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

Bergamo

Piazza Vecchia and the Campanone

I received this beautiful postcard in the very last days of the first semester of Erasmus. My flatmate and another friend visited Bergamo as a goodbye trip. 

Bergamo is a small city very close to Milano. It has an international airport on which I arrived to Italy a couple of times.

The Piazza Vecchia and the Civic tower – the Campanone, in Italian – can be seen in the postcard. The Campanone is 53 meter-high and provides a nice panorama to the old town. The tower houses the largest bell in whole Lombardy region.

From: K. W., D. P.
Date: January 2013

Verona

Clockwise from top left to right: Lamberti Tower, Piazza Erbe from the Lamberti Tower, the Arena, Ponte Scaligero, Ponte Pietra

A week after the Lake Como excursion, another dear friend came to visit me in Milano. Those days were quite busy :) The city we chose to visit that time was Verona.

Verona is located in the Veneto region of Italy, the city of Romeo & Juliet. Shakespeare set his famous play in Verona and the city feeds on its fame until today. 

We visited Juliet's House (Casa di Giulietta), which has a romantic balcony. The House is the monument of love, where lovers write their names on the wall, put colourful lockets on the gate to protest their love for each other and even stick chewing gums on the wall – eww. When you enter to the house, there is a nice, lean-figured bronze statue of Juliet, standing in the courtyard. Urban legend has it if you touch the right breast of Juliet, it brings you good luck in love. The statue was placed there in 1972, but thanks to this strange custom, it was necessary to be removed in 2014, due to conservational reasons. (I touched the original breast, yaay!)

I found Verona very charming, its bridges on the Adige river, which we walked along, the Portoni della Bra and the antique Arena, built in the 1st century AD. Due to its high number of historical buildings, the city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000.

Date: January 2013