Föhr, North Frisia

I have worked on the North Frisian island of Föhr for six months, and only towards the end have I realised that I haven´t sent but a few postcards from there - and when I came home, that I haven´t sent a single view card..! Oh how silly, honestly.

Föhr is the second largest of the North Frisian Islands on the German coast of the North Sea - which are all popular tourist destinations for Germans. Being settled already in neolithic times, Föhr had been a part of mainland North Frisia until 1362, when the coastline got destroyed by a heavy storm flood known as Saint Marcellus´s flood, and several islands were formed. The northern part of the island consists mainly of marshes, and the southern part of sandy geest (gravelly soil with heathland vegetation).

A dialect of the North Frisian language called Fering is still spoken there; there are still many Uthland-Frisian type of farmhouses to be seen or even visited; and the traditional costumes can still be seen worn for special occasions - like confirmation, which I rushed to see because of it. It is really an enjoyable and surprisingly unique corner of the earth. However it takes getting used to being dependant on the hourly ferries, which then dock in a minor harbour and you need to take a further train, and usually yet another train to get to a place of interest. On some days off I spent more time on the public transport than at the visiting point 😅 still managed a postcard or two, as will be seen in my future posts.

Cat Astronaut

A great kitty card coming from the USA, thank you Arnold :) 

In addition I could post photos of all the different cats I have encountered this season - but would it be too much..? One thing I'm sure of - they've always brought a smile to my face, even if I only spotted them running away from me lol

Hamburg Map

 

Hamburg was my starting point - I wanted to see the city for a few days before moving further north. And it is an amazing city! I could totally see myself living there - if only it wasn't so far away from home...it wouldn't have mattered years ago, but now as my parents are rather old I prefer staying somewhere closer, at least that is the plan...

My favourite thing about Hamburg must be the great coffee culture; as a major European harbour it is the entry point for coffee beans from around the world, and specialist roasters and shops are ample throughout the city. Also the UNESCO Speicherstadt is a splendid site, with its powerful red-brick architecture and numerous canals and bridges - it is the world's largest complex of warehouses (I thought I have posted about it some years back upon receiving a Speicherstadt postcard, but no...it must be in one of the old folders still waiting, sniff). While checking my received cards I was surprised that I have sent only one Hamburg postcard 🤷

Donkey Love

Happy Sunday everyone! I have finally a) swapped a bit throughout the year b) scanned the cards. Now I am trying to le-learn the process of blogging...as automatic as it did go years ago, I have become rusty, but also don't deal best with the changes - and I can see that there are some...anyways!

I have lived and worked in the very north of Germany for six months - start of april to end of september. So there will be many cards from that area 😅 And a lovely area it is! But these donkeys were sent by my sister. I thought it would be a good starting comeback point as I am still very much a donkeys fan :))

Cork, Ireland

Ahh bless me, thinking all those months ago that I'll be more active with postcrossing and/or blogging. There have been a few swaps, alas the low number is not due to covid, but rather due to extortionate postage prices. Since those prices almost doubled in Croatia a few years back I have mainly been using my stash of stamps, which is running seriously low now...I want to arrange a few more swaps for the 22-02-2022 date, and then we'll se what happens next. I have so many unused postcards it borders a crime.

Anyways! They call Cork 'the city of steps and steeples'. Its been almost a year since I left it behind and I haven't regretted it (yet) as it was just too tough for a newbie. What I did like about it were the numerous coffee shops, book stores, large green parks, and of course TK Maxx 💀👻😅. In a normal situation it would be a decent place to live, I gather. I found oodles of great Irish postcards but not many showing Cork. This one is a good representation of the main sites: Blarney Castle, Shandon Bells & Tower, Saint Finn Barre's Cathedral, and St. Patrick Street.

 

Back In The Game?

 Probably not - but i have a little postcrossing story to tell. I got a message from an unknown person through FB/messenger the other day, asking me if I wanted to swap, and asking if I had a certain postcard from my Flickr album available. I was utterly surprised as I haven't offered any cards for a swap in a looong time, so this was very much 'out of the blue' thing for me. It felt almost strange to go through my postcard boxes as I tried to find this particular card, and I'd like to send more cards for sure; I just need to check the new tendencies - are people still mainly interested in cards from certain series, or are there still the ones who'd swap for a view card from a 'common' country? Hmm...Well, I guess the best way to check is to offer cards..! See what happens.

In the meantime I enjoyed writing and sending a card to this nice and friendly postcrosser in Portugal. Hopefully it will reach her soon, no idea how disrupted the mail corridors are due to covid. And of course receiving a postcard again will be a delight!

The Caldeirão of Corvo Island , Azores

                

Thinking about how much I miss travelling...and this is the kind of view I would like to set my eyes on next. I did send this card myself but haven't actually visited this place, as 'the island of the crow' is the smallest - and the northernmost of the Azores archipelago. 

I am curious to see where I'll be going next, I have so many ideas buzzing through my brain, but of course it is still difficult to plan or predict. Any idea where you'll be going? :)

Bratislava Cats

 

My last trip before this 'new era' was a short bus adventure through central Europe, and in each city I visited I went to a Cat Cafe - Vienna, Bratislava, Warsaw, Krakow and Prague. The last time I visited Vienna and Prague was 12 years prior to, and the remaining three were my 1st time, yay :) The Mackafe in Bratislava was the real deal, and there is merchandise sold to support it, which surprisingly isn't that common for a cat cafe...I think its a great way to additionally support such places. I mean, like this cute postcard :)

I post this in relation to my day...as I got quite a scare today. I have two cats, sisters Pixie & Suri, who were found in a dumpster by my friend, together with other three siblings. They were teeny weeny things not yet able to open their eyes...but my friend is fierce and she helped them all grow strong and independent. That was almost 12 years ago...Suri is a placid cat but Pixie is a bit naughty...I didn't see her all day, which was very unusual for her, and as the night was falling and she wasn't showing up to get fed I got really worried, walked around the block calling her. As I came back home there she was, and my mum told me she was in a box in the storage room and she couldn't get out. But she didn't make a sound the whole day as we were calling her. Cats are weird! lol I was just so relieved, and she was extra cuddly. Right after she had some food of course! Ah, all's well that ends well. A huge stone fell off my heart, as we would say. And here is a kittie from Mackafe: