Svetlana sends a great card promoting the football club FC St. Pauli. Their local rival is HSV (Hamburger Sport-Verein). When FC St. Pauli and HSV play one another, the matches are known as Hamburger Stadtderby, or the Derby.  FC St. Pauli plays in 2.Bundesliga, the second highest level of football in Germany. Last season they finished in 10th place out of 18 teams.  The front of the card translates to "Hamburg stands by FC St. Pauli."

Alexandra lives in Tver, which has a population of just over 414 000. Three rivers meet in Tver - Volga, Tvertsa, and Tmaka. The city has medieval origins as it was founded in 1135 as a minor settlement of Novgorodian traders. Just like many cities in Russia, the name was changed during the Soviet era to Kalinin in 1931. It was changed back in 1990.  Alexandra's card is a painting entitled "Harvest Time" by Anna Petunova.

It is rare for me to receive a bowls card and when I do its a big deal! Helen found me a bowls card from the 2002 Commonwealth Games, which were held in Manchester. Manchester is found 16 km from Bolton.  Bowls at the games were played at Heaton Park in Manchester. The greens were built in Heaton Park specifically for these games. Canadians Shirley Fitzpatrick-Wong, Andrea Weigand, Melissa Ranger, and Anita Nivala took the silver medal in women's fours, losing out to a foursome from England. 

Richard is a city administrator and the yellow roofed building in the card is the town hall where he works. The card is promoting staycations because it says, Sei gast in deiner eigenen Stadt! (Be a guest in your own city). On the back of the card is says, Warum in die Ferne schweifen wenn das Gute liegt nah? (Why wander far away when the good is so close?) Herford is an ancient town founded in 789 by Charlemagne in order to guard a ford crossing the narrow Werre River.  Herford was the location of the headquarters of the 1st Armoured Division at Westfalen Garrison, as a part of the British Forces Germany until the division moved back to the United Kingdom in 2015. The British Forces Broadcasting Service studio for Germany was located here until 2009, when it moved to Hohne.  In hockey, the Herforder Ev (Ice Dragons) play in the Regionalliga, which is the fourth level of hockey in Germany. There are 48 teams in the Regionalliga and they play in five different regions. Herforde...

What a great card from Ukrainian born Miroslava. It is by Ukrainian artist Olesya Vakulenko and called "Cossack Freedom."

Michurinsk  Мичу́ринск   is a town of almost 110 000 people and is the second largest town in Tambov Oblast. When is was founded in 1635, it was called Kozlov and built as a defensive town on the Belgorod Line. It blocked the Nogai Trail, a Tatar raiding route.  Kozlov was changed to Michurinsk in 1932 to honour biologist Ivan Michurin, who developed genetic laboratory and agricultural testing fields int he Tambov region, dedicated to pomology (the study of fruit growing), and selection.  On Natali's card is a photo of the post office in Sochi. She says she was there several years ago. 

Altenberge is a municipality of 10 400 people. Helga sent me a card probably from one of her and her husband travels from Ahlbeck. Ahlbeck is a seaside resort in north east Germany. The beach promenade is 12 km long. 

Anita is from Vienna (Wien) but sent a card from Hallstatt. She writes she visited there the weekend prior.  Hallstatt is a small town of just under 800 people located between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See (Lake Hallstatt) and the steep slopes of the Dachstein. Salt production is what Hallstatt has been known for since pre-historic times. However, tourism has become the town's biggest source of income. Tourism has been a blessing and a curse for Hallstatt. It was named a UNESCO Heritage Site in 1997 and tourist numbers exploded, especially amongst people from southeast Asia. By 2017, local churches were employing bouncers to prevent services from being interrupted by tourists. In 2020 it is estimated the town can see 10 000 to 30 000 tourists per day, mostly from bus tours, who bring tourists in for photo opportunities and then move on. Social media images captioned Hallstatt as the "most Instagrammable town in the world." Because of over-tourism, da...

I'm not sure if Pavel is a rock climbing enthusiast, but his card certainly suggests it. The writing on the front - in Czech - reads (in English) Teplice Rocks - Ascent to the Temple Walls. Teplice is the second largest spa town in the Czech Republic and has a historic city centre.  Pavel is from  Holešov, which is located on the other side of the Czech Republic and found on the western hilsside of the  the  Hostýn-Vsetín Mountains  – the westernmost  part of the Carpathian Mountains .  It is a town of about 12 000 and first mentioned in 1141.  From the first half of the 16th century until World War II, the town had a large Jewish community. During the Second World War, almost the entire Jewish population was murdered. 

Liisa's card is of Puuspiraali (Wooden Spiral) by Richard Leplastrier. It is found in The Wood Architecture Park in Lahti. Leplastrier is an Australian architect and professor at the University of Newcastle, Australia. 

Beckum is a city of just under 37 000 people. It was named after the nearby Beckum Hills. Beckum means "home upon the brooks" which is appropriate because there are three brooks around the town - Kollenbach, Lippbach, and Siechenbach.  Beckum was granted its town charter in 1224 and it grew quickly as merchants and craftsmen set up shop. War, riots, and the Black Death slowed progress.  In the second half of the 19th century, chalk and cement industries were developed. Beckhum quickly became one of the most important and largest cement producers in the world. Today Beckum's economy is based on machine engineering, the cement industry, as well as commerce and service industries.  The lighthouse in the photograph is Westerheversand Leuchtturm (Lighthouse), built in 1907. It is in northern Germany and is 40 m high. It has been open to visitors since 2001, and is a popular spot for weddings. 

Duisburg is a city in the Ruhr Metropolitan area of just under a half a million people. It has the world's largest inland port.  Füchse Duisburg is the local hockey team and they play in the Oberliga, Germany's third tier of hockey.  Füchse Duisburg did earn a spot in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, but were regulated again in 2009. 

The photo on the card is of Cape Kapchik on the Crimean Sea. I wonder if Anna took a trip there and picked it up. Omsk is was founded in 1716 and is the second largest city in Siberia. Omsk was created as a fortress in order to strengthen the trade route to China. During the Second World War, Omsk benefitted from the transfer of many industries because it was so far from the fighting. In fact, Omsk was chosen to be the Soviet capital in the event the Germans won the Battle of Moscow in the winter of 1941-42.  At the end of the war, Omsk remained a major industrial centre for Soviet military production. The OKMO tank-design bureau, was moved there in 1941, and SM Kirov Factory No 185 was moved there in 1962. T-80 tanks were produced in Omsk from the 1970s, and were also responsible for designing the BTR-T (a Russian heavy infantry vehicle), the TOS-1 (220 mm 30-barrel multiple rocket launcher and thermobaric weapon mounted on a T-72 tank chassis), and the prototype for the Black Eag...

Eishockeyclub Red Bull München is a member of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. They were founded in 1998 and play at the Olympia Eishalle, but will be moving to the almost built SAP Garden with 10 500 seats in 2022. From 2015 to 2020 they have been a dominate team in the DEL winning the league championship in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, and were the league runner-ups in 2019 - four championships and five trips to the championship game.  Its always interesting to look at the rosters of European teams to see how many Canadians and ex-National Hockey Leaguers found a second life in Germany. Munich is no exception with six Canadians playing, as well as three Americans. Keith Aulie played 167 games in the NHL and garnered 14 points for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Edmonton Oilers and was drafted by Calgary Flames.  Andrew Ebbett has 224 NHL games under his belt with 71 points. He played with Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild, Phoenix Coyotes, Vancouver ...

Melissa and Jim live in St. Petersburg and they sent me a card of the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge. It is a cable-stayed bridge spanning the Lower Tampa Bay connecting St. Petersburg to Terra Ceia. It opened in 1987 and currently tolls cars $1.50 to cross.  Melissa and Jim call the Sunshine Skyway "very famous/infamous bridge." Although it is considered a symbol of Florida, there are problems with suicides and suicide attempts. People who are listed as missing persons are also suspected of jumping from the bridge, but their bodies have never been found. Corrosion is also another problem. They were able to reinforce the corroded sections. It was also noted that the Skyway's low bridge clearance prevented larger vessels from using the Port Tampa Bay Terminals. Some cruise ships exceed the bridge's height limit of 55 m. 

Veronika sent me a lovely card with a photo of the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. She also provides me with several bullet points of her city. So let's have a look at them. The Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre - the official title is the Novosibirsk State Academic and Ballet Theatre ( Новосибирский государственный академический театр оперы и балета) is located in the centre of Novosibirsk at Lenin Square. The building was completed in 1944 and the first performance was in May 1945. In 2012, it became the largest theatre in Russia. It was renovated with computerized stage equipment. The auditorium can seat almost 1800 spectators. Novosibirsk has the longest metro bridge in the world. Novosibirsk was the fourth city in Russia in which a metro system was established. In was opened in 1985. Novosibirsk  has the longest straight street in the world. There are 1.6 million people in Novosibirsk. And Novosibirsk's hockey team is called Sibir and play in the Kontinental Hocke...

I didn't think much of this card when I received it. I mean, I like all the cards I get and appreciate the effort, but there just wasn't any 'wow.' in this one...until I read what it was a photo of. This is a photo of Mauerpark in Berlin. Mauerpark translates to Wall Park because this is the strip of land where the Berlin Wall and its Death Strip were.  When the wall fell in 1989, the former death strip was designated as a public space and one of several green spaces in the city by local residents. The park was built on the eastern half of a former train station. The western half belonged to a real estate association and remained a trade area. Since 2004 it has served as a location for a flea market next to the park.  The park is popular amongst Berlin's youth. It attracts basketball players, jugglers, musicians, and many others and their activities.  An 800 m strip of the wall still stands in the park today as a monument, and is a popular place for graffiti artists...

Nadezhda from Biysk  Бийск  travelled to the Multinsky Lakes in the summer and brought back this beautiful postcard.  Biysk is on the Biya River and has a population of just over 210 000. It was founded in 1709 when the fortress of Bikatunskaya was built between 1708-1709 by order of Tsar Peter the Great. In 1710 the fortress saw its first battle and after three days, the Dzungar people destroyed Bikatunskaya. The Bikatunskaya was rebuilt 20 km from its original location in 1718 and renamed Biyskaya in 1732. The military base disappeared in the next few decades but it became an important centre for trade. During the second world war, some factories from the west were relocated to Biysk. Biysk became an important centre of arms development during and after the war including perfecting solid fuel rocket engines. Evalar, one of the largest Russian pharmaceutical companies, is headquartered in Biysk. 

Great photo of street art - I think they are rats? This particular art was photographed in Warsaw, Poland, and is part of a series of postcards that focuses on street art. Erlangen is home to HC Erlangen who play in the Handball-Bundesliga. Because the arena doesn't meet Bundesliga standards, they have to play in Nuremburg at the Arena Nurnberg. HC Erlangen was founded in 2001. The Handball-Bundesliga was founded in 1965 and currently have 18 teams. It is ranked the best professional handball league in Europe. THW Kiel has dominated the Bundesliga winning 22 championships, the first in 1957 and the last during the 2021 season. The next closest teams has 12 championships. 

I have received another postcard depicting a state capital. I think its the third or fourth one I've received. This one shows the West Virginia State Capitol Building lit up at night with fireworks going off. It's a beautiful photo.  Michelle is from Madison, which she says is just south of West Virginia's capitol city of Charleston. Madison is a former coal town and has a population of just over 3000 people. Madison's nickname is "The Gateway to the Coal Fields." West Virginia's State Capitol Building was dedicated in 1932 and had a final cost of $10 million. It is the sixth building to house the West Virginia government. The height of the dome is 89 m, and the diameter is 23 m. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

It's always cool to get a card from a small country. Luxembourg fits that bill. Monique lives in Nagem which is a village of 204 (2005). Monique says on her card there are only about 150 there. The capital city of Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, has a population of 125 000 people. Luxembourg is one of the smallest countries in Europe and has one of the smallest populations in Europe. Non-Luxembourgers make up half the population. Luxembourg is representative democracy with a constitutional monarch, Grand Duke Henri. It's the only remaining sovereign grand duchy (country with a monarch bearing the title grand duke) Luxembourg is a developed country with an advance economy and one of the world's highest GDPs per capita. 

Kristiina from Pori sent a photograph of "Alvar Aalto and his Boat" taken in the 1950s. Aalto was a Finish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles, glassware, sculptures, and paintings. He believed strongly in design as a Gesamtkunstwerk - a total work of art - in which he would design the building, and give special treatment to the interior surfaces, furniture, lamps, and glassware.   Aalto has a museum dedicated to his work found in  Jyväskylä. The Alvar Aalto Museum building was designed by Aalto himself. 

Sofia lives in Jyväskylä. I have already written about the Neste Oil Rally Finland, so lets focus on the University of Jyväskylä. It is the only university in Northern Europe with a faculty of sports. It has been key developing a strong sports culture in the city. Jyväskylä is also known as the "capital of Finnish sport." Sofia's card has a barnacle goose on it. The barnacle goose is a medium sized goose, 55-70 cm long and a wing span of 130-145 cm. It usually weighs between 1.21 - 2.23 kg.  Barnacle Geese breed mainly on the Arctic Island in the North Atlantic. Their conservation status is listed as "Least Concern." 

Martin sends a card from Chemnitz. There is a starfish on the card with some words in German. Google Translate says, "Traces - Nothing leaves such wonderful traces in our hearts as a sincere friendship." Chemnitz - known as Karl-Marx-Stadt from 1953 - 1990 - is a city of almost 250 000 people. It is a part of the Central German Metropolitan Region. It is located in the Ore Mountain Basin. The economy is based on medium-sized companies, with the heavy industrial sectors of mechanical engineering, metal processing, and vehicle manufacturing.

Michigan Stadium, nicknamed "The Big House," is the football stadium for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the largest stadium in the United States and Western Hemisphere, and the third largest stadium in the world. It's official capacity is 107 601, but has hosted events with more that 115 000.  Diane is from South Bend and mentions her dad watched football games at the University of Michigan.  Diane lives in South Bend, a city of 320 000 and a metropolitan area of 721 000. It is the fourth largest city in Indiana.  The former mayor of South Bend is Pete Buttigieg. He ran for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries and was named the Secretary of Transportation by President Joe Biden. 

Ellen lives in  Bühl, which is a village in the municipality of Klettgau, located near the Swiss border.  Bühl was incorporated in the municipality if 1975.  Ellen's card says "Schwarzwaldimpressionen," which means Black Forest photos. The Black Forest is a large forested mountain range in south west Germany. It is the source of the Danube and Neckar Rivers. The highest peak is the Feldberg at just under 1500 m. Traditionally the areas main economic activity was forestry and mining, however tourism is now the main economic activity with over 300 000 jobs accounted for. 

This is a meetup card in Vladivostok on 28 August 2021. If I go by the number of rubber stamps and signatures, it looks like 10-11 people came to this meetup.  Vladivostok  Владивосто́к   is located around the Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan. There are 607 000 people in the city and 812 000 in the metropolitan area.  It was founded in 1860 as a Russian military outpost. In 1872, the main Russian naval base on the Pacific Ocean was transferred here.  Not only is Vladivostok Russia's largest post on the Pacific Ocean, it is also a chief economic, scientific, tourist, and cultural centre of the Russian Far East. HC Admiral Vladivostok are members of the Chernyshev Division of the Eastern Conference of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). They play at Fetisov Arena, which has a capacity of 7500. Admiral joined the KHL as an expansion team in 2013. There are no Canadians on the roster this season, but there is one American - Josh Kestner from Huntsville, Alabama....

Jason lives in Mytilene  Μυτιλήνη , the capital of the island of Lesbos. Mytilene has a population of just under 30 000, and 58 0000 in the metropolitan area.  Tourism is a big part of Mytilene's economy, but ouzo is produced here. Over 15 commercial producers exist on Lesbos. The city also exports sardines, olive oil, ladotyri cheese, and woodwork.  Mytilene also has a ferry terminal that serves Piraeus, Athens, and Thessaloniki on the mainland, as well as to the nearby islands of Lemnos and Chios and Ayvalik, and irregular service to Dikili, Turkey. Its a six hour ferry ride to Athens. 

Norridgewock is a small town of just under 3400 people, on the Kennebec River. New France defined the border of New England and Acadia as the Kennebec River. Rebecca's card is of the Portland Head Light, on C ape Elizabeth. The lighthouse sits on the land at the entrance of the primary shipping channel into Portland Harbor. It was completed in 1791 and is the oldest lighthouse in Maine. The lighthouse is automated today and maintained by the US Coast Guard. It was George Washington who order the lighthouse built.  The lighthouse is listed as a US National Register of Historic Places in 1973. It was first lit in 1791; automated in 1989, and sits at 31 meters in height. The light has a range of 44 km.

Ans is a wife, mother, and grandmother and an photography student at the Art Academy for Photography.  NAC Breda plays in the Eerste Divisie in the Netherlands. It is the second level of Dutch football. NAC Breda was founded in 1912 and has won one national title (1921) and one Cup (1973). The Cup is based on the English Football Association Cup (FA Cup). 

James sent me a card showing an aerial view of both sides of the Niagara Falls. He says the Canadian side is better. He also says its the only time he's been in Canada, which is funny for living so close to the border.  Bristol is located 32 km from Hartford, and about 160 km from New York City. Bristol is where you will find the general studies for ESPN (which is Bristol's largest employer, and is location of Lake Compounce, the United States' oldest continuously operating theme park. Bristol's nickname is the "Mum City" because is was once a leader in chrysanthemum production and still holds the annual Bristol Mum Festival, first held in 1962.  The Bristol Blues, a summer collegiate baseball team, play at Muzzy Field. Muzzy Field was built in 1912 and is one of the oldest ball parks in the United States.  Lake Compounce was opened in 1846 and has a beach and water park called Crocodile Cove. It has the 14th oldest wooden roller coaster in the world. It's...

At 7.4 million people, Pune is India's 7th most populous city. It has been voted as India's most livable city several times. Pune is India's second major IT Hub of India and the automobile and manufacturing hub of India. "Oxford of the East" is how Pune has been described, as Pune has 18 universities including Savitribal Phule Pune University, the National Defence Academy, and National Institute of Politics and Economics. There are 30 schools for engineering and technology. And eight medical colleges, including the Armed Forces Medical College.  Pune has several professional sports teams based here. The Pune 7 Aces is the professional badminton team that plays in the Premier Badminton League. The Aces have players from India, England, Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, and Vietnam on the team.  While scrolling through sports in Pune I found a sport called kabaddi. Kabaddi is a contact sport between two teams of seven players. The objective is for a single player on offe...

Michelle and her husband live in Freiberg, a university town and former mining town in Saxony. Mining and smelting dominated the economy for 800 years until 1969. The Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg  ( Freiberg University of Mining and Technology) is the oldest university of mining and metallurgy in the world. It was established by Prince Franz Xaver in 1765. The Ore Mountain Mining Region is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today, Freiberg's economy has focused on high technology in the fields of semiconductor manufacturing and solar technology. 

Brest was formerly named Brest-Litovsk, which translates to Lithuania Brest. It is found on the border with Poland, opposite of the city of Terespol.  HK Brest competes in the Belarussian Extraliga (BXL), the top hockey league in Belarus. HK Brest has never won the BXL championship.  The HK Brest logo reminds me of a Spanish advertisement for a bull fight. 

Nottingham is famous for the legend of Robin Hood. Robin Hood had been featured in literature and film. Some versions claim he is of noble birth, and some as a veteran of the Crusades. In the earliest versions he is of Yeoman class - a middle rank of servants in an English royal or noble household.  Paul's card is a reproduction of a 2007 stamp of a Grey Seal. In fact, Paul used the actual Grey Seal stamp to post the card. Grey seals are found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Great Britain, bull seals can get to 233 kg and 155 kg for females. Grey seals feed on fish, as well as creatures found on the ocean bed. They need about 5 kg of food a day, although it doesn't feed everyday, and the female will fast during the breeding season. Females give birth to one pup a year from about the age of four to age 30. Pups are generally 14 kg at birth and the mother's milk is up to 60% fat. Survival rates for pup in their first year varies from 80-85%, to below 50%, depen...

Ogi is a city of just over 45 000 people. The modern city of Ogi was created in 2005 when Ogi absorbed the towns of Ashikari, Mikasuki, and Ushizu. Ogi's claim to fame is it is the city with the highest consumption of  Yōkan in Japan. Yōkan is a wagashi (Japanese confection) made of red bean paste, agar, and sugar. It's sold in block form and eaten in slices. 

Nara  奈良  is the capital city of the Nara Prefecture and has a population of just under 360 000 people. Nara was the capital of Japan during the Nara Period from 710 to 794, before it was moved to Kyoto. There are eight temples, shrines, and ruins, along with the Kasugayama Primeval Forest, all form the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Bled is a municipality in northwestern Slovenia and is located on the shores of Lake Bled. Lake Bled is a popular tourist destination. Lake Bled is 2.2 km long and 1.4 km wide. It is surrounded by mountains and forests. Bled Castle, a medieval castle stands above the lake on the north shore and has a museum.  Bled Island has several buildings on the island, one being the pilgrimage church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, built near the end of the 17th century. It has a 52 meter tower and has a Baroque stairway dating from 1655 with 99 stones leading up to the building. It is a popular tourist attraction and weddings are held there on a regular basis. It is considered good luck for the groom to carry his bride up the steps on the day of their wedding before ringing the bell and making a wish inside the church. 

Michael sends a card with a vintage photo on it from 1962. The bathing suit is the only thing in colour. I'm not sure if this is a polar bear dip, or some other Scandinavian tradition.  Orimattila is a town of just under 16 000 people. Orimattilan Pedot is a sports club that specializes in hockey and football (soccer). It started ini 1967 as an ice hockey club, however football has become the number one sport of the club. The football team has played in Tier 4, 5, and 6 divisions in the Finnish Football League.The last mention of them was in 2017 and they finished third in the Vitonen (Fifth Division).

Hanne is from Leipzig and I noticed she was born in July 1945, weeks after the end of the Second World War. Leipzig was a part of East Germany so the Soviets controlled it. What a rough start to life it would have been for her and her family. Today she has four daughters and 8 grandchildren. Her user name is elefant45 because she loves to collect elephant figurines.  The card she sent is of August der Starke, aka Augustus the Strong. He was the Elector of Saxony from 1694-1733, as well at the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697-1706 and again from 1709 to his death. He earned the nickname Augustus the Strong because of his physical strength. He would show off by breaking horseshoes in half and engaging in fox tossing. The fox was tossed in the air by a sling and Augustus would hold his end with one finger, while two other strong men would hold the other end.  One of things he is remembered for is being a great patron of the arts and architecture in Dresden...

Alexsandra is Ukrainian but lives in Nizhnevartovsk, in Western Siberia, with her husband and two young sons. She sent me a card of Robin Hood. Nizhnevartovsk is a rich city, made rich because of the petroleum industry. There are a quarter of a million people living here.