Russia: Saint Petersburg

Church of Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God

The Peter and Paul Fortress

Palace Square, the Alexander Column.

Thank You very much Donat!

Belarus: Zaslawye

Zaslawye or Zaslaŭje (Belarusian: Засла́ўе) is a historic town in Minsk Province of Belarus, 20 kilometres northwest of Minsk. In 2009 its population was 14,400.

According to chronicles, Zaslawye was founded in 985 by Vladimir the Great who sent his wife Rogneda to live here with their son Izyaslav of Polotsk, the founder of the princely house of Polatsk. The town's current name derives from Izyaslav's name.

In the early Middle Age the town was centre of the Duchy of Zaslawye. In the 11th century, the town was heavily fortified; much of its territory has been designated an archaeological reservation. There is also a modern outdoor statue of Rogneda and Izyaslav on the grounds.

Zaslawye Calvinist Assembly.

Architectural monument of 16th-17th century.

Ethnographic complex "Shed", Mill", "Drayman's hut".

Thank You very much Igor!

USA: NASA - Huntsville

The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The largest NASA center, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program. Marshall has been the agency's lead center for Space Shuttle propulsion and its external tank; payloads and related crew training; International Space Station design and assembly; and computers, networks, and information management. Located on the Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville, Alabama, MSFC is named in honor of General of the Army George Marshall.

Thank You very much Michael!

USA: Lagunitas - India Pale Ale

India Pale Ale, commonly known as an IPA, is characterized as a sparkling pale ale with a slightly higher level of alcohol and hops than a typical Pale Ale; the hops lend it a distinct bitterness.

In the 1700s, during the long voyage around the Cape of Good Hope to India, beer did not fare well. Without refrigeration and pasteurization, beer would arrive in India flat and sour.

George Hodgson at the Bow Brewery in East London took his pale ale recipe, increased the hop content considerably, and raised the alcohol content. The result was a very bitter, alcoholic, and sparkling pale ale that could survive the challenges of travel and shelf life in India.

Thank You Julie!

Ireland: Browneshill Dolmen

The Brownshill Dolmen is a megalithic portal tomb situated 3 km east of Carlow, in County Carlow, Ireland. The capstone at Brownshill, weighing an estimated 100 metric tons, is reputed to be the heaviest in Europe. The tomb is listed as a National Monument.

It was built between 4000 and 3000 BC by some of the earliest farmers to inhabit the island. It is also known as Brownshill Portal Tomb, so-called because the entrance to the burial chamber was flanked by two large upright stones (orthostats) supporting the granite capstone, or roof, of the chamber. The capstone is thought to have been covered by an earthen mound and a gate stone blocked the entrance. At Brownshill both portal stones and the gate-stone are still in situ; the capstone lies on top of the portals and gate-stone and slopes to the ground away from the entrance. Not much additional information is available on Brownshill because it has never been excavated. A fourth upright stands close by and could be the remains of a forecourt. The extent of the chamber cannot be determined.

Thank You John!

Czech Republic: Slavic warriors

This nice postcard is from Muzeum Těšínska.

Muzeum Těšínska, is a regional museum in Český Těšín, Czech Republic. It focuses on the history and traditions of the region of Cieszyn Silesia. The museum was founded in 1948 by teacher Ladislav Báča.

It has 12 regional branches and show rooms. Thanks to its regional branch in Jablunkov it is the easternmost professional museum in the Czech Republic. The museum cooperates with Muzeum Śląska Cieszyńskiego and Książnica Cieszyńska in Cieszyn, the Polish part of the town.

Russia: Alexander Column

The Alexander Column also known as Alexandrian Column, is the focal point of Palace Square in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The monument was erected after the Russian victory in the war with Napoleon's France. The column is named for Emperor Alexander I of Russia, who reigned from 1801–25.

Thank You Donat!

Arkhip Kuindzhi - Birch Grove, 1879

Arkhip Kuindzhi is considered one of the most talented Russian landscape painters of his generation. Born in Ukraine, he was associated during the second half of the 1870s with a group of Russian Realist painters known as the Wanderers. In the 1890s, he was hired to teach landscape painting at the Academy of Fine Arts but was later dismissed for sympathizing with student agitators. He ultimately founded his own painting society.

Thank You Natalja.

USA: Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state encompassing most of the Southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. Colorado is part of the Western United States, the Southwestern United States, and the Mountain States. Colorado is the 8th most extensive and the 22nd most populous of the 50 United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Colorado was 5.355.866 on 01.07.2014, an increase of 6.50% since the 2010. United States Census.

The state was named for the Colorado River, which Spanish travelers named the Río Colorado for the ruddy (Spanish: colorado) silt the river carried from the mountains.

Thank You Jessica.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

I have received postcard from Germany and this is one of my favorite cards from Postcrossing!

Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry twenty-one years after the original Star Trek series debuted in 1966.

The series involves a starship named Enterprise and is set in the nearby regions of the Milky Way galaxy. The first episode takes place in the year 2364, 100 years after the start of the five-year mission described in the original series, which began in 2264.

"Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before."

Thank You very much for this awesome postcard Jana!