3033 - Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

It's always exciting to get a card from a country one doesn't get to see very often. Luxembourg is one of those countries.

Luxembourg is one of the smallest countries in the world and one of the least populated countries in Europe. However, the growth rate is amongst the highest. Half of Luxembourg's population are foreign born. Grand Duke Henri is the constitutional monarch of Luxembourg and Luxembourg is the only sovereign grand duchy in the world.

Luxembourg is also unique for a country in Europe as its sports are not concentrated upon one national sport, such as football in France or Germany, or hockey in Canada. About 1 in 7 Luxembourgers are licensed members of one sports federation.

Cycling is Luxembourg's most succesful sport at the professional level, and is a main participatory sport amongst the general public. The Tour de Luxembourg is run annually as a prelude to the Tour de France. Football is the most popular team sport and the National Division is the premier league in Luxembourg and carries 14 teams. d'Leiwen, or The LIons, have only risen to number 82 on the FIFA rankings (September 2018).

Luxembourg has only won two medals in the Summer Olympics:

Joseph Alzin, silver medal, in weighlifting at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp.
Josy Barthel, gold medal, 1500 m athletics at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki.

Luxembourg has won two medals in the Winter Olympics:

Marc Girardelli, silver medal in the Super G, and silver medal in the Giant Slalom at the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France.

3227 - Mölln, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Mölln is a small city of about 20 000 located in northern Germany. The Elbe-Lübeck Canal flows through the town, and there are eight small lakes that surround the city. It was founded in the 12th century and was a part of the Old Salt Route. Salt that was produced in the salt mines of Lower-Saxony was shipped to the Baltic Sea. Till Eulenspiegel, a legendary trickster known for exposing vices and provoking thought, is said to have lived in Mölln the last year of his life. He apparently died of the plague in 1350, but his existence has never been proven. Mölln has several monuments dedicated to him.

3322 - Hamburg, Germany

Happy birthday to me! What a lovely handmade card from the sender. Beautiful penmanship. Am Rothenbaum is the site of the main court of the German Open Tennis Championships. The International German Open has been played at the Rothernbaum since 1892, making it Germany's longest running tennis tournament. The current stadium was built in 1999 and can hold 13 200 people.

3232 - Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States of America

The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal North Pierhead Light was built in 1882. There were nine keepers of the light until 1897. It was redesigned in 1903 and is 12 meters high. The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal was started in 1872 and wasn't opened for large-scale watercraft until 1890. The canal is 2.1 kilometers long that goes from Sturgeon Bay in Lake Michigan to Green Bay. There are no locks on this canal. The canal was sold to the United States government in 1893 and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains the canal.

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