Moldova

A direct swap from Moldova of some national dishes.  According to the card their national dishes are zama, mamaliga, brinza, placinta, and mujdei.  

Taiwan

TW-1217407

Various landmarks of Taiwan

Spain

Private Swap from Darya on Mallorca.  The card is of the Spanish capital of Madrid.

United Kingdom

GB - 534203

A card of he London 2012 Paalympic Games symbol over a Union Jack.

Malaysia

MY-200477

George Town Street Art of Penang, Malaysia

Clockwise from the left:

No Plastic Bag Sculpture, Prangin Lane

Children in a Boat Mural, Chew Jetty

Little Children on a Bicycle Mural, Armenian Street

Poland

PL-878677

This card is from Poland but is a card acquired in Minsk, Belarus.  I don't speak Belorussian, so I'm not sure what it says.  I was told that it says "My love".

Finland

FL-2076898

Koli National Park in the North Karelia region of Finland.  It's really beautiful.

Netherlands

NL-2445124

A group of puppies, from the Netherlands.

The 200th Postcard Sent!: USA - Lithuania

The 200th postcard to arrive at its destination!

US-3020755

On Monday, my 200th card sent via the official Postcrossing website was registered.  The card was registered by Postcrossing member AustejaM on  20 October, 2014 and traveled a distance of 4,685 miles to travel to Zarasai, Lithuania in 15 days.  The card had been sent on 5 October, 2014.

The card picturing two horses and was purchased at one of my favorite places to get postcards, Von's Book store in West Lafayette, Indiana.  The reverse of the card reads: "Indiana horses vary from animals for sport an recreation to hard-working teams of the Amish Farmers."

For the first 200 official Postcrossing postcards I've so far sent, they've been sent from the following nations which combine for a total distance sent of 927,688 miles : 

The United States (28), 

Germany (27), 

Netherlands (22), 

Finland (13), 

Taiwan (13), 

Ukraine (11), 

Japan (10), 

Belarus (10), 

Russia (10), 

China (8), 

Poland (7), 

The United Kingdom (5), 

Hong Kong (4), 

Czech Republic (4),

Two postcards from each:

Latvia

Malaysia

Portugal

Italy

France

Turkey

One postcard from each:

Ecuador

Hungary

New Zealand

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

South Africa

Bulgaria

Indonesia

Spain

Thailand

Canada

Norway

Australia

Lithuania

Belgium

Hawaii

The Royal Hawaii hotel, known locally as "The Pink Palace" on Oahu, Hawaii.  It is a beautiful hotel.

This card thanks to my friend Cara on Livejournal.

Lost Postcards: To Malaysia

Lost Postcard: US-2865283

Card Mailed on or about: 1 July, 2014

Days Since Sent:  113 days

Sent to:  Batu Pahat, Malaysia 

Postcrossing User Sent to: Wei_Ye

Yet another of the cards I've sent which seem to be taking an unusually long time to get to their destination.  Today's card was on its way to the Asian nation of Malaysia.

This card of a Sunset over an Indiana lake with two individuals fishing has gone missing in the mail.  It seems that Batu Pahat is both a town but also a district in the same area.  The user, at last check, was still active, so hopefully it is just taking a very long time to get there.  

This postcard is lost.  Please check your mailboxes.

USA - New York

US-2428914

The Bridge at Argenteuil, 1874, Claude Monet

Poland

Nowomiejsa Street in Old Town, Warsaw

Thanks to Karolina for sending me this card.

Taiwan

TW-1105163

Taroko, Hualien County, Taiwan

Portugal

Direct swap from Ines

Viana do Castelo

USA - Vermont

I purchased this card probably in the US state of Connecticut, but the text on the back tells me this was of the "scenic vistas of the Green Mountains as viewed from Newark, Vermont.

The picture is just a picture perfect tiny New England village, isn't it?

Lost Postcards: To Russia

Lost Postcard: US-2931938

Card Mailed on or about: 12 August, 2014

Days Since Sent:  64 days

Sent to: Shchyolkovo, Russian Federation (just outside of Moscow)

Postcrossing User Sent to: Vladimir666

This is a fairly popular card that I mail out.  I actually have sent this card out in both color (as in here) and in black and white.)  The card shows the skyline of Chicago with the Hancock Building in the far right and the Sears Tower (which was officially renamed but no one calls it anything but the Sears Tower), the tallest building in the US (though the new 1 World Trade Center in New York was named as taller....we just kinda ignore that over here on the third coast.)

This card was sent to Shchyolkovo, Russia, which appears to be just outside of the capital city of Moscow.  The user is still fairly active (and Russia seems to have notoriously long times for cards to get to their location), so hopefully this card will get logged in at some point.

This postcard is lost.  Please check your mailbox.

Russia

Direct Swap from Sasha

Oh how I love cards like this.  Circa 1935

Germany

DE-2610693

Gruss aus Markt Elbach, Germany

United Kingdom

GB-510418

An observation, Alan Fletcher (from The Art of Looking Sideways)

USA - Illinois

Hofbrauhaus restaurant in Rosemont, Illinois (near Chicago)

I actually had a great time at this restaurant.  It's a massive Bavarian-themed hall with live music (at least when I was there on a Friday night) and a nice gift shop of German/Bavarian merchandise.  A perfect card for Oktoberfest month!

USA - Iowa

An Iowa Farm

This photo was on postcards, magnets, and pretty much everything I saw in Iowa (at multiple gas stations and stores in different parts of the state!)  I think it is just such an amazing photo.

Azerbaijan

AZ-2566

A new country!  Azerbaijan, a small country in the caucuses is not a huge Postcrossing country as evident by the extremely small number of the card.  This is only card 2566 from that country, and easily the lowest numbered card I've received.  

The card is of  a painting apparently called "Sona" made in 2009 by Azeri artist Ali Shamsi    A website appears to be here.

The card also comes with two awesome stamps and a very nice clear postmark from the capital city of Baku.

USA - Wisconsin

Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin.

Mt. Horeb is a small town near the state capital of Madison.  Apparently the area was apparently heavily known for Norwegian heritage and has a ton of trolls (see picture) everywhere.  

This card was sent by my cousin's daughter Evy.  Evy is not even five years old, but she wrote me a wonderful message on the reverse of the card which you can see below.

Adorable.  

Australia

A Direct Swap from Penny in Queensland, Australia.  She was trying to collect a card from each and every US county.  

The card is of Government House, Western Australia.  Also, the card is a first-day-issue postcard.

Ukraine

UA-839609

Kiev, Tower of the first city water system, 1872

France via USA

Artworks of the Louve, from my fiend Emily Jo.

USA - Ohio

Hiroshi Yoshida's Kameido Bridge, 1927

Oddly, this card was purchased at the Dayton Art Institute, but is housed elsewhere.  

USA - Indiana

Minnetrista Center Building and Catalyst, Ball State, Muncie, Indiana

Lost Postcards: To Russia

Lost Postcard: US-2726846

Card Mailed on or about: 4 April, 2014

Days Since Sent: 181 days

Sent to: Kostomuksha, Karelian Region, Russia

Postcrossing User Sent to: dasha_95

This card of a "Hoosier Lamb" ("Hoosier" being the term for anything or one from my home state of Indiana) was last seen on its way to Russia. I thought it might be a nice card to receive around the Easter season.

Kostomuksha, the destination for this card, is a relatively young town (established in 1977) only 19 miles from the Finland-Russia Border.  

This postcard is lost.  Please check your mailboxes.

Poland

What is one of the best cards to ever get if you're into postcards and cats?

Why, a postman cat, of course!  A postman cat who just might become the unofficial mascot of this blog.

Direct swap from Anne

Postman Cat