GERMANY - LIGHTHOUSES

Lighthouse Westerhever

One of the most beautiful lighthouses on the german coast is undoubtedly the Westerhever one. Situated prominently on the tip of the peninsula of Eiderstedt on the german northwest coast, it often stars in various advertisements and is one of the most photographed buildings in this area.

 

A nice stamp.

Received from: Steffelchen

 

 

 

 

Lighthouse near Neuendorf

 

It is situated on the Isle of Heddensee in the Baltic Sea in the north of Germany.

 

Nice stamps.

Received from: Tigerente01

Molenfeuer

This lighthouse, called "Molenfeuer", meaning "Breakwater Lighthouse" is now far away from its breakwater. It was originally built in 1963 as part of the construction of East Germany's main sea port Rostock-Warnemünde. Until 1983, it was located at Warnemünde's main breakwater. In 1983, it was replaced by a new lighthouse (on the postcard) and moved to the town's Maritime Museum. In 2003, the town hosted the International Gardening Exhibition. After the exhibition ended, the area was turned into a permanent, public park and the old lighthouse – as a loan from the Maritime Museum - marks the center of the park. The lighthouse is 41 feet high and was moved 3.25 miles inland from its original location.

 

 

Nice stamps.

Received from: Werdergirl 

Pilsum Lighthouse

The Pilsum Lighthouse was built in 1891 on Germany's North Sea coast. It is located on a dyke near the village of Pilsum in the municipality of Krummhörn. It has guided ships through the narrow channel since 1915. In the First World War its light was extinguished in order that enemy ships could not navigate the route. After that it was no longer needed, because the channel was changed. The height of the structure is 11 metres; the height of the light about sea level is 15 metres. Today the tower is one of the best-known symbols of East Frisia.

 

Nice stamps.

REceived from: Willi

GERMANY - CASTLES

Trifels Castle

Trifels Castle is a medieval castle at an elevation of 500 m (1,600 ft) near the small town of Annweiler, in the Palatinate region of southwestern Germany. It is located high above the Queich valley within the Palatinate Forest on one peak of a red sandstone mountain split into three. Trifels Castle is also famous as the site where King Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart) was imprisoned after he was captured by Duke Leopold V of Austria near Vienna in December 1192 on his return from the Third Crusade. The present-day castle is in large parts not true to the medieæval original. It is characterized by a large well tower outside the ring wall, linked to the castle by a bridge. The surrounding rocky landscape is a popular venue for mountaineers.

 

 

 

 

 

A nice stamp.

Received from: Eisi21

GERMANY - OTHERS

Solar system map

It's an old map of solar system but I have no information about this picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A nice stamp.

Received from: Somersault

Playing with a dog

Nice stamps.

Received from: Magdalena271

WHERE'S WALLY

Where's Wally?, published in the United States and Canada as Where's Waldo?, is a series of children's bookS created by BritisH illustrator Martin Handford. The books consist of a series of detailed double-page spread illustrations depicting dozens or more people doing a variety of amusing things at a given location. Readers are challenged to find a character named Wally hidden in the group. Wally's distinctive red-and-white striped shirt, bobble hat, and glasses make him slightly easier to recognise, but many illustrations contain "red herrings" involving deceptive use of red-and-white striped objects. Later entries in the long-running book series added other targets for readers to find in each illustration. The first book in the series, titled Where's Wally, was published in 1987. The books became extremely popular and were localised for many different territories, with name changes for Wally in certain regions.

 

Nice stamps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Received from: IrMSt

VINTAGE REPRINTS - CITYVIEWS

Mannheim

 

Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. It is located at the confluence of the River Rhine and the River Neckar in the northwestern corner of Baden-Württemberg. Paradeplatz is in the center of the city, pedestrians-only, a small park, surrounded by shops, restaurants and everything you can imagine.

A beautiful stamp.

Received from: schoolbag

Herringboot in Haarlemmerstraat

Haarlemmerstraat now has a selection of specialist food stores, wine merchants, boutiques and a number of cafes and restaurants. By day it is crowded with shoppers browsing specialty shops and vintage clothing stores. There is a health drink bar, a bakery, and a chocolate shop, restaurants, and a charming cinema called The Movies. Bars and nightclubs attract the night crowd.

A nice stamp.

Received from: JJV

Hamburg

Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany, the thirteenth largest German state, and the sixth-largest city in the European Union. Situated on the river Elbe, the port of Hamburg is the second largest port in Europe (after the Port of Rotterdam) and 11th-largest worldwide. Hamburg has architecturally significant buildings in a wide range of styles and only a few skyscrapers. Churches are important landmarks, such as St. Nicholas's church, which in the 19th century was the world's tallest building. The skyline of Hamburg features the tall spires of the most important churches (Hauptkirchen) St. Michael's Church (nicknamed “Michel"), St. Peter's Church, St. James's (St. Jacobi) and St. Catherine's Church covered with copper plates, and of course the Heinrich-Hertz-Turm, the radio and television tower (no longer publicly accessible). The many streams, rivers and canals in Hamburg are crossed by over 2300 bridges, more than London, Amsterdam and Venice put together.

 

Nice stamps.

Received from: kimatoto

Minden an der Weser

 

Minden is a town in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town extends along both sides of the River Weser. It is widely known as the intersection of the Mittelland Canal and the River Weser. The town is over 1,200 years old and has many buildings in the Weser Renaissance style, in addition to its architecturally symbolic 1,000 year old cathedral. The postcard shows the town in the 1930s.

 

 

A nice stamp.

Received from: bluecatfini

BIG WILD ANIMALS

Europian bison

The European bison, also known as wisent or the European wood bison, is a Eurasian species of bison. It is the heaviest surviving wild land animal in Europe. European bison were hunted to extinction in the wild, with the last wild animals being shot in the Białowieża Forest in Eastern Poland in 1919 and in the Western Caucasus in 1927, but have since been reintroduced from captivity into several countries in Europe, all descendants of the Białowieża or lowland European bison. They are now forest-dwelling.

 

Nice stamps.

Received from: obernikhin

Deer

Deer are widely distributed, with indigenous representatives in all continents except Antarctica and Australia, though Africa has only one native species, the Red Deer, confined to the Atlas Mountains in the northwest of the continent. However, Fallow Deer have been introduced to South Africa. Deer live in a variety of biomes ranging from tundra to the tropical rainforest. While often associated with forests, many deer are ecotone species that live in transitional areas between forests and thickets (for cover) and prairie and savanna (open space). The majority of large deer species inhabit temperate mixed deciduous forest, mountain mixed coniferous forest, tropical seasonal/dry forest, and savanna habitats around the world.

 

A beautiful stamp. 

Received from: shica

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice stamps.

Received from: Kaate

Alpine Ibex

The Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) is a species of wild goat that lives in the mountains of the European Alps. In its habitat region, the species is known as bouquetin (French), Steinbock (German), stambecco (Italian), and kozorog (Slovenian). Being an excellent climber, its habitat is the rocky region along the snowline above alpine forests, where it occupies steep, rough terrain at elevations of 1,800 to 3,300 metres (5,900 to 10,800 ft). Alpine ibexes are strictly herbivorous, with over half of their diet consisting of grasses, and the remainder being a mixture of moss, flowers, leaves, and twigs.

The need to drink every few days in the summer causes the animals to seek permanent residence close to a dependable water source during this season. Alpine ibexes will hide in the rocks of the steep cliffs when pursued by predators. The climbing ability of the Alpine ibex is such that it has been observed standing on the sheer face of a dam, where it licks the stonework to obtain mineral salts.

 

A beautiful stamp.

Received from: Lionheart2010

Another postcards with beautiful stamps.

Received from: tinkara

WATER ANIMALS

Dolphins

These offshore dolphins are found in pods ranging from a few animals to several hundreds. They are small, fast, and agile and the calves can keep up with their mothers from an early age. Common dolphin often breach and bow ride with boats, displaying the very distinctive figure of eight pattern on their sides. Frenzied activity may be seen when a group of dolphins work together to drive shoaling fish to the surface, often attracting seabirds such as gannets.

 

 

 

 

 

Nice stamps.

Received from: Ichabodhides

 

 

 

 

 

 

A nice stamp.

Received from: saartwinkel

 

  

Seals

Seals can be found in all waters of the world, from the Arctic and Antarctic to tropical waters. They belong to the order Pinnipedia, which means "fin-footed". Pinnipeds have four flippers - one pair in front, and one pair in back. Pinnipeds are mammals. They're warm-blooded, give live birth, nurse their young, breathe air, and have hair. Eared seals (sea lions and fur seals) have external ear flaps and are able to use their flippers for walking on land by rotating their hind flippers forward. While swimming, they use their front flippers for power. All seals are carnivores. Their diet consists mostly of fish, crustaceans and shellfish.

Beautiful stamps.

Received from: Nordfriesland

Saimaan norppa

The Saimaa ringed seal is a subspecies of ringed seal. They are among the most endangered seals in the world, having a total population of only about 310 individuals. The only existing population of these seals is found in Lake Saimaa, Finland (hence the name). The population is descended from ringed seals that were separated from the rest when the land rose after the last ice age. This seal, along with the Ladoga Seal and the Baikal Seal, is one of the few living freshwater seals. They are coloured dark gray, with a gray-black dorsal with circular white rings. The Saimaa ringed seal has been protected since 1955. In order to protect the Saimaa ringed seal, there are voluntary fisheries restrictions in a part of their living areas.

Finnish EUROPA stamp.

Received from: Saint

FLOWERS AND BERRIES

Tulips

Tulips are spring-blooming perennials that grow from bulbs. Depending on the species, tulip plants can grow as short as 4 inches (10 cm) or as high as 28 inches (71 cm). The tulip's large flowers usually bloom on scapes or subscapose stems that lack bracts. Most tulips produce only one flower per stem, but a few species bear multiple flowers on their scapes. Tulip flowers come in a wide variety of colors, except pure blue. Although tulips are often associated with the Netherlands, commercial cultivation of the flower began in the Ottoman Empire.

A nice stamp.

Received from: rispa

 

Lily

Lilies form an important group of flowering garden plants and are important in culture and literature in much of the world. A few species are sometimes grown or harvested for the edible bulbs. The species in genus Lilium are true lilies. Many other plants have "lily" in their common names, some of which are quite unrelated to true lilies. Lilies are leafy stemmed herbs. They form naked or tunic-less scaly underground bulbs which are their overwintering organs. Mostspecies are native to the temperate northern hemisphere, though their range extends into the northern subtropics.

A nice stamp.

Received from: pooh12411

Comparing with each other's height

Beautiful stamps.

Received from: mii00017

The Butchart Gardens

The Butchart Gardens is a group of floral display gardens in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada, located near Victoria on Vancouver Island. The gardens receive more than a million visitors each year. The gardens have been designated a National Historic Site of Canada due to their international renown. Each year over 50,000 additional bulbs are imported from Holland to add to the spectacular spring display. All 50 acres of gardens are open year-round, and night illuminated early May through September.

Beautiful stamps.

Received from: linny4570

Poppy

A poppy is one of a group of a flowering plants in the poppy family, many of which are grown in gardens for their colorful flowers. Poppies are sometimes used for symbolic reasons, such as in remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime. Poppies have long been used as a symbol of sleep, peace, and death: sleep because of the opium extracted from them, and death because of the common blood-red color of the red poppy in particular. A second interpretation of poppies in Classical mythology is that the bright scarlet colour signifies a promise of resurrection after death. Ancient Egyptian doctors would have their patients eat seeds from a poppy to relieve pain. Modern science tells us why this worked: poppy seeds contain both morphine and codeine, excellent pain-relieving drugs that are still used today. The girl's given name Poppy is taken from the flower.

Beautiful stamps.

Received from: Ponamka

 

 

Cloudberries

The ripe fruits are golden-yellow, soft and juicy, and are rich in vitamin C. When eaten fresh, cloudberries have a distinctive tart taste. When over-ripe, they have a creamy texture somewhat like yogurt and a sweetened flavour. They are often made into jams, juices, tarts, and liqueurs. In Finland, the berries are eaten with "leipäjuusto" (a local cheese; the name translates to "bread-cheese"), and lots of cream and sugar. In Sweden, cloudberries or cloudberry jam, are used as topping for ice cream, pancakes and waffles. In Norway, they are often mixed with whipped cream and sugar to be served as a dessert called "multekrem" (Cloudberry cream), as a jam or even as an ingredient on home made ice cream. They may also be added to cakes that often contain marzipan.

In Canada, cloudberries are used to flavour a special beer. Canadians also use them for jam, but not on the same scale as Scandinavians. In Alaska, the berries are mixed with seal oil, reindeer or caribou fat (which is diced up and made fluffy with the seal oil) and sugar to make "Eskimo Ice Cream" or Agutak. The recipes vary by region. Along the Yukon and Kuskokwim river areas, white fish (pike, whitefish) along with shortening and sugar is used. Due to its high vitamin C content, the berry is valued both by Nordic seafarers and by the Inuit as protection against scurvy. Its benzoic acid content acts as a natural preservative. Tea made from cloudberry leaves was used in ancient Scandinavian herbal medicine to cure urinary tract infections.

A nice stamp.

Received from: onneli78

Rhododendron

Rhododendron is a genus of over 1000 species of woody plants in the heath family. Most species have showy flowers. Rhododendron is a genus characterized by shrubs and small to (rarely) large trees. They may be either evergreen or deciduous. In some species, the undersides of the leaves are covered with scales (lepidote) or hairs (indumentum). Some of the best known species are noted for their many clusters of large flowers. There are alpine species with small flowers and small leaves, and tropical species such as section Vireya that often grow as epiphytes. Species in this genus may be part of the heath complex in oak-heath forests in eastern North America.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A nice stamp.

Received from: smoggyfrog

SMALL WILD ANIMALS

Badger

Badgers have rather short, fat bodies, with short legs built for digging. Their ears are small, and they have elongated weasel-like heads, their tails vary in length depending on species, the stink badger has a very short tail, while the ferret badger's tail can be 18 to 20 inches (46 to 51 cm) long, depending on age. They have black faces with distinctive white markings, their bodies are gray with a light-colored stripe from their head to their tail, they have dark legs with light colored stomachs. They grow to around 35 inches (89 cm) in length including tail. The European badger is one of the largest; the American badger, the hog badger and the honey badger are similar in size and weight, though generally a little smaller and lighter. The stink badgers are smaller still, and the ferret badgers are the smallest of all. The behavior of badgers differs by family, but all shelter underground, living in burrows called setts, which may be very extensive. Some are solitary, moving from home to home, while others are known to form clans. Clan size is variable from two to 15.

 

Nice stamps.

Received from: HoopsandYoyo

 

European Polecat

It is of a generally dark brown colour, with a pale underbelly and a dark mask across the face. Occasionally, colour mutations, including albinos and erythrists, occur. The winter fur of the European polecat is brownish-black or blackish-brown, the intensity of which is determined by the colour of the long guard hairs. Compared to weasels and minks, the polecat has a shorter, more compact body, a more powerfully built skull and dentition, and is less agile in its movements. The polecat is a good swimmer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice stamps.

Received from: tav

Marmot

Marmots typically live in burrows (often within rockpiles, particularly in the case of the yellow-bellied marmot), and hibernate there through the winter. Most marmots are highly social, and use loud whistles to communicate with one another, especially when alarmed. Marmots mainly eat greens and many types of grasses, berries, lichens, mosses, roots and flowers.

 

A nice stamp.

Received from: Anja74

Squirrel

Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. Squirrels live in almost every habitat from tropical rainforest to semiarid desert, avoiding only the high polar regions and the driest of deserts. They are predominantly herbivorous, subsisting on seeds and nuts, but many will eat insects and even small vertebrates. As their large eyes indicate, squirrels generally have an excellent sense of vision, which is especially important for tree-dwelling species. They also have very versatile and sturdy claws for grasping and climbing. Many also have a good sense of touch, with vibrissae on their heads and limbs. The teeth of sciurids follow the typical rodent pattern, with large gnawing incisors that grow throughout life

 

 

Nice stamps.

Received from: Ere

 

 

A nice stamp.

Received from: Furiosa

 

 

Hedgehog

The European hedgehog, or common hedgehog, is a hedgehog species found in northern and western Europe. It is a common and well-known species, and is a favourite in European gardens, both for its unique, cute appearance and its insectivorous habits. The European hedgehog is found in woodland, meadows and grassland, favouring border areas between these various habitats. Now, few hedgehogs reside in truly wild, remote regions. Instead they frequent the green edges of areas inhabited by humans. They are common in orchards, vineyards, farmland, parks and gardens, including those in urban areas.

 

 

 

A nice stamp.

Received from: Eemelii