The Pforzheim City Museum was inaugurated in 1979. Pforzheim has a lengthy history. It was first settled by the Romans in CE 90. The Romans called it Portus "river crossing" During World War II, Pforzheim was heavily bombed. Many of the factories were converted to produce weapons such as anti-aircraft shells, fuses for bombs, and parts for the V-1 and V-2 rockets. In February 1945, one of the most devastating area bombardments of the war was carried out by the Royal Air Force. About 17 000 people, or about one-quarter of the population, were killed, and 83% of the city's buildings. The RAF's job was to destroy built up area and associated industries and rail facilities. The bombardments was via carpet bombs.  After the war, the city was occupied by the French and Moroccans for three months. Both sides were hostile towards one another and there were many reported incidents of rape and looting. The American Army took over occupation in July 1945 and helped repair Goethe...

A couple of ex-pats from the United Kingdom sent a lovely card from the Singapore Botanic Gardens. The card shows an orchid called Papilionanthe Miss Joaquim, or the Singapore orchid, or the Princess Aloha orchid, or the Vanda Miss Joaquim. . This orchid just happens to be the national flower of Singapore.  The Miss Joaquim was chosen for its resilience and year-round blooming  quality, to represent Singapore's uniqueness and hybrid culture.  Miss Joaquim is Agnes Joaquim. She was a Singaporean Armenian born in Singapore. She was an avid gardener. She won many prizes at annual flower shows. In 1899 she won the prize for the rarest orchid and the flower show. First prize was getting the honour of a hybrid orchid named after her. Unfortunately, Joaquim was suffering from cancer at the time and died three months after winning the flower show. 

I nice little tourist postcard from Sologne. Sologne is a natural region in Centre-Val de Loire. It is about 5000 square kilometres.  The sender actually lives in Chuzelles, which is a small town or village just over 2000 people. 

A great card of a cable car on Mount Tsukuba. The mountain is one of the most famous in Japan and is known for its double peaks. The two peaks have their own names - Nyotai-san  女体山 translates to female body, while Nantai-san  男体山 means male body. Hikers can climb the mountain to take in the panoramic view of the  Kantō Plain. The Tokyo skyline, Lake Kasumigaura, and Mt Fuji can all be seen from the summit on clear days. Tsukuba is also different from most Japanese peaks as it is not volcanic, but made up of granite and gabbro. 

 

A great card of the landscape artist, Caspar David Friedrich. This particular painting is called Chalk Cliffs on  Rügen (Kreidefelsen auf  Rügen) . In was painted in 1818 during his honeymoon to Christiane Caroline Bommer. They were visiting relatives in Neubrandenburg and Greifswald. During their time there they visited the island of  Rügen with Friedrich's brother, Christian. 

I great card of ski jumping facilities in Lahti. The sender, seeing I was from near Calgary, mentioned he remembered watched the Calgary Olympics in 1988. The Finns had high hopes for ski jumper, Matti  Nykänen.  Nykänen won 4 gold medals, and one silver medals at the Sarajevo (1984) Olympics and Calgary (1988) Olympics. Nykänen was married six times. His first wife was a 'sausage heiress" named Mervi Tapola. They were married in 2001; divorced in 2003; and remarried in 2004 only to finally divorce again in 2010, after Tapola's 15 request for a divorce. The marriage was unhealthy and because they were both famous, in the news.   Nykänen assaulted Tapola in 2000 and he was given a suspended sentence. While on probation he abused her again. He was sent to prison for four months. When he was released, he stabbed a man at a pizza restaurant. On Christmas Day in 2009, he assaulted he wife with a knife and tried to throttle her with a bathrobe belt. He was arrested but the...