A swap three-ways

Stuttgart and the Fernsehturm Stuttgart

25 May 2015 | From Theresa of Germany

SURPRISE POSTCARD

I received this postcard in an interesting way. Theresa's penfriend from Vietnam, Phúc, asked me for a swap - a Tarsier postcard in particular. I sent her the postcard with some other stuffs in an envelope. The postcard is written - though the address part is blank. I received some stuffs from Phúc as well, and another surprise postcard. Phúc then sent the tarsier postcard to Theresa, and Theresa, after some time, sent me this postcard.

Stuttgart is the capital and largest city of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany. It is spread across a variety of hills (many of them vineyards), valleys and parks – unusual for a German city and often a source of surprise to visitors who primarily associate the city with its industrial reputation as the 'cradle of the automobile'. Stuttgart has the status of Stadtkreis, a type of self-administrating urban county.

Stuttgart is nicknamed the Schwabenmetropole (Swabian metropolis), because of the city's location in the centre of Swabia, and as a reference to the Swabian dialect spoken by its native inhabitants.

In the postcard is the Fernsehturm Stuttgart (Stuttgart TV Tower), a 216.61 m (710.7 ft) telecommunications tower in Stuttgart, Germany. It was the first tower in the world constructed from concrete, and it is the prototype for many such towers world-wide. The tower is located on Hoher Bopser Hill in the southern Stuttgart district of Degerloch.

Old Town Warsaw

View to the Old Town Warsaw

25 May 2015 | From Dorota of Poland

POSTCROSSING SWAP

I received this postcard swap request from Dorota - who previously goes by the nickname of Neo, and now calls herself Mairon (which I would always misspell as Marion). She's such an unusual, introverted person in an interesting kind of way. Wherever you are Mairon, in case you are able to read this, I wish that you are well and always happy and loved.

The Warsaw Old Town, and collectively with the New Town, known colloquially as Starówka, is the oldest part of the capital city. It is bounded by the Wybrzeże Gdańskie, along with the bank of Vistula river, Grodzka, Mostowa and Podwale Streets. It is one of the most prominent tourist attractions in Warsaw.

The Old Town was established in the 13th century. Initially surrounded by an earthwork rampart, prior to 1339 it was fortified with brick city walls. The town originally grew up around the castle of the Dukes of Mazovia that later became the Royal Castle. The Market Square (Rynek Starego Miasta) was laid out sometime in the late 13th or early 14th century, along the main road linking the castle with the New Town to the north.

The heart of the area is the Old Town Market Place, rich in restaurants, cafés and shops. Surrounding streets feature medieval architecture such as the city walls, the Barbican and St. John's Cathedral.

Hidden Treasures of Chapinlandia

Las Conchas Waterfalls, Guatemala

25 May 2015 | From Richie of Guatemala

POSTCROSSING FRIEND

Parque Natural Las Conchas is a set of waterfalls on the Río Chiyú tumbling into tranquil green pools amid tropical rainforest. While the highest of the waterfalls forms a white curtain several meters high, the currents beneath are not so strong and you can swim across the pools. Las Conchas Municipal Park comprises a series of spectacular waterfalls, turquoise pools and numerous, diverging rivulets and creeks.

Las Conchas is the translation of the place name Se Pemech (The Snails) in the local Q’eqchi’ Mayan language and refers to the many piles and deposits of mollusk shells found near the falls. The abundant, edible snails have been an attraction for the local indigenous population for countless generations. A wide variety of birds and other wildlife, including red-eyed tree frogs and a multitude of butterflies, can be seen in the area. If you’re lucky, you might see an arboreal kinkajou or inquisitive coatimundi.

Hombres de Todos Santos

Men of Todos Santos

25 May 2015 | From Richie of Guatemala

POSTCROSSING FRIEND

Todos Santos Cuchumatán is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of Huehuetenango. The village of San Martin Cuchumatán is the second largest urbanized centre in the municipality of Todos Santos. San Martin is also the agricultural heart of the Cuchumateca valley which produces crops like potatoes, broccoli and large scale cultivation of coffee on the lower mountain slopes of the municipality.

The population of Todos Santos is predominantly indigenous, of Mayan descent, most of whom still speak the Mayan language of Mam. The town is one of few places in Guatemala where indigenous men still wear their traditional clothing, along with the women.

An annual festival is celebrated on October 31-November 2, and is centered on All Saints' Day on November 1 ("Todos Santos" translates to "all saints" in English). Festivities include traditional dances, marimba music and the famous horse races. The horse races are often the scene of mayhem and bloodshed due to the riders' penchant to drink alcohol for days leading up to the races even though the mayor banned the selling of hard alcohol in May 2008.

Preparing the Tortilla

Corn Tortilla

25 May 2015 | From Richie of Guatemala

POSTCROSSING FRIEND

In Mexico and Central America, a tortilla is a type of thin, unleavened flat bread, made from finely ground maize (corn). In Guatemala and Mexico, there are three colors of maize dough for making tortillas: white maize, yellow maize and blue maize (or black maize).

A tortilla seller is a Nahuatl: tlaxcalnamacac. The traditional tortilla has been made of maize corn since pre-Columbian times. It is made by curing maize in limewater in the nixtamalization process, which causes the skin of the corn kernels to peel off (the waste material is typically fed to poultry), then grinding and cooking it, kneading it into a dough called masa nixtamalera, pressing it flat into thin patties, and cooking it on a very hot comal (originally a flat terra cotta griddle, now usually made of light sheet-metal instead). In Guatemala, they are still often made by hand and are thicker. Corn tortillas are customarily served and eaten warm; when cool, they often acquire a rubbery or grainy texture as the cooked starches stale.

Happy Mailbox: 25 May 2015

Postcards received 25 May, 2015

Top photo: A postcard swap from Poland; surprise postcards from Finland and Germany; and postcards (3) from a friend in Guatemala.

Bottom photo: Official Postcrossing postcards from Finland (3), Netherlands (2), and Russia (3).

A postcard and a tea

City of Safranbolu

14 May 2015 | From Selin of Turkey

OFFICIAL POSTCROSSING

Safranbolu is a town and district of Karabük Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. The Old Town preserves many old buildings, with 1008 registered historical artifacts. These are: 1 private museum, 25 mosques, 5 tombs, 8 historical fountains, 5 Turkish baths, 3 caravanserais, 1 historical clock tower, 1 sundial and hundreds of houses and mansions. Also there are mounds of ancient settlements, rock tombs and historical bridges. The Old Town is situated in a deep ravine in a fairly dry area in the rain shadow of the mountains. The New Town can be found on the plateau about two kilometers west of the Old Town.

Safranbolu was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1994 due to its well-preserved Ottoman era houses and architecture. The City of Safranbolu is a typical Ottoman city, with typical buildings and streets, and played a key role in the caravan trade over many centuries. The settlement developed as a trading centre after the Turkish conquest in the 11th century, and by the 13th century, it had become an important caravan station. Its layout demonstrates the organic growth of the town in response to economic expansion, and its buildings are representative of its evolving socio-economic structure up to the disappearance of the traditional caravan routes and beyond.