UKRAINE ~Map ~

My first "map" postcard from Ukraine... a sweet and colorful one with its neighbouring countries... Thanks a lot Alex for this lovely surprise...I so hope you are safe because we hear so many disturbing news about the situation in your country...:(


With nice stamp!

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. The country borders the Russian Federation to the east and northeast, Belarus to the northwest, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south and southeast.

 It has an area of 603,628 km2 (233,062 sq mi), making it the largest country entirely within Europe.

FRANCE ~Corsica - Map ~

...First card from Dieter and Eve's holiday through Corsica...a great mapcard showing the touristic highlights of the island... Hope to see more!! Thanks!!



With the common "Marianne Beaujard" stamp.
(Issued 01-07-2011)

Corsica is a french island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the Italian island of Sardinia. Mountains comprise two-thirds of the island, forming a single chain. Before French domination, Corsica was under the ownership of the Republic of Genoa.



The French emperor Napoléon Bonaparte was born in 1769 in the Corsican capital of Ajaccio. His ancestral home, Casa Buonaparte, is today used as a museum. The northern town of Calvi claims to be the birthplace of the explorer Christopher Columbus.

MACEDONIA ~Map~

Fantastic map card showing all Macedonian cities with in the middle Ohrid Lake, views of capital Skopje and their great flag...all in one postcard! ^__^ Thanks a lot Anita!!

With nice stamps:
City views (Issued 27-07-2011)
Macedonian Flora and Fauna
Lake Ohrid plants (Issued 10-09-2010)

A landlocked country, the Republic of Macedonia is bordered by Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Albania. It is a mountainous territory covered with deep basins and valleys and  three large lakes.
The country is also major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to Western Europe

Macedonia gained its independence peacefully from Yugoslavia in 1991.

ROMANIA ~Map~

A mapcard showing highlights of the country...always a pleasure to find one in my mailbox ^__^...
Thanks Mircea!!

Nice flowers and antiques clocks stamps
 (Issued 21-06-2013)

Romania is a country located at the intersection of Central and Southeastern Europe, bordering on the Black Sea. Romania shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and Moldova to the northeast and east, and Bulgaria to the south. At 238,391 square kilometres (92,043 sq mi), Romania is the eighth largest country of the European Union by area.
 Its capital and biggest city is Bucharest, the 6th largest city in the EU.

ESTONIA ~Map ~

...Another nice map card from the offical site (EE-154299)Thanks Helen! 



Stamp showing the Estonian Flag
125th Anniversary of Estonian National Flag
(Issued 22-02-2013)

Estonia is the most northerly of the Baltic states. It is a mainly flat country on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, with many lakes and islands. Much of the land is farmed and forests covering almost half of Esotonia's territory. The capital, Tallinn, is one of the best-preserved mediaeval cities in Europe.

USA ~Missouri-Map ~

...This great map card came as an official (US-2207274) Thanks Deana!!

With nice Apple Postcard Stamp featuring the Granny Smith (Issued 17-01-2013)
and the common airmail stamp:
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Interesting facts about Missouri: -It is the 24th state in the USA.
 Origin of the Name 'Missouri': Missouri was named for an Algonquin Indian word that means "river of the big canoes."
-It was also the birthplace of the 33rd President, Harry S. Truman.
-With capitol Jefferson City
-State Nickname: "The Show-Me State"
- Missouri became the first slave state to free its slaves.
-State with the second largest number of farms of any state. Some of the major crops are soybeans, corn and hay.
-State animal is the Mule
-State Bird: Bluebird
-State Tree: Flowering Dogwood
-State Flower: White Hawthorn
-State Musical Instrument: Fiddle
-State Folk Dance: Square Dance

SPAIN ~Map~

...Here the first of 3 wonderful  postcards received  from Fabienne...a colorful and great Spanish map card!! Thanks Fabienne!  "more to come" ^__^

With nice stamp:
Celebrating Post Europ's 20th anniversary - 1993-2013
(Issued 23-04-2013)

Interesting facts about Spain:
-Spain is a country located in South Western Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The Strait of Gibraltar separates Spain from the African continent.
-Spain's territory includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic.
-The capital (and largest city) is Madrid. Other major cities include Barcelona, Malaga, and Granada.
-Spain is the world's 51st-largest country and  is made up of 17 autonomous regions.
-Spain has over 8,000km of beaches.
-Spain's territory includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic. ---The patron saint of Spain is Saint James (Santiago)
 -94% of the people in Spain are Roman Catholic.
-Bullfighting is considered an art as well as a sport and popular attraction. It is also the biggest and most     controversial sport in Spain and is an integral part of Spanish history.
-Some well known Spanish artists include Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Joan Miró.
-Don Quixote is an novel written by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. It is the most influential work of literature to emerge from the Spanish Golden Age and perhaps the entire Spanish canon of literature.

SPAIN ~Malaga~

...Great multiview... cards with maps are always interesting...this Mediterranean city is the gateway to southern Spain and North Africa...and the last stop in Europe before the "Vikings across Africa" team start their African adventure in Morocco... Thanks a lot Manu!!!

With great self-adhesive stamp "I need Spain" Spanish tourism 2013! (Issued 02-01-2013)

Malaga is a city and in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia.

This seaport on the Costa de Sol is a major tourist region famed for its rich architectural history, Mediterranean cuisine, wines, beaches and the birthplace of Picasso.

UNITED KINGDOM ~Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon~

...Beautiful map card showing the historic town where William Shakespeare, possibly the world's most famous bard...we all know him... was born, lived, worked and lies buried...Must be pretty amazing and interesting to walk in the streets, see the houses he lived in and set a step back in time...
...Another place on my wishlist for a trip... Reminds me of the movie I've seen "Shakespeare in Love" and I must admit I wasn't a big fan!!:D:D Many thanks Eileen!!

Lovely stamps:Commemorative British Christmas stamps 2001-2006 and with the self adhesive "Make Up Values" stamps

Stratford-upon-Avon is a picturesque town beautifully situated on the River Avon with a wealth of black and white timber framed buildings. It is most famous for being the birthplace of the world's greatest playwright, William Shakespeare with about three million visitors a year from all over the world

Some of his best known plays are:
Tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, and Titus Andronicus.
Comedies: All's Well that Ends Well, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, and Taming of the Shrew.
Histories: Richard II, Richard III, King John, Henry V, Henry VII, and Henry IV.

SLOVENIA

Great map postcard with lots of small pictures showing highlights of Slovenia...(SI-65689) Thanks Petra!

With nice stamps from the Flowers Definitive Series (Issued 01-01-2007)

Slovenia is a country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy, The Adriatic Sea, Croatia, Hungary and Austria with capital Ljubjana.

FRANCE ~Ain Bourg-en-Bresse~

Great official (FR-229945) lots of tiny but wonderful pictures...and with a map is always nice...showing one of France popular tourist destinations....Thanks Agnes!!

With looong stamp "Visit France" Europa 2012 (Issued 26-04-2012)featuring five landmarks or monuments representing France.

Ain is a department named after the Ain River on the eastern edge of France. There are four distinctive regions within the department: Bresse, Bugey, Dombes and the Pays de Gex each with their own characteristics.
In the Bresse agriculture and agro-industry are dominated by the cultivation of cereals, cattle breeding, milk and cheese production as well as poultry farming. In the Dombes, pisciculture (fishfarming) assumes greater importance as does viticulture in the Bugey.

BELGIUM ~Map~

...And last but not least...
This must be by far the nicest mapcard I ever seen from my country... It shows every interesting item about it... Great sea and city views.. wonderful map showing the Flemish, Walloon and Ardennes region...Belgium in the colors of our flag... and our most delicious and famous food (beer, icecreme and mussels)!!Hope to find it in a shop somewhere too... Nogmaals heel erg bedankt Johan !!!:D:D

With nice stamp!!The Bpost hast issued a set of 10 stamps dedicated to the paintings of Belgian CoBrA-artist Pierre Alechinsky.Date of issue 23-02012

GREECE ~Santorini~

My first official postcard from Greece (GR-24620)... A wonderful mapcard... Greece is amongst the most popular holiday destinations for Belgian people... Thanks a lot Debra!!

Love the stamps too!!

The island of Santorini or Thira is located in the Cyclades islands, in the middle of the Greek Islands of the Aegean Sea. Santorini is, along with Mykonos and Crete, the most famous holiday destinations in Greece. It is a small group of volcanic islands and its name refers to to Saint Irene. Called also Strongili and Kalisti, the island was the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in the world and what remains today is a submerged volcano and a caldera. The island of Santorini is related to the myth of Atlantis, the amazing views from the villages of Fira, Oia perched on cliffs, santorinian sunset, the black and red beaches, the wine...

USA ~Minnesota-yah, you betcha~

Another great card from the USA (US-1448771) shaped in the form of the state... With one of the favorite words in their unique dialect: UFF-DA (Norwegian origine) an expression of disgust, frustration or exhaustion... Reading it really made me smile!:D:D Thanks!
Nice stamps!!

Minnesota is a state in the Midwest of the USA. Known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes, it technically has well over 15,000. The northern tip of Minnesota that juts into Lake of the Woods is the most northern point in the lower 48 states of the United States.

GREAT BRITAIN ~Cornwall-map~

This must be one of the nicest mapcards I ever received...Each time I look at it I find something new to see or read!:D Thank you very much Ilona!

With a really tiny Christmas stamp!

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar.

ANDORRA ~Map~

Sometimes you think you never will be able to get a written and stamped postcard from some "Hard-to-get" places and then you receive two within a few months.:D This time a beautiful map card... I'm getting more and more fond of mapcards, immeditately they show you lots of interesting facts about a country!! Thank you very much Fabienne!!

Great Europa stamp Forest 2011 (Spanish)

Andorra is a small landlocked country, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains, between Spain and France. The Principality of Andorra (with its 468 km2) is the largest of the 6 smallest states in Europe.Andorra la Vella, is the highest capital city in Europe, being at an elevation of 1023 metres and the official language is Catalan.

FRANCE ~The Route of Santiago de Compostella in the Tarn-UNESCO~

And a great map card showing a part of the famous "Camino de Santiago de Compostella", (a pilgrimage route that people have been walking for more than 1000 years)... It has always fascinated me why people go on pilgrimage...what are their reasons for following this ancient network of different routes and then all meet at the end...WIP UNESCO swap. Thanks Jean-Michel!!
With lovely stamp too!

Probably the most famous Christian pilgrimage route of all is the medieval route to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain, alleged burial place of St. James, brother of John the Evangelist and one of Christ's twelve apostles.
There are four main paths in france!
The historic, legendary Via Podensis, so rich in spiritual resonance and socio-cultural encounters, “first European Cultural itinerary” and inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, is followed along its way by the GR 65 long distance trail.

USA ~Florida-map~

Wonderful and my first mapcard from "The sunny State" Florida! (US1358158)...I love the bright colors and all the interesting details on this card! Thanks Rose!

Great stamp (I think created on stamp.com)...unique and with pumpkins... really ideal for this time of the year!!

Florida is located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean with state capital Tallahassee.

FINLAND

Received a really nice mapcard today!(FI-1163380).The sender wrote that the nature is very different in the southern part when compared to the north! She even put an x on the place where she lives' Great!! Thanks Siv!!
And with cute dog stamp too!

USA ~Massachusetts-Map~

Received a great "cartoon" map card from Kristin! (US-1122294) I love this kind of cards, they have a lot interesting information on them, their State Bird, State Flower,State Flag,etc...
With very cute LOVE stamps!

Massachusetts is a state in the New England region with capital Boston.