Linz An Der Donau, Austria

As I have been applying for winter season jobs in Austria (so far no luck) (and the best jobs are probably taken by now) here is a card of a pretty town of Linz - the capital of Upper Austria and the third largest in the country. I have to say this is one of my favourite official postcards received this year, as it is complete with a lovely stamp and cancellation, and an interesting message on the back - vielen Dank Alexandra :)

The Whole World Can...

It's probably something naughty that is supposed to finish this sentence heh, but this donkey seems sooo pleased, it's quite a nice place he lives at from the look of it; this Austrian donkey arrived from Berlin via official postcrossing, so he's traveled a bit too. But is here to stay!

Rocher Perce, Gaspe, Canada

I was going through my scans thinking what to post next...there is much left to do. On the other hand, I've hardly swapped during this hiatus so there won't be many new scans to add. When I saw this one I remembered someone in the Facebook Postcrossing group recently asking if anyone could help him get an actual postmark on a postcard from Canada rather than the machine cancel. I think this is not my only Canadian 'proper' cancellation but it sure is nice to see! Many are not cancelled at all...and that is yet still better than the infamous 'pencilling'.

I quite like this official card too, its nicely atmospheric, thank you Carmen :)

Kantarellsmörgås

Another official yum card comes from Sweden from Jessica, and after some internet search I learn that Kantarellsmörgås is a Chantarelle sandwich, Chantarelle being a mushroom type. I am a big mushroom fan, so yea this is yum :)

Yum

For my 1600th post and first after a 3-1/2-months hiatus, here is something sweet (and it's coffee & chocolate time here), which arrived during my last official postcrossing activity in the spring, thanks to Peter :)

Official - Olives And Feta Cheese

Today is Easter but I don't have any Easter cards, eggs, chicks or bunnies to show...The next best thing (or actually the best thing haha) is food, as this is also the day when people will (hopefully) feast and enjoy both food and each other's company. 

Olives and cheese are one of my favourite combinations - add some crackers and it is the only meal I need..! Plus some red wine of course :) Thank you Anouk for this card :)

Happy and blessed Easter!

Official - Eguisheim, France

Eguisheim is a medieval village in France's Alsace wine region. The narrow, concentric streets of its old town are lined with many preserved half-timbered houses. The stamp shows another Alsatian town of Kayserberg. Both are situated close to Colmar, known for its Christmas market. Wine region, quaint houses, markets...We all know what needs to be done :) Many thanks to Stephane.

P.S. This post lead to me booking a room for November in Strasbourg, wheee...!

Official - Snacks From Switzerland

This postcard looks like a cut-out as some letters are missing. However one thing is for sure, the Swiss have always had excellent bread. Pretty stamps too :)

Official - Frankfurt, Germany

I've always thought of Frankfurt as one of the 'citiest cities', with nothing but skyscrapers and rectangular buildings (a bit of exaggeration of course), but here it looks attractive and pretty diverse. Danke Andrea :)

Blackie Says Hi

Once upon a time I've received this cute official postcard from Merag...I must admit I always thought that Highland cattle was strictly orange *blush*. 

Another lengthy break on my side...I also haven't sent any cards for a while. Now that the high season at work is over maybe I should get back to it slowly...after all I have so many blank cards and a stack of stamps to use. It's time!

Official - Route 66

The classic - always a dream, I wonder if it'll ever come true...Its one of those trips when I'd rather have company, but not so easy to find..! As a child I thought the old American cars are rather ugly, now I'd like nothing more than to drive one through the expanse of the North America.

Official - Glenfinnan Viaduct

The Glenfinnan Viaduct is a railway viaduct on the West Highland Line in Glenfinnan, Inverness-shire, Scotland. Located at the top of Loch Shiel in the West Highlands of Scotland, it overlooks the Glenfinnan Monument and the surrounding waters. 

The West Highland Line connects Fort William and Mallaig, and was a crucial artery for the local fishing industry and the highlands economy in general, which suffered enormously after the Highland Clearances in the 1800s.

The viaduct may seem familiar to you as it has been used as a location in several films and television series, most notably in four of the Harry Potter movies :)

Thank you Alan!

The summer season is in full swing, which means work overload for me...not that I don't have free time, but when I do, I feel tired for lack of sleep and high temperatures. Energy zero...no, minus twenty. I even haven't sent any postcards in this time; more tragically, I failed to report those that have arrived through swaps...A month to go and hopefully the overall air will change..!

Official - NI - Olives

A quintessential olive postcard heh; I actually bought one of these some time ago, but am much happier having one sent to me by Daniela (who had this postcard for a while and wondered who'd ever want an olive card, and here I am!). 

Funny how both 'good' cards received officially are about olives or olive trees. 

Official - Countryside Of Midi (Southern France)

As I have come back to exchanging postcards, I've also sent some officials - and have received this lovely countryside with olive tree and lavender from Anne :) Who would like to be in the place of this painter on the photo right now? I know I would..!

Alas out of five official cards received so far, three are showing a different country to the one it was sent from...I wonder how many other postcrossers would mind this. I guess I am a bit of a perfectionist..I have updated my profile rephrasing my preference, I hope it works..! In any case, we'll send some more, and see if the ratio gets better.

Official - Hungry Donkey

Wow I can hardly remember what its like to receive an official postcrossing card...and this one must have been sent aaages ago as the Netherlands number is quite low, very much so..! In any case this is a sweet nibblin' donkey sent by Susanne, and I needed to see something this cute today after a hard day of looking through employment options...:)

Painting Of Mount Qingcheng, China

One of the nicer cards I've received through the official Postcrossing last month...Its a lovely painting of Mount Qingcheng, which only today I realised is a part of an UNESCO site. As it is not a real photo I won't include it in my collection but is nevertheless a thought by the sender to be appreciated, thank you Xiao Shui.

Good Morning From Gut Aiderbichl!

Not only is it a cute donkey, but there is also a wonderful story behind this card - Gut Aiderbichl is a 'paradise for saved animals', and their web-page tells it like this: 

Michael Aufhauser and Irene Florence were searching for a place to house Michael’s horses and for animal shelters to keep rescued animals. When they started out, there were only 25 animals. Their friendship with a bank manager helped them purchase the beautiful estate above Lake Wallersee by the town of Henndorf. Today Gut Aiderbichl is an international name. And that’s no surprise! The happy stories about our animals, initiatives and caring attitude towards those less powerful and the passionate plea on behalf of humanity at all life-stages coincides with mankind’s deepest instinct to pursue dreams.

Now there are 25 sanctuaries giving home to over 5600 animals. I have nothing but respect and admiration for people who dedicate their lives to saving animals. You can become a patron here! http://www.gut-aiderbichl.com/page.ph.php

I wish it could be so well-organised here in Croatia...I am sure there are enough kind-hearted people, but the paperwork to make anything functioning is dreadful, and to be honest we as a nation are still miles away from proactive thinking when it comes to animal rights...

It is an official card, yay :) Vielen Dank Lexi für diese wunderschöne Karte!

And the stamp with the kittens is supercute :))

Black Highlander

I have received about a dozen officials in the last few weeks, and this is one of my favourites - I didn't realise highland cattle were called 'black cattle' before as it was their predominant colour, now I mainly see the orangy ones and actually this is the first black one I have seen, or at least noticed. Such cool creatures! Thank you Morag :))

Official - Sidewinding Adder

Another great official snake card! And species I wasn't familiar with so far - sidewinding adder or Bitis peringueyi, a venomous viper species found in Namibia and southern Angola, a small snake with an average total length of 20–25 cm. An ambush hunter, it buries itself just beneath the surface of the sand with only its eyes and the tip of its tail exposed; when prey happens by, it is seized and envenomated.

Dank je Annemiek :))

 

Official - Rattlesnake

Earlier this year I have sent about a dozen officials, and this is one of the awesomest comebacks! Big card with a rattlesnake, thanks to Mike from Albuquerque (I can never remember this city's name properly heh) in New Mexico :))