The   Archipelago Trail   or   Archipelago Ring Road    is a route in the   Archipelago Sea   in   Finland , which uses roads and ferry connections to visit many of the major island in this archipelago. The archipelago is best experienced by boat, but the Archipelago Trail allows seeing much of it by road. The itinerary passes through the main villages of the western and northern archipelago, while the ferry passages give you some feeling also for the archipelago as seen by boat, with fine views of this unique land of sea and rocky islands. You could also stay for a few days in a cottage by the shore or make detours to minor islands by ferry. The most convenient means of travel on this route is bike or car, but there are coaches allowing going without vehicle. The tourist bureaus are working on a walking route, partly through the forests, which would offer a quite different experience  A few of the connections are mainly for tourists; off season completing the route may be difficult,

Nastya sent me a beautiful card of the Meganom Lighthouse in the Republic of Crimea, Russia. The Republic of Crimea made me chuckle a bit because that is the area Russia took from Ukraine a few years back. The information about this particular lighthouse was listed on Wikipedia as Lighthouse of the Ukraine.  I'm not going to get political here. The information I found about this lighthouse is it was built in 1895.

Sielke sent me a card she picked up in Berlin. She lives in Merseburg, which is a part of the Central German Metropolitan Area. The CGMA is centred around Halle and Leipzig. Merseburg has an interesting history of being apart of many kingdoms, countries, and regimes in a thousand years. They include: Bishopric of Merseburg (1004-1565) Electorate of Saxony (1565- 1657) Duchy of Saxe-Merseburg (1657-1738) Poland-Saxony (1738-1763) Electorate of Saxony (1763-1806) Kingdom of Saxony (1806-1815) Kingdom of Prussia (1815-1871) German Empire (1871-1918) Weimar Republic (1918-1933) Nazi Germany (1933-1945) Allied Occupied Germany (1945-1949) East Germany (1949-1990) Germany (1990 - present) Phew. That is a lot of changing allegiances!

T anya sent me this tourist card from Biggesee Lake. It is a reservoir created by the Biggesee Dam. The dam was started in 1956 and completed in 1965. It can hold 1.9 million cubic meters of water and can release 347 cubic meters/second of water in its spillway.  The Bigge River feeds the reservoir and the dam helps regulate the Ruhr and Lenne Rivers. It provides water for Ruhrgebiet. The hydroelectric power station at the dam produces about 24 million kWh of electricity per year.  The lake has become a tourist attraction. People come to the lake to participate in water sports such as water skiing, diving, and swimming. Around the perimeter of the lake are numerous hiking and cycling trails The Bigge Dam belongs to the Industrial Heritage Trail. This trail links tourist attractions related to the industrial heritage of the Ruhr area in Germany.

St. Nicholas Church was commissioned by an ever growing Polish community in Kyiv. Building started in 1899 and was completed in 1909. It was consecrated by the Bishop of Kyiv in 1909 in the name of St. Nicholas. In 1938 it was closed by Soviet authorities because the priest was "absent" for two years due to Soviet persecution of Christians. At one point in its history is was a KGB service building.  St. Nicholas was restored in 1979-80 and turned into the National House of Organ and Chamber Music of Ukraine. Since 1992, Catholic Masses have been performed at the church after it was re-consecrated on 4 January 1992. It doesn't belong to the Catholic Church, but it looks like that may be happening soon as Kyiv is building a new place for the National House of Organ and Chamber Music in 2023.

Hooksiel is in northern Germany near the North Sea.  

Normally I would have written about the rattlesnake found on the card. However, in Heather's bio on her postcrossing page, she writes about Pflugerville and I think what she writes is way more entertaining than anything I could have typed here: I live in Pflugerville, TX. It's...not very exciting. It's so boring that the city leaders try to liven up stuff by sticking "pf" in front of EVERY word that starts with f. It stopped being pfunny somewhere around 1995. Pflugerville is pfabulously pfun (it's not). It's a bedroom community just north of Austin. Austin is the state capital of Texas. We live in Pflugerville because we can't afford to actually live in Austin. If you get postcards from me, they might be from Austin because Pflugerville is famous for nothing except that the exterior shots of the Chicken Ranch from "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" were shot here. I told you this town is pfreaking boring.  

Espoo, with a population of almost 300 000, is Finland's second largest city. It is also a part of the Greater Helsinki Metropolitan area with 1.5 million residents.  Despite Espoo's large population, is has large areas of countryside and natural wilderness within it's city limits. Within city limits there are also 71 lakes, and Espoo is also on the coastline of the Gulf of Finland. There are also six Natura 2000 Protected Areas within Espoo. Natura 2000 is a network of protected areas in territories of the European Union,  The official animal of Espoo is the Siberian Flying Squirrel - it is also an endangered species, the official bird is the common blackbird, and the official plant is Anemone nemorosa (the wood anemone, or a type of buttercup). 

Hsinchu is the seventh largest city in Taiwan with almost 450 000 residents. Yi-Ling's card is from a Postcrossing meetup. There are many personal signatures and ink stamps on the back. The Chenghuang Temple of Hsinchu was built by the Kingdom of Tungning. Tungning was a maritime state that ruled south-west Taiwan and the Penghu Islands between 1661-1683. The Temple is a common prayer destination, with people mostly praying for better lives and the avoid floods and drought. The temple itself is dedicated to Chenghuang, or City God, who is believed by some to record bad deeds.

Neunkirchen is one of the oldest settlements in the Vienna Basin. It has been permanently settled since the La  Tène Culture - an Iron Age culture - until the Romans came around 450 BCE. A Roman settlement was also on the site from about 30 CE to 400 CE, but what it was called is unknown. The first mention of Neunkirchen was in 1094. Today Neunkirchen has a population of just under 13 000 people. 

Hlučín is a small village in the north east part of the Czech Republic. It is first mentioned in 1303 and has been a part of the Duchy of Opava, Hapsburg Austria, the Kingdom of Prussia, Czechoslovakia , Nazi Germany (Prussian Silesia), and finally the Czech Republic.   

Daytona Beach is a city of almost 70 000 folks living on the east coast of Florida. I only know about two things about Daytona Beach: the Daytona 500 and it is a destination for college students on spring break. I am far from being a National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), but when one watches the sports highlights, the Daytona 500 is a highlight. In Canada, it comes after hockey, basketball, baseball, and Canadian football so it is usually near the end of the show. NASCAR, however, is huge in many parts of the United States. The Daytona 500 is one of the premier events on the NASCAR circuit. It is a 500 mile (800 kilometre) race on a somewhat oval track.  The second thing I knew about Daytona Beach was it is a destination for college and university students looking for a warm destination for their spring break. What I didn't know is that there is 47 kilometres of white, hard sandy beaches AND there are 10 waterparks. I thought 10 waterparks was excessive for a cit

Lisa doesn't mention if she is a hockey supporter or not, but I'm going to talk about the Pittsburgh Penguins anyway. The Penguins are Pittsburgh's second National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, the first being the Pittsburgh Pirates who were in the league five seasons (1925-26 - 1929-30), before moving to Philadelphia to became the Quakers (they only last one season before folding. The Penguins were a part of the 1967 expansion which saw the league double from six teams to twelve. Along with Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, San Fransisco-Oakland, and St. Louis. Minneapolis-St. Paul relocated to Dallas and San Fransisco-Oakland relocated to Cleveland, who then merged with Minnesota.  Philadelphia was the first expansion team to win the Cup, winning it twice in a row in 1974-1975. Pittsburgh became the second to win a cup from this expansion class in 1990. Minneapolis-St. Paul were the third but did it as the Dallas Stars in 1999. Los Angeles fina

Cologne is home to the twelve Romanesque churches. All are Catholic churches and all are found in Altstadt (old town). All were severely damaged during the 262 Allied air raids on Cologne. All twelves have been restored. St. Andreas was consecrated in 974. The crypt of the church as a sarcophagus that dates back to the third century and it holds the remains of St. Albertus Magnus, who died in 1280. St. Apostein was consecrated in the 800s. St. Cecilia was built in the 800s and it the current home of the Schnutgen Museum for Medieval Art. It still holds Catholic Mass on rare occasions.  St. Georg's was built near the end of 1000s. It was extensively restored after the Second World War. St. Gerion's was established in 612. St. Kunibert was consecrated in 1247. Cunibert, the 9th Bishop of Cologne, is buried here. St. Maria im Kapital was built between 1040-1065. It was also heavily damaged during the war and restoration was finally completed in 1984.  St. Maria Lyskirchem is the s

Helena sent be an ad card for an international writing contest. I don't mind receiving ad cards, as I have sent a few away myself. I had some for a graphic design company, a bunch announcing new bus routes for local transit, and cards looking for youth to join water polo. Algueir ã o-Mem Martins is a town of 60 000+ people. It dates back to the 900s, when the Iberian Peninsula was ruled by Muslims and known as Al-Andalus. Algueir ã o evolved from the Arab term al-gueiran, which means, "the caves." The Mems Martins origin isn't know, but Mems is a medieval given name and Martins is likely named after one of the first property owners in the region after the Portuguese conquered Al-Andalus. 

Shizuoka  静岡市  is a city of almost 700 000 inhabitants. Every November they hold what is called the Daidogei World Cup. It is a international busker's festival that attracts performers from around the world. They perform in the central part of the city, as well at some peripheral sites.  The festival first took place in 1992 and organizers were surprised that 1.5 million visitors attended the three-day festival. In 2005 it expanded to four days. A staff of 2800 is needed to run the festival every November. 

Erlangen has 114 000 residents and 38 000 university students and is the smallest of the eight major cities in Bavaria. With Nuremberg,  Fürth , and Schwabach, they form the European Metropolitan Region of Nuremberg. The photo is of a public library in Erlangen. It formerly housed the town hall from 1836 - 1971. 

Habitation in and around Portsmouth can be traced back to Roman Britain. In 1194, King Richard granted market town status to Portsmouth.  Portsmouth has a great naval history. The oldest dry dock in the world, the No. 1 Dock, was ordered built by King Henry VII in 1495.  In the early 1800s, the world's first mass production line was developed in the Portsmouth Dockyard's Block Mills. Portsmouth is considered to be the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. In the mid 1800s, Portsmouth became the world's most fortified town as France threatened to invade this important naval base. At the height of the British Empire, Pax Brittanica , Portsmouth was consider the world's greatest naval port.  During the Second World War, Portsmouth was heavily bombed by the German Airforce and resulted in 930 deaths. Later, in 1944, Portsmouth became the embarkation point for the allied DDay invasion of France.  In 1982, at the start of the Falklands War, the Portsmouth naval base dispat

I love this postcard from Cordula, especially the artwork of Leonid Brezhnev kissing the East German chancellor.  Cordula writes she will be participating in the Berlin Half Marathon. The Berlin Half Marathon was established in 1984. It is held annually in early spring and includes events for inline skaters, wheelchair athletes, and handbikes, all of which participate in the same distance - 21.0975 km. The Berlin Half Marathon is considered to be a Bronze Label Road Race by World Athletics (IAAF). Labels have to be applied for and awarded each year. To be categorized as a Bronze Label Road Race (the third tier), organizers have to show the following: It requires an elite international field of runners from at least five countries. These runners must have run times that are faster than the IAAF's guidelines. the race must be closed to vehicular traffic. the course must be measured to the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) standard. full electronic timin

Keita is a junior high science teacher in Iwate  岩手町. He sent me a photo of the Tokyo Sky Tower during a fireworks display. The Tokyo Sky Tower is a broadcasting and observation tower in Simide, a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis. It became the tallest structure in Japan in 2010. In 2011, when it was completed at a height of 634 meters, it became the tallest tower in the world, and the second tallest structure in the world, after Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE.

David sent me a great sparkly photo of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The clouds and the rainbow sparkle.  The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most recognizable features of San Francisco and of California. The American Society of Civil Engineers named it one of the Wonders of the Modern World. Construction began on 5 January 1933, and was completed and opened on 27 May 1937. The project cost US$35 million (US$523 million in 2019 dollars). When opened it became the longest (1280m) and tallest (227m) suspension bridge in the world. The bridge used movable safety nets for the largely unprotected iron workers. Eleven men died from falls during construction - ten on one day. On 17 February 1937, twelve men fell when the safety net failed under the stress of a scaffold that had fallen with men on it. Two of the men survived the fall into San Francisco Bay, including foreman Slim Lambert. Nineteen men were saved by the safety net during constructions and they started their own club

Lansingerland is a new municipality formed with the amalgamation of Berkel en Rodenrijs, Bleiswijk, and Bergschenhoek - collectively known as the "B" Triangle - in January 2007.  A competition was held to name the new municipality. It is derived from the name Lansingh, the name of the height-of-land between the Deltland and Schieland Water Boards, which runs between the "B' Triangle villages. The name is symbolic because the Lansingh was the name of the border that formally divided the area, now unites it. 

Kathrin sent greetings from Burgwedel on a card from the Bibliophilia series of postcards - Langston Hughes.  Langton Hughes (1901 - 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and newspaper columnist. He is considered one of the early innovators of jazz poetry and a leader of the Harlem Renaissance.  The quote of the postcard is from the poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" (1920).  The quote from the poem says, "My soul has grown deep like the rivers." Here is the poem in its entirety: I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the       flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. I bathed in the Euphrates  when dawns were young. I built my hut near the Congo  and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile  and raised the pyramids above it. I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln      went down to New Orleans,  and I've seen its muddy      bosom turn a