USA - New York

New York

View of Freedom Tower and Lower Manhattan

This card is from my friend Melissa. 

USA - Illinois

Boulevard de Strasbourg (Corsets), 1912 - Jean-Eugene-Auguste Atget (French, 1857-1927)

This photograph by the French artist Eugene Atget is housed at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Singapore

Merlion, Singapore

A beautiful sunset view of the national iconic symbol of Singapore.

This is my first card from Singapore, but it isn't a postcrossing card.  This was sent by my little niece Evy when her and her family were visiting friends on Singapore in the summer of 2015.  

More can be read about the Merlion here.

USA - Washington

Arbre couche (detail) by Chaim Soutine (1893-1943)

This card was sent by my friend Val from Seattle.  The artwork is in the Musee de l;Orangerie in Paris.

Spain

ES-335253

Maria Montez

This postcard from Spain is of the actress Maria Montez (6 June 1912 – 7 September 1951).  Originally named María Africa García Vidal de Santo Silas, she was born in the present day Dominican Republic and has an airport named after her in Barahona, Dominican Republic.

Switzerland

Soyez tendre avec la terre

This card, of a panda comes from my friend Kate who lives in "SwitzerFrance."  It has on it a quote of the Dalai lama, "Be gentle with the Earth."

Germany

DE-3743836

"Winterabend" by Thomas Kahlau

This card of a snowman amid a series of houses came from Germany last holiday season.  It included this friendly-drawn snowman on the reverse side.

Finland

This awesome card of a cat coming out of a purple box with red ribbon amid snowflakes was a Christmas postcard sent to me from my Finish friend Jenni last Christmas.  It came with this below stamp.  I believe the card is by illustrated Sari Airola.

USA - Washington

MOHAI

This card from the Museum of History & Industry in Seattle, Washington was sent by my postcrossing friends Chanele, Val, Shelby, and their friends.

India

IN-141345

Sri Channakeshara Temple

The temple has been proposed to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was built near Belur.

Canada

Glimpse of the Underworld

Christian Vizl (Mexico) [photographer]

Plants and fungi, winner - 50 Wildlife Photographer of the Year

This card is by my friend Kate.  Kate is a Canadian who works at CERN in Switzerland.  (yes, that CERN!)

This card was sent in the winter of 2014-2015 when she was back in Canada on the card she says, "Here's a relaxing tropical scene to take your mind off winter!"  

The card's image is of water lilies and fish in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.  

Netherlands

NL-3014075

The card features a personally made card from user barecadi who are 9 and 5 years old.  A number of their cards appear to be hand drawn.  I think this one is of a reindeer.  This was the first card that they had ever sent which was registered on Postcrossing.

Taiwan

TW-1596557

National Museum of Taiwan Literature

China

CN-1645312

The Tomb of Confucius

This card was sent from Handan, China.

Belguaria

Sofia - St. Alexander Nevski Memorial Church

This church is located in Sofia, capital of Bulgaria.  The church is one of the main tourist attractions of Sofia and is the second largest Orthodox cathedral in the Balkans.   

Japan

JP-683203

Cats, 1850 by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)

Russia

RU-3454700

Novosibirsk

This card features the Novosibirsk Main Railways Station and the Ob River.  This card was this Postcrossing user's second card that she sent.  Novosibirsk is the most populous city in Siberia or Asian Russia.  It is actually the third largest city in all of Russia (after Moscow and Saint Petersburg).   

Germany

DE-4144718

This card is of a photo that the Postcrosser herself took of Herz-Jesu-Kirche in Freiburg im Breisgau!

Russia

RU-3271969

Vacuum cleaner? Why? Here and so clean.

At least that is what Google Translate says this says.  The card is of a black cat who seems to have shed quite a bit of fur and is annoyed that presumably her human will be vacuuming.  (Cats seem to all hate the dreaded Vacuum!)  

Apparently this postcard is one in a series by Russian artist Margarita Zhuravlevoy.  For a bit more about her and for photos of the other photos in the series, check out the this link.  It is in Russian, but using Google translate you can read it in English (or presumably any other language).

Netherlands

NL-2975215

Dikke Kus

This card is actually a folded greeting card rather than a postcard.  Inside it features Dutch words such as Vlag (flag), koffie (coffee), kat (cat), and tulpen (tulip).  This was one of only two cards that this user indiexx sent.  She seems to have lost interest and never registered any cards.

Germany

DE-4246548

Schloss Waldeck am Edersee

Germany

DE-4279550

Gerhard, the rooster.

According to the sender, this card shows a photo of their local rooster, Gerhard.  The card was sent from Herne, Germany.

Russia

RU-3354499

Perm Tchaikovsky Opera and Ballet Theatre

This beautiful card is of the Perm Tchaikovsky Opera and Ballet Theatre, located in Perm, Russia near the Ural Mountains.  All of Tchaikovsky's operas and ballets are in the theater's repertoire.  Perm actually was called "Molotov" between the years of 1940 through 1957.

United Kingdom

Wales

This direct swap card from my Welsh friend Bryony is of Clytha Hill, near Abergaenny, Wales.  I love the beautiful purple color of the plants on the hillside!

Russia

RU-3494908

Tyumen, Russia.

This card depcits a street in the early 20th century of Tyumen, Russia's first outpost in Siberia, established in 1586.

Olga, the send, is also one of the few people to mention that my postcrossing user name (tediousandbrief) is a reference to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Merry and tragical! tedious and brief! 

   That is, hot ice and wondrous strange snow. 

    How shall we find the concord of this discord? 

-William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream 

- Act V, Scene 1, lines 58-60

Czech Republic

CZ-639556

Vranov nad Dyjí

This card shows the castle of Vranov nad Dyjí

Russia

RU-3650578

A card celebrating the 400th year Romonov Dynasty of Russia.  Photographed is Tsar Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, his wife, and their five children ( Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei).  

This would mean that the photo was from around 1913.  The entire family was brutally murdered by Bolshevik forces on July 17, 1918 near Yekaterinburg.  

Russia

RU-3661339

Russian Letter B

This postcard features a drawn letter "B" from the alphabet.  The card is one of only two postcards that user timmmi has sent from Postcrossing.

Taiwan

TW-1665006

Fun Taiwan

This card of Taiwan includes on the back how to write my first name, "Chicago," the word "cat," and the statement "Failure is the mother of success" in Chinese on the back!

Poland

PL-1059398

Gliwice

This card shows various parts of the city Gliwice located in southern Poland.

Estonia

EE-199551

Kotowice

This card of Katowice, Poland was sent from Estonia.  

Estonia

EE-199551

Gorlice

This card of Gorlice, Poland in southern Poland was sent from Estonia.

Estonia

EE-199551

Husky Dog Safari

This card from Estonia is one of three cards that this user sent me!  

Russia

RU-3666864

Russian Empire

This card came along with these wonderful stamps inclduing a stamp of Soviet/Russian soprano opera singer Galina Vishnevskaya

Slovakia

SK-51411

Prešov

This card is my first official Postcrossing card from Slovakia.  During much of the 20th Century, Slovakia was part of Czechoslovakia.  Prešov is the third largest city in the country.

The sender of the card remarks that if you followed the street down past the arch you would come to where they attended high school.

Czech Republc

Humpolec

Various views of Humpolec, Czech Republic

Portugal

PT-399161

Sintra

Palacio da Pena, Sintra, Portugal

The Pena national Palace is located near the Portugese capital of Lisbon and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal!

Turkey

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

This card, sent by my Turkish friend Leslie, is of the creator of the modern Turkish state, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (May 9 1881 ?  – November 10, 1938)

She jokes in the card "and here I was thinking that puppies made everyone happy!!"  

Germany

DE-4153653

Ich liebe meine matratze.

There are a few things going on in this card.  First, it is an advertisement card (or "ad card" for short).  It is an ad for a German mattress company called Matratzen Direct.  Hence the writing on the front "Ich liebe meine Matratze" or, in English "I love my mattress!"  

But this card doesn't just show a mattress.  It shows a man and a women (presumably topless or naked under the sheets).  

According to the sender of the postcard, there is another, more hidden double-entendre/word play going on with this card.  According to the sender, "Now, a mattress is also a girl with very much intercourse (to sleep on her)."   

Whoever said postcards weren't educational?!  You get to learn how German slang, though apparently it also is English slang dated to at least 2004 according to Urban Dictionary which gives the definition: "A sexually available girl who has many partners."

Germany

DE-4192211

This postcard of a painting of a pin up girl with setting down to a bright summer's picnic with a dog is really quite lovely, and makes me wish for the warmer days of summer.

Russia

RU-3535060

Romanovs: Emperor Nikolay II with the heir czarevich Alexey.

I love this card for a few reasons.  I love royalty cards.  I had studied Tsar Nicholas II in some of my history classes in university.  The user also put a mark on the card thanking (in Russian and English) " Thanks Mr. Postman!"  The card also comes from Yekaterinburg, the city where Tsar Nicholas, the last Tsar, and his family were murdered.  

Plus, this card was my first card with the Russian Official Postcrossing stamp view-able below on the left-hand side of the below picture.

Taiwan

TW-1487181

The Office of the President, 1975-1980

This card is of a painting housed at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.  The building was built in 1919 by the Japanese according to the Postcrosser.  

Germany

DE-4070616

Grüße aus Schwanstetten

This card comes from Schwanstetten, Germany.  It is actually this Postcrosser's first ever postcard sent!  That's always a wonderful thing to read in a postcard!  

The card also comes with these wonderful stamps.  This stamps of Panoramic Dresden, Germany.