2452 - Vienna, Austria

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, day-visitors drive away tourists who would stay longer. It began looking at limiting the number of tourists visiting Hallstatt. Hallstatt began to focus on "quality" tourism. S
tarting last fall in 2020, tour busses were assigned time slots. Only 54 busses would be permitted to come to Hallstatt, which represents about half of what they would normally get. Busses with overnight bookings would receive preferential treatment.

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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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