NEW BLOG ADDRESS!!!!!

Due to some technical reasons I've decided to move my blog to different e-mail account so it's easier for me to deal with all the accounts etc... So from now on the blog is on:

http://lovemycards.blogspot.com/

Sorry for inconvieniences

Azulejos

Aveiro- train station (photo)

Azulejos showing the lighthouse(photo)

One of the postcards which made my day today! Actually I recieved 3 postcerds from Portugal, 4 from Scotland and 1 from the Phillipines with a letter...That was a good day ;) Coming back to postcard... It shows azulejos- thin ceramic tiles very popular in Portuguese and Spanish-speaking countries. Nowaday is one of the characteristical features of Portugal and that's where I fall in love with them! In Aveiro where I used to live there is an old train station covered with blue and white tiles- it looks amazing!  I've attached 2 photos of that building :)

Anyway the art of azulejos has been being developed for over 500 years. It was the cheapest way to make the buildings look more aesthetical and unique. Tiles are also very higyenic and they are used indoors in kitchens, bathrooms...everywhere where humidity may be a problem.

There are two theories about the origin of the term 'azulejo'.  Because it was the Moors that brought azulejos to the Iberian Peninsula it is said that the term comes from arrabic al azzelij which means 'little, smooth stone' and which was used to name the middle-easter mosaics. The second theory is that the name comes from Portuguese/Spanish word 'azul' meaning 'blue' and it reffers to the traditional blue ornaments on the white tiles. More informations soon as I'm hopefully going to recieve more postcards showing beautiful azulejos!

For your country's sake today...

Very interesting postcard recieved  by a private facebook swap with Molly. She was on holidays in Fort Sumter/Fort Moultrie in South Carolina.  It was a World War II-era recruitment poster by Steele Savage from 1944.

Here is a little bit form Wikipedia about the American posters from II WW:


The U.S. used posters more than any other method of broadcasting propaganda, and produced more propaganda posters than any other country fighting in World War II. Almost 200,000 different designs were printed during the war.


The Office of War Information (OWI) Bureau of Graphics was the government division in charge of producing and distributing these advertisements. The feature that distinguished the United States poster propaganda from British and other allied propaganda was that the advertisements remained primarily positive in their messages. The United States focused on duty, patriotism and tradition where other countries were focusing on fueling the people's hate for the enemy. These positive messages were used to increase the production of the home front instead of insuring that the "money raised was not lost". Posters rarely used images of war casualties, and battlefield scenes became less popular, being replaced by commercial images to satisfy the "consumer" need for the war.


Posters used a number of themes to encourage support for the war including conservation, production, recruiting, home efforts, and secrecy. Posters were placed in areas lacking paid advertisements. The most common areas were post offices, railroad stations, schools, restaurants, and retail stores. Smaller posters were printed for the windows of private homes and apartment buildings. These regions were places where other propaganda forms could not be deployed.


The war posters were not designed by the government but by artists who received no compensation for their work. Different government-run organizations held competitions for artists to produce their best war time design in order to enlarge the number of designs that they could choose from.

Birthday card frem Asia

I promise I'm not going to put all of my birthday cards here but I couln't help myself with this one. I was sent by Anne from the Phillipines and I really love it. Card is printed on recycled paper and contains very warm and sweet wishes.

China

That card is very misterious. I recieved it for Bridges RR group and all what a sender wrote was the information that  the bridge is located on the 2nd the largest river in China- which is called Yellow River as far as I remember. I have no idea what is that city, which part of the country and what's the name of the bridge... Card has quite a long description on the back but unfortunately chinese is not my language...

Worldwide stamps

That collage of stamps from my cards makes me want to take part in Chain Postcard RR. I saw some examples and it looks soooo cool! I guess I'll try it in October when I move to my new place :)

Nothing more dutch than a windmill

Windmills are one of the symbols of the Netherlands. They were really important to provide energy for pomps for drying out the land. Some of the sourses says that there was about 10 000 windmills in Holland in 19th century. Right now they are undoubtly a huge tourist magnet :)

Warszawa- Polish capital

All my life I've been hearing that Warsaw sucks... Finally I went there and guess what? Warsaw is quite interesting :) I was there in May when all the tulips were blooming and everything looked beautiful. The city center was totally destroyed during the II WW and rebuilted and as far as I remember it's on UNESCO WTS - I don't feel like checking it right now. The only things that I didn't like there was the Main Square-not really renovated, small and empty which comparing with my hometown Main Square is really disappointing. The other thing was lack of rivers... Of course there is Wisła flowing through the city but it's not really that noticable like Odra in Wrocław. Except for that I liked the city :D 

And the card was sent by my friend who moved there few years ago ;)

Islam in the Philippines

Islam is the oldest monoteistic religion recorded in the Phillipines. First mosques were built there in 14th century. Right now Muslims are 5-9% of the population of the country. They dominate the Autonomus Region in Muslim Mindanao who was traditional homeland for Muslims since the 15th century. That beautiful postcard recived through private swap shows one of the mosques. It's such a beautiful view!

Mammoth Cave

Mammoth Cave is the longest cave system known in the world located in Edmonson Country, Kentucky. The labirynth is 591 km long and it's on UNESCO WTS since 1981. There are few lakes, rivers and waterfalls including Echo River located 110 meters under the ground. The cave is a home for various species of bats, insects, fish... I don't even want to imagine what creatures live there... brrr

Palacio de Cristal

Palacio de cristal is a builing located in the Retiro Park in Madrid. It was built in 1887 for the exotic plants from the Phillipines. It was orginally made of glass and steel, later rubber and plastic elements were added. Card recived from Facebook postcard exchange.

Statue of Liberty

I've got this card some time ago from a penpal who was in NY for holidays. Statue of Liberty is probably the most famous statue in the world. Designed by Federic Auguste Bartholdi, it was firstly named Liberty Enlightening th World. As many of you probably know it was a gift from France to the United States. It's 93 meters high and it weights 204 tonnes.

Mount St. Helens

The mountain that can be seen here is actually an active stratovolcano located in Washington State and it's famous for an eruption from 18th of May1980. 72 people were killed, 250 homes, 47 bridges, railways and highways were destroyed... The most destructive volcano eruption in the US ever! 

Tui for my birthday

Another birthday card. This one s from New Zealand and it shows Tui bird sitting on Potuhukawa blooming tree. I love this card!

U-Bahn and S-Bahn

Usually I don't collect postcards that I bought myself. I prefer to recieve them but I'm going to keep this one.Mainly because I got it from the most amazing European city- Berlin. Longer post about the city soon for now just a short note.


Metro- U-Bahn in Berlin was opened in 1902 and it consist of 10 lines and 173 stations. The length of the lines is 146,3 km and 4/5 of it is under the ground. S-bahn is a rapid transit system of 15 lines that crosses the city and the surrounding. It's integrated with U-Bahn.


From my short experience I can say that the public transport works fine in the city and it's easy to use and the only problem was that automats don't allow payment by Visa Electron card ;)

My very first postcard

I'm very sentimental when it comes to that card. I recived it when I was 3 or 4 years old from my dad who lived quite far away due to his army training. Card is funny and after all this years I still like it :D I'm glad I can show this card he

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Books

This official postcard from Finland made my day. I love reading- I can't live without books. I'm not sure how  many books I've read in my life but it's a lot for sure. My favorite one is "Master and Margarita" written by Mihail Bulhagov. Recently I've totally fallen for Jose Saramago Books- he is magician of words for me. Anyway time for postcard:

Basilica Church of St. Mary Magdalene

Beautiful postcard recieved from a private swap. I love the architecture of the building! I bet it looks amazing and very impressive in real! It's the largest Romanesque church in France and just little bit shorter than the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Another place on my list to visit :)

City of Red Light District

Amsterdam is one of those cities that I really want to visit! There are so many reasons- Dutch architecture that can be seeen on the card, museums, city athmosphere and nightlife... And Dutch people are great so if only I get a chance I'll go there!

Turkish ornaments

I'm not very sure where that ornament comes from but it doesnt matter- it's lovely! It's actually a birthday card for me that came from Turkey :) 

Agusiowy Lublin

I've recieved that postcard ages ago from my dear friend who actually made me join postcrossing. I really like it- I like postcards showing architecture details- like the street latern here. Scanner cut the white frame on one side- not sure why... Lublin is a lively city in the South-East of Poland. It is situated in The Lublin Upland, which stretches from the East of The Vistula & San Rivers, up to the Ukrainian Border.The Old Town is small & compact & easy to maneuver. Now it fills with cafes & restaurants.


The Trynitarska Tower which houses the Archiepiscopal Museum of Sacral Art, offers a splendid panorama of the Old Town, Castle Hill, City Centre and city outskirts. I'd love to visit the city :)

Poppy pot

 It's my second card from the Ukraine from official postcrossing draw and the second that I love! Poppies are amazing flowers- delicate and strong in the same time. Usually they have 4-6 petals and they can be almost any colour but of course the most popular are the red ones. Those beautiful flowers are symbol of sleep and death due to opium effects and bloody-red colour. 

Peterhof

I'm very behind with my blog. I've recieved tons of great postcards but I'm short on time to post it.Today another wonderful postcard from Ludmila. I love landscape architecture and my favourite epoque in gardening is Baroque. One of the examples of the style are gardens of Peterhof, located in Peterhof-city located in the federal city of Saint Petersbourg. The palace complexs consist of 20 palaces and 7 parques covering over 1000 h. One of the most interesting elements are water cascades and fountains and that can be seen on the postcard.