31/01/2024

#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. 


 

30/01/2024

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.


 

29/01/2024

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.


 

28/01/2024

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.


 

27/01/2024

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"


 

26/01/2024

#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.


 

25/01/2024

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.


 

24/01/2024

#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.


 

23/01/2024

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.


 

22/01/2024

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.



 

21/01/2024

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.


 

20/01/2024

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.


 

19/01/2024

#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.



 

18/01/2024

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.


 

17/01/2024

#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.


 

16/01/2024

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. 


 

15/01/2024

Large Letter Reprint - Carol Stream, Illinois


Nicknames: Land of Lincoln, Prairie State, The Inland Empire State
Motto: State Sovereignty, National Union

The first McDonald's in the world appeared in Des Plaines, Illinois. The first nuclear reactor in the world was constructed by Enrico Fermi's team, and its operation was approved in 1942 in... the squash hall under the University of Chicago football stadium.


 

14/01/2024

Airborne Early Warning And Control Force in Geilenkirchen - Huckelhoven, Germany


AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) is the name of the specific system installed in the E-3 and Japanese Boeing E-767 AEW&C airframes, but is often used as a general synonym for AEW&C.

This system is an airborne radar system designed to detect aircraft, ships, vehicles, missiles, and other incoming projectiles at long ranges and perform command and control of the battlespace in an air engagement by directing fighter and attack aircraft strikes.


 

13/01/2024

Winter view - Phoenix, Arizona


Phoenix is the most populous city in the Phoenix metropolitan area, also known as the Valley of the Sun, part of the Salt River Valley. Phoenix was settled in 1867 as an agricultural community near the confluence of the Salt and Gila Rivers and was incorporated as a city in 1881. It is in the northeastern reaches of the Sonoran Desert and has a hot desert climate.


 

12/01/2024

#68 GF - Dumaguete, Philippines


Dumaguete is a university city, with four large universities and several other colleges, attracting students of the province and students of surrounding provinces and cities in Visayas and Mindanao. The city is best known for Silliman University, the first Protestant and American university in the country and Asia. 


 

11/01/2024

Colmar - La petite Venise - Saint Louis, France


The city is renowned for its well-preserved old town, its numerous architectural landmarks and its museums, among which is the Unterlinden Museum, which houses the Isenheim Altarpiece. Colmar is located on the Alsatian Wine Route and considers itself to be the capital of Alsatian wine.

EUROPA stamp 2021 - "Endangered national wildlife"


 

10/01/2024

#68 FOTW - Dumbravita, Romania


The civil flag of Andorra and the state flag of Chad are very similar to the Romanian national flag. The similarity with Chad's flag, which is identical apart from allowing a broader range of shades of blue, yellow and red, has caused international discussion. In 2004, Chad asked the United Nations to examine the issue. However, then-president of Romania Ion Iliescu announced that there would be no changes to the flag. 


 

09/01/2024

Fizz strawberry cider - Turku, Finland


Fizz Cider Strawberry is a drink that contains only 4.7% alcohol. This cider has a refreshing strawberry flavour with a hint of apple in the background. It is made from natural flavours, which is why it is so perfect. Its advantage is also a low price and a nice, very original bottle.


 

08/01/2024

Tausendschön PK482 - Wenden, Germany


The first documented record of Wenden dates back to 1011. By then, a monastery had been founded in Herford and given land in Wendenne, which means Wenden. At the beginning of the 14th century, a chapel Wendene capella is mentioned in a copy of a much older tax register of the Archdiocese of Cologne.