Toucan World Cup

Outgoing postcard US-3373322 to China shows a vintage color poster advertisement featuring Guinness and a football (soccer) supporting toucan with an Irish shamrock scarf, with a tag line "Lovely day for a Guinness."

As for the 2014 World Cup in the recent news, the last two of the 12 stadiums built for the purpose of hosting the Brazil World Cup have finally been completed, 10 months after the tournament ended, while at least four others have either turned into a parking lot, been used by homeless people, or become other white elephants. The waste fueled the continued controversies about the amount spent on the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics, which, as many protesters claimed, should have been used to deal with the poverty issues and to improve infrastructures in the country.

Cadzand, the Netherlands

Postcard DE-3445237 from Germany shows Cadzand, a town by the North Sea with 804 residents as of 2007 in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is located in the municipality of Sluis, about 8 kilometers or 5 miles northwest of Oostburg. The nearby beach at Cadzand-Bad, a nature reserve and bird sanctuary, is very popular for the European visitors in the summer. It is only 1.6 kilometers or 1 mile from the Netherlands and Belgium border. Visitors can walk across to the beach at Knokke-Heist on the Belgium side.  The town is cyclist and pedestrian friendly.

I also got my first German Football World Champions 2014 stamp. On July 17, four days after Germany lifted their fourth World Cup, a special , Designed by Lutz Menze from Wuppertal, the 60 cent stamp commemorates the 1:0 victory over Argentina in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The scores from the title games in 1954, 1974, 1990, and 2014 are printed on the side of the stamp.

World Cup Stamps

Postcard DE-3394587 from Germany was made of a series of World Cup stamps from several countries. The three stamps on the left were 1978 North Korea stamps showing World Cup winners: West Germany (1954, 1974), Italy (1934, 1938), and Uruguay (1930, 1950).

Magyar Posta in Hungary issued the three stamps in the middle to commemorate the 1978 FIFA World Cup held in Argentina from June 1 to June 25, 1978.

The top three stamps on the right were issued in R.P. Kampuchea in 1985, dedicating to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

The stamp on the bottom right was also a 1978 North Korea stamp from the 12-stamp History of the World Cup stamps set. Unfortunately, it fell off during the mailing.

The right stamp on the back was a Enthusiastic Germany football stamp issued on May 2, 2012.

Die Moselschleife

Postcard DE-3315959 came from Germany today with a view of the Moselle River from Calmont near Bremm, Germany. As a left tributary of the Rhine, the Moselle River flows through France, Luxembourg, and Germany. Its watershed also contains a small portion of Belgium through its tributary the Sauer and the Sauer's tributary the Our.

The Moselle River valley is well known for its beautiful scenery and the excellent grape and wine production. Moselradweg, the 311-km or 193-mi long cycleway that connects Metz, France to Koblenz, Germany, runs through Bremm.

In the news today, Germany will issue a World Cup victory postage stamp, in 0.60 euros, on Thursday July 17, 2014. Five million stamps, marked “Germany Football World Champion 2014”, were printed before the 2014 FIFA World Cup final game.

Asked what would have happened to the stamps if Germany had lost, a finance ministry spokeswoman replied: “We always firmly believed the German team would win.” I love the conviction.

Island of Options

The caption on postcard DE-3212323 from Germany says "Inmitten von Schwierigkeiten liegt immer eine Insel der Möglichkeiten." This German proverb means "in the midst of difficulties, there is always an island of options."

A similar Chinese proverb "车到山前必有路，船到桥头自然直" can be directly translated into "When you get to the mountain, there'll be a way through; when you get to the pier-head, the boat will go straight with the current." Therefore, Don't worry too much beforehand; let's deal with it as it happens. Everything will turn out for the best in the end.

Another Chinese proverb "水到渠成" is the best for describing Germany's crowning at the 2014 FIFA World Cup today: "When water flows, a channel is formed." When conditions are mature, success will come. At the final match, Germany felt the heat from Argentina in the 22nd minute of the match when Argentinian forward Gonzalo Higuain intercepted the ball from German midfielder Toni Kroos and was one-on-one with German goal-keeper Manuel Neuer. Also, at the second half, Lionel Messi, Argentinian captain and forward, posed a threat for a goal with his left-footed curling shot.

When the match headed towards extra-time, history was against Germany as Argentina had never conceded a goal in the extra-time before. However, German super-substitute Mario Götze broke the dead-lock with the help from another substitute André Schürrle. The Germans are the 2014 FIFA World Cup champions, winning the Trophy for the fourth time after overcoming Argentina 1:0 at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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Groningen, the Netherlands

Postcard NL-2213389 from the Netherlands shows a city view of Groningen, the capital city of Groningen Province and the largest city in the northern Netherlands with a population of 198,108 in 2014. As a college town, students account for one-fourth of the total population with 28,000 from the University of Groningen and 25,000 from Hanze University of Applied Sciences.

Groningen was noted as the "World Cycling City" in 2007 because 57% of trips within the city were made by bicycle. A large network of bike paths make it convenient to cycle to various destinations. Groningen was named as Fietsstad 2002, the top BikeCity in the Netherlands for 2002.

The local football club, FC Groningen, founded in 1971, is playing in the Dutch highest football league the Eredivisie.

Today, the Netherlands National Football Team claimed third place at the 2014 FIFA World Cup with a 3:0 victory Over Brazil.

Cataratas do Iguaçu

Postcard BR-228416 from Brazil shows Iguazu Falls, meaning “large water”, which are waterfalls of the Iguazu River on the border of the Argentina province of Misiones and the Brazilian state of Paraná. The total width of the waterfalls is approximately 800 meters or 2,625 feet on the Brazilian side and 1,900 meters or 6,234 feet on the Argentinean side, with the Iguassu River narrowing from 1,200 meters or 3,937 feet in width above the falls, into a 65-meter or 213-foot channel below. The Iguazu Falls consists of about one hundred waterfalls during the average flow, with their heights ranging between 40 meters or 131 feet and 80 meters or 262 feet. The average flow of the river is about 1,500 m³/s, with a low of 500 m³/s in drought and a high of 8,500 m³/s in flood. The largest volume of flows occurs between October and March.

Five main falls are on the Brazilian side; fourteen main falls are on the Argentinean side. Since most of the falls are on the Argentinean side and facing Brazil, the best views are from the Brazilian side.

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With the 2014 FIFA World Cup on the way, the number of foreign visitors to the Iguazu National Park, one the New Seven Wonders of Nature, increased 65%.

Bremen, Germany

Postcard DE-3274224 from Germany shows a city view of Bremen in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the River Weser, Bremen is the second most populous city in Northern Germany and the tenth largest city in Germany.

The market square in the city center is shown on the card, with Bremen Cathedral, dedicated to St. Peter, in the background. The cathedral belongs to the Bremian Evangelical Church, being protected by the monument protection act since 1973. The cathedral has twin 99-meter towers, built between 1215 and 1253, guarding the main entrance on the west side of the church. The towers were reinforced and given pyramid-shaped tops in 1346. Rhenish styled "helmets" were added when the towers were restored and raised in the 1890s, as still seen today. It is interesting to see that the crossing tower, a reminder of the original west front towers, also have a pyramid-shaped cap.

Bremen is home to the football team SV Werder Bremen that have won the German Football Championship and the German Football Cup multiple times. The team's home stadium, Weserstadion, almost completely surrounded by solar cells, is one of the largest buildings in Europe powered by alternative energies.

Coincidentally today, Germany have advanced to the FIFA World Cup Final today with a sensational 7:1 victory over the host Brazil at the Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte.

Arcos da Lapa, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Postcard BR-263063 from Brazil show the Carioca Aqueduct in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Built in the middle of the 18th century in the Lapa neighborhood to transport fresh water from the Carioca River to the city, with an elegant style of colonial architecture and engineering.

The aqueduct was decommissioned at the end of the 19th century, as new alternatives to supply water to Rio de Janeiro were developed. The aqueduct has served as a bridge for the Santa Teresa Tramway since 1896, connecting the city center to the Santa Teresa neighborhood uphill. Originally inspired by the tramway system in Lisbon, Portugal, the yellow tram, as seen on top of the aqueduct, was well-used by residents and tourists alike until an accident killed six people on August 27, 2011. After making design changes to improve safety, it was scheduled to open before the 2014 FIFA World Cup. However, the construction was delayed.

Rio de Janeiro is also home to the Maracanã Stadium (the Estádio do Maracanã), an official football venue with 78,838 seats for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. It hosted a Group F game where Argentina won over Bosnia and Herzegovina 2:1 on June 15, 2014; and a Group B game where Spain lost to Chile 0:2 on June 18, 2014. Belgium defeated Russia 1:0 in a Group H match here on June 22, 2014. Ecuador will play against France in a Group E match on June 28, 2014.

São Miguel, Portugal

Postcard PT-357733 from Portugal shows São Miguel Island, named for Saint Michael, the largest and most populous island in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. Also referred as "the Green Island," it has a Special Protection Area containing the largest remnant of laurisilva forest on the island, habitat to the endemic and critically endangered bird, the Azores Bullfinch.

It is also the hometown of Pauleta (Pedro Miguel Carreiro Resendes, born April 28, 1973), a football player for the Portuguese National Team. Pauleta scored 47 goals in 88 matches for Portugal, a national record at the time of his retirement. He played in two World Cups and two European Championships.

In a Group G match against the United States during the 2014 FIFA World Cup at Arena Amazonia in Manaus, Brazil today, Silvestre Varela of the Portuguese National Team scored his team's second goal in the last minute, keeping Portugal alive with a 2:2 draw on June 22, 2014.

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Alkmaar, the Netherlands

Postcard NL-2528251 from the Netherlands shows the city views from Alkmaar, the Netherlands. It is famous for its traditional cheese market, as shown on the bottom right. The North Holland Canal, as seen on the left, was dug through Alkmaar and opened in 1824.

Alkmaar is home to the professional football team AZ (Alkmaar Zaanstreek) with a 17,000-seat stadium, the AFAS Stadion, where the Dutch national football team trained in preparation for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. In today's Group B match, the Netherlands beats Australia with a score of 3:2.

Open Training Session at the AFAS Stadion on June 3, 2014
(Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

It's Soccer Time!

The USA soccer team prevailed 2:1 in its opening game against Ghana on June 16, 2014 in the group known as the group of death, Considering Ghana had put the USA team out of the last two World Cups, today's win was not a small feat. Next, the USA team will face Portugal on June 22, 2014. Then it will play against Germany at the group stage finale on June 26, 2014.

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While the soccer has never been a top sport in the U.S., I hope things will gradually change over time. I am proud to see that UNLV, our local university, has both men's and women's soccer teams. Postcard US-2136566 to Ukraine shows their schedules in 2012 season.

FIFA World Cup Opens Today

2014 FIFA World Cup opens with music and dance in São Paulo, Brazil today. The official anthem and slogan is "We Are One".

However, a protest, against the money lavished on football stadiums instead of essentials for people and schools, broke out in the very morning and was met with police forces. Meanwhile, Fifa's decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar is under on-going scrutiny with allegations of corruption.

Brazil team won over Croatia with a 3:1 victory in the opening game. While the Brazilian players like Neymar did beautiful job on the field, they could not escape from the controversies such as the over-generous penalty call and the staged training session.

Nonetheless, as the month-long tournament starts, watched by millions of people around the globe, we hope that we can be united and find more consensuses in the end. The 2014 World Cup plays from June 12 to July 13, 2014. The featured postcard was made from a team sticker by Hyundai, an official sponsor.
  

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