Via Airmail

Old Library at Wuhan University

Libraries are one of my favorite subjects when it comes to postcards, so I am always pleased to get them and this one is unusual.  The Postcrosser tells me it is the Old Library of his university, which is Wuhan University.  You can see a photo of it here, though the only information on it they offer is the date it was built in 1935.  I love the little book in the lower left corner.  Any help on translating the words on the front of the card would be much appreciated.

I like the simplicity of the stamp.

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Postcrossing card #98

Kelimutu, Flores Island, Indonesia

This is Kelimutu on the island of Flores in Indonesia.  These unusual crater lakes are the result of volcanic activity.  There are actually three lakes and each contains different colored water. 

"Tiwu Ata Mbupu (Lake of Old People) is usually blue and is the westernmost of the three lakes. The other two lakes, Tiwu Nuwa Muri Koo Fai (Lake of Young Men and Maidens) and Tiwu Ata Polo (Bewitched or Enchanted Lake) are separated by a shared crater wall and are typically green or red respectively. The lake colors vary on a periodic basis."

Apparently the color changes are due to chemical reactions from the minerals in the volcano.  These lakes are a popular tourist destination in Indonesia.  I think I need to create a bucket list and on it I am going to add a visit to at least one volcano somewhere in the world.

The stamp is a "Greeting Stamp" with a lovely floral centerpiece and candles.

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Postcrossing card #97

Holy Spirit Cathedral

This postcard of the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Belarus is from the "Legends of Old Minsk" series.  The postcrosser who sent it kindly translated the card (the back gives all sorts of historical information) and she mentions that the most valuable treasure of the church is an icon of the Mother of God.  It is said to be miraculous.  You can see the icon here.  The cathedral dates from the mid-17th century.  

I don't think I've seen this stamp before.  It looks a bit like a fortress.  A quick search didn't net any better information, but it looks like an interesting building.

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Postcrossing card #96

The Capitoline Wolf in Rome

Here's a roundabout postcard.  The sculpture is the famous Capitoline Wolf (La Lupa Capitolina) inspired by the legend of the founding of Rome.  It came from a Postcrosser living in Spain but originally from St. Petersburg, Russia.  It truly is a global world!

 

The stamp shows King Juan Carlos I of Spain.

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Postcrossing card #95

Salome by Franz von Stuck

Art postcards are some of my very favorite to receive in the mail (though I love any postcard really), but as I don't note specifically what sort of art I like in my Postcrossing profile, I'm always intrigued to see what cards appear in my mailbox.  I quite like this one, by an artist I'd not heard of before.  This is "Salome" by Franz von Stuck, 1906.  It is located in the Stadtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany.

Salome is a Biblical figure, and she is shown here with the head of John the Baptist quite literally with his head on a platter.

Apparently the postcard was returned to the sender (luckily she had used an address label with her own address on it as well as mine), but she kindly put it in an envelope and mailed it back to me.  The original stamp shows the Post Tower in Bonn.

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Postcrossing card #94

Dutch Open Air Museum

These farmhouses are only a few that make up the nearly one hundred historic buildings found at the Dutch Open Air Museum in Arnhem.  This is a living musuem where people can  see the actual buildings and how they were used.  Many of the structures were built hundreds of years ago.  In 1912 the museum was founded as a way to preserve the architecture and cultural heritage surrounding a fading way of life.  Unfortunately the card does not give details of the buildings.  I would love to know what they were used for, but I am pleased to be introduced to this sort of museum.  Who knows, maybe someday I'll get to visit it.

The card was mailed with a Postcrossing stamp as shown here.

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Postcrossing card #93

Scene by a Bavarian Lake

This picturesque Bavarian village was painted by Wilhelm von Kobell, a late 18th-early 19th century German painter.  There is no title or description on the card of the painting, but the Postcrosser called it "By a Bavarian Lake". 

The stamp is another Balloon Flower that I shared here.

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Postcrossing card #92 

Views of Sydney, Australia

Beautiful views of Sydney Harbour and Bondi Beach.  You can see the famous Sydney Opera House, which seems to almost be floating out on the Bay, and also the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The stamp is a super cute baby Dingo.  I think this must be part of a series.  You can see a baby kangaroo (one of the other animals in the series) here.

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Postcrossing card #91

As Long As There Are Postmen

This cool postcard came from a US Postcrosser.  The postcard was designed by a fellow letter writer who also blogs.  You can see her blog here and find cool things in her Etsy store here.  And yes, the quote is great:

"As long as there are postmen, life will have zest."

A reminder to "send more mail"!

This card was metered, so no stamp this time around.

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Postcrossing card #90

Jaipur Museum, India

I've completely fallen behind in sharin my postcrossing cards, so I think I'm going to have to try an step things up and scan more quickly!  I've only been sharing Postcrossing cards of late (hoping to get them all scanned first), but I've also been receiving lots of great postcards through personal swaps as well.  I may have to share several of those at once as soon as I get around to them.  In the interim I'm going to try and catch up on my official postcrossing cards.

This came from Jaipur, India and shows the Jaipur Museum.

"Famous also as Albert Hall is situated in the Ram Niswas garden.  Contains colourful huge portraits of Maharajas of Jaipur, many other miniatures of art, costumes and wood work and many articles of old armoury & curious, etc."

The stamps include one in honor of Children's Day and one showing C.V. Raman (Novel Prize winner for physics).

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Postcrossing card #89