Mount McKinley National Park - Bemidji, Minnesota

Denali National Park and Preserve, formerly known as Mount McKinley National Park, is an American national park and preserve located in Interior Alaska, centred on Denali, the highest mountain in North America. Denali's landscape is a mix of forest at the lowest elevations, including deciduous taiga, with tundra at middle elevations, and glaciers, snow, and bare rock at the highest elevations. 

 

#72 FOTW - Moroni, Comoros

The national flag of the Union of the Comoros was designed in 2001 and officially adopted on 23 December of that year. It continues to display the crescent and four stars, which is a motif that has been in use in various forms since 1975 during the independence movement. 

The design consists of a white crescent with four white five-pointed stars inside of a green triangle. The flag has four stripes, representing the four main islands of the nation: yellow for Mohéli, white for Mayotte (a French department claimed by the Comoros), red for Anjouan and blue for Grande Comore. The four stars on the flag also symbolize the four islands. The star and crescent, as well as the colour green on the flag, symbolise their main religion, Islam.

 

Postcrossing Meeting in Zhengzhou - Zhengzhou, China

The city lies on the southern bank of the Yellow River. Zhengzhou is a major hub of China's national transportation network, with railways connecting Zhengzhou to Europe and an international airport. Zhengzhou is a National Civilized City and a State-list Famous Historical and Culture City.

 

Tausendschön PK697 - Karlsruhe, Germany

Karlsruhe is the third-largest city of the German state (Land) of Baden-Württemberg after its capital Stuttgart and Mannheim. It is also a former capital of Baden, a historic region named after Hohenbaden Castle in the city of Baden-Baden. Karlsruhe is Germany's legal centre, being home to the Federal Constitutional Court, the Federal Court of Justice and the Public Prosecutor General of the Federal Court of Justice.

 

"Henryk Rutkowski" sailing ship - Kołobrzeg, Poland

"Henryk Rutkowski" - Brigantine, built at the Fishery-Shipyard in Gdynia (1951); L with jib-boom 28.5 m, B 6.4 m, sail-area 337 square meters. Sailship of the Schooling Centre of the Polish Sailing Union in Trzebież.

Kapitan Głowacki - a sailing ship named after Włodzimierz Głowacki (until 1997 the yacht was called Henryk Rutkowski in honour of the communist activist Henryk Rutkowski).

Postcrossing Meetup Wuxi and Singapore - Singapore

Singapore has the second highest population density of any country in the world, although there are numerous green and recreational spaces due to urban planning. With a multicultural population and in recognition of the cultural identities of the major ethnic groups within the nation, Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. 

Wuxi is a historically and culturally prominent city and has been a thriving economic centre since ancient times as a production and export hub of rice, silk and textiles. In the last few decades, it has emerged as a major producer of electrical motors, software, solar technology and bicycle parts. The city lies in the southern delta of the Yangtze River and on Lake Tai, which with its 48 islets is popular with tourists.

 

#71 GF - Seoul, South Korea

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving punching and kicking techniques. The literal translation for taekwondo is "kicking", "punching", and "the art or way of". It sometimes involves the use of weapons.

 

Postcrossing Meeting in Kassel - Kassel, Germany

Kassel is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, in central Germany. The former capital of the state of Hesse-Kassel has many palaces and parks, including the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kassel is also known for the Documenta exhibitions of contemporary art. 

 

#71 FOTW - Moscow, Russia

At the time of Alexander III of Russia, the official interpretation was as follows: the white colour symbolizes nobility and frankness; the blue for faithfulness, honesty, impeccability, and chastity; and the red for courage, generosity, and love. A common unofficial interpretation was: Red: Great Russia, White: White Russia, Blue: Little Russia.

The federal constitutional law of the Russian Federation only says that the colours of the flag are "white", "blue" (синий, or dark blue, as Russian has two colours that are called "blue" in English), and "red". The Federal Constitutional Law on the State Flag of the Russian Federation does not specify which shades the colours should be. 

 

Roman Holiday poster - Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Roman Holiday is a 1953 American romantic comedy film directed and produced by William Wyler. It stars Audrey Hepburn as a princess out to see Rome on her own and Gregory Peck as a reporter. Hepburn won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance; the story and costume design also won.

 

Large Letter Reprint - Saint Louis, Missouri

Nicknames: Show Me State, Cave State and Mother of the West

Motto: Let the good of the people be the supreme law

In 1860, a line was launched from St. Joseph in Missouri to Sacramento in California, the "Pony Express" courier route - riders covered a distance of 3,000 kilometres in 10 days. km.

Although Mark Twain described the Mississippi River in his books, his hometown lies on the Missouri River. A museum is dedicated to him in the house in Hannibal, where he spent his childhood.

 

Madeira map - Funchal, Madeira

The wine culture appeared during early settlement, through the incentives from Henry the Navigator. By 1455, the Venetian navigator, Luís de Cadamosto, on visiting Madeira, referred to the excellence of the Madeirense wines, principally the Malvasia castes from the island of Crete, which were being exported in greater numbers. By the end of the 16th century, the celebrated English poet and playwright, William Shakespeare, cited the important export and notoriety of the Madeiran Malvasia castes: in Richard III the Duke of Clarence, the brother of King Edward IV selected a death by drowning in a barrel of Madeira.

 

Yellow plane - Vilnius, Lithuania

Lynx have a short tail, characteristic tufts of black hair on the tips of their ears, large, padded paws for walking on snow and long whiskers on the face. Under their neck, they have a ruff, which has black bars resembling a bow tie, although this is often not visible.

EUROPA stamp 2021 - "Endangered national wildlife"

 

#70 GF - Poznań, Poland

Masuria is an ethnographic and geographic region in northern and northeastern Poland, known for its 2,000 lakes. The Masurian Szczytno-Szymany International Airport gained international attention as press reports alleged the airport to be a so-called "black site" involved in the CIA's network of extraordinary renditions.

 

Dahlia "Punkin Spice" - Minneapolis, Minnesota

This beauty boasts glowing orange blooms, some with raspberry undertones and others with hints of gold and red. Petals are laciniated at the tip, giving the flowers an almost fuzzy quality. Their lush growth requires extra support. Dahlias don’t unfurl much once they’ve been harvested so it’s important to not pick them too early. Harvest when blooms are three-quarters of the way open, but not overly ripe.

 

#70 FOTW - Leszno, Poland

The national flag of Poland consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width, the upper one white and the lower one red. The two colours are defined in the Polish constitution as the national colours. A variant of the flag with the national coat of arms in the middle of the white fess is legally reserved for official use abroad and at sea. A similar flag with the addition of a white eagle is used as the naval ensign of Poland.

White and red were officially adopted as national colours in 1831, although these were associated with Poland since the Middle Ages and were emphasized on royal banners. They are of heraldic origin and derive from the tinctures (colours) of the coats of arms of the two constituent nations of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (i.e., the White Eagle of Poland, and the Pursuer of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a white knight riding a white horse), both on a red shield.

 

Poppy seed flowers - Kurume, Japan

Kurume is a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, the city has an estimated population of 303,579.

Traditional products of Kurume are kasuri, or woven indigo-dyed cloth; tonkotsu ramen (pork-bone broth noodles); and trays and bowls made from rantai shikki, a composite made from lacquered bamboo.

 

Lantern Press 1120 - San Francisco, California

Boeing Field was Seattle's main passenger airport from its construction in 1928 until Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) began operations in the late 1940s, except for its use for military purposes during World War II. The Boeing Company continues to use the field for testing and delivery of its aeroplanes, and it is still a regional cargo hub. It is used by Air Force One when the President of the United States visits the Seattle area.

 

Salento - Bari, Italy

"Lu Salentu, lu sule, lu mare, lu ientu!" - Salento is beautiful thanks to its sun, sea and wind!

Salento also known as Terra d'Otranto is a cultural, historical and geographic region at the southern end of the administrative region of Puglia in Southern Italy.

 

Varkala Beach - Thiruvananthapuram, India

High cliffs border this excellent South Indian beach. Mineral water springs gushing out from these cliffs are well known for their medicinal property. These cliffs are of tertiary sedimentary formation and are named by geologists as Varkala Formation. They are a geological monument as recorded by the Geological Survey of India.

 

#69 GF - Cuenca, Ecuador

One of 17 megadiverse countries in the world, Ecuador hosts many endemic plants and animals, such as those of the Galápagos Islands. In recognition of its unique ecological heritage, the new constitution of 2008 is the first in the world to recognize legally enforceable rights of nature.

Spanish is the official language spoken by a majority of the population, though 13 native languages are also recognized, including Quechua and Shuar.

 

Fenghuang Ancient Town On the Tuo Jiang River - HongKong

The ancient town of Fenghuang was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on March 28, 2008, in the Cultural category. It was built in 1704 and has 300 years of history. The ancient city is a gathering place for Miao and Tujia ethnic minorities. 

It is an exceptionally well-preserved ancient town that harbours unique ethnic languages, customs, and arts as well as many distinctive architectural remains of Ming and Qing styles. The town is placed in a mountain setting, incorporating the natural flow of the river Tuojiang into the city layout.

 

#69 FOTW - Flying Fish Cove, Christmas Island

The flag of Christmas Island was unofficially adopted in 1986 after being chosen the winner in a competition for a flag for the territory. It was designed by Tony Couch of Sydney, Australia. 

The flag of Christmas Island consists of a green and blue background, split from the top left corner to the bottom right. These colours are intended to represent the land and sea respectively. The Southern Cross constellation appears in the bottom left of the flag similar to the flag of Australia. In the top right, the golden bosun bird appears. It is considered to be a symbol of the Island. The last motif that appears in the centre of the flag on a golden disc is the map of the island in green. The disc itself was originally only included to offset the green colour of the map but has become linked to the mining industry.

The first European to sight Christmas Island was Richard Rowe of the Thomas in 1615. Captain William Mynors named it on Christmas Day, 25 December 1643.

 

Tsambika Beach - Rodos, Greece

There is a monastery of the same name, Tsambika, above the beach. Inside there is a holy icon from the 11th century with the Virgin Mary. The icon was found in the mountains by a childless couple who later had a son. Since then, on August 18 every year, women make pilgrimages to the temple to ask for children. They enter the monastery up 300 steps on their knees. When a baby is born after 9 months, according to local custom, it receives the name: Tsambika (girl) or Tsambikos (boy). Then in gratitude, a photo of the newborn child is brought to the monastery.