Ukraine: Maidan Nezalezhnosti

Yesterday I got four cards: one from Ukraine and three from Finland.

The card from Ukraine shows the Independence Square, the Maidan Nezalezhnosti. The Independence Square is one of the main squares of Ukraine's capital Kiev. The square is the place of various festivals like the Independence Day, the Kiev City Day or Kiev's Christmas Tree. It is also known for being the venue of political rallies since the Ukrainian independence movement in 1990 including the Orange Revolution in 2004 and the Euromaidan in 2013 and 2014.

With nice stamps:
Fine Arts (from set of four) (issued 07-06-2011)
EUROPA (whole set) (issued 30-04-2010)
Year of the Horse (from set of twelve) (issued 25-12-2013)

Thank You very much Sergey!

Serbia: Subotica

Today I got three postcards from Serbia.

One of them shows various views of Subotica. Subotica is the second largest city of the region of Vojvodina and the fifth largest city of Serbia.

Stamps:
Year of the Horse (whole set) (issued 31-01-2014)

Thank You very much Brane!

World War I Centenary and Year of the Horse from Gibraltar

Today I got some stamps of Gibraltar as belated Christmas present. Among was a set about the World War I Centenary. It was issued on 19-02-2014.

Gibraltar was used as port for hospital ships during World War I and also the Allied Navies set up in Gibraltar. The sailors on shore leave inflamed the tourism to Gibraltar, too.

I also get the Year of the Horse stamps of Gibraltar. The set was issued on 30-01-2014.

South Korea: Seoul

Today I got six postcards: one from South Korea, two from Japan, two from Germany and one from France.

The card from South Korea shows the Han River flowing through Seoul. Seoul is the capital of South Korea and also its biggest city. In 1988 Seoul hosted the Olympic Summer Games. The Han River is the main river in Seoul and various cafes and restaurants are located there.

Stamps:
Great Tit (issued 05-06-2006)
Year of the Horse (from set of four) (issued 02-12-2013)
Flag of South Korea (issued 06-03-2003)

Thank You very much Soeun!

Hungary: Hollókő

Today I got four postcards: one from Hungary, one from Japan, one from Italy and one from Singapore.

The card from Hungary shows a traditional hostel in Hollókő. Hollókő is a living example of the rural life before the agricultural revolution of the 20th century. The Old Village of Hollókő with its Surroundings is since 1987 an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Stamps:
Furniture (three from set of four) (issued 09-10-2001)
Year of the Horse (from set of four) (issued 06-01-2014)

Thank You very much Karr!

Vietnam: Hoi An

Today I got three postcards: my first two cards from Vietnam and one from Germany.

One of the cards from Vietnam shows the Japanese Bridge in Hoi An. The Hoi An Ancient City is since 1999 an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Stamp:
Year of the Horse (whole set) (issued 01-12-2013)

Thank You very much Phan!

Malaysia: George Town Meet-up

Today I got three postcards: one from Malaysia, one from Germany and one from the Vatican.

The card from Malaysia comes from the Postcrossing Meet-up in George Town. George Town is the capital of the island of Penang and of the Malaysian State of Penang. The card shows the Penang Hill funicular train, the Penang Bridge, the Komtar Tower and the Kek Lok Si Temple. Since 2008 is George Town together with Malacca an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Stamps:
Year of the Horse (from set of four) (issued 27-01-2014)

Thank You very much Matthew!

cover from France

 Today I got a cover from France.

Stamps:
label
Older Marianne (issued until 2013) 0,01€
New Marianne (issued since 2013) 0,05€
Year of the Horse (issued 31-01-2014)

Inside were two stamps from New Caledonia.

One of them is this:

Year of the Horse (issued 04-02-2014)

The other you can find here.

Thank You very much Phan!

China: Forbidden City

Today I got a postcard from China.

The card shows the Forbidden City in China's capital Beijing. The Forbidden City was the seat of the supreme power from 1416 to 1911. Since 1987 is the Forbidden City together with the Imperial Palace in Shenyang as Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Stamps:
Year of the Horse (issued 05-01-2014)

Thank You very much Kun!

Thailand: Bang Pa-In Palace

Today I got two postcards from Thailand.

One of the cards shows the Chinese-style royal palace Wehart Chamrun being a part of the Bang Pa-In Palace. The Palace is located in the Ayutthaya Province and was formerly used by the Thai kings. The Palace was originally constructed in 1632, but was not used from the late 18th century until the mid-19th century when it was restored by King Mongkut.

With nice stamps:
National Communications Day (issued 04-08-2013)
Digital TV (issued 11-12-2013)
Year of the Horse (issued 01-01-2014)

Thank You very much Ta!

Estonia: Tartu

Today I got three postcards: one from Estonia, one from Belgium and one from Japan.

The card from Estonia shows the monument "Kissing Students" in front of Tartu's Town Hall. Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia and is considered as Estonia's intellectual centre. Tartu is home to the University of Tartu, Estonia's oldest university, to the Supreme Court of Estonia and to the Ministry of Education and Research.

Stamp:
Year of the Horse (issued 31-01-2014)

Thank You very much Triin!

Macao: Giant Panda

Today I got a postcard from Macao.

The card shows a Giant Panda. The Seac Pai Van Park in Macao hosts two Giant Pandas. They are called Xin Xin (female) and Kai Kai (male).

Stamp:
Year of the Horse-label (issued 14-02-2014)

Thank You very much Anthia!

Indonesia: Komodo National Park

Today I got five postcards: one from Indonesia, one from Hong Kong and three from Germany.

The card from Indonesia shows Komodo dragons tearing apart a goat. The Komodo dragon is the World's largest lizard and is called "dragon" because of his appearance and aggressive behaviour. The Komodo National Park being the only place in the World where Komodo dragons live is since 1991 a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Stamps:
Year of the Horse (whole set) (issued 15-01-2014)

Thank You very much Surfia!

Taiwan: Taipei 101

Today I got a postcard from Taiwan.

The card from Taiwan shows the Taipei 101 in Taiwan's capital Taipei. The Taipei 101 (official: Taipei Financial Centre) is 508m high and was until 2007 the highest building of the World. It has 101 floors. It was built between 1999 and 2004. At the bottom of the Taipei 101 is the biggest shopping centre in Taiwan.

Stamps:
Year of the Snake (from set of three) (issued 03-12-2012)
Year of the Horse (from set of three) (issued 02-12-2013)

Thank You very much Wanyao!

Philippines: Boracay

Today I got two postcards from new countries: one from the Philippines and one from Uzbekistan.

The Philippines is a country in South East Asia consisting of 7107 islands. The capital of the Philippines is Manila.

The card shows the Boracay. The Boracay is considered as one of the best beaches in the World. It is 4km long. 

Stamps:
Definitive (from set of four) (issued 2013)
Year of the Horse (from set of two) (issued 02-12-2013)
with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Jona!

Year of the Horse from Guernsey

On Monday I got the Year of the Horse stamps from Guernsey (issued 08-01-2014) my mum ordered for me on the Internet.

This is the set:

New Zealand: Tree Fern

On Thursday I received two postcards from New Zealand.

One of the cards shows the native New Zealand tree fern (Maori: Ponga). The tree fern was once a source of food, building materials, weapons and inspiration for the Maori. The Silver Fern is a well known national symbol of New Zealand. In New Zealand there are ten species of tree fern and eight of them are specific to New Zealand. The largest tree fern is the Black Fern growing to 20m.

Stamp:
Year of the Horse (from set of four) (issued 08-01-2014)

Thank You very much Sharon!

Slovenia: Ljubljana Castle

On Monday I received three postcards: one from Slovenia, one from Finland and one from Japan.

The card from Slovenia shows the Ljubljana Castle.

Stamps:
Zois' Bellflower (from set of eleven) (issued 29-05-2009)
Year of the Horse (issued 31-01-2014)

Thank You very much Mateja!

France: a photo

On Thursday I got two postcards from France.

One of the cards shows a photo. The photo shows the Parade in Budapest and was taken by an Hungarian photographer.

Stamps:
Older Marianne (issued until 2013) 0,10€
New Marianne (issued since 2013) 0,01€ and 0,05€
The stamps were inspired by the Ukrainian Inna Shevchenko. She is a member of the protest group FEMEN and got political asylum in France.
Year of the Horse (issued 31-01-2014)

Thank You very much William!

Lithuania: Kaunas

On Wednesday I got a postcard from Lithuania.

The card shows Kaunas. Kaunas is the second largest city of Lithuania.

Stamp:
Year of the Horse (issued 01-02-2014)
with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Agneta!