Brazil: Pantanal

On Monday I got five postcards: one from Brazil, one from the Philippines, one from Japan, one from Belarus and one from Portugal.

The card from Brazil shows Ara macaws at the Pantanal. The Pantanal is the World's largest tropical wetland area. The Ara macaws are just one of around 1000 bird species living in the area. The Pantanal Conservation Area is since 2000 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

With a great stamp:
Professions (from set of three) (issued 30-12-2005)
Musical Instruments (from set of ten) (issued 01-07-2002)
Mascot of the Paralympic Games (from set of two) (issued 12-12-2015)
The Mascot of the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 was unveiled in November 2014. It is called Tom and is named after Brazilian musician Tom Jobim. It represents Brazilian flora.

Thank You very much Silvia!

Portugal: University of Coimbra

On Monday I got five postcards: one from Portugal, one from Brazil, one from the Philippines, one from Japan and one from Belarus.

The card from Portugal shows the University of Coimbra. The University of Coimbra is the oldest university of Portugal and one of the oldest in Europe. Since 2013 is the University of Coimbra on the UNESCO World Heritage List and in 2014 the General Library of the University of Coimbra got the European Heritage Label. 

Stamp:
Azores (from set of five) (issued 23-10-2015)

Thank You very much Marta!

Belarus: National Library in Minsk

On Monday I got five postcards: one from Belarus, one from Portugal, one from Brazil, one from the Philippines and one from Japan.

The card from Belarus shows the new building of the National Library in Minsk. The National Library of Belarus was established in 1922. It houses the largest collection of Belarusian printed materials and the third largest collection of books in Russian. The new building opened in 2006.

It is an official card: BY-1825814

Stamp:
National leaders of Israel born in Belarus (from set of five) (issued 30-10-2013)

Thank You very much Anastasia!

Japan: Totoro New Year's Card

On Monday I got five postcards: one from Japan, one from Belarus, one from Portugal, one from Brazil and one from the Philippines.

The card from Japan is a New Year's card and shows Totoro.

The card is prepaid and was added with another stamp. It was cancelled with a special postmark.

Thank You very much Siena!

cover from China

On Monday I got not only five postcards but also two covers including one from China.

The cover is prepaid.

Inside were four postcards.
The first card shows Chinese calligraphy. The Chinese calligraphy is since 2009 an Intangible Heritage of the UNESCO.

In the cover were also two Year of the Monkey Maxicards. This year's Year of the Monkey stamps from China were designed by Huang Yongyu and were issued on 5th January 2016. Huang Yongyu also designed the famous Chinese Golden Monkey stamp in 1980, China's first stamp issued about the Lunar New Year.

The last card shows a Chinese artwork.

Thank You very much Shi!

cover from Japan

On Monday I got not only five postcards but also two covers including one from Japan.

With many nice stamps

Inside was a Japanese Gotochi card. The card is from the Iwate prefecture and shows a Kappa. The Kappa is a water spirit from the Japanese folklore.

Thank You very much Siena!

Macedonia: Skopje

On Thursday I got two postcards: my first card from Macedonia and one from the Ross Dependency.

Macedonia is a country in Southeast Europe bordering on Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Albania. In 1991 Macedonia declared its independence from Yugoslavia. Due to a dispute with Greece over use of the name Macedonia it is officially known as the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. It is a member of the United Nations and is a candidate country for joining the European Union.

The card shows the Archaeological Museum and the Stone Bridge in Skopje. Skopje is the capital and largest city of Macedonia. The Archaeological Museum was built as part of the Skopje 2014 project, which intended to give Skopje a more classical appeal by the year 2014. The Stone Bridge is a bridge across the Vardar River. It is a landmark of Skopje and is shown on the city's coat of arms.

Stamp:
Day of Ecology (issued 05-06-1999)

Thank You very much Ivana!

Ross Dependency: Flight to the South Pole

On Thursday I got two postcards: one from the Ross Dependency and my first card from Macedonia.

The card from the Ross Dependency shows an old poster about the first flight to the South Pole in 1929. 

Stamp:
Penguins of Antarctica (from set of five) (issued 19-11-2014)

Thank You very much Sharon!

Antarctica: Card sent from McMurdo Station

On Wednesday I got two postcards: my first card mailed from Antarctica and one from Ukraine.

Although I already have some cards of Antarctica sent from the countries having a claim on parts of it or sent with stamps issued to be used on the continent, this is my first card that was actually mailed from there.

The card shows an iceberg, penguins and a satellite view of Antarctica.

The card was sent from the US post office at the McMurdo Station.
The McMurdo Station was opened in 1955. It is operated by the USA and is the largest community in Antarctica. It is located in the part of Antarctica claimed by New Zealand.

In December I swapped with someone from the USA, who offered me a card sent from Antarctica. My swap partner sent this card to the Pink Palace Museum in Memphis, as one of the teacher there, who was going on a expedition in early 2016 researching Weddell seals in Antarctica, offered to send cards from there if they reached them pre-addressed and pre-stamped by the 18th December 2015.
The card was sent by my swap partner to Memphis in an envelope, travelled to Antarctica and now reached me. ^__^

Big Thank You to Jennifer, who helped me to get this card, and to Mrs Eilers, who gave postcrosser the possibility to get their cards from Antarctica!

Ukraine: Uzhok-Tserkva of the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael

On Wednesday I got two postcards: one from Ukraine and my first card mailed from Antarctica.

The card from Ukraine shows the Uzhok-Tserkva of the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael. The Uzhok-Tserkva of the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael was built in 1745 and consists of three wooden naves and a brick sacristy. It is as one of sixteen Wooden Tserkvas in the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine since 2013 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

With a matching stamp:
EUROPA (from set of two) (issued 11-08-2015)
Architecture of Vladislav Gorodetsky (from set of six) (issued 14-02-2014)
Wooden Tserkvas (issued 18-12-2015)
It is a joint issue with Poland.
Definitives - Acacia and Walnut (two from set of four) (issued 14-01-2012)
Definitive - European Ash (from set of four) (issued 03-02-2012)

Thank You very much Galyna!

Laos: Night Market in Luang Prabang

On Tuesday I got two postcards: my first card from Laos and one from the USA.

Laos is a country in South East Asia bordering on China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar. In 1953 Laos became independent from France and since 1975 it is ruled by a communist government. Laos is officially known as Lao People's Democratic Republic. It is a member of the ASEAN and the United Nations. Vientiane is the capital and largest city of Laos.

This is  257th UNESCO World Heritage Site in my collection, so I now have one quarter of the sites. Big Thanks to everybody who helped me to achieve this aim!

The card shows the Night Market in Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang is a town in northern Laos. It was the capital of the French protectorate of Laos and until 1975 it was the royal capital. Today it is the capital of the Luang Prabang Province and the fourth largest city of Laos. The town is known for the fusion of traditional architecture, Lao urban structures and European styles. The Town of Luang Prabang is since 1995 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Stamp:
60 years Lao People Army Foundation (from set of four) (issued 20-01-2009)
National Day (from set of three) (issued 30-03-1984)

Thank You very much Jobbo!

Jobbo recommended me this postcard blog, so you might as well would like to take a look. ^__^

USA: Laguna Beach

On Tuesday I got two postcards: one from the USA and my first card from Laos.

The card from the USA shows the Heisler Park in Laguna Beach. Laguna Beach is a sea resort in the State of California. It became famous for a reality television series produced between 2004 and 2006.

It is an official card: US-3819328

Stamp:
Global Forever Christmas (issued 24-10-2013)

Thank You very much Darlene!

Ghana: Freedom and Justice Arch in Accra

On Monday I got three postcards: my first card from Ghana, one from Brazil and one from Spain.

Ghana is a country in West Africa bordering on the Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Togo. Ghana declared its independence in 1957 and was thus the first sub-Saharan African nation to declare independence from European colonisation. Before its independence it was known as British Gold Coast. It is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Union and the United Nations. The country is the World's largest producer of cacao, diamonds and gold and has large reserves of oil and natural gas.

The card shows the Freedom and Justice Arch in Accra. Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana. The Freedom and Justice Arch was built in commemoration of Ghana's independence. It is located at the Independence Square, the second largest city square in the World. The card also features the flag of Ghana and Ghana's first president Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

Stamps:
Fruits and Vegetables (from set of eight) (issued 28-02-2012)

Thank You very much Samuel!

Spain: Cave of Altamira

On Monday I got three postcards: one from Spain, my first card from Ghana and one from Brazil.

The card from Spain shows the painting of the Large Bison at the Cave of Altamira in Cantabria. The Cave of Altamira was discovered in 1879 and is thus one of the first places were cave paintings were found. Its entrance was sealed by rocks around 13000 years ago and thus the paintings are particularly well preserved, due to the isolation from external climatic influences. When the cave was discovered the most experts did not believe prehistoric man had the intellectual capacity to produce any kind of artistic expression and claimed that the paintings would be a forgery. Today their origin from the Paleolithic period is proved and they are considered to be the earliest accomplished art of human kind. There are replicas of the cave in the National Museum and Research Centre of Altamira, in the National Archaeological Museum of Spain in Madrid, in the Deutsches Museum in Munich and in Japan. The actual cave is closed to visitors. The Cave of Altamira is since 1985 on the UNESCO World Heritage List, in 2008 other decorated caves in the region were added.

Stamp:
25 years National Transplantation Organisation (issued 16-01-2015)

Thank You very much Jordi!

Brazil: Serra da Capivara National Park

On Monday I got three postcards: one from Brazil, one from Spain and my first card from Ghana.

The card from Brazil shows one of the Pedra Furada sites at the Serra da Capivara National Park in the Brazilian State of Piauí. The Serra da Capivara National Park was established in 1979. It contains one of the oldest human communities of South America and is known for its cave paintings, which are said to be more than 25000 years old and thus forced scientists the rethink the classical theories about the settlement of the Americas. The Serra da Capivara National Park is since 1991 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Stamps:
Professions (from set of three) (issued 30-12-2005)
Missing Paintings by Candido Portinari (from set of five) (issued 26-05-2004)

Thank You very much Paulo!