Tallin

This is from the same friend who was babysitting in Finland. She visited Tallin with her sister by ferry in a day off. Tallin is the capital city of Estonia.

The tower belongs to Saint Olaf's Church which is located in the Old Town of Tallin. The Old Town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

From: S. M.
Date: June 2012

Babysitting in Finland

The Helsinki Cathedral (white church), the Finlandia Hall, the Central Railway Station, the Uspenski Cathedral (red church) and the Senate Building

A cute blue tit stamp

Background story: A university friend did babysitting for a year in Finland so I asked her to send me a postcard of course :) She was babysitting a 1 and 2-year-old kid.

It was summertime when she wrote the postcard, and she said the winter was long and cold but the summer is pleasant and the weather is cool but she liked it anyway.

I feel lucky we had the chance to study Northern Architecture at the university so I have a basic knowledge on Finnish architecture as well.

The Helsinki Cathedral is a neoclassical style Lutheran cathedral designed by Carl Ludvig Engel, its construction was completed in 1852.

The Central Railway Station is a notable building designed by Eliel Saarinen. Vienesse Art Nouveau architecture has influence on the building but the result and ornamental decoration has more Art Deco-sense. Saarinen's design won the contest in 1904 and the railway station was finished in 1914. The Nebraska State Capitol's tower was designed after the tower of Saarinen's station's,

The white, modern style Finlandia Hall was design by Alvar Aalto, the greatest Finnish architect of the 20th century. Aalto fused traditional Finnish wooden architecture with modern style which is reflected in all his works. Fine examples of hiis exquisite interior design are the Villa Mairea and the Viipuri Municipal Library.
To my imagination, the shapes of the Finlandia Hall resembles that of a glacier's which are characteristic natural formation of the vast and mystical Norden.

From: S. M.
Date: 5 June 2012

Greetings from the Holy Land

Israel is a significant place regarding religions. The Holy Land itself is considered sacre by three major religions of the world: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Nearly all the events which took place in the Bible are in present-day Israel.
The city of Jerusalem is divided into four quarters by religion (and culture as well): there is the Jewish Quarter, the Christian Quarter, Muslim Quarter and the Armenian Quarter.
Jerusalem is the main site of events of the Passion of Christ, where he was condemned to death and then was crucified. The way on which Christ carried his cross to the top of the Golgotha Hill is called Via Dolorosa which is located in the Old City. All the states of the Passion are marked by crosses. So for this, it is a crucial pilgrimage destination among Christian believers (besides the Vatican).
To Judaism, it is an important site because once, there was standing Salomon's Temple and later the Second Temple. The Second Temple was destroyed under the order of the Roman Emperor Titus, in 70 AD. This event is actually depicted in the Arch of Titus in the Forum Romanum, Rome.
The famous Wailing Wall is the remnant of this Second Temple where many Jewish believers pray.
To Muslims, it is important because Muhammad is said to had ascended to Heaven from the Temple Mount of Jerusalem.
The Old City was declared a Cultural Heritage site by UNESCO in 1981.

Background story: One of the neighbours of my sister's godmom has family in Israel, her son moved there. She spent several months there to help  to care her baby granddaughter.
I'm really proud of these two postcards, 'cause not only they are nice, but they are difficult to get.

Date: May 2012

Netherlands

Lovely postcards from the Netherlands. My university friend brought me these who visited another university friend who lived in Amsterdam back then :)
Besides the its modern sentiment, unique architecture and traditional symbols, the Netherlands has a very complex and long story of art - Early Netherlandish painting, the Dutch Golden Age - therefore it is very interesting to me.

From: P. E.
Date: April 2012

Napoli

View to the Naples bay with the Vesuvius in the background

We were standing exactly in the same place from where this photo was taken.

These postcards are from my friend who has an Italian friend from Naples and as far as I remember she brought these for me upon visiting her.
I love the first card because it's truly reflects the scene in reality (Spot the Vesuvio in the background!). I was in Naples in October 2006 during the South Italian voyage with the high school. It is a very beautiful city with the same enchanting scenes of the sea - except for the tons of litter we saw on the streets. I really liked the shopping passage Galleria Umberto and the bay of course. I ate the very best pizza here, but no surprises, the pizza is said to be invented in Naples. I'd like to return to Napoli for sure.

From: K. L.
Date: February 2012

The Golden Buddha of the Wat Khao Phra Temple

This card is from a friend who went on holidays in Thailand. Thailand is pretty much the most popular holiday destination in Asia among Hungarians.
This 18 meter tall Buddha statue is seated next to the Wat Khao Phra Temple, which is an important Buddhist center. It was originally white but it was painted in gold in the course of the last thirty years. It is surrounded by seven smaller Buddha statues.

From: H. J.

Date: February 2012

Leprechauns and shamrocks

A small part of the Irish Houses of Parliament on the left and the entrance of the Trinity College on the right

These cards are from a friend who lived for many years in Kilkenny, Ireland. I liked the postcards and I couldn't imagine I would be here two years later, so I will write more about Ireland later, inspired by my experiences :)

Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher is among the most visited site of Ireland's nature. It is located completely in the opposite side off the western coast of Ireland.

Adorable Irish sheep and her lamb.

From: M. I.
Date: February 2012

Ljubljana

When my friend was at the workshop in Italy, they stopped by the capital of Slovenia too.

 Even though Slovenia is an adjacent country of Hungary, I've never discovered this country which looks very attractive, especially it's nature and landscapes. Slovenia is on the wishlist to be discovered :)

From: T. A.
Date: October 2011

Venice dawn

Woah, it's Venice again! My friend attended with her university an architecture workshop in Italy and this is a virtual souvenir of her travel :)

From: T. A.

Date: October 2011

Dream about the melting Camembert cheese

Salvador Dalí: The Persistence of Memory (1931)

Truly one of the most recognizable paintings in the world. An interesting fact is that it's more common to refer to this painting by a popular title describing the painting as 'Soft watches' which is not the real title, but easier to memorize to the philosophical Surrealist title.
Dream and the unconcious are main topics of the Surrealist movement and the painting deals with the same question. Dalí himself told that the scene was inspired by his dream of melting pieces of Camembert cheese.

Actually, Dalí had a theory on "softness and hardness" which appears in the picture through the pocket watches against the sharp branches of the dried up tree and the craggy rocks in the background. The brownish-grey form in the middle is supposedly the 'Dreamer' of the scene, but like everything regarding Dalí's work, this also remains obscure.
The The Persistence of Memory is part of the collection of the Museum of Modern Arts in New York.
Since Dalí is one of my favourites, it's a big dream to see the painting in live and the whole collection of MoMA.

From: S. Zs.

Date: November 2011

Piazza San Pietro

The Saint Peter's Square is originally a gathering place for the pilgrims who visit the head of the Catholic Church.
The piazza has thetrical features based on the principles of the Baroque theatre: one is the 'embracing arms,' the colonnades designed by the architect and artist, Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the second half of the 17th century. The colonnades are of Tuscan Doric form. The other theatrical feature is the shape of the square which gives a heightened perspective, so the visitor sees the basilica towering over the scene.
There is an ancient Egyptian obelisk in the center of the square which was moved here in from the Circus of Nero in 1586. Two fountains are placed symmetrically on the same line with the obelisk, one was designed by Bernini and the other was designed earlier by Carlo Maderno.
Bernini envisioned a third arm (terzo braccio) to close the square (where you can enter into the square, in fact) and seperate the 'sacred' Vatican from the 'profane' city of Rome. Eventually, this terzo braccio was never realized.

From: P. E.
Date: November 2011

Prague again

Another one from Prague :)

From: A. A. M.

Date: November 2011

Brandenburger Tor

The Brandenburg Gate was built in 1788-91

I've already had a Brandenburg Gate postcard with a piece of the Berlin Wall, but this one shows a then and now picture of the monument. The Brandenburg Gate is a triumphal arch, in fact, designed in Neoclassical style by Carl Gotthard Langhans.The gate was commissioned by the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm to represent peace. On the top there is a quadriga, a chariot drawn by four horses.

From: K. B.

Date: October 2011

Homecoming from Ladispoli

These cards are from the same friend who was in Ladispoli. This time she gave us these as gifts when she returned home. The hotel seems pretty nice where she worked :)

From: K. L.
Date: September 2011

Viva Las Vegas

I love this postcard but the background story makes it even better: I asked my friend to get a card for me when he was in Las Vegas and he told me it was such a struggle for him to go to the store and buy it 'cause he was so hangovered. But he managed anyway :)

From: Cs. D.

Date: August 2011

Alhambra

The Court of Lions in the Alhambra Palace

The Alhambra Palace is the most beautiful architectural complex made during the Moorish reign in the Iberian peninsula. It's name comes from Arabic "qa'lat al-Hamra" which means Red Castle. It was commissioned by Muhammad V and was constructed in the 14th century.

The Court of Lions (Patio de los Leones) has a richly detailed carved gallery made of white marble, supported by 124 columns. In the middle there's the Lion Fountain with twelve lion statues sprinkling water.

From: S. Zs.

Date: August 2011

Side

The Megale Pyle (the Main Gate), the Roman Amphiteatre, the Temple of Apollo and the bird's-eye view of the port

Side is an ancient Greek city on the Mediterranean coast, in the province of Antalya. Side is abundant in ancient ruins which provides great tourist attraction.
The Roman Amphiteatre is said to be the biggest in Antalya, it could accomodate almost 20 000 specatators. There are also ruins of the temples of Dionysos and of Apollo, baths, agora and nymphaneum - an artificial grotto.

From: P. M.

Date: August 2011

Treasures from Spain

Three different types of art: painting, printed poster and photography - they all come from Spain this time.

Pablo Picasso: Jacqueline Sitting (1954)

An easy-to-recognize work by the world's most famous artist Pablo Picasso is displayed in the Museo Picasso in Málaga, the birthplace of the artist. The collection of the museum is based on the donation of the Picasso family and was opened in 2003.

Department Store
Textiles and new merchandise

The Los Sótanos ('the Cellars') in Valencia was a department store founded in the 30s by commercial businessman Luis Feliu. Los Sótanos was selling textile goods and it welcomed its buyers in the illustrious Art Deco style building, the Edificio Martí Cortina (seen in the backdrop), built in 1934.
Sadly, Luis Feliu was also a victim of the Spanish Civil War, he and his family were executed in November 1936.
(Source: http://comercioshistoricosdevalencia.blogspot.hu/2014/07/los-sotanos-de-luis-feliu.html)

View to the Alhambra in Granada

This photo shows the very tourist experience one can have, this time it's the Alhambra palace in Granada. I'm going to write more about the palace complex in another post.

From: P. M.
Date: 2010

Füred day

My sister, her godmother and me, we spent one nice day in Füred "culturing" around. We visited the Blaha Lujza mansion, the Jókai mansion and the Vaszary mansion. In the latter, there is an exhibition of the permanent collection of the gallery, which I loved.

At the end of the day, we travelled back by ship to Balatonkenese :)

From: We to my parents
Date: August 2011

Yodelei yodelei heee-hooo!

Such a lovely postcard! I can hear the jingling of the bells of the cows :) They can trudge so peacefully. This photo perfectly shows the Swiss feeling: vibrant green mountains, cows, neat houses and cottages.
My friend has family in Switzerland, his grandfather lives in Zürich. It was during my friend visit when he got this postcard for me. The dedication is: "At least I didn't forget it. This is something! With love"

From: B. G.

Date: July 2011

Toscana

Tuscany is probably the most famous region of Italy. Due to it's historically important cities such as Florence / Firenze, Pisa, Siena, Lucca, San Gimignano and Arezzo, which were centers of culture and art as the same time, it gained attention. Even modern Italian language was born of the Tuscan dialect (dialetto toscano) by the masterpiece of Dante Alighieri, the Divine Comedy.

From: T. A.

Date: July 2011

Montepulciano

Chiesa di San Biagio

Montepulciano is a town in the province of Tuscany. This little church in the outskirts is called San Bagio, a Renaissance church with Greek Cross plan, it was designed by Antonio da Sangallo.

From: T.A.

Date: July 2011

Ladispoli

Castello di Palo

My friend went to Ladispoli to do her internship. This town is at the Tyrrhenian Sea shore, next to Rome. 

She said all the time that there was nothing but the sea and the hotel where she worked.
The Palo Castle was built in 1500 to replace an older fort in the site. The name Palo comes from the word 'Palus' which is swamps in Latin. There were big swamps around the area, that's where the name comes from. According to records, many important men from Italan history had spent time in the castle: popes and the members of the Orsini family. The castle today is a property of the Odescalchi family, as it was for a long time during history.
Even if this small town has no more sight to see, this castle is pretty interesting :)
Love the colours of this photo.

From: K. L.

Date: May 2011

Macchu Picchu

This postcard is absolutely one of the crown pieces of my collection.
The background story is that my friend spent a month in Peru and of course she took the chance to climb the Macchu Picchu.

 Fun fact is that the name means in Quechua languge: 'Old Peak.' This old peak rises 2430 meter high above sea level. The ruins of the ancient Inca Empire were declared as an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

My image of Peru comes from my childhood, namely from the Disney movie, The Emperor's New Groove.
These ancient ruins are my real Cuzcotopia.

From: M. H.

Date: April 2011

Funny Easter in Germany

Oh you stupid egg!

It was Easter time during our trip in Munich and I found some cute rabbits :)

Date: April 2011

Neuschwanstein Castle

This place is fabolous, literally.
The Neuschwanstein Castle is about 2 hours away by train from Munich. From Schwangau, a bus takes visitors to a certain point of the mountain, from where you have to climb.
I studied about the castle at the uni, that it was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria, as an honour to the composer Richard Wagner, the construction lasted until 1886. Its style follows the taste of the era, it revives different classical styles, including Romanesque and Gothic.
We took part in a guided tour inside the castle: I remember so well the artificial grotto 'cause it was so surprising! Many beautiful adorned halls and corridors, I loved it, and from the terrace you have a breathtaking panorama to the neighbouring Alpsee lake and the surrounding mountains.
Next to the castle there is a waterfall and a little narrow bridge over it.
Fun fact is that the castle influenced Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle and therefore the Disney logo itself. Fabolous, I told you ;)

Date: April 2011

The Munich Trip

And finally... it was the time when we went to Munich! :)
It was in my final semester of the Bachelor degree, the semester at the uni where the protagonist is the 30 pages long thesis which had to be completed by the 15 April. I remember I was totally fed up, I finally handed it in and the day after we took the train to Munich to visit my friend :)
My first impression of the city was: 'Oh my, it's so tidy!' Our friends took us everywhere in the city: the Frauenkirche, the Olympiapark, the English Garden, we saw the BMW headquarters, the Maximilianeum, the Glyptotek, the Leopold Triumphal Arch. To my favor, my dear friends came also to the Alte Pinakothek with me to take a look around :) We also spent one day at the Neuschwanstein Castle.
My favourite was the English Garden and the Olympiapark where there was a beautiful pink cherry blossom tree, blooming :)
These four days were spent pleasantly.

Date: April 2011

Destination: München

My friend finally moved to Munich with her boyfriend for a longer period. This is the first Munich postcard which she sent to me from her new place :)
Schwabing is a borough in the northern part of the city.

From: H. Á.

Date: March 2011

It's ski time!

A lovely postcard depicting a ski resort in the Tatra Mountains in Poland, where my friend went on skiing. Even though I've never been to skiing, I can feel the its atmosphere from this photo and the warmth of the cabins :)

From: K. L.

Date: March 2011

Hundertwasserhaus

This postcard is one of my favourites :) It's big!
The Hundertwasserhaus is absolutely my favourite landscape of Vienna.
The building is a realization of one of the magnificent ideas of Friedensreich Hundertwasser. The Austrian artist was primarily a painter but he was also interested in architecture. He designed the building with the help of architect Josef Krawina, and the planner was Peter Pelikan and it was built between 1983-85.
It's a fairytale all in all, the colourful blocks and the forested rooftop terrace are amazing.
Background story: We travelled to Vienna to watch the Frida Kahlo exhibition and during our excursion we visited the Hundertwasserhaus too.

Date: December 2010

Un gatto di Roma & Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi

A cat in the Colosseum

My friend was so nice she brought me two postcards from her Rome trip. The first one is an iconic scene from the Colosseum which has many of the feline inhabitants.

We also had a calendar of the topic: Gatti di Roma which translates: Cats of Rome - cats captured at all important monuments of the city.

The Ganges from the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi with the Sant' Agnese in Agone in the background

The fountain was designed by the artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The figures of the fountain bear symbolic meaning that is really interesting: the figures are river-gods representing the longest rivers known at the time when the fountain was built in 1651. Those rivers are the Danube, the Ganges, the Nile and the Río de la Plata. Each river, at the same time, represents a continent.
The Danube touches the pope's coat of arms, since it's the river closest to the Vatican. It has flowers at the base reflecting the fertility of the Danubian plains. The Ganges carries a long oar referring the river's navigability. The Nile, accompanied by a palm tree, can be seen with his head covered, a metaphor that at that time, no one knew exactly where its source was. The Río de la Plata has a pile of coins at the base, referring the sources of precious metal of South America, therefore the richness that it can offer to Europe ('Plata' in Spanish means silver). The Río de la Plata is scared by a snake, an allegory of rich people's fear that their money can be stolen. An Egyptian obelisk is placed in the center, it was reused from the ancient Roman Circus of Maxentius.

From: K. L.

Date: November 2010