Carisbrooke Castle in the Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is the largest island of England, exactly in the middle on the southern coastline. Due to its good location, it became a spot for holiday resorts.

The main sight of the island is the Carisbrooke Castle, exactly in the center of the island. Excavation findings suggest that there was already a fortification on the site during the Roman Empire. A remarkable part of the castle is the well-house, operated by donkeys :) Like a hamster in a wheel, a donkey is walking in the giant wheel to make the well work.

In this postcard, you can see the operator guys posing together for a photo :)

Date: April 2001

The Gayer-Anderson Cat

This Bastet statuette is an outstanding example of ancient Egyptian art created around 7th-4th century BC. The delicately elaborated cat is made of bronze, executed by the lost wax technique which was a common method used in the antiquity. The ring ornaments are made of gold. The cat figure sports some symbolic ornaments as well: a scarab bulges on her forehead and a winged scarab is carved on her chest, which connects to the protective wadjet amulet on her neck. Scarabs are the symbols of the Sun God Ra. The statuette itself is 34 centimeters tall and it has a supporting base as well.
Officially, it is called the Gayer-Anderson cat, because it was gifted to the British Museum in 1939 by R.G. John Gayer-Anderson and Mary Stout.

Basic information:
https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=153429&partId=1&searchText=YCA25417&page=1

Date: April 2001

Windsor

This postcard marks my first major trip abroad without any parental control :)
There were organized school trips every spring to the United Kingdom and when I was 11 years old, my parents sent me to one of these. I was very happy and it became a very sweet memory.
We traveled to England by bus and we visited all the places with the same vehicle. Our accomodation was in the so-called mobile home caravans, which have very thin cardboard walls and the whole thing is very cramped. The only heating is in the living room so you'd definitely freeze all night long. But it has a romantic atmosphere anyways :)

I was not into postcards very much that time, but even though I bought four pieces for myself. One is from Windsor, to where I've returned later. Windsor is a historic market town 35 kilometers from London, famous for the royal residence, the Windsor Castle. It has an adjacent park where you can chill out in good weather. Windsor is a nice little town to walk, it is worth to visit if you happen to be in England.

Clockwise from top left: Swans on the River Thames, Windsor Castle, Windsor Bridge and Saint George's Chapel with guards standing in the foreground.

Date: April 2001

Miskolctapolca

Miskolctapolca is a holiday resort famous for the Cave Bath.

We spent 3 days here at the end of February 2013 with my family :)

Date: February 2013

Miskolc

At the end of the first semester of my Erasmus year, I came home to spend a whole month at home. The winter was very harsh in 2013, it was snowing at the end of February, when we went on a winter vacation with my family to Miskolctapolca, a holiday resort.

Officially, it is part of the regional center Miskolc, which is the fourth-largest city, located in the northeastern part of Hungary. The city is economically important for its heavy industry.
From top to down: Szent István square with a fountain in the foreground, the statue of István Széchenyi, the statue of Lajos Kossuth and the City Hall Square.

Date: February 2013

Chichʼen Itzaʼ

This is my first postcard I've ever received from Mexico, one of my ultimate bucket list places. It's not only a dream coming only from mere sympathy, upon seeing the photos of the beautiful places this country has, it roots in my research on the painter Frida Kahlo, which dates back to my university studies and continued in the very first Frida Kahlo exhibition held in Hungary :)
Kahlo's art is intertwined with Pre-hispanic or Pre-Columbian culture, the era before the European conquest of the Americas. Chichen Itzá is one of the iconic cities of that era in the Yucatán Peninsula.

Chichen Itzá is an ancient Mayan city, established ca. 500 AD. The city's name means "At the mouth of the well of the Itza." It flourished as the regional capital between 800 and 1000, then declined by around 1250.

One of the key sights to see is the El Castillo, or the Temple of Kukulcan, a step-pyramid built to the god Kukulkan, the Yucatec Maya Feathered Serpent deity. The pyramid was built between from the 9th to 12th centuries. The stepped pyramid base is 24 meters tall and there is a 6 meter tall temple on the top. Plumed serpent sculptures, Kukulkan depictions, run down the sides of the northern balustrade which can be seen on the left detail photo.
During the 1930s, archeological excavations were performed and many religious and sacrificial object were discovered inside the pyramid. Among them, an exceptional Red Jaguar throne was found.

Chichen Itzá is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1988 and El Castillo was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.

From: P. E.
Date: February 2013

Vintage Balatonfüred

A vintage style postcard of Balatonfüred, conmemorating its first mention in a written record, namely the establishing charter of the abbey of Tihany in 1211. 

So this postcard was originally issued in 2011.

From: P. E.
Date: February 2013

Belgian Beer

Belgian beer is world famous and the culture of beer brewing in Belgium dates back to the middle ages. Beer brewing nowadays are traditionally done by Trappist monasteries and monks.

There are infinite varieties of Belgian beer, I've also tried them myself when I visited the country and at home as well, because they are very popular in Hungary. I prefer the kriek lambic which are fermented with sour Morello cherries :)
Belgian beer culture, deservedly, was acknowledged as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity by the UNESCO in 2016.

From: W. J.
Date: February 2013

Göteborg

Lilla Bomen harbour by night

Göteborg in local Swedish, or Gothenburg in English is the second-largest city of Sweden. It is situated in the southwestern part of the country, at the mouth of the Götä älv, the Götä River, hence its name.
This postcard shows the Lilla Bomen harbour. Lilla Bomen means 'Small Boom' in Swedish.
From left to right: the Barken Viking, the biggest sailing ship ever built in Scandinavia (1906), the eponymous Lilla Bomen post-modern high-rise, referred by the locals as The Lipstick (Läppstiftet) and the Göteborg Opera House.

From: H. Á.
Date: January 2013