Keila is an old Estonian town of just over 10 000 people. There is evidence of human settlement in the area from 2000-3000 BCE. Around 1000 CE, the village of Keila was established along the Keila River. In 1219, the Danish conquered the area and made Keila the site for the County Church. It was dedicated to St. Michael. The original wooden church was replaced with a stone structure near the end of the 1200s.  During the Livonian War (1558-1583), Keila was destroyed. In 1601-1602, the plague and starvation also decimated the population. Keila remained a small church village for three more centuries.  The Soviet Union had a tank base near Keila. The locals called in Tankipolk. It was demolished a few years after the USSR left Estonia. Today a residential area is found where the old base was.  Pille-Riin is a mother with twin daughters (12 yrs) and they are all active with the local scouts. She loves Scottish Terriers and West Highland Terriers. The card she sent is bigger than most card

When I first saw the name of Châtel-Saint-Denis I thought it would be an interesting place full of historic buildings, skiers, and various tourist activities. Instead, the village of about 7000, doesn't mention any of that. There is a church, Saint-Denis, that is listed as a heritage site of national significance.  The sender of the card, Eva, is a Czech national who moved to Switzerland with her boyfriend. They have a daughter together. Eva's biography is sad as she says she regrets moving to Switzerland as the Swiss tend to be cold and uninterested in new relationships. She lost her job 2.5 years ago and can't seem to find another one, despite having two university degrees. A lack of public transit where she is makes it difficult to get out and about. It is one of the sadder biographies I've read on Postcrossing. I hope she finds what she is looking for. Her card is awesome! It's a photo of a Swiss campground from the 1960s. It's in black and white. There are

Prague ( Praha)  is over 1000 years old, but humans have been in the area since Palaeolithic Age. There are 1.3 million people in Prague, and 2.7 in the metropolitan area. It is a centre for arts in Europe boasting 10 major museums. Prague is the 5th most visited city in Europe and is considered an Alpha global city. HC Sparta Praha plays in the Czech Extraliga and at the O2 Arena - the second largest in Europe - with 17 383 spectators. HC Slavia Praha plays int he Czech Second Hockey League.  Martina is a pharmacists and loves to be outdoors hiking, geocaching, and just travelling in general. She recommends "A Beer in the Loire" by Tommy Barnes. I like her Postcrossing specific card.

Shanghai  上海市  is China's largest city at about 25 000 000 people - that's 3900 people/km2. Humans have lived in the area for 6000 years. Shanghai means "upon the sea." The earliest used of Shanghai is in the 11th century. It is believed that an area of modern day Shanghai was below sea level, so the land appeared to be literally "on the sea." Lee doesn't have anything written in his profile, nor did he write a message on the card. The card, I think, has the Chinese symbol for water. Please correct me if I am wrong. 

Another large city of more than 8 million people! That's twice the number of people in my entire province. Quanzhou  泉州市  is an ancient city it was used by Wang Guoqing until General Yang Su took it and used it as a base of operations in the 590s. Muslim traders arrived in the 700s and called it Zalton, or City of Olives. In the 19th century it was a smuggling centre for opium. Jenny is a high school senior. Her card had some water damage on it. However it is a cool card as it shows China at night from space. 

After talking about Shenzhen in the previous post, Changzhou  常州市  seems like a village in comparison with only 4.6 million people. Changzhou is a traditional commercial centre and distribution centre for agricultural produce. It is also an educational hub with five universities and technical institutes.  Tommy is 10 years old and says he likes to walk and talk with his friends. I'm not sure what the words on the front of the card mean but it looks like a scene from a movie.

The next time you find yourself in a crowded mall, think about Shenzhen. Shenzhen has 12.6 million people! It is also a part of the Pearl River Delta Megalopolis that includes Macau and Hong Kong and there are 57.15 million people here. It is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Shenzhen is also the richest area in China and has the fourth highest number of billionaires in the world.  It is considered an Alpha city and the leading financial centre in Asia-Pacific region.  Jinkun lives here and is attending university. He would like to visit Calgary one day and go skiing. He'll find a lot of room in Calgary with only 1.4 million people. 

Igor sent me a neat card with ways to hello in many different languages. I've tried to do that recently by looking up how to say hello in the language of the person I am sending a card to. I have written hello in Chinese characters and in Cyrillic (Russian) a few times. I find Cyrillic difficult, but the Chinese characters aren't that bad.  Chelyabinsk is Russia's 7th largest city and dates back to the 1700s. It is an important industrial area of metallurgy and military production. In the 1930s, there was a large tractor factory that transformed itself into manufacturing tanks during the Second World War.  Chelyabinks' flag has a picture of a camel in front of a fortress wall. 

Elektrosal  Электроста́ль is a new city, born of the Russian Industrial Revolution. Founded in 1916 it is considered the Russian centre for metallurgy and heavy machinery manufacturing. It is also Russia's leading manufacturing of fuel rod assemblies for nuclear power plants. In fact, Alexey, the sender of the card, creates documents and drawings of fuel assemblies for nuclear reactors of nuclear power plants.  So in my head I am picturing a heavily industrialized place, designed by Soviet urban planners, but the card Alexey sends is a drawing of a country house from the Motives of Russian Architecture, 1877.

Detlef is a Postcrossing master! He has sent over 7800 cards and received almost as many. He becomes one of my favourites because he sent me a bowls card! He plays a game similar to bowls called Petanque. In Petanque, players use steel balls that are 800 grams heavy. After that, scoring is just like in bowls. I have attached a video to explain the game.  Detlef is from Georgsmarienhütte which does not have ancient roots. Instead, it sounds like this city is a result of the Industrial Revolution. A steel and iron mill was built and named after King George V of Hanover and his wife, Marie.  Today, Georgsmarienhütte is a city of almost 32 000 and steel production is still a large part of it's economy. `1`

Silke is a new Postcrossing having sent and received about 45 cards each way. She is hoping Postcrossing will help her with her English. Silke lives in Coesfeld, an ancient city of about 37 000 people. Coesfeld received its city rights in 1197, but can trace its origins back to the 700s. Coesfeld was an important stopping point for pilgrims doing the Way of St. James. Pilgrims would start in Warendorf, travel to Munster, stop in Coesfeld, move on to Borken, and finally end up in Wesel on the Rhine. St. Jakobikiriche (St. Jacob's Church), which dates back to the 12 century, was bombed by the allies during the Second World War. The church was destroyed except for the old, wooden doorway. A new church was erected and the old doorway was re-used. Silke's card is a photo of white cliffs overlooking the Baltic Sea.

Julie from Chiayi sent me a very nice card from  東區. She printed a greeting and stuck it on the back of the card. There isn't much on the place she lives. She does say in her Postcrossing bio that Taiwan is a country! (don't tell the Peoples' Republic of China - they are sensitive about that). 

Very nice sunset (sunrise) photo of a bridge over a canal. Marieke is from The Hague (Den Haag), the capital city of Netherlands. I found her message difficult to read but if I read it right she saw a celebration and parade about six years ago of Canadian World War II veterans. The Dutch have a soft spot for Canada as we played a role in the liberation of Netherlands from the Germans in 1945. May 4 is Dodenherdenking, or Remembrance of the Dead. May 5 is a national holiday and is called Bevrijdingsdag, or Liberation Day. On May 5, 1945, I Canadian Corps commander Lt-Gen Charles Foulkes and Oberbefehishaber Niederlande (Supreme Commander Netherlands) Generaloberst (Colonel-General) Johannes Blaskowitz reached an agreement of surrender of all German forces in Netherlands. May 5 has many festivals all over the country and there is usually a parade of veterans and music festivals. 

Janette sent a beautiful post card that translates to Lighthouses of the North Sea. She loves to visit the North and Baltic Seas. Ahlen is a small city of just over 50 000 people. A long and interesting history exists about Ahlen. I discovered that there are documents of witch trials between 1574-1652. The hunt for witches began when four women died. Peter Kleikamp was accused of being a werewolf and was tortured and burned alive. In 1616 Christian Zum Loe was charged with wizardry and died in prison. And Anna Sadelers was the last witch tortured, burned alive, and then beheaded in 1652.  Sounds like a nice place!

It's always interesting to see what western names Postcrossers from Taiwan, China, Korea, and Japan chose. Pei has chosen Penny. Pei has sent me a promotional card for a Taiwanese musical. She says watching musicals is popular for dating couples. I'm not sure what the musical is about. I thought it was about sports, or sport themed. Sportsman is a Taiwanese camping supplies company, so I am assuming they were the sponsor. Taoyuan  桃園市  is in northern Taiwan, near the capital city of Tapai. It is a part of a large metropolitan area. Taoyuan translates to 'peach garden' as the area used to be know for peach trees. Now it has industrial parks and tech company headquarters.  

Laura is a new Postcrossing. I think I was the 20th card she sent. Laura is from Rosmalen and owns her own business. I love the card she sent me.  Rosmalen is a small city and boasts the biggest amateur football club in the Netherlands - OJC Rosmalen, which plays in the Derde Divisie, the fourth tier of Dutch football. It also has the Netherlands second biggest basketball club, The Black Eagles. 

Angela from Raleigh sends a photo of a biplane and says it is a beautiful spring so far. Raleigh is named after English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh and is an early example of an American planned city. In 1788 the site was chosen to be the state capital and the city was planned out in a grid pattern with the state capitol building in the centre.  Because I am Canadian I also know that the Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League moved to Raleigh in 1997 and is the only major professional league team in Raleigh. The Carolina Hurricanes, as they were rebranded, struggled with attendance. in 2001-02, the 'Canes made the Stanley Cup finals only to lose 4 games to 1 to the Detroit Red Wings. In 2004-05 season, the 'Canes made it to the Stanley Cup Finals again and this time won the Stanley Cup with a 4 games to 3 win over the underdog Edmonton Oilers. They became the first major league team to win a championship in North Carolina. 

Rae sent me a card of DEC hard disk drive, circa 1970. It comes from the Computer History Museum in Mountain View California. Rae doesn't say if that is where she purchased it from or not. I think my dad would geek out at this museum as he was a big computer guy starting in the 70s.  Trenton is the capital city of New Jersey. Although the population of Trenton is only about 85 000, it is right across the river from the Philadelphia metropolitan area and its 2.8 million people. 

Amy from Virginia sent me an older card of Place du Canada, in Montreal. Place du Canada was formerly named Dominion Place and was renamed in 1967, during Canada's centennial celebrations. It contains a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister; the Montreal cenotaph; two cannons donated by Queen Victoria; and a Mitrailleuse (a precursor to a Gatling gun - it could fire all its ammunition at once, or one at a time).  Charlottesville is a small city of about 45 000. It was the home to two former presidents, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe when they were governors of Virginia. It is the home town of James Madison, another former president. The University of Virginia, which was founded by Jefferson, is also here. UVa is also a UNESCO Heritage Site. `9

Florian of Berlin, sent me a card he picked up in his favourite country to visit, Belgium. It's one of those fact cards: Capital - Brussels (0.18 million people) National Day - July 21 Motto - Unity Makes Strength Federal State and a Kingdom Country - 30 528 km2 Population - 11.3 million Three official languages - Dutch, French, German

Matthais sent me a card with a photo of Frauenchiemsee Island on Lake Chiemsee. Looks like there is a castle or small community on the island.  Matthais, however, is from Kaiserslautern which has an interesting story. Kaiserslautern, or K-Town as the Americans call it, is home to 45 000 NATO personnel and their families, which makes up just under half of the total population of the area. Kaiserslautern High School has 800 American and international students. Between 1950-1955, it was the largest American military community outside of the United States. 

Sandrine sent her card in an envelope. I'm usually not a big fan of getting cards in envelopes, but sometimes people put something like a coin in the envelope (not this time). Instead, Sandrine coloured a picture on the envelope. The stamp she used was also a sports related stamp of a pole vaulter. Sandrine's city, La Rochelle, was hit hard by a big storm, named Xynthia. For three days the streets were flooded and Sandrine reports she was terrified. La Rochelle has about 75 000 people and more than 1000 years of history. The Latin form of the name of La Rochelle was first used in 961, however, Gauls and Romans both lived in the areas centuries before that. The Germans used La Rochelle as a submarine base during the Second World War. It was also the last French city to be liberated from the Germans on 7 May 1945. French soldiers entered the city the next day. The U-boat pens still exist and were used in the movie Das Boot and in Raiders of the Lost Ark. 

Did you know it was National Postcard Week (38th annual) from 2 May to 8 May? Me neither. Josh sent me this neat card celebrating just that. Josh didn't write much as their was a pre-printed explanation about Lee Brown and Ann Rusnak. They owned postcard emporium called Adventure in Postcards and Collectibles in Sunland, California. Sounds like it was a neat store.   San Diego is found in southwest California a short drive from the Mexican border. The military is a major part of San Diego's economy and host the largest naval fleet in the world; is the only naval and submarine ship yard on the west coast; and is home to marine corps, naval, and coast guard bases.  The international border with Mexico, which San Diego shares a 24 km border with, is the busiest in the world.   

This card shows an iconic scene of the Smoky Mountains. It looks like a beautiful part of the United States. Laurie sent this card from Greensboro, North Carolina, although her bio shows her as being from Roanoke. She is fairly new to Postcrossing. I hope she stays with it!

What a great card from Russia. I responded to Natalya that you could say this is a photo from Canada and people would believe it. So many similarities between Canadians and Russians and a love of hockey is one of them.  I remember when the Soviet club teams would visit North America in the 1980s to play exhibition games again NHL club teams. Moscow Dynamo and the Red Army were two the teams I remember. They were usually great games to watch. Even the Canada Cup games between the Soviet Union and Canada were amazing games to watch. The Soviets had such great, skilled teams that emphasized team before individuals. 

Pam in Ohio sent me a picture of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. She also enjoys reading and genealogy.  Lancaster is a city about half the size of Medicine Hat. There is a sizeable list on Wikipedia or notable people born in or made Lancaster their home.  The stamps Pam included on the postcard are the moon landing stamps which I've seen on other cards I've received from the States. They are amongst my favourite American stamps. 

Urte packed a lot on her card. So much so, I had trouble reading some of it. She sent me a card that shows a bike rally or race (I think) that took place in August 2019. The title of the event, I think, is Sternfahrt, which translates to rally.  It looks like there are four starting points: Heinrich-Shutz-Schule, Nordstadpark, Fulda-Aue, and Park Schonfeld. All the cyclists will finish and meet  in Halle. I don't know if this is an annual event or a one time deal. Sounds like fun!

Spokane is located about 2.5 hours by car from where I was born in Canada. The American television stations we receive in Alberta come Spokane. I especially love this style of card. Its a kind of retro-style look. Anna has visited Canada and has been to the very beautiful Banff National Park. I recommended the next time she's in the areas that she check out Waterton Lakes National Park and Jasper Nation Park. Both as equally beautiful as Banff, with way fewer people!

Beate is a brand new Postcrossing with me being her ninth card sent. She lives in Helbra, which is so small, there is only one sentence about it on the Wikipedia page.  Her card translates to "Really Nice" and Sachsen-Anhalt is "Saxony-Anhalt." Its a very beautiful postcard. I'm a sucker for pictures with the sun in the background.

Pickens is a small town in South Carolina of about 3100 people. It is named after the American War of Independence Brigadier General Andrew Pickens. The territory before the war belonged to the Cherokee. Because the Cherokee sided with the British during the war, the Cherokee were forced to cede the land to South Carolina.  Janet's card is a painting of a tiger by Katharine Barnwell. I told Janet that it was fitting she sent me that card as Medicine Hat's local junior hockey (U-20) team are nicknamed the Tigers. She even included a postage stamp of a tiger. 

Stef from Munich sent me a neat card that shows 14 different ways to say hello. I usually use 'guten tag' as a greeting when I send a card to Germany, but I didn't know about most of the other ways.  Stef mentions she works in a publishing house and went hiking in Mongolia just before COVID. What cool experience Mongolia would be. 

It's always exciting to get a card from a country that you haven't received one from yet. This card from Svetlana makes it 63 countries I have at least one card from.  Svetlana is Russian and is working in the oil and gas sector. She works with rig assets management and, as she puts it, "I'm based in Cyprus at the moment." I'm not sure how long a moment is, but it was a significant enough move to bring her husband and daughter. Her bio also states she is very interested in learning more about her grandfather's involvement in the Great Patriotic War (the Russian part of World War II). She says her grandfather fought against the Germans from 1942-45, and then finally returned home in 1947. Svetlana says she has been to Alberta in 2017, but doesn't specify where. If she is oil and gas there is a good chance she was in Calgary and Fort MacMurray. Hopefully she got some sight seeing time in the mountains, too. Svetlana is living in Paphos  Πάφος , which is

Maciek is 10 and is brand new to Postcrossing. When I registered his card, I was his second card registered. He sounds like a typical 10 year old boys - video games and sports. He sent me a Minions card (Despicable Me). The Minions always make me laugh when I see them on television. 

Linda is a librarian in Philadelphia. She likes to walk and play Pokemon Go. Philadelphia was one of those places that was never on my bucket list. Television and movies always seemed to portray it as a dirty, crime ridden city. However, the more I learn about Philly, the more I would love to visit. It is a city with a vibrant cultural scene, museums, and history. But on the other hand, the Philadelphia Flyers play there and I hate the Flyers with a passion.                                                           

Anni sent me a great card of a photograph by T. Lux Feininger called "der sprung uber das bauhaus," or "The Jump Over the Bauhaus." Anni says she bought this card at the Bauhaus Archive Museum and highly recommends that I check it out. 

A nice card with a photo of a river in a valley, I am assuming it is the Rhine. Sabine, the writer, and I share similar interests in walking and working in the garden.  However, after checking out Emmerich on Wikipedia I discovered Sabine's "small town on the Rhine" is actually a city of over 30 000 and can trace its history back as a Roman Colony, and then to 700 when St. Willibrord founded a mission here. In October 1944 it was strategically bombed and 91% of the city was destroyed. Being on the Rhine, it would have been one of the first places in Germany where the allied armies crossed into Germany. I wonder if the bridge was destroyed by the retreating German forces.  The Netherlands annexed Emmerich in 1949, but returned it to West Germany in 1963. Emmerich am Rhein translates to Emmerich on the Rhine. 

Mikhail's card is a very patriotic one with a military parade and fly over in Red Square. Mikhail is from the Republic of Mordovia  Респу́блика Мордо́вия . I had to do a bit a research on this one. Mordovia, from what I gather, is like a territory or special administrative zone in Russia. Mordovia has under 900 000 citizens and is located about 600 km from Moscow.  Mikhail is a teacher "at some schools." Does that mean he is a substitute, or supply teacher? Very cool card.

Ronaldo from Belo Horizonte sent me a card of  Igreja de  São  Francisco de Assis, which translates to Church of St. Francis of Assisi. Apparently the  curved lines of the church enchanted artists and architects, but scandalized the city's conservative culture. Despite its completion in 1943 t he church was not consecrated until 1959. For 14 years, the ecclesiastical authorities prohibited the chapel from providing Catholic services. Several local politicians either tried to get the church torn down, or modified with more traditional architecture, befitting of a Catholic Church. Ronaldo's card shows the mural on the church created by Roberto Berle Marx. In 2016 the church was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sabine sent me a beautiful card of la Place aux Herbes (Herbs Square) in the city of Grasse. I wasn't expecting to find anything interesting in Grasse. However, Grasse is a a small city of about 50 000 and is considered to be the world's capital of perfume. Their big festival every year is called  Fête du Jasmin and Wikipedia describes it as follows: There is an annual  Fête du Jasmin  or  La Jasminade , at the beginning of August. The first festival was on August 3–4, 1946. Decorated floats drive through the town, with young women in skimpy costumes on board, throwing flowers into the crowd. Garlands of jasmine decorate the town centre, and the fire department fills a fire truck with jasmine-infused water to spray on the crowds.There are also fireworks, free parties, folk music groups and street performers. There is also an annual international exhibition of roses ("Expo Rose") held in May each year. Sounds like a great time! Sabine is from Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey, wh

Hanneloire sent me a neat card that shows a cycling tour  people can do along the Elbe River. It starts in Ronney and goes all the way to Dresden. Hanneloire's town, Dessau, is the fourth stop on the tour.  Dessau is slightly larger than Medicine Hat - about 10 000 people bigger -  and has been around since the 1200s. 

Selina from Stuttgart says Stuttgart is known for the Mercedes-Benz and Porsche headquarters. I'm not sure what her card means. I think its a street map as the words translated mean: hauptbahnhof - main city stadtmitte - city centre Feuersee - lake of fire(?) Schwabstrasse - Schwab Street I'll let you be the judge.

This is the second card I've received from Ekaterinburg (aka - Yekaterinburg) this week. Nadezda sent me a physical education related card that reads (in Russian) "King of the Gym" on the front.