Canals
The Amsterdam canal system is the result of conscious city planning. In the early 17th century, when immigration was at a peak, a comprehensive plan was developed that was based on four concentric half-circles of canals with their ends emerging at the IJ bay. The canals served for defence, water management and transport. The defences took the form of a moat and earthen dikes, with gates at transit points, but otherwise no masonry superstructures. The original plans have been lost, so historians, need to speculate on the original intentions: it is thought that the considerations of the layout were purely practical and defensive rather than ornamental.
Construction started in 1613 and proceeded from west to east, across the breadth of the layout and not from the centre outwards, as a popular myth has it. The canal construction in the southern sector was completed by 1656. Subsequently, the construction of residential buildings proceeded slowly. The eastern part of the concentric canal plan, covering the area between the Amstel river and the IJ bay, has never been implemented. In the following centuries, the land was used for parks, senior citizens' homes, theatres, other public facilities, and waterways without much planning. Over the years, several canals have been filled in, becoming streets or squares.
A beautiful stamp. (sent from the United Arab Emirates)
Received from: hagaki
Magere Brug - Skinny Bridge
The Magere Brug ("Skinny Bridge") is a bridge over the river Amstel in the city centre of Amsterdam. The central section of the Magere Brug is a bascule bridge made of white-painted wood. The present bridge was built in 1934. The first bridge at this site was built in 1691 as Kerkstraatbrug and had 13 arches. Because this bridge was very narrow, the locals called it magere brug, which literally means "skinny bridge". In 1871 the state of the bridge was so bad that it was demolished and replaced by a nine-arched wooden bridge. Fifty years later this bridge also needed to be replaced. Architect Piet Kramer made several designs for a steel and stone bridge, but the city decided to replace it with a new bridge that looked the same as the previous, only slightly bigger. In 1934 the bridge was demolished and replaced. The last major renovation was in 1969. Until 1994 the bridge was opened by hand, but now is opened automatically. Use of the bridge has been limited to pedestrians and cyclists since 2003. It is however opened many times a day in order to let through river traffic. The boats used for sightseeing tours are low enough to pass underneath the bridge when closed. The bridge is decorated with 1200 light bulbs that are turned on in the evening.
A beautiful stamp.
Received from: post4hanneke
Rambutans and Durians
The rambutan is a medium-sized tropical tree. fruit produced by the tree is also known as "rambutan." It is one of the best known fruits of Southeast Asia. The fruit are usually sold fresh, used in making jams and jellies, or canned.
Evergreen rambutan trees with their abundant coloured fruit make beautiful
landscape specimens.
The durian is the fruit of several tree species
belonging to the genus Durio and
the Malvaceae family. Widely known
and revered in southeast
Asia as the "king of fruits", the durian is distinctive for its large size,
unique odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk. The fruit can grow as large as 30 centimetres
(12 in) long and 15 centimetres (6 in) in diameter, and it typically weighs one
to three kilograms (2 to 7 lb). Its shape ranges from oblong to round, the
colour of its husk green to brown, and its flesh pale yellow to red, depending
on the species.
Beautiful stamps.
Received from: Lufra
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan
Peninsula. The outlook of Sofia combines a wide range of arhitectural styles, some of
which are hardly compatible. These vary from Christian Roman architecture and
medieval Bulgar fortresses to Neoclassicism and prefabricated Socialist-era
apartment blocks. A number of ancient Roman, Byzantine and
medieval Bulgarian buildings are preserved in the centre of the city. These
include the 10th century Boyana Church (a World Heritage Site), the 4th century Rotunda of St. George, the walls of
the Serdica fortress and the partially preserved Amphitheatre of Serdica.
A nice stamp.
Received from: ceruleanmind
Nevada Lodge
On the back of this retro card you can read:
Discover Lake Tahoe's
Nevada Lodge
offering you ... a glittering treasure of holiday fun ... round the clock ... through all the year!
100 beautiful rooms - outdoor heated pool and pavilion - glamorous theater bar - ultramodern coffee shop - the friendliest casino in Nevada
Beautiful stamps.
Received from: WRITE SHOP ROBERT
Travel Card
No matter where you turn in the United States you’ll come across some sort of famous landmark. Some are famous locally, while others are well-known across the entire country. I hope I will have opportunity to visit some of them in future.
Beautiful stamps.
Received from: EvansCrew
Ride the Trolley
The Kenosha Electric Railway (KERy) was a street railway serving
the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA, from February 3, 1903, through February 14,
1932. Although it had several owners, the original name was used throughout its
history and is still unofficially attached to the current streetcar line in
Kenosha. In 1932 the Kenosha system was converted to electric trolley buses, making Kenosha an
early user of these vehicles for all transit operations (both Ipswich and
Darlington in the UK converted entirely to trolley buses in 1926). Kenosha also
utilized color-coding for transit routes, a more common practice in horsecar days but used by Glasgow on
its electric cars from the beginning. At the turn of the 21st century, Kenosha constructed a modern electric streetcar system
utilizing historic PCC
streetcars.
Nice stamps.
Received from: Arianna Valori
Ford
Ford Motor Company (also known as simply Ford) is an American multinational automaker headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand and luxury cars under the Lincoln brand. In the past it has also produced heavy trucks, tractors and automotive components.
Received from: 4ajka
les oeufs à la coque
Boiled eggs are eggs (typically chickens' eggs) cooked by immersion in
boiling water with their shells unbroken. Hard-boiled eggs are either boiled
long enough for the egg white
and then the egg yolk to solidify, or they are left in hot
water to cool down, which will gradually solidify them, while a soft-boiled egg
yolk, and sometimes even the white, remains at least partially liquid. The egg timer was so-named
due to its common usage in timing the boiling of eggs. Boiled eggs are a popular
breakfast food in many countries
around the world. There are variations both in desired doneness and in the method of how eggs are
boiled, and a variety of kitchen gadgets for eggs exist. Boiled eggs may be served loose, in an eggcup, in an indentation in a plate
(particularly a presentation platter of deviled eggs), cut with a knife widthwise, cut
lengthwise, cut with a knife or tapped open with a spoon at either end, or
peeled (and optionally sliced, particularly if hard-boiled, either manually or
with an egg slicer).
Nice stamps.
Received from: Kimototo
Last week I sent an official card to the Netherlands, I send a lot of cards there. When it was registered I received an e-mail with a wonderful offer of old Dutch stamps. A week later I found an envelope in my mailbox and it was full of Dutch stamps. Thanks a lot Frans. I hope you'll soon receive my old Czechoslovakia stamps and Czech stamps.
And there were nice stamps on the envelope, too.
