast monument to the Russian victory over Napoleon and commissioned Carlo Rossi to design the bow-shaped Empire-style Building of the General Staff (1819–29), which centers on a double triumphal arch crowned with a Roman quadriga.

The centre of the square is marked with the Alexander Column (1830–34), designed by Auguste de Montferrand. This red granite column (the tallest of its kind in the world) is 47.5 metres high and weighs some 500 tons. It is set so well that no attachment to the base is needed.

The eastern side of the square is occupied by Alessandro Brullo's building of the Guards Corps Headquarters (1837–43). The western side, however, opens towards Admiralty Square, thus making the Palace Square a vital part of the grand suite of St Petersburg squares.

A monument to Bohdan Khmelnytsky in Kiev, Ukraine

Postcard ID: UA-1175383
Country: Ukraine

When I was in Kiev. I saw this monument with my own eyes. Hmm.. maybe, it's a sign that I need to visit this city again :) will think about it tomorrow :)

Bohdan Zynoviy Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky was the Hetman of the Zaporozhian Host of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (now part of Ukraine). He led an uprising against the Commonwealth and its magnates (1648–1654) which resulted in the creation of a Cossack state. In 1654, he concluded the Treaty of Pereyaslav with the Tsardom of Russia.

Here is one more Ukrainian stamp with leaf:

Marilyn Monroe in Russian

Postcard ID: RU-3104436
Country: Russia

Here is one more amazing card painted by Victoria Kirdiy with beautiful quotes about girls and eyelashes:

A girl grows up when she begins to paint eyes.

She cannot cry since this time

or:

We, women, have only two weapons: mascara and tears, but we can not use both simultaneously.

(c) Marilyn Monroe

Also here is a new Russian stamp:

The lake, south side. Konigsberg, Germany, 1890

Postcard ID: RU-3104266
Country: Russia

This card with nice colors shows the lake in Konigsberg, Germany (now Kaliningrad, Russia). It looks like really quiet place.

Königsberg (until 1946 officially: Königsberg i. Pr.) is the former name of Kaliningrad in the Russian Federation. It was the easternmost large city in Germany until it was captured by the Soviet Union near the end of World War II.
The literal meaning of the city's old name is 'King's Mountain'.

By the end of the war, Königsberg was heavily damaged by Allied bombing in 1944 and during its siege in 1945. The city was captured and annexed by the Soviet Union. Its German population was expelled, and the city was repopulated with Russians and others from the Soviet Union. Briefly Russified as Kyonigsberg (Кёнигсберг), it was renamed "Kaliningrad" in 1946 in honour of Soviet leader Mikhail Kalinin. It is now the capital of Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast, an area completely cut off by land from the rest of Russia.

The Eastern Festoon

Postcard ID: NL-2685181
Country: Netherlands

here is one more postcard to my butterfly collection. This butterfly has almost black-and-white colors, but looks so great in any case!

The Eastern Festoon (Allancastria cerisyi) is an Old World papilionid butterfly whose geographical range extends from the Balkans to include Turkey and the near Middle East. It exhibits several geographical variants. It is named for Alexandre Louis Lefèbvre de Cérisy.

The wingspan is 52–62 mm. The butterfly flies from March to July depending on the location.

Here are some new Dutch stamps:

A passion for chocolate

Postcard ID: NL-2706366
Country: Netherlands

I so rarely receive cards with Nouvelle images and so like to receive them. And it's a double win to receive this lovely card with chocolate that I also like!

Also look on wonderful stamps from the backside:

Coimbra, Portugal

Postcard ID: PT-381854
Country: Portugal

Yeah, here is more card from beautiful Portugal. I don't know why, but I love this country more and more and would like to visit it in the next couple of years :)

This card is shows Coimbra, a city and a municipality in Portugal.

The third-largest urban centre in Portugal (after the much larger cities of Lisbon and Porto), it is the largest city of the district of Coimbra, the Centro region and the Baixo Mondego subregion. About 460,000 people live in the Região de Coimbra, comprising 19 municipalities and extending into an area 4,336 square kilometres (1,674 sq mi). Although it served as the nation's capital in the High Middle Ages, it is better known for the University of Coimbra, one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the Portuguese-speaking world.

The historical University buildings were classified as World Heritage by UNESCO in 2013: "Coimbra offers an outstanding example of an integrated university city with a specific urban typology as well as its own ceremonial and cultural traditions that have been kept alive through the ages."

Post about Coimbra university is here.

In conclusion, here is a Portuguese stamp:

Happy colours of Ukraine

Postcard ID: UA-1168745
Country: Ukraine

Here is a traditional greetings card from Ukraine. It seems that after looking on it I should go to Ukraine as soon as possible :) but actually I want to visit Belarus's neighbour.

I like this country, its colours and patterns.

Also I see here a new Ukrainian stamp! It's quite big, beautiful and interesting:

Mount Rushmore, USA

Postcard ID: US-2200967
Country: USA

The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore near Keystone, South Dakota, in the United States. Sculpted by Danish-American Gutzon Borglum and his son, Lincoln Borglum, Mount Rushmore features 18 m sculptures of the heads of four United States presidents: George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865). The entire memorial covers 5.17 km2 and is 1,745 m above sea level.

South Dakota historian Doane Robinson is credited with conceiving the idea of carving the likenesses of famous people into the Black Hills region of South Dakota in order to promote tourism in the region. Robinson's initial idea was to sculpt the Needles; however, Gutzon Borglum rejected the Needles site because of the poor quality of the granite and strong opposition from Native American groups. They settled on the Mount Rushmore location, which also has the advantage of facing southeast for maximum sun exposure. Robinson wanted it to feature western heroes like Lewis and Clark, Red Cloud, and Buffalo Bill Cody, but Borglum decided the sculpture should have a more national focus and chose the four presidents whose likenesses would be carved into the mountain. After securing federal funding through the enthusiastic sponsorship of "Mount Rushmore's great political patron", U.S. Senator Peter Norbeck, construction on the memorial began in 1927, and the presidents' faces were completed between 1934 and 1939. Upon Gutzon Borglum's death in March 1941, his son Lincoln Borglum took over construction. Although the initial concept called for each president to be depicted from head to waist, lack of funding forced construction to end in late October 1941.

Mount Rushmore has become an iconic symbol of presidential greatness and has appeared in works of fiction, and has been discussed or depicted in other popular works. It attracts over two million people annually.

Here are the postcard stamps:

Life is beautiful

Postcard ID: UA-590303
Country: Ukraine

 I like reading. And the sender also likes reading. So she sent me this wonderful card!

If you’re quite attentive person you can see that the author of the books on postcard is Cecelia Ahern. To be honest I’ve not read any book of this author, however I have at least 3 books in my wishlist for reading :)

 Life is beautiful!

"Eagle" sculpture on mountain in Pyatigorsk, Russia

Postcard ID: RU-1722923
Country: Russia

Pyatigorsk is a city in Stavropol Krai located on the Podkumok River, about 20 kilometers from the town of Mineralnye Vody where there is an international airport and about 45 kilometers from Kislovodsk. Since January 19, 2010, it has been the administrative center of the North Caucasian Federal District of Russia. Population: 142,511.

This card is a good panoramic view of Pyatigorsk. On the left side you see the Eagle monument, in the centre is “Goryachaya” (Hot) mountain.