ancient city, ancient gate

Torun is a city on the Vistula River.  It is one of Poland's oldest cities, first settled in the 8th century, and has been a world heritage site since 1997.  According to the sender, it is renowned for its gingerbread which has been made there for over 1,000 years.

The Porta Nigra in Trier, Germany is even older, having been built as a Roman Gate around 170A.D.  No one knows what the Romans called it, but it has been called 'nigra', or 'black', since the middle ages, when the original grey sandstone became darkened.   It is the only one of four city gates remaining and was designated a world heritage site in 1986.

Two UNESCO World Heritage Sites for Thursday Postcard Hunt

chateau

 Fontainebleau

and a long view

Fountainebleau is one of the largest French royal chateaux.  It was a favourite hunting lodge of the kings but was gradually transformed into a genuine palace and became a museum and a Unesco World Heritage Site 

three churches

St James Anglican Church, St John's Evangelical Lutheran, and Trinity United

there are other churches in this small town, but these are the ones that get all the glory - and the photographs!

Over in Romania is this painted church, one of eight that are UNESCO listed

a 1970s view of the Hallgrimskirkja in Reykjavik

and,  Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin

a new month and a new theme of architecture. first up: churches.  next week: houses

most photographed

 

Jasper has been a park since 1907, renamed as a National Park since 1930.  Since 1984 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site

For MAY theme of parks and gardens!

great wall

 The Ten-Thousand Mile Long Wall*

Other names used in Chinese medieval records are 'ramparts', 'frontiers', 'barriers', 'fortresses', 'border wall'.

Built between the 3rd century B.C.  and 17th century A.D. -  so it took more than 2,000 years - as a series of fortifications.  Which makes me wonder if anyone ever thought of the 'historical' significance of what they were building and if it might last anywhere as long as it has.  Or they may have been too concerned with surviving the ordeal.

*It is actually more than 13,000 miles 

far away lands

I fell in love with Norway while watching the 1994 Olympics 

I'm pretty sure I could miss out on this experience at Preiskestolen.  I would be happy to be on a boat cruising Lysefjord and looking UP at the 604 metre cliff.

However, I would not want to miss out seeing a Stave.  How would a 900 year old wood church smell, I wonder? 

I don't know what triggered my fascination with Japan, but it would be my top dream destination if I could choose anywhere in the world.  I would prefer to be with someone who was Japanese and could translate and explain...

It helps that I love the food - sushi, sashimi, ramen... not to mention  over 300 flavours of Kit Kat!

I wish I had a more modern card of this exclusive and expensive shopping street. Not sure I could afford much anyway, which would make me less interested. 

  I would maybe last an afternoon before wanting to escape.  I would be much more interested in the train journeys and the shrines and temples.

The Kumano Nachi Shrine and a waterfall! (Nachi-no-Otaki, the tallest in Japan)

Izumo Taisha Shrine

Hong Kong was never really on my radar as a place I'd want to visit, it was just a place I'd heard of.  Then, with all the attention during the time of the handover, it became more interesting.

 the stunning vistas from the harbour and the mountains.  The city is densely packed with people and skyscrapers, but also with parks and gardens (over 1,600 covering more than 40% of the land area!)

'the second coolest street in the world'

This is more interesting shopping

touring canada

from the French charm of Quebec City to the turquoise, crystal clear waters of Georgian Bay (with some of the best scuba diving for shipwrecks)

 

 

 

 

to the wilds of the far north in Yukon 

wooden church

St George's Church, one of the oldest and best preserved wooden churches

In honour of  Easter and Orthodox Easter falling on the same day for the first time since 2017.

descending dragon

I had this post ready before Typhoon Yagi slammed into Vietnam leading to an ever rising death toll, evacuations and untold damage to towns and villages and infrastructure

Halong Bay has been on my list of magical places to visit for a long time.  It is well known for its towering limestone karsts rising up from the water.

Legend has it that to help Vietnam defend itself from invaders in its early days of becoming a country, the gods sent a family of dragons from the heavens as protectors.  They began to spit out jewels and jade which turned into islets and islands, which have been slowly eroded into interesting and impressive formations from the movement of the waves over the centuries.

preservation at its best

Fossil Butte National Monument in Wyoming is described as America's aquarium in stone.  A 50 million year old lake bed and one of the richest fossil localities in the world.  Recorded in limestone are dynamic and complete paleoecosystems that spanned two million years.  Preservation is so complete that it allows for detailed study of climate change and its effects on biological communities. (from nationalparks.org website)

 

Sucevita Monastery in the Moldovan region of Romania is covered in fresco paintings both inside and outside.  The paintings were done in 1601, though the church was built in 1585.  It is remarkable that these exterior paintings have survived all that weather can throw at it - wind, sun, rain, snow...

pyramid

This ancient mosque with a pyramid shaped minaret sits atop a hill in the city of Ghardaia. It is thought to be the first building in the Ghardaia Palace, built around 1048. The smaller six metre minaret is the older one with the larger 23 metre minaret being built in the 16th C.

alhambra

This was my first introduction to Islamic architecture. I was 18, on a school trip, when I fell in love with the symmetry, tiles, Arabic writing... and Spain
 

altamira palace

The Palmeral de Elche is the largest palm grove in Europe. Today, there are over 200,000 palm trees around the historic centre. This card shows the Altamira Palace which is currently an Archaeological Museum.

old bridge

 

over the River Neretva

hala ludowa

 

Centennial Hall is a sports and entertainment centre in a complex that includes the Four Domes Pavilion and Pergola  (all 1913) and the 90 metre Spire (July 3, 1948)

dispensary

 

Old Stone Town in Zanzibar

one of five villages

 

The brightly painted houses of Manarola on the Italian Riviera

canals

 

The Canal Ring of Amsterdam - Singel, Herengracht, Keizersgracht, Prinsengracht

mosque-cathedral

 

The Grand Mosque was built in 784 by the Emir of Cordoba, Abd al-Rahman I. In 1236 it became a Roman Catholic church

bombay

two fine examples of 19th C Victorian Gothic architecture