Vintage Southampton

Has it been two weeks already? I wonder where the time went, hmm. Anyways! To break the silence, here are first two vintage postcards showing England's Southampton. As it was the turn-around port while working on the ship, I have gotten to know this place quite well - well at least the shopping area... After a while I've realised there is more history to it than I've imagined, and I've almost missed it. Also, I do love these type of old posties :)

Lappi Tastes, Finland

As the sender wrote: this card shows some wonderful delicacies from Lapland; sauteed reindeer meat, Finnish squeaky cheese (leipäjuusto) with cloudberry jam, and of course some coffee by the campfire. I must admit I am intrigued by the cheese! Thank you Virpi :)

The stamp shows the Linnansaari National Park, situated in the heart of the Finnish Lake District - on the Haukivesi Lake. A large part of the island is natural-state coniferous forest, with some herb-rich parts. The critically endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal inhabits the park.

Dotty Caravan

Being 'plagued' with constant thoughts of possible getaways (what will it be? or will it be?) this comes forward as a most desirable image. As it happens there IS a caravan named Dotty lol though more in the 'eccentric', rather than 'covered in dots' sense. The Porsche on the stamp is also not an ignorable sight. Thanks to Claudia :)

Also, this is a 100th German card posted! As Germany is most represented country here on my blog, I thought it would be nice to mention this :)

Vintage Donkey Postcards

A selection of old donkey postcards was a surprise from Claudia some time ago - imagine my reaction :D

Poznań Old Town, Poland

                   Woźna Street - view of the old market and tenement houses, XVI c

Poznań is a city on the Warta River in west-central Poland, best known for its renaissance Old Town; today it is an important cultural and business centre. The Old Town is called Stare Miasto in Polish, and is centred on Stary Rynek, the Old Market Square where the historic Poznań Town Hall (Ratusz) stands. It represents the glory of Poznań, from its foundation in 1253.

What I find most inviting is the mention of  traditional Saint Martin's croissants, which are produced specially for the patron's day, which is also National Independence Day. Many thanks to Eunice for one of my favourite postcards (and stamps) from Poland :)

The Fauna Of The Pyrenees

Cute creatures of the beautiful Pyrenees, thanks to Sébastien - he wrote that the native brown bear was almost extinct in this area, but its population was revived in the 90's with the introduction of brown bears from Slovenia.

European Hare

A lovely maxi-card from Heidi showing the European hare, which seems apt be posted while the spring is raging outside (though is it really? Part of spring is rain, and is not in sight for ages).

Generally nocturnal and shy in nature, hares change their behaviour in the spring, when they can be seen in broad daylight chasing one another around in fields. During this spring frenzy, they sometimes strike one another with their paws ("boxing"). This is usually not competition between males, but a female hitting a male, either to show she is not yet ready to mate or as a test of his determination. 

You go girl lol

UNESCO - Lushan National Park, China

Mount Lushan, in Jiangxi, is one of the spiritual centres of Chinese civilization. Buddhist and Taoist temples, along with landmarks of Confucianism, where the most eminent masters taught, blend effortlessly into a strikingly beautiful landscape which has inspired countless artists who developed the aesthetic approach to nature found in Chinese culture. Thanks to LeiYing :)