Fountains

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is in search of fountains, a celebration of water

Trier, Fountain on the Market-place

The fountain with two names, its location - Market Fountain or the figure surveying the scene - St Peter's Fountain (the cities patron saint). The details on the card are indistinct but Peter is holding a very large key, heaven's gate is probably very big although they say the road to it is narrow.  Better pictures of the fountain can be found at Hither and Thither with a bonus photo of market day.

I do like postcard journeys and this German scene, found in a Canadian charity shop, was posted from the west coast of Canada.  I thought this was my only fountain postcard but after a delve through an inherited box of cards found

this of Sheffield probably from the 1960/70s the fountain was on the Midland Station Roundabout. Today it is replaced by the Cutting Edge water sculpture and a lot less greenery after the area was redeveloped in 2006. Sheffield is 'Steel City' and has been making cutlery since medieval times, hence the 'cutting edge' theme.  The Victorian station was originally build in a slum area prone to flooding and outbreaks of malaria. They culverted the River Sheaf  through triple tunnels so if standing on the station platform the river runs beneath your feet.   The city gets its name from the River Sheaf and today the river is acknowledged for instead of Midland Station Roundabout it is now Sheaf Square.

Swiss Alps

 

2013: 150 Years of the Swiss Alpine Club (Design - Fredy Trumpi)

A great choice of stamp shapes on this mini sheet  to enjoy the mountains vertically or horizontally.  The little black and white corners are old photographs from the Swiss Alpine Club Museum.  From their inception the Swiss Alpine Club set about improving the mapping of the Alps and building mountain huts. Shelters in the Alps have been around for centuries but the network of mountain huts started to be built in 1863, today there are 153 of them. They have also installed panorama maps and observation towers for climbers, walkers and those who just like to look and know.  Protecting the landscape is another of their founding principles

and these three se-tenant stamp celebrate another anniversary, that of the  Swiss National Parks who in 2014 marked their 100 years with this view of a mountain landscape and pine trees. The sender has also included a definitive stamp of Lac de Taney (described as a miniature paradise and declared a national natural heritage site in the 1960s) with the twin peaks of Les Jumelles. The lake is surrounded by wild flowers meadows and forests.  It is also known for its many amphibians so I hope it also has Emperor dragonflies too (issued as part of the 2002 Insects set).

Sunday Stamps this week is in the mountains, take a hike to See It On A Postcard

On the Beach

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is on the search for Oceans and Beaches...

so grab the bucket and spade and head on down to the shore, in this case somewhere in the Netherlands but a scene that could be recreated anywhere.

Bondi Beach photographed by Frank Hurley (1885-1962)

although sometimes with a lot more people

2007: Nostalgic Tourism

somewhere to retreat from the heat

Kardamili, Mani Peninsula, Peloponnese

like a Greek taverna and gaze at the sea or later watch the sunset.  The famous travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor lived in a hamlet near here which is mentioned in a guide to Kardamili

Lots of sandy beaches here on Sylt the largest of the North Frisean islands but the people in this postcard are not in search of sand but wind and waves.  This is a card for the Sylt windsurfing World Cup (even the postmarks are skimming along on the waves).

and the back gives us a map the 1994 world cup mark all topped off with Westerland frank on the stamp and then the incoming Carnforth cancel as is arrives in England. I can't remember but I must have picked up this card at the Second Hand Bookshop in Carnforth, an Aladdin's cave for the book and card enthusiast.

Lakes

 The Thursday Postcard Hunt is looking at lakes so I'll start in my home county and

I've found another person painting by water this week but rather than a spouse she has a dog.  Windermere is England's largest lake and is the Lake District's most popular tourist destination.  If our artist wanted a change of view then there are lots more lakes to choose from

Top - Buttermere and Crummock Water where one can walk around both lakes; the self contained Grasmere, cream teas and the Wordsworth Museum and cottage in the village  Bottom - Windermere with a view of the two peaks of the Langdale Pikes and lastly Derwent Water, a relaxing ride available on the  Keswick Launch for a different perspective.

"Beautiful Mt Hood as seen from Trillium Lake"

For both the artist and photographer a calm still day is a perfect vision.  My correspondent says she has "only seen Mt Hood from the highway and it is lovely" but continues "I come from Colorado though and we basically are nothing but mountains" but Oregon has its compensation for she now lives a 3 minute drive from the sea (and coincidentally the next Thursday Postcard Hunt's theme)

Lake Kivu Islands, Karongi (Kibuye)

Lake Kivu on the border between Congo and Rwanda looking beautifully calm however there is methane trapped at the bottom so it is potentially an exploding lake although everyone hopes that won't happen.

Women in Action

 

1999: Millennium - The Travellers Tale (Design - George Hardie)

The title of the stamp is "Liberated by Bike"

2000: Nobel Laureates - Literature (Design/Engaving - Lars Sjooblom)

and perhaps one of these Nobel prize winners was liberated by words.  Nelly Sachs (1891-1970), who was Jewish, fled to Sweden in 1940 on the last flight from Nazi Germany to Sweden. Being on board that flight was the coincidence of knowing Selma Lagerlof (the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature) because of a long correspondence with her.  The help of Lagerlof , who enlisted the Swedish royal family to her cause, got her on the plane.  The other prize winner is Wislawa Szumorska (1923-2012), Polish poet, essayist and translator. She was once asked why she had not published more poems and replied because she had a trash can at home. In our present troubled times her poem mentioned by the poetry foundation starts with the words "After every war/someone's got to tidy up"

1996: Europa - Famous Women

The artist Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876-1907) is known for her fight against the restrictions for women artist and her self portraits. She had a prolific output of paintings and drawings but sadly she died at only 31 due to complications after child birth.

Sunday Stamps theme of - Women - See It On A Postcard

Riverside

 The Thursday Postcard Hunt destination this week is the river and I travel to the banks

An Out of Doors Study by John Singer Sargent (1889)

and what pleasanter place could there be to take ones paints and canvas.  This is John Singer Sargent's lifelong friend Paul Helleu and his young wife Alice who Helleu had met when employed to paint her portrait and instantly fell in love. He painted her for the rest of his life.  The trio were staying in Fladbury Worcestershire in the summer of 1889 so this will be the River Avon.  I picked up this card at a fascinating 2015 National Portrait Gallery exhibition "Sargent: portraits of artists and friends" which spanned his time in London, Paris, Boston and New York as well as his travels in the Italian and English countryside.  I wonder if he ever took a trip on a riverboat

1989 PHQ Card "Traditional Mail Delivery" by Mark Hess

A card of one of the stamps that were issued when the 20th UPU Congress was held in Washington.  This is the US Mail Packet Chesapeak loaded with mail. Keep an eye on that cart for something larger would send the Chesapeak to her doom in 1887 when she sunk after a runaway wagon holed her hull.

The banks of The Rance

I have always thought it would be a fine thing to walk a river from source to sea, not a thought I have put into action!  The Rance would provide lots of interest, the Barage de la Rance has the oldest tidal power station in the world and this card shows all the beautiful places to visit on the journey.
 

Industry

 

2011: Factory Places (Design -Norbert Tamas; Engravers - Lars Sjööblom and Pjotr Nazarkowski)

Welcome to Forsvik by the Gota Canal, Sweden's oldest industrial area going back 600 years, home to the oldest lock on the canal and Sweden's first iron bridge.  The stamp shows the old forge, now a museum.  This photograph here puts its location into context

The rest of the set shows a glass blower in Glasriket which is a famous glass district dating back to 1742 and still home to glassworks and studios. Avesta -  the old industrial buildings here date to the late 19th Century when the town expanded with its iron work and later in the 1920s stainless steel which is still made in Avesta. The industrial buildings are considered unique. Jonsered whose first factories were started by a Scot, William Gibson, his companies were eventually taken over by Husqyarma who still make their chain saws in Jonsered. Lastly Mackmyra, once home to an iron mill and Sweden's first whisky distillery.

1999: Millennium -  The Workers Tale

This set is fascinating for who they involved in creating it. 19 - the master weaver Peter Collingwood, shows the woven threads of the weavers craft;  26 the artist David Hockney paid homage to the Mill Towns of Northern England, based on Salts Mill in Saltaire, with who he has a special relationship, his art is on display in the gallery (as well as his quirky postbox.) 44 - Bill Sanderson illustrates the shipbuilding industry with a hull on the slipway (fun fact - he has also in the past designed a stamp of Diskworld's Sam Vimes for fans of the series) and 64 - Brendan Neiland known for his portrayal of modern buildings takes on the City of London financial centre with the Lloyds Building   

1977: Centenary of the Factory Act

The factory scene celebrates Switzerland introducing the Factory Act in 1877 to protect workers.  It covered freedom of contract and protection of workers from accidents, limiting working hours and banned the employment of children under 14 years of age.

Sunday Stamps theme this week - Industry - visit  See It On A Postcard

Chasing Waterfalls

 Thursday Postcard Hunt is in search for watery delights and starts the month with waterfalls...

Thornton Force, part of a series of cascades and waterfalls that tumble over Yorkshire Dales limestone.  The other photo shows a typical limestone pavement with Ingleborough in the background, one of the three peaks people like to run as a challenge (a 24 mile round trip).  For something more relaxing then it is definitely the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail.  Refreshment in the village of Ingleton a happy end to both endeavors.

Ireland's highest waterfall (121metres/398 ft) flows over granite and at the bottom is a recommended picnic spot.

What looks like a lively cascade of water. The card says, rather enigmatically, "The Old Mill's story...".