Postcards for the weekend 60: Reflections

CZ-1246132, Sent from Prague
Sent 10 Sep 2017, Traveled 9,856 km in 30 days

On this postcard, we have the Czech Republic's Konopiste Castle, reflected on the lake. I'm pretty sure this photo was taken during the autumn season, judging by the warm colors of the trees by the lake. 

CZ-1135433, Sent from Dobrnice Village
Sent 27 Feb 2017, Traveled 9,795 km in 17 days

Our second postcard is also from the same country as the first postcard. I love how the clouds are reflected on the water in the lower image. In 1995, this area of Cesky Raj was declared as the first ever nature reserve in the Czech Republic. 

AU-304867, Sent from Melbourne
Sent 2 Sep 2013, Traveled 6,325 km in 13 days

From the opposite side of Europe, we have this last postcard for this weekend's theme of reflections from Australia. Here we have the different buildings and bright lights reflected by the water. Melbourne is the state capital of Victoria, Australia.

Happy weekend everyone,

~ maria

Z is for Zamek Książ, Poland

The A-Z Challenge ends today. I feel accomplished for being able to finish! Some letters were really challenging for my chosen theme.

For letter "Z" --

FB Postcard Swap, Sender: RPPostcards
Sent: 09 Aug 2012 from Wroclaw, Poland
Received: 7 Sep 2012, Traveled 9,684 km in 28 days

I am pleased to share this zamek or castle postcard shown on twilight colors. I think the colors are fitting as a closing for my April postcards roll. According to its official website, the castle given it's size and location, is very rare in Europe.

That's it for now! It's been great sharing postcards everyday for 30 days! For new followers of my blog, it's been very nice to know you and visit your pages, too! Same goes to my existing followers even before the challenge, it's been nice catching up with your pages too after my absence here in bloggers world for almost 1 year. You are all welcome to continue sharing my journey of connecting with the world even after this April Challenge has ended ;-)

Enjoy the long weekend, everyone!

~maria

W is for Warwick Castle, England

So many things to do, so little time. That's what I am feeling right now when I am about to fly out of Stockholm. It reminds me of another trip where one full day wasn't enough to experience everything the place has to offer.

For letter "W" --

Sent: 31 May 2012 from Southampton, UK
Received: 19 Jun 2012, Traveled 10,880.8 km in 20 days

If you happen to remember the entries I had for letters "D" and "E", this postcard is from that same visit to England. A tour of the castle and its grounds was probably the most jampacked day from that trip. I am not complaining though; the activities were well-organized and there's so much to discover about the place.

Are there any Merlin TV Series fanatics here? Warwick Castle has a special tower for you. It's called the Dragon Tower where you could enjoy a magical experience with the characters from the story.

~maria

Q is for Queen's Islet Palace, Sweden

While researching for my Sweden trip, I was treated to a pleasant surprise at the Visit Sweden website. The photos on the page could be sent over as an e-postcard! Kudos to technology, even postcard delivery now has been automated. So I tried and sent myself one.

For letter "Q" --

E-Postcard from Visit Sweden Website, Sender: Myself
Sent: 9 April 2015 via email, Photo: Ola Ericson/imagebank.sweden.se

According to Uncle Wiki, "Drottningholm" in the name Drottningholm Palace literally means "Queen's Islet". The palace is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I am hoping for nice weather this coming weekend so I could take at least a nice view of this palace from Gamla Stan. It would be a bit far from me if I travel all the way to Lovon where it is located. So a panoramic view from a nearby island would be enough I think. :)

~maria

O is for Olsztyn Castle Ruins, Poland

As mentioned in my "K" post, Poland is a country I really wish to see.

I don't know yet when I could go but while researching for "things to do" in Poland, I found out about the Trail of the Eagle's Nest. It is a marked trail with 25 medieval castles. It is considered the best touristic trail in Poland.

For letter "O" --

Direct Swap, Sender: Magda
Sent: 01 June 2012 from Zabrze, Poland
Traveled 9,613 km

Olsztyn Castle Ruins is one of the castles in the trail. It was considered as a royal castle for a settlement back in the 14th century. After several wars and transfers of ownership, Olsztyn is simply considered now as a village. The biggest attraction in the area that was once the castle, has the prison tower as its most impressive feature of the ruins.

Check out Beth's page to see more for Postcard Friendship Friday.

~maria

N is for New Swanstone Castle, Germany

For letter "N" --

Direct Swap, Sender: Mark Winchester
Sent: 27 Jul 2012 from Ostfildern, Germany
Traveled 10,300 km 

New Swanstone Castle or Neuschwanstein in German is famous for being the prototype of the castle in Disney's Sleeping Beauty. The sender of the postcard wrote:

Schloss Neuschwanstein, built for the "mad king Ludwig of Bavaria". 

He had 4 castles built, each one better than the last. 

Thanks to his obsession for romantic beauty though! Now Germany has this structure that drives in a lot of tourism for that part of the country.

~maria

L is for Loveland Castle in Ohio, USA

In my post for letter "G", I mentioned that I am traveling to Sweden for training. Another country where I am supposed to travel to this year to train for my new job is the USA. I need to see our two main offices in Washington and Ohio.

I got Loveland when researching for nice places to see in Ohio. Loveland is named after a storeowner and postmaster, James Loveland. I think it wouldn't be hard to guess why I want to visit. My main hobby is about sending and receiving postcards and letters from the mail.

For letter "L" --

Facebook Swap, Sender: Lorie Jordan
Sent: 26 Sep 2013 from Loveland, OH
Received: 12 Oct 2013, Traveled 13,514.3 km in 16 days

While browsing through my postcards collection, I was delighted to see that I have something from Loveland, OH. This is Loveland Castle, the headquarters of the Boy Scouts Troop named Knights of the Golden Trail. The castle is also called Chateau Laroche, which means "Rock Castle" in French.

For more photos from all over the world, visit Our World.

~maria 

I is for the Iconic Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

I'm doing more stretching for the theme I've chosen this year for the A-Z Challenge. Instead of the actual name of the buildings and structures, I'm using adjectives. But hey, I don't think that's a bad thing nor a bad excuse, right? The A to Z challenge doesn't really have hard core rules. One could go thematic or not.

For me, there are two sides of going thematic. I realized that when it narrows down and gets you more organized, some letters prove to be difficult. In my case for the theme I've chosen which is "Buildings and Structures on Postcards", and not just any other available postcard, but postcards I've received (or sent), I got stuck with approximately 6 letters of the alphabet. Well enough of that, it's quite an early reflection for the challenge ...

For letter "I" -- 

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sent by: Wayne & Ron
Sent: 19 May 2012 from Edinburgh, Scotland
Received: 26 Sep 2012, Traveled 10,610 km in "like forever!!"

Iconic is the adjective that the Scotland's National Tourism Organisation used to describe the castle on their website. Such a pity I only went to look at the exterior. I was too stingy and I didn't want to buy the entrance tickets. Perhaps next time!

For more postcards on Friday, check out Beth's The Best Hearts Are Crunchy page, accessible through here.

~maria

D is for Ducal Mansion, England

From temples to castles, for letter "D" --

Sent 31 May 2012 from Southampton, UK
Traveled 10,880.8 km in 20 days

Presently, the Nottingham Castle is known as the "Ducal Mansion". The estate was originally a traditional castle inhabited by kings and queens. It was purchased in 17th century by William Cavendish, first duke of Newcastle upon Tyne, hence the name.

I had the pleasure to visit it back in 2012. But perhaps the more interesting part of my visit to this side of England more than the Ducal Mansion itself were the caves underneath the mansion, the stories of Sherwood Forest and the folklore hero Robin Hood, and the Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem Inn which is just nearby.

Did you know the name on which the Nottingham Castle was built on? Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, England's oldest pub was also built on the same foundation.

~maria

Q is for Qīngyī Yuán Imperial Palace, China

Facebook Swap, Sender: Chuan
Sent: 9 Sep 2012 from Taipei City, Taiwan
Received: Not stamped on postcard, Traveled 1158 km

I remember reading about this palace when I was in middle school and being so curious how it looks like inside. Also known as Summer Palace, it served as a resort to the famous Dowager Cixi. Uncle Wiki says she diverted 3 million taels of silver for the expansion of this place.

It was inscribed as a UNESCO WHS in 1998.

~maria

Castle stamps

The Tower of London, viewed from the River Thames with the Union Jack.

I was frustrated that I can't find information about this stamp on the Royal Mail website. Apparently, this was issued by the Universal Mail United Kingdom, the postal service in the UK aimed at the tourist market. This stamp was part of the Historic Royal Palaces Booklet issued in June 2011.

Palacio Episcopal de Astorga

It was designed by the Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí, one of his three works outside Catalonia. 

The palace is now a museum of religious art, called Museo de los Caminos.

The stamp was released on 17 July 2012.

Two castle overlooking the Werra valley.

The two castles are the Ludwig stone castle in Hesse and the ruins of Hanstein in Thuringia.

The view of the two castles is symbolic of overcoming the division of Germany. 

The stamp was issue on 3 February 2011.

~maria

Prague of the Vltava River

Facebook Postcard Swap, Sender: Veronika Ticha
Sent from Tachov, Czech Republic Sent on 30 April 2012
Received on June 29 2012, Traveled ~10,113 km in 59 days

Veronika wrote on the card:

Hi Maria, Prague is the capital and largest city of the Prague Republic and fourteenth largest city in European Union. It's situated on the Vltava River. Prague is home to a number of attractions including the following: Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, the Jewish Quarter, the Lennon Wall, and Petrin Hill. Since 1992, the historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of WHS. 

Another UNESCO WHS card for me. Yey! :D 

To read more about Prague, here's the link for the dedicated page on the UNESCO WHS list.

~maria

Johnstown Castle, Ireland

I've been enchanted by castles lately. And the passion just got more real this evening after watching the film, 'Mirror Mirror' as a Friday treat to myself. I was intrigued as to why the castle in an English film is very evident of Indian architecture...thanks to Mr. Imdb -- he said it's because the director is Indian. Ah! Got it.

To take part in the celebration of Lá Fhéile Pádraig, here's a castle card from Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday in Ireland, most popularly characterized with wearing green -- since I don't have a particular card like that or a card with shamrock, here's a card with green grass, shrubs, and trees instead :D

Back to the castle, the back of the card reads: The silvery towers of Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford are enchantingly reflected in an ornamental lake. The 1840 Gothic Revival castle stands in a lush setting of ornamental trees and shrubs. The variety of mixed planting around the lake, which include noble firs, Japanese cedars, Atlantic blue cedars, copper beaches, golden Lawson cypresses and holm oaks, provides a very satisfying range of color through the year.

This post is for the Postcard Friendship Friday, sorry for the delay in posting. :( My internet connection has been acting up lately and the photo of the card didn't want to attach to this post. Anyways, good vibes...good vibes! Great week for everyone. :D

~maria

Postcard ID: IE-32097

Traveled 10,959 km in 9 days