St Basil's Cathedral, Vasilievsky Spusk (Slope)

A postcard from Russia.

postcard of St Basil's Cathedral and Vasilievsky Spusk, Postcrossing RU-405165

Ths postcard is of Vasilievsky Spusk (Slope) and St Basil's Cathedral, an Moscow landmark on Red Square, which is considered the central square in Moscow and Russia. Main roads lead from Red Square to other parts of the capital.  The walls of the Moscow Kremlin, which is a Unesco World Heritage site, can be seen on the left of the card.

St Basil's official name is the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat. "St Basil" actually refers to Basil the Blessed, a Muscovite "holy fool" who was buried in the Trinity Cathedral that once stood at the site before the present cathedral was built. The construction of St Basil's was ordered by Ivan the Terrible (the Grand Prince of Moscow) to commemorate the capture of Kazan in 1552 and Astrakhan in 1556 from Mongol forces. The building was completed in 1560.

Here's a picture of a postcard of St Basil's from the early 20th century.

St Basil's Cathedral, postcard from early 20th century
(wikimedia commons, public domain)

These are the stamps on my postcard.

stamps of Russian kremlins

Russian stamps are so beautiful. I love these stamps, different ones of kremlins (fortified complexes) in Russia. My first Postcrossing card from Russia also had Kremlin stamps on it.


Related links
Kremlin stamps (wikimedia commons)

Russian seafood dishes and Kremlin stamps

My first postcard from Russia! Thanks, Gulnara :)

postcard of seafood dishes, RU-378050

I love shellfish and like fish more than I did when I was younger (when I pretty much disliked it!). I also adore seafood stew. The one in the postcard reminds me of cioppino and bouillabaise, which I'm more familiar with than Russian seafood soups. In fact, I haven't had the chance to try many Russian dishes apart from some home cooking (I once visited the country, thoroughly enjoyed it though it's tough not knowing the language!), blinis and cheap caviar (probably just regular fish roe!).

I looked up Russian fish soup and found ukha. It is a warm fish broth with some veggies.

Russian stamps of Kremlin. RU-378050

I love Russian stamps, I've seen some gorgeous ones at the Postcrossing website. My first ones didn't disappoint! The top two on the right are of the Kremlin in Moscow, the one of the left reads "Russian Kremlin" but I think it's also the one in Moscow, just a different view. The Kremlin is actually an old fortress with lots of buildings, palaces and churches. It is also the official residence of the President and a Unesco World Heritage site.

Related links
list of Russian seafood dishes (eHow.com)
Kremlin stamps (wikimedia commons)


by liberal sprinkles

Lapland and Porvoo

Postcard from Porvoo, Finland. 3rd of four that arrived on the same day this week.
Thanks, Juho

campfire at Finnish Lapand, Postcrossing FI-1061662

You know, I love nature but I'm a total wimp when it comes to camping and being in the forests and the wilderness at night. I'm a city girl!

This is a photo of the Finnish Lapland, the largest and northmost region of Finland. I've sent a card to Lapland as well, and sent and received several to Finland (out of about 15). There must be a lot of Finnish Postcrossing members! If anyone from Finland is reading, I'd love a postcard of the northern lights!! Apparently you can see this in the Lapland. Look at some of the photos of Lapland and the northern lights from Google Images. It's amazing, one of the wonders of the world I hope to see one day.

The photo - Ilta Joella, a night at the river - is the work of photographer Jouni Törmänen (Taatsi Images), who specializes in nature, landscape, citylife and people. My card (dated April 3, 2011) was sent from porvoo by grandfather Juho, who says the lake is frozen this time of year.

I thought I'd look up Porvoo. It's a town in southern Finland, about 50 km (30 miles) from the capital Helsinki. It dates from the early 14th century and is one of only six mediaeval towns in Finland. It's old town has predominantly wooden houses (see some photos of Porvoo old town from Google), it reminds me of Swedish houses, not surprising since Finland used to be part of Sweden.

These  wooden storage buildings on the riverside are a proposed Unesco World Heritage site.

Porvoo riverside wooden houses, photo [ Wikipedia Commons ]

stamp of Finnish flag, Postcrossing FI-1061662

It's a stamp of  the Finnish flag. Look, it was not stamped!



Related links
Lapland Tourism info
Finnish Lapland travel guide (wikitravel)
Porvoo Tourism Office
History of Finland (Wikipedia)




by liberal sprinkles

Estonian Song Festival, national awakening and Tallinn

Postcard from Kirsti in Estonia, 2nd of four that came in one day this week...

Estonian Song Festival postcard, Postcrossing EE98144

Ever seen 18,000 people singing together? You can, at the Estonian Song Festival, a major open-air choral  concert held at the Song Festival Grounds every five years in Tallinn, the country's capital. The highlight is the performance of the joined choirs, with about 18,000 participants up on stage at the same time. There are usually up to 30,000 participants at each festival, which is a great showcase for Estonian music and culture.

The first song festival was held in 1869, coinciding with Estonian national awakening. The event was organised by Johann Voldemar Jannsen, a journalist and poet who played an important role in national awakening. In the 19th century, Estonia was a province of a Russian Empire with German upper class landlords ruling the locals, who were peasants. Estonia declared itself an independent republic on February 24, 1918.

Here's a video from the 2009 festival


Mu isamaa on minu arm (Estonian Song Celebration) 2009 from YouTube

Estonian stamp, Postcrossing EE98144

I'm not sure what these are, but they're cute, aren't they?

Incidentally, old and new coexist in the Estonian capital Tallinn. The old town is a World Heritage site and the city itself is is ranked as a global city, which means it is considered an important hub in the global economic system. Tallinn is also among the top 10 digital cities in the world (do you use Skype? It was born in Tallinn!) and is the European Capital of Culture for 2011, along with Turku, Finland.


Related links
Tallinn City Tourist Office website
Digital Tallinn (virtual guide to the city), very cool, you can download wallpapers and get take a virtual tour and get 360 degree views of various locations with its interactive map
Historic Centre, old town of Tallinn (Unesco World Heritage list)
Tallinn European Capital of Culture 2011 website
Turku Eurpean Capital of Culture 2011 website

Asheville, NC (USA) Ravenna Archiepiscopal Chapel

I received four cards in one day this week! This is the first, sent from Asheville, North Carolina.
Thanks, Kristy

Ravenna Cappella Arcivescovile postcard, Postcrossing US-1063101

This beautiful mosaic work is on the upper part of the vestibule of the Archbishop's Chapel (or Archiepiscopal Chapel) in Ravenna, Italy. It represents Christ as Victor, he is dressed in military wear, has a cross in his right hand and an open gospel in his left.

Ravenna Archbishop's Chapel mosaic,
photo by Madaki
from Wikipedia (CCA license)

You can see the mosaic wall a little more in perspective in the photo on the left.

The cross-shaped chapel, located in the Bishop's Palace, was built by Bishop Peter II around 495 and was the private oratory of the orthodox bishops. It is one of 8 locations in Ravenna that are collectively designated as a World Heritage site. The city was the capital of part of the Roman Empire in the 5th century and later became part of  the Byzantine Empire until the 8th century. Ravenna is well known for its Byzantine mosaics.

I once lived in Bologna, the gastronomic capital of Italy. It is only about 65 km (40 miles) from Ravenna, which I visited then. I probably saw the chapel and mosaic although to be honest, I don't remember. It was a long time ago. I traveled a lot in that year and I've been back to Italy many times since. It's one of my favorite countries in the world. More about that if I get an Italian postcard :) Suffice to say I always live and eat very well in Italy and it's a feast for the eyes anywhere you go. You literally walk into history at every corner.

Grand Teton National Park stamp, Postcrossing US-1063101

The stamp is of the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. The website says it has a "spectacular landscape rich with majestic mountains, pristine lakes and extraordinary wildlife". It gets nearly 4 million visitors every year. I've never been, I would love to. I love national parks, my favorite is Death Valley in California. The colors you see there are breathtaking. Check out the photos of Death Valley from Google.


Related links
The Bishop's Palace: architecture and authority in medieval Italy by Maureen Catherine Miller (Google books)
Early Christian monuments of Ravenna (Unesco World Heritage list)
Mosaics in Bishop's Palace, Ravenna (livingtravel.com)