The card shows a view from the village of Bourtange , which today has a population of around 430. The village is best known for Fort Bourtange , a star-shaped fortress built under the orders of William the Silent and completed in 1593. Its strategic purpose was to control the only road linking Germany with the city of Groningen , which at the time was held by Spain during the Eighty Years' War . The fort saw its final battle in 1672 and remained part of the Dutch defensive network along the German border until 1851. That year it was decommissioned and gradually developed into a village. Today, Fort Bourtange has been carefully restored and operates as a historical museum.

As always I appreciate an effort to send me a lawn bowls card. Sometimes I get a lane bowling card instead.  Son en Breugel is found just outside of Eindhoven. There are about 17 500 people who live there. Son en Breugel were two separate villages - Son and Breugel, with the stream of Dommel separating them. It was during the reign of Napoleon when the two villages were merged into one. 

An unusual name, 's-Hertogenbosch is a contraction of the Dutch des Hertogen bosch (the forest of the duke). The duke was Henry I (1165-1235), Duke of Brabant. 's-Hertogenbosch was given city rights when Henry was 26. Today, 's-Hertogenbosch's people use Den Bosch when talking about their city.  's-Hertogenbosch is the capital city of North Brabant and is the fourth largest city in the Netherlands by population - 161 000.  In 1984, artist and sculptor Dries Kreijkamp built the Bolwoningen in the Maaspoort neighbourhood of 's-Hertogenbosch. They are 50 spherical houses grouped together near a canal. The grant was given to build experimental housing. The houses were prefabricated and could be set up in one day. They were also designed to have low energy consumption and east to maintain.  The houses had three levels - level one is the bedroom, level two is the bathroom, and the third level is the living space. Round windows on level three offered panoramic views of...

The sender is from Ukraine and I am assuming she was sent to Bergen op Zoom at the start of Russian aggression. She send a great card of a Ukrainian fighter jet, the Sukhol Su-25. The Sukhol is actually a Russian jet that was developed in the Soviet Union. Both Russia and Ukraine are using the jets in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  Glory to Ukraine! Glory to Heroes! 

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). 

Helma from Dorst is a recently retired from working in a shop she and her husband owned. They have sold the business and are now volunteers on the Listen Line - a call centre where young folks who are lonely, sad, confused, can call to talk to someone. Dorst is a small town of just under 2500 people. Dorst was first mentioned in 1290. Willem van Duivenvoorde was the lord of the area in 1325. The soil in the area was not conducive to agriculture so goat breeding became the main part of the economy. A brick factory was built in 1899 and produced 5-6 million bricks a year. It also created roof tiles. The factory was demolished in 2010.  In the late stages of World War II, Dorst was liberated from the Germans by members of the Polish Army. There is a plaque at the Vredeskapel (chapel) to remember the Polish soldiers killed on 29 October 1944. 

Marjan from Veldhoven sent me a card of Pipo de Clown, a character who was on a popular Dutch television show, and Marjan loved watching his adventures. Pipo was the lead character in the television show, along with his wife, Mamaloe, and their daughter, Petra. For most of the show they lived in a gypsy trailer in which they travelled around the Netherlands as a circus act and happened to run into adventures. The gypsy trailer was given to him by a gypsy named Felicio in the second series (season). Pipo ran from 1959 to 1980. He could also be found on records, in movies, and in comics. For some reason, Pipo reminds me of a Canadian television series that ran in the lates 70s and early 80s called The Littlest Hobo . It was about a German shepherd dog that would travel around Canada and help people in need. At the end of each episode, the people he helped wanted Hobo to stay but Hobo always moved on to the next adventure. 

Laura is a new Postcrossing. I think I was the 20th card she sent. Laura is from Rosmalen and owns her own business. I love the card she sent me.  Rosmalen is a small city and boasts the biggest amateur football club in the Netherlands - OJC Rosmalen, which plays in the Derde Divisie, the fourth tier of Dutch football. It also has the Netherlands second biggest basketball club, The Black Eagles.