Impressions of Vilnius

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These two postcards show the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius. In the first one you can see Mindaugo bridge over the river Neris. The skyscraper on the right is Europa Tower, Lithuania's tallest building.
In the second picture you can see St. Catherine's Church, it's right in the middle. On the left there's also the Church of St Philip and St James.

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The stamp is about the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union from July to December 2013.

Pacific Paradise

Call of the search, this is it.

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Paradise on Earth. Kiribati is an island nation in the Pacific. The building you can see in the third picture is the Parliament House, officially known as Maneaba ni Maungatabu.

The Phoenix Islands, consisting of the eight islands Enderbury, Kanton, Birnie, McKean, Rawaki, Manra, Orona and Nikumaroro, used to be the largest marine protected area until a few years ago.

Nightshade

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Taipei is the capital of the Republic of China, more commonly known as Taiwan. The large tower in the center is called Taipei 101 (because it has 101 floors), it has got a huge ball in the middle to protect itself from earthquakes.

The stamp shows American Nightshade. Don't eat its berries, particularly not when they're still green.

Mysterious Stallion

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This postcard was delivered to me a while ago, but I seem not to have written down who sent it. That only makes it all the more mysterious.

I can't even tell you what stamps these are. Enjoy!

Kilimanjaro

The first postcard shows Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain on the African continent. You've probably heard of it. The picture was taken near the town of Moshi.

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Jozani Forest is located on the Zanzibar Archipelago. I think the monkey is a Zanzibar red colobus. The other animal could be a Blue Duiker, but I don't really know.

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Ngorongoro Crater:

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The stamps show a so-called waterbuck:

Crusader Church

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Jbeil is a district in the center of Lebanon. The building is St John the Baptist Church in Byblos, erected during the crusades in 1116. In 1176, it was partially destroyed by an earthquake.

The stamps remind that the Arab world is the birthplace (berceau) of the alphabet.

Island of Lemurs

is another name for Madagascar, in case you did not know.

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Backside reads:
République de Madagascar - de couleurs en reflets les hauts-plateaux
The photos were taken in the central highlands of the island, approximately 750 to 1500 meters high.

On the stamp it reads "Haut fourneau de Jean Laborde". He was an adventurer who came to Madagascar in 1831 and began to manufacture guns. The picture shows one of his blast furnaces.

Little London

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Londrina is a city in south Brazil, originally founded by British settlers.The lake you can see in the foreground is called Lago Igapó.

The stamps show various professions such as cobbler (sapateiro) and seamstress (costureira). There's also a trumpet. And the stamp on the very right is dedicated to the fight against discrimination of autistic persons.

Castillo Serrallés

Look at this wonderful mansion!

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Castillo Serrallés was built in the 1930s and serves as a museum today.

Backside recipe:

Lemon Saffron Shrimp

- 1 pound shelled, deveined shrimp, cooked
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
- 1 cup wild or white rice, cooked
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3-4 saffron threads
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup milk
- salt and pepper to taste
Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Add milk, lemon zest, and saffron, cooking over medium heat until thickened.

The stamp shows the planet’s sea surface temperatures.

From Alef to Tav

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This card shows the Hebrew alphabet. Remember that you have to read it from right to left. To each letter, the designer assigned one town in Israel beginning with that letter, for example Eilat in the south or Haifa in the north. The drawings show typical scenery of those places.

The stamp is from a series commemorating the International Year of Astronomy 2009, 400 years after the first astronomical observations with a telescope by Galileo Galilei. This particular stamp shows modern gravitational lensing.

Blue Mountains

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Description on the backside: "Hills of the Blue Mountains - home to our world-famous coffee".
I never knew there was a coffee brand from that particular place of the world. In the back you can see Blue Mountain Peak, Jamaica's highest mountain.

I'd like to thank Rachel for this very pretty card!

The left stamp shows a Century Palm, a very rare kind of tree that blossoms only after 100 years and then dies. Negril Lighthouse can be found in the very West of the island.