4510 - Taipei, Taiwan

The postcard I received today is part of a set issued by Taiwan Post depicting different sports. According to the sender, rock climbing is not especially popular in Taiwan, making its inclusion in the series seem a little surprising. Taiwan didn't have any athletes participating in the climbing events.

I wonder if the choice was influenced by the Olympic Games. Sport climbing made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and returned for its second appearance at the Paris Olympics in 2024. As the sport continues to grow internationally, it makes sense that postal administrations would feature it as part of a collection celebrating modern sports.

The Paris Olympics featured four medal events in sport climbing: men's and women's speed climbing, and men's and women's combined boulder and lead climbing. In the combined events, Toby Roberts of Great Britain claimed the men's gold medal, while Janja Garnbret of Slovenia successfully defended her Olympic title in the women's competition. In the speed climbing events, Indonesia's Veddriq Leonardo won the men's gold, while Poland's Aleksandra Mirosław took the women's title after setting a series of world-record times during the competition.

Whether or not Olympic success inspired Taiwan Post's design, the postcard reflects how quickly sport climbing has become established on the world stage. Once regarded as a niche activity, it now attracts millions of viewers and showcases remarkable strength, agility, and problem-solving skills.

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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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