grotesques

 fantastical chimères

of Notre-Dame

towering in the city

Three very different towers for today's Thursday Postcard Hunt, each, in their own way helping you to orientate yourself in their respective cities

First up is in Kuala Lumpur,  the Petronas Twin Towers (aka KLCC - Kuala Lumpur City Centre - Twin Towers), an interlinked pair of 88 storey skyscrapers which are visible from many places in the city.  Completed in 1996 in a Postmodern Islamist style.  As well as offices, a shopping mall, an oceanarium and a park inside the towers, there is that double decker skybridge at levels 41 and 42.

Contrast that with this Munttoren, part of one of the original gates in the medieval city wall of Amsterdam.  Built in the late 1400s, much of it was destroyed in a fire in 1618, and rebuilt in Amsterdam Renaissance style in 1620 with four clockfaces and a carillon of bells.  The bells chime every quarter hour.

Fun fact, when I lived in Amsterdam and still getting used to the horseshoe shaped streets and canals, I would often get disoriented and only realize it when I was back at the Munt for the nth time.  It was my first time living in a city that was not laid out in a grid pattern and it took me a looong time to get used to it!

Lastly, there is the CN Tower in Toronto.  The land it stands on was reclaimed from Lake Ontario, so while you can see it for miles you know that there is not much south of the tower except the lake.  It opened in 1976.  Today it is not so isolated as it appears in this 1980s postcard and many, many super tall buildings have gone up on the waterfront.  It is hard to remember that those two black buildings just to the right were once the tallest buildings when they were built in the late 1960s!

multiple wildfires

another area with ordered evacuations as of yesterday

wildfires...

closed due to evacuation from Antler Creek wildfire (3km away at the moment)

A landmark, Cottonwood House developed a reputation among travellers as a stopping place of high quality. The barns, fields and Cottonwood River relieved the freight animals of their burden and gave an opportunity to regain their strength. The “hotel” offered fresh wholesome foods as well as a comfortable rest in clean rooms. Both private and dormitory rooms were available and dinner was served in a large dining room. (Barkerville website)

endangered

 

Monarch butterflies have declined by 90%

and are now on the endangered list

firsts

Australia has some of the most delightful stamps, so it is always disappointing to get one of these...

Ah well, they will once again be competing, as they have done in every Summer Games since 1896, and that will not disappoint.

They were the first country outside Europe or North America, and the first in the southern hemisphere, to host the Games. 

The first, and so far, only, South American country to host the Games was Brazil.  They had first tried to host in 1936, but lost out to Germany.  They trumpeted their own horn again in 2020 by being only the second nation to surpass its medal count in the Games following the one it hosted.

Indonesia is first among the Southeast Asian countries in overall medals, most of them for badminton, which doesn't get much tv coverage.  This little birdie is a Sangihe Honey Bird.  It is also difficult to see, not least because it is so tiny (12cm).

While searching my South Korea postcards (ed: and, yes I was so excited to find this stamp that I somehow put the country in southern hemisphere) I found this fortuitous stamp (albeit from the winter games)

southern hemisphere for Sunday Stamps

drama

Two views of the Gothic styled Kölner Dom, which took an astonishing 632 years to complete, although to be fair, it also lay dormant for 300 of those years.  It was finally finished in 1880.  Fortunately, the stained glass windows were removed before the Allied bombings in WWII, and the twin spires survived to continue being a navigational landmark.  

A slightly more than five minute walk from the Cathedral  will take you to the Hauptbahnhof, where you can catch a train for the 1 3/4 hour journey to Mainz.

Mainzer Dom, (aka St Martin's Cathedral) a mostly Romanesque styled cathedral with some Baroque additions, was founded around 975 and dedicated in 1009 whereupon it was immediately destroyed by fire.  It would be engulfed in flames six more times in its history.  Once you've followed your way to the 80 metre tall tower, you'll find yourself in the Market Square, a popular and busy meeting place.

jack pine

 Tom Thomson

whose body was found on Canoe Lake on July 16, 1917, eight days after his overturned canoe was found.  His death is still a mystery.

names and medals

 

Not many Chinese stamps have any English on them, but this one clearly states the [proud?] anniversary!

China is competing in 33 events to add to their 635 medal count of their 12th summer games.  That Communist Party has invested well in their athletes (though how humanely, is up for debate).

Taiwan, or Chinese Taipei, as it is known at the Games, will be competing in 15 events to add to their 36 medal count. None will involve jellyfish.  This one with the long, long tentacles, is a Lion's Mane. Taiwan does not get to compete under their own name or their own flag.

Albania is one of only five European countries who have never medalled at the Olympics.  This bellflower is deceptively delicate looking - it is a highly invasive plant where I live.  Very pretty though.  This summer they will have 5 competitors for wrestling, shooting, and athletics.  They never use their own Albanian name of Shqiperia for their country.

from one extreme to another in the eastern hemisphere for Sunday Stamps

day and night

Borkum is an island in northwestern Germany.  This Great Lighthouse is still in use after 145 years.  At 60 metres tall it is a landfall light for the Ems estuary and a day marker for the port of Emdem.

Here is a night view card I received from Postcrossing

semi finals part deux

thing three

 

 

 

England v Netherlands

thing four

Colombia v Uruguay

semi finals

 thing one...

 

 

 

 

 France v Spain

thing two

 

 

 

 

Canada v Argentina

marianne

Let's start off our world tour of Olympic participating countries with the host: France

the 2018 version of Marianne designed by 'YZ', a French graphist (or graphic designer) living in Abidjan, and engraved by Elsa Catelin

 

 

Olivier Ciappa's 2013 version of Marianne and youth

Marianne and stars designed & engraved by Yves Beaujard released in 2008

This 2003 version was designed by Eve Luquet and engraved by Claude Jumelet

 

 

New versions of these stamps are released every five years by the president.  I have yet to receive any 2023 ones

In case you've lost count, France is hosting the Olympics for the sixth time this summer.

northern hemisphere for Sunday Stamps

finding your way

I've never been to Taipei, but I love this metro map.  It shows the different trains, is colour coded, is in English, and has handy tips.  Plus which stations are near those all important night markets!

 

Manhattan was probably the easiest, most walkable, city I've traveled to, but this map would be handy to have for orienting yourself, especially for those bridges over the East River

two maps for helping find your way around an unfamiliar city for Thursday Postcard Hunt

vulnerable

The Amazonia versicolor (St Lucia parrot) is St Lucia's national bird.  It's population had been increasing after declining to a low of around 150 individuals in the 1970s, mainly due to habitat loss, poaching and ... hurricanes.

Another bird found exclusively on the island of St Lucia is this oriole.  They feed on fruit and insects and have been seen stripping the bark off trees while foraging, which explains this image!

 

thinking of Saint Lucia and all those in the path of Beryl

july 1

 Canada Day,  there will be fireworks

19 flags

 

across the bottom of the envelope are the 19 members (with the recent additions of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic)

(this has turned out to be more in honour of the upcoming NATO Summit on July 9th than the upcoming July 1st and July 4th holidays)

 

ALSO, in the run up to the Olympics, I thought we'd tour the world of participating countries by hemisphere. Since nearly all countries are participating, this should give us all quite a variety of stamps.

time for tea

 

CATURDAY

time in the city

 Perhaps the most famous clock tower

A vintage timepiece (c1934) as a shop sign for Möbel Hansson, an antique store in Stockholm

 

 

 

 

 

a clock in the medieval Old Quarter of Torun Poland

but, the pièce de résistance

is this astronomical clock in Prague, 

the oldest clock still in operation (since 1410)

black and white

from the top of the world, a trio of long tailed ducks

 

 

 

 to the bottom, with a duo of 

condors and penguins