China - Year of the Ram, 1991

Issued in China on 5th January, 1991.
The theme is the Year of the Ram.

Animals that predict weather

A self-adhesive stamp from Finland,
themed "animals that predict weather".

Siikainen

Received from Finland on 18 May, 2010.
Looks peaceful and leisurely with local features.
It is said that in Finland most families own a summer cottage built nearby the lakes.

Castle in Pirna

Received from Germany on 3 Jun, 2009,
showing a view of a castle in Pirna.

Sanssouci

Received from Germany on 6 Sep, 2009.
It show the Sanssouci in Potsdam.
Sanssouci was summer palace of "Old Fritz" Frederick the Great.

European Route of Brick Gothic

Received from Lithuania on 18 Jun, 2009.
It is a postcard specifically showing several locations of Gothic castles around the Baltic Sea.
Someday I would like to see the castles before my very own eyes.

Green Mountain National Forest

Received from the US on 9 Oct, 2009 ,
showing the White Rocks Mountain in Wallingford.

Plums

Received from Austria on 19 May, 2010.
Looks juicy.

Tupasvilla

Received from Finland on 11 Jun, 2009.
At the first sight, I thought those plants are dandelions.
Actually they are "Tupasvilla", which is "cotton wool" in Finnish.
They grow in wetland, and people make pillows stuffing, mattresses and blankets out of them.

Finnish winter hobbies

Received from Finland on 5 Jan, 2010.
This postcard shows two Finnish winter hobbies, swimming and fishing.
Can't imagine swimming in a place surrounded by ice and snow!

Spanish Steps in Rome

Received from Italy on 18 Jun, 2009 (which is exactly one year ago)
showing the grand Spanish Steps in Rome.

Map of Venice

Received from Italy on 14 May, 2010,
showing a very detailed map of Venice the city of water.

Turkey

Received from Turkey on 6 Feb, 2010,
the first one from the country.
This postcard shows the modern side of Turkey besides the historical features.

Map of Texas

Received from the US on 19 Mar, 2010.
Showing the state flag and outline of Texas, which is also known as the Lone Star State.

Brussels

Received from Belgium on 6 May, 2010.
When I think of Belgium, I would think of waffles, chocolate, French fries, comics and beer.

My Neighbour Totoro

Received from Japan on 21 Apr, 2010.
A neat cartoon style.
I remember watching Totoro not long after we bought the VCD player.
It was a touching story.

Diddl

Today I received a letter from my French penpal,
then I realized an interesting thing.
One the letter paper that my French penpal used,
there is a cartoon showing a rat with enormous feet,
and one of my other penals (from Germany) always uses letter paper bearing the same cartoon character.
So I did a little search on the Internet,
and found that the rat is actually named "Diddl".
It is a cartoon character designed by Thomas Goletz, a German artist.
This is the official site of Diddl:
http://www.diddl.com/

Rush hour

Received from the UK on 8 Jun, 2009, which is exactly one year (minus one day) ago.
Sheep on their way home!
This is also the first sheep postcard that I've received.

Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok

Received from Thailand on 11 May, 2010,
showing the Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok.
Wat Phra Kaew is "Temple of the Emerald Buddha".

The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco

Received from the US on 14 Oct, 2009,
showing the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

Huizen

Received from the Netherlands on 18 May, 2010.
Alive from folk tales.
Stated in the Wikipedia, "huizen" also means "houses" in Dutch.

Lamb from Poland

Received from Poland on 29 Apr, 2010.
A beautiful lamb.

Teddy Bears

Received from Japan on 18 Jun, 2009.
The first postcard from Japan. Pretty.
The first teddy bear in my household was a green one with four paws of different colours.
I remember trying to cut the teddy's hair.
It is still in my home now.