3549 - Madrid, Spain

The sender lives in Madrid, but is from Sevilla. The week before she sent this card, she was in Asturias, an autonomous community in northwest Spain. An interesting fact about the area is it has a rich Celtic history. During the Middle Ages, the Asturias today was a part of a larger Kingdom of Asturias. This was founded in 711 by the Visigoth, Pelagius. At the time the Iberian Peninsula was Muslim control. Pelagius defeated the Ummayyad army at the Battle of Covadonga. Many historians considered this battle the beginning of the Reconquista.

The Kingdom of Asturias lasted until 924 when it was incorporated into the Kingdom of León.

As a part of Spain, it became an autonomous community in 1981. This gives Asturias more power over its own healthcare, education, and protection of the environment.

Gijón is the largest city in Asturias with about 270 000 people, with it's second largest city, Oviedo, at 220 000 people as the capital city.

Asturias is one of the best conserved in Spain. The area is full of vegetation and wild spaces. Spain's two most important naturtal parks are found here. However, Gijón was singled out as one of the pollution hotspots in western Europe in 2015. Pollution here is caused by heavy industrial activities. A majority of Asturias lives within 25 km from Gijón so excessive pollution is a concern to citizens here.

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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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