OFFICIAL Card - Germany

Heike sent this card showing views of the Bavarian town of Passau. My husband and I have been talking a lot lately about taking river cruises when we retire. The timing of this card coincided perfectly with a brochure that arrived - perfect coincidence! Heike wrote about her family, job and hobbies. Nice to get to know her!

Thank You - Claudia from Germany

Claudia and I have swapped a few times before. She recently was looking for cards with the Mona Lisa on them for a friend. Even I was surprised that I had one and could help her out. As a thank you she sent me this great map card of Germany also showing the coat of arms for the various states. The stamp and cancellation are icing on the cake. Thank you Claudia!

Direct Swap - San Marino from Darina

This is another successful swap I did via the Postcrossing Forum.  In July, Darina was travelling from Moscow to San Marino and was offering to swap. In particular she was looking for "Where's Waldo" cards. Lucky for me, my son had the postcard book and was willing to help me out. This card arrived shortly after showing the beautiful views of this tiny country. Thank for the swap Darina!

OFFICIAL Card - Russia

Boris sent this card showing views of his hometown of Ufa, Russia. You just don't see yellow buildings like that in Canada - wonder why? Which by the way, it is an Art Gallery.

OFFICIAL Card - Lithuania

I really do like multi views as you get to "see" so much more of a country. It seems like forever since I have received one and this one from Grita in Lithuania is great!

OFFICIAL Cards - Germany

No, you are not seeing double! Although I admit I thought I was! This is one of the strangest coincidences I have had since joining Postcrossing. The first card was sent to me by Aaron. The next day, my address went to Herbstzeitlose and she sent me the second card. What are the odds of that! They both show the Lake Constance area in Germany. They arrived a week apart and at first I couldn't figure out how my card ended up back outside. When side by side you can see they are different, they are even printed by different companies.

OFFICIAL Card - Russia

This has got to be one of the quirkiest cards I have received. It is is toss up with this card as to which one I think is wackier. And I mean that in a nice way. Honestly.

Larissa lives in St Petersburg, Russia and sent this card which she designed and printed and that she is also featured in. Fun and quirky at the same time! She pre-printed her message on a sticker which to be honest the type was so tiny I don't think she could have written that much to me easily, used some fun Christmas stickers and a great Olympic stamp. The combination certainly put a smile on my face.

OFFICIAL card - Germany

Ralf lives in Bochum, Germany and sent this card showing views of his hometown. He told me about a fast food from this region called "Curry-wurst, pommes, rot-weib" - sausage with curry sauce, fries with mayonnaise and ketchup and tells me it is delicious. Not a fan of ketchup but the rest does sound like an interesting combination, although I can almost feel the heartburn! And no, I don't think I'll have a bubble tea with that! Fun stamp he chose for me too.

OFFICIAL Card - France

Nathalie chose this card for me because it shows some symbols of France, namely the Chateaux of the Loire Valley. She writes that her favourite is the castle in Chambord and asks me which one mine would be. I don't think I could pick just one they are all beautiful for different reasons.

Thank You Card - Andrea in Germany

I sent Andrea an official card back in July. A few weeks later I received this lovely card showing the coat of arms for the 16 States of Germany. What a wonderful surprise - thank you!

Direct Swap - Lyubo from Bulgaria

This is another swap I arranged through the Postcrossing Forum. Lyubo was offering cards from Bulgaria and not having a card from that country yet I gladly swapped with him. He liked cards showing mountains and I still had a few beautiful cards of the Canadian Rockies that my neighbour picked up for me on a trip out west a few years ago. For me, if I can only have one card so to speak I like a map. Lyubo had several to chose from and this one is great. It has a lot of details on the back on the places and is a welcome addition to my map collection.

OFFICIAL Card - Germany

Another day, another great multi view from Germany. This time Peter sent this card in a super fast 4 days showing spots in Bamberg. This too is a UNESCO site.

Lottery Win - Pavla from Czech Republic

One thing I discovered over the summer was the "Lotteries" section of the Postcrossing forum. I must say I do believe in entering every contest that crosses my path. My thoughts are simple - someone has to win so why not me! Over the years I must say I have won LOTS of things - all-inclusive trip to Mexico for two, movie and concert tickets, hair products, even the chance to carry the Olympic Flame!

One of the lotteries I entered was to win a signed card from the Chrudim Postcrossing meet-up held, where else but Chrudim, at the end of June. I love everything about the card - the shape, the coat of arms, all the signatures, the stamps and the decorative stamp they used on the back! Even without a message this card says so much to me!

OFFICIAL Card - Luxembourg

With only 150 Postcrossers who have even signed up, Luxembourg is not a common country to receive a card from. Score. When the card is a perfect match for a collection, double score! Sirianne lives in the eastern part of the country near the border with Germany on a dairy farm. I can't completely make out the stamp but it looks to me like it is a photo of a snowman sticking out his tongue taken at night. Tried to Google some info and coming up empty. Totally put a smile on my face!

OFFICIAL Card - Belarus

So this card has been a bit of a puzzle for me. I have tried to Google translate the text on both the front and back (there are two sentences on the back) and for the life of me I cannot get it to translate. Maybe it is me but I am not seeing some of the symbols on my virtual keyboard. As best as I can tell the view is of a hospital in Smolevichi, a city within the region of Minsk. Maria wrote that it is a "clynic" so I am guessing that is what she means. Do you have any different ideas?  I love that she included what would be the tear away of the stamp. She also drew me a fun picture of a hedgehog!

Connecticut - RAS from Lynda, Direct Swap from Melody

For the longest time I was trying to complete my US State map collection. For some reason, Connecticut was proving to be a needle in a haystack. I was in touch with several Postcrossers who were more than willing to swap, however were unable to locate a map card. The most ironic part was I had received a few cards from people who lived in that state and had even commented on the cards they sent that they didn't have a map. It looked like it was never going to happen.

Then one day out of the blue I received a note from Melody asking if I was still looking for a map. She had seen my request in the forum and had one she was willing to swap. I was thrilled and agreed. Around the same time, my meet-up pal Lynda asked if I had found one yet as she knew how I was looking for one.

Then, as only things seem to ever work for me - after months of searching I all of a sudden had two in my mailbox on the exact same day! I have never laughed so hard, I couldn't believe it! Melody sent me this great card for our swap. It was an extra from her own collection (so sweet) and she was happy to provide the missing piece of my puzzle.

Unbeknownst to me, Lynda had been in touch with a postcard club in Connecticut to see if a member had a map card to send me. That was one of the sweetest thing I have ever had done for me. This was the card that she arranged.

So to say that I am a happy camper now that my collection is complete is accurate. The way I completed it just makes me smile that much more! Thanks ladies and to everyone who agreed to swap with me to help me reach my goal.

OFFICIAL Card - Switzerland

Martin from Bern, Switzerland sent this vintage card showing views of his country as well as the coat of arms of the different cantons of this country.

OFFICIAL Card - Germany

Gerald from Hamburg sent this vintage view card of the town of Sondershausen, Germany. He says it is a nice place and suggests Googling to learn more about it. Maybe he has stopped by my blog to see I Google almost everything! The upper middle view shows Sondershausen Palace as seen from the market. The rest I am still Googling.

OFFICIAL Card - Germany

Alisa lives in Altena, Germany and sent this multi-view of her hometown in February. She wrote telling me it was "groovy weather" as it was 13C the day she wrote and that the Altena Castle shown in the main view houses the world's oldest youth hostel. She writes saying you can sleep there and get married in the little chapel in the castle. That sounds like it could be an interesting vacation!

OFFICIAL Card - France

Agnes sent this card to me a few weeks ago. It shows the L'Ain region of France and several little scenes of the area. Agnes has lived in there for 13 years. She says the area is famous for Chicken of Bresse, (which I'll be honest I have never heard of but after reading that article I know why) and also frogs legs, which I had many moons ago, once, enough said. Agnes also chose a great stamp for her card.