Wellington Cable Car at Sunrise, New Zealand

Postcard NZ-146552 from New Zealand shows a stunning sunrise with the Wellington Cable Car in the forefront. Established in 1902, Wellington’s historic Cable Car is the only cable railway currently in operation in New Zealand.

For visitors, no trip to Wellington is complete without a ride on the famous cable car; for locals, it's more than a commute. A good way to spend a morning is to get to the top of the Botanic Gardens early to watch the sunrise and view the cityscape. You will need to check the local sunrise time and the cable car timetable to plan the trip. Stop at the Cable Car Museum that was the original winding house. Then walk down to the city's central business district through the beautiful gardens and old houses.

The Cable Car is currently closed from June 7 to July 31, 2016 for upgrade.

Taste of Sweden

The Swedish retail giant IKEA opens its first store in Nevada today, offering stylish, relatively inexpensive and self-assembly home furniture along those famous Swedish meatballs from its 42nd store in the U.S., located by the 215 Beltway between Sunset and Durango roads in Las Vegas. Deputy Chief of Mission for the Swedish Embassy Göran Lithell joined the company executives and local government representatives in the opening ceremony.

Postcard SE-47353 from Sweden shows steamboats anchored in Stockholm, Sweden during a winter evening.

Mount Tamalpais, California

Postcard US-1994530 from California shows Mount Tamalpais, located in Marin County, California with a 2,574-foot or 785-meter peak. The mountain bike is said to have been invented here. Located on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge across San Francisco, it offers spectacular ocean views and city views of San Francisco from the top. Much of Mount Tamalpais is protected within public lands such as Mount Tamalpais State Park.

Today in History: The Chicago "L" commuter rail system began operation in 1892.

Chengdu Skyline, China

Postcard CN-1366988 from China was a beautiful 3D card showing the city skyline of Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan province in China. With 14,047,625 residents (7,415,590 in nine urban districts and 6,632,035 in the surrounding area), Chengdu is the fifth most populous city in China as of 2010.

Today is the 7th anniversary of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, measured at 8.0 Ms, that killed 69,197 people and left 18,222 missing. The epicenter was 80 kilometers or 50 miles west-northwest of Chengdu.

126th Anniversary of Eiffel Tower Opening

Today marks the 126th anniversary of the Eiffel Tower; it opened to the public on March 31, 1889. Built in 1889 as the entrance arch to the 1889 Exposition Universelle (World's Fair), it was initially criticized by for its design and mocked as "a truly tragic street lamp." Now, it has become the most visited paid monument in the world with almost 7 million annual visitors. The tower had received 250 million visitor by 2010, 75% of them were from overseas.

At 324 meters or 1,063 feet, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to become the tallest man-made structure in the world. It held the title for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York City was built in 1930. In comparison, the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas stands at 350.2 meters or 1,149 ft; Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino has a half scale, 165-meter or 541-foot tall replica of the Eiffel Tower.

Google has featured an Eiffel Tower Doodle by artist Floriane Marchix on its web page to commemorate the 126th anniversary of the tower's public opening.

Postcard FR-430903 from France shows a view of Paris from Tour Montparnasse with the Eiffel Tower and the Champ de Mars on the left side, and Les Invalides on the lower right.

Wrigley Building, Chicago, Illinois

Outgoing postcard US-3202774 to Finland shows the Wrigley Building at the Northern end of the Michigan Avenue Bridge, built in 1920 to house the corporate headquarters of the Wrigley Company, a chewing gum company. The backside of the postcard reads: "It towers 398 feet above the ground and is shown in magnificent splendor by being entirely illuminated at night." However, it was noted on Wikipedia that the 30-story south tower, completed in April, 1921, is 425-foot or 130-meter tall. The Wrigley Building was sold to a group of investors in 2011.

On a side note, Chicago marks anniversary of 1967 Blizzard that lasted 17 hours and dumped 23 inches snow 48 years ago on this day. It was the largest single snowfall in the city's history. About 50,000 cars and buses were abandoned on the streets and expressways; thousands of people were stranded. It took several days for schools and airports to re-open.

While blizzard warnings expired for New England, heavy snow continues under winter storm warnings and advisories. On the other hand, Chicago only had freezing rain this time, which still caused dangerous driving conditions. Some sunshine is expected in Chicago tomorrow afternoon.

State Street, Chicago

Postfcard US-3133042 to Russia was a linen vintage postcard with a view of State Street, Chicago, Illinois in the 1940s. State Street became a shopping destination during the 1900s. It was mentioned in the song "Chicago,"  made famous by Frank Sinatra where Frank sung "On State Street that great street, I'd just like to say: They do things that they never do on Broadway.They have the time, the time of their life." State Street is the location of many landmarks buildings.

Latvia Celebrates Independence Day

96 years ago, Latvia declared independence from Russia on November 18, 1918 in the immediate aftermath of World War I. The red and white flag was chosen as the Latvian National Flag.

In the following years, Latvia was captured and declared a Soviet Socialist Republic in 1919; recognized as an independent nation again in 1921; occupied first by the Soviet Union and then by Nazi Germany under the covert Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in 1939; and eventually by the Soviet Union again after World War II.

Earlier this year marks the 25th anniversary of the Baltic Way event when significant peaceful protests from the three Baltic countries - Latvia, Lithunaia, and Estonia rallied against oppression under the Soviet Union in 1989. Latvia regained its independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Postcard LV-79087 from Latvia shows the cityscape of Riga, the capital of Latvia. Its Art Nouveau center was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991.

President Jimmy Carter Turns 90

Jimmy Carter, Jr., the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 who was born October 1, 1924, turns 90 today on October, 1, 2014. Know as a peanut farmer, he served two terms as a Georgia State Senator and one term as the Governor of Georgia before elected President in 1976. As President, he created two new cabinet-level departments: the Department of Energy and the Department of Education, which were among those to be eliminated by Republican presidential candidate, Texas Governor Rick Perry in 2011 if he became President. Jimmy Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Postcard US-1555328 to Germany shows the skyline of Atlanta, Georgia where the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum and the Carter Center is located. It was among the first few official PostCrossing postcards I sent off.

Hong Kong Braces for More Protests

A civil disobedience campaign broke out in Hong Kong over the weekend. Occupy Central, aiming to disrupt the activities in the Central Financial District, started as a result of the protesters demanding free elections for Hong Kong’s next leader, while the central government in Beijing insisting the rights of vetting the candidates. The riot police has withdrawn after a night of violent clashes. However, it is unclear when and how the protests will end since the demands from the two sides are far apart so far.

Postcard  HK-198325 from Hong Kong shows the skyline of the Central Financial District across the Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong.

Sailing along Rotterdam

Postcard NL-2675928 from the Netherlands shows Euromast, an observation tower in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Designed by Hugh Maaskant and constructed between 1958 and 1960, it was specially built for the 1960 Floriade. It has a "crow's nest" observation platform and a restaurant at 96 meters or 315 feet above-ground. Euromast was originally 101 meters or 331 feet in height. When the Space Tower was added on top of the building in 1970, it added an additional 85 meters or 279 feet in height. At 186 meters or 610 feet, Euromast is the tallest building in Rotterdam, the second-largest city in the Netherlands. In comparison, the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas stands at 350.2 meters or 1,149 feet. Euromast became a listed monument in 2010.

Košice, Slovakia

Postcard SK-41685 was my first received card from Slovakia, showing Košice, the biggest city in eastern Slovakia.

Slovakia was first occupied between the 5th and 6th centuries. The first Slavic state was created as Samo's Empire around the 7th century. After the 10th century, the Kingdom of Hungary covered the territory of today's Slovakia, and later became part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The present-day Slovakia and Czech were resulted from the peaceful dissolution of the mutual state Czechoslovakia on January 1, 1993.

Košice is the second largest city in Slovakia with a population of 240,000, next to the capital city Bratislava. It was the European Capital of Culture in 2013, along with Marseille, France. The city has a well-preserved historical center with many heritage protected buildings in Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Art Nouveau styles. The St. Elisabeth Cathedral, as seen in the middle of the card, is Slovakia's largest church.

Scotland Voted to Stay in U.K.

People in Scotland voted 55 percent to 45 percent to remain part of the United Kingdom, against independence in a historic referendum on Thursday September 18, 2014, with an unprecedented over-85 percent turnout.

The result kept a 307-year union with England in place, bringing a huge sigh of relief to the British political establishment by ending the prospect of losing a substantial part of its territory, oil reserves and international influence.

Postcard GB-497558 shows multiple views of South Queensferry, a town to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland, with a population of  9,026 in 2011. The sender was originally from Scotland, but now lives just north of London in England.

Antalya, Turkey

Postcard TR-195334 from Turkey shows multiple views of Antalya, a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey on the Asia side with a population of 964,886 in 2011. As Turkey's largest sea resort town, Antalya was the third most visited city, behind Paris and London, in the world in 2013 in terms of the number of international arrivals. Major attractions include Düden Waterfalls and Yivliminare Mosque, as shown on the card.

Minsk Magical Time

Postcard BY-1353861 from Belarus shows an illustration of historical Minsk under the starry night sky, designed by Catherine Hancharyk. You can see more of her art works here. It has expanded my Minsk collection.

Memories

Postcard BY-1337780 from Belarus features an oil painting on canvas made with a palette knife by artist Leonid Afremov, born in the city of Vitebsk, Belarus in 1955. Leonid Afremov graduated from the famous Vitebsk Art School in 1978. The school was founded by Marc Chagall (July 6, 1887 – March 28, 1985), a Belarussian-Russian-French artist, in 1921. Leonid Afremov moved to Israel in 1990, and became known as a Israeli modern painter of landscapes, cityscapes and figures. "The scorching southern sun filled with colors and brightness made Leonid's paintings positive and joyous."

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.

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.

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)

Nizhny Novgorod

Postcard RU-2493226 from Russia shows a magnificent cityscape of Nizhny Novgorod. Also known as Nizhny for short, it is the fifth largest city in Russia with a population of more than 1.3 millions as of 2003. From 1932 to 1990, the city was known as Gorky (高尔基城), named after the famous writer Maxim Gorky who was born there.

As the administrative center of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, the city is an important economic, transportation and cultural center for the vast Volga-Vyatka economic region in Russia.