The Lone Star State | USA

This postcard is again from my collection. It is a multi-view of Texas, USA. Texas (Spanish: Texas or Tejas) is the second largest state in the United States of America by both area and population. Geographically located in the South Central region of the country, Texas shares borders with the U.S. states of Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the southwest, while the Gulf of Mexico is to the southeast.

Houston is the most populous city in Texas and the fourth largest in the U.S.A.. Texas is nicknamed "The Lone Star State" to signify its former status as an independent republic, and as a reminder of the state's struggle for independence from Mexico. The origin of Texas's name is from the word "Tejas," which means "friends" in the Caddo language.

Nazaré and Vila Real de Santo António | Portugal

Last night we went to a Portuguese restaurant, so today I browsed through my collection and found these two postcards from Portugal.

This postcards shows washerwomen of petticoats at Nazaré, Portugal. Nazaré is a town and a municipality in subregion Oeste and Leiria District, in Portugal. It is one of the most popular seaside resorts in the Silver Coast/Costa de Prata, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 15,158, in an area of 82.43 km². The municipal holiday is September 8 with the Festas da Nazaré a religious and profane festival with processions, bullfights, fireworks, folk dancing and a fair. The town consists of three neighbourhoods: Praia (along the beach), Sítio (an old village, on top of a cliff) and Pederneira (another old village, on a hilltop). Praia and Sítio are linked by the Nazaré Funicular, a funicular railway. [wikipedia]

Borne | The Netherlands

This is a multi-view postcard sent by Jantsje from Borne via postcrossing [NL-3215637].

Borne is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. Its inhabitants also have the nickname Melbuul [which I am very intrigued to find out what it means]. Borne is the sister city of the German town Rheine.

It was postmarked on 10 November 2015 in Zwolle.

Vilnius | Lithuania

This is my first postcard from Lithuania! It is a multi-view postcard of Vilnius sent by Margarita via postcrossing [LT-473862]. 

Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital, is known for its baroque architecture, seen especially in its medieval old town. But the buildings lining this district’s partially cobblestoned streets reflect diverse styles and eras, from the neoclassical Vilnius Cathedral to Gothic St. Anne's Church. The 16th-century Gate of Dawn, containing a shrine with a sacred Virgin Mary icon, once guarded an entrance to the original city.

It was postmarked on 02 November 2015 in Garliava, Lithuania.

Date of issue: 8th November 2014
Designer: Augustina Gruzdyte
Paper: chalky
Printing process: offset
Perforation: comb 13 1/4 : 13
Size of a stamp: 30 x 40 mm.
Sheet composition: 50 (10 x 5) stamps.
Printing run: 750.000
2.80 Lt. multicoloured. Santa by a balloon.

Kutná Hora | Czech Republic

Kutná Hora (medieval Czech: Hory Kutné; German: Kuttenberg) is a city situated in the Central Bohemian Region of Bohemia, which is now part of the Czech Republic. Kutná Hora and the neighboring town of Sedlec are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Among the most important buildings in the area are the Gothic, five-naved St. Barbara's Church, begun in 1388, and the Italian Court, formerly a royal residence and mint, which was built at the end of the 13th century. The Gothic Stone Haus, which since 1902 has served as a museum, contains one of the richest archives in the country. The Gothic St. James's Church, with its 86-metre (282 ft) tower, is another prominent building. Sedlec is the site of the Gothic Cathedral of Our Lady and the famous Ossuary. [wikipedia]

This card was sent in 1980, when Czechoslovakia still existed. Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia (Czech and Slovak: Československo, Česko-Slovensko) was a sovereign state in Central Europe that existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until its peaceful dissolution into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on 1 January 1993.

Gerald Hoberman | South Africa

Beautiful, colorful postcard sent by Rosey from South Africa. As she writes, these are common aspects of her city, as it is full of art, spray paintings etc, and of the town life [commonly known as the Cape Flats].

The pictures on this card are by Gerald Hoberman Collection. THE HOBERMAN COLLECTION is an international specialist publisher of award-winning photographic books featuring the multifaceted attributes of countries, cities, and wildlife. Launched in 1996, The Gerald & Marc Hoberman Collection publishes the photographs of the world-renowned South African father and son team exclusively.

The Hobermans’ quest is fueled by a passion for sharing their positive vision of the world through photography. Their thirst for adventure has led them increasingly far from home to cover a variety of subjects, such as the majestic tiger in its natural habitat, the frozen splendor of the Arctic tundra, the spectacular deserts of Namibia, and the vibrancy of the city of New York and its people. [hobermancollection.com]