Map of the Way of St. James, Spain (UNESCO)

A great official Postcrossing card from Spain, ES-159376 by Maria. It shows an ancient map of the medieval pilgrimage route of St. James, inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993.
The Way of St. James has existed for over 1000 years and is a major Christian route of pilgrimage. According to legend the remains of St. James were brought to the north of Spain by boat and are now buried where today is the city of Santiago de Compostela.

Sant'Elpidio a Mare, Italy

Sant'Elpidio a Mare is a nice medieval town in Italy close to the Adriatic sea. It was originally named Cluana, but when the town got into the possession of the relics of Saint Elpidius and his companions, the name was changed respectively.
The postcard was sent as an official card via Postcrossing,  IT-176298 by Pierluigi

Michelstadt, Bee Legend, Germany

The "Michelstädter Bie"  (Bee of Michelstadt).  The legend goes that several hundred years ago, on a hot summerday the city guardsman fell asleep due to the hot weather. An attacking force was on the way to capture the city,  and if it hadn't been for a bee biting the nose of the guardsman the attackers would have succeeded. The beebite made the guardsman jump up with pain, thus he saw the advancing troops,  closed the gates in time and alarmed the city defenders. The city was saved and ever since the people of Michelstadt were called the Bees.
To commemorate this legend  the city celebrates the  Bee Market each year over Pentecost.
I sent this card home to my parents for my own collection.

Nibelungen Road

The Nibelungen Road leads from Würzburg to Worms. There are 22 towns and villages along this road, the bigger ones are depicted on the card. I sent this one home to my parents to become part of my map collection.

Heidelberg,. Germany

Heidelberg is one of the most beautiful cities here in Germany I ever visited. There are tons of great cards on offer but this one here really caught my eye and I had to send it home to my parents to become part of my own collection :) The place looks so mystic.
The beginnings of the town can be traced back to the 5th century. Today Heidelberg counts about 150.000 inhabitants. The old part of the town, the city center, is charming and pittoresque with modern shopping centers in historic buildings,  lots of beautiful churches and of course the Castle on a hill overlooking the city. A must see for anyone visiting Germany. It was a warm, sunny day so I had lunch on the square in front of the townhall and with closed eyes I wouldn't have been able to guess in what country I was, all around me foreign languages. I could make out English of course, then Spanish and either Japanese or Chinese.

Maiko Gilrs in Gion, Kyoto, Japan

Wonderful card coming from Nobue for the Postcrossing Favourites Tag. It shows two Maiko girls in formal black attire walking a bridge in Gion, the elegant Red-Light District in Kyoto, the former captial city of Japan.

Sri Lanka Sunset

Great sunset view of the West Coast of Sri Lanka. I love the colours :)  The card was sent to my friend Manuela who gave it to me for my collection.

Welsh Alphabet

This great card was sent by Claire for the Postcrossing Favourites Tag. It shows the letters of the Welsh alphabet. Welsh is a Celtic language and has a few letters that are different from the regular English. A greeting in Welsh was also included in the NASA recording of 55 greetings in different languages which was sent out on the Voyager mission in 1977 with the goal of finding life in outer space.

Tetiaroa Island, French Polynesia

Tetiaroa Atoll is part of French Polynesia. Once it was the holiday spot for the  Pomare Family, the rulers of the country. In 1960 Marlon Brando "discovered" the island while scouting for places for shooting the Mutiny on the Bounty movie. Later he bought the island and actually lived there whenever he found time away from his hectic Hollywood life.
The card was sent by Wanda for the Postcrossing Favourites Swap

Kolob Section, Zion National Park, Utah,. USA

This postcard, sent by Rose Davenport for the WiP New Years Resolution swap, shows the Kolob Section of Zion National Park in Utah.

Mt. Cammerer, Great Smoky Mountains, USA (UNESCO)

 

Mt Cammerer is part of the UNESCO Site Great Smoky Mountains. It is located on the north eastern fringe of this famous mountain range. The lookout on top of the hill, built in 1937, was manned by a fire ranger til the 1960ies. After that it fell into disrepair but has been restored now.

The card was sent by Ruth Smith for the WiP February General Swap

Interior of 17th century Romanian house

This postcard shows the interior of a typical Romanian house in the 17th century. It can be found in the Ethnographic Museum in Cluj, Romania. The postcard was sent by Raluca Marila for the WiP Letter O Swap.

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegowina

Wonderful night view of  Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegowina. It is both, the capital and largest city of the country and also the leading cultural center. Several cultures and religions live here together in peace and until recently Sarajevo was the only European city to have a mosque, cathedral, orthodox church and a synagoge in close neighbourhood of each other.
In 1914 the archduke of Austria was assassinated in Sarajevo, which caused the first World War. In 1984 the Olympic Winter Games took place in Sarajevo and during the war of Bosnian independency the city experienced the longest siege in the history of modern warfare, nearly four years (1992-1996). In 2011 Sarajevo was named the first city to become European Capital of Culture (2014) outside of the European Union.
This great card was sent to my friend Manuela who gave it to me to be part of my collection :)