2372 - Encinitas, California, USA

Fred sent me a "Keep Calm and Drink Coffee" card. He lives in Encinitas with his wife and pets.

While looking up what Encinitas is all about I came across "The Surfing Madonna."

The Surfing Madonna is a 3m x 3m square concrete mosaic that was originally installed on a concrete wall under a railway bridge. Mark Patterson, the creator, and friend, Bob Nichols, installed it covertly on 22 April 2011. It features the Virgin of Guadeloupe on a white surfboard, hands in an attitude of prayer, with her green cloak waving in the wind. The words "Save the Ocean" are featured on the mosaic.

The City of Encinitas considered the artwork graffiti and ordered it removed, Patterson was fined $500 and had to pay $6000 to have it removed intact. Patterson kept the mosaic.

"The Surfing Madonna" is now located and displayed across the street where it was originally installed. It inspired the creation of a non-profit society - created by Patterson and Nichols - called the "Surfing Madonna Oceans Project. Since 2013, it has raised and donated over $100 000 to local ocean/beach/park and humanitarian projects.

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3566 - Bakhmach, Chernihiv, Ukraine

Bakhmach is locarted in northern Ukraine. I'm taking this next paragraph straight out of Wikipedia: During the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 26, 2022, at least 65 units of Russian military equipment moved through Bakhmach, with about a hundred more on the outskirts. Local residents tried to stop the convoy on their own by blocking tank tracks with makeshift objects and convincing Russian soldiers not to move towards Kyiv . One man attempted to climb onto a tank and block the road with his body (he was not hurt). However, the military equipment continued to move, and Russian forces fired several shots into the air. Слава Україні!

3564 - Kassel, Hesse, Germany

A wonderful message on this card that translates to to those wh o can wait, everything comes with time.

2352 - Cologne (Köln), North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

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 ...

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