A Lighthouse, an Erratic Boulder, and a Stonecastle

I got this beautiful postcard as a prize for solving a word puzzle back at the Postcrossing Forum. Getting a freebie card is already a treat, but getting a lighthouse postcard from Estonia is certainly such a blessing! (I have already confessed my fascination with lighthouses in a previous entry.)

Anyway, the postcard that Alexandra sent me is actually a multiview postcard showing the images of the Köpu Lighthouse, the Ehalkivi Boulder, and the Rakvere Stonecastle.

Read brief descriptions of the featured sites below:

"Kõpu Lighthouse (Kõpu tuletorn) is one of the best known symbols and tourist sights on the Estonian island of Hiiumaa. It is one of the oldest lighthouses in the world, having been in continuous use since its completion in 1531. The lighthouse is built at the top of the highest hillock of Hiiumaa island, Tornimägi which is 68 meters above sea level." (Wikipedia)

"Ehalkivi or the Sunset Glow Boulder is Estonias biggest pegmatite granite boulder at the tip of Letipea peninsula. It is the largest erratic* boulder in the glaciation area of North Europe with a height of 7 meters, circumference of 48.2 meters, volume of 930 square meters, and a mass of approximately 2500 tons." (Wikipedia)

"Rakvere Castle dates back to the Medieval Period. It was ruined during the wars of the 16th and the 17th centuries when Russia, Sweden and Poland-Lithuania were at war over the nearby land. It has been owned by Denmark, the German crusaders, Russia, Sweden and Poland." (Baltic-Castles.org)

The postcard came with this horn stamp issued just this year.

Much thanks for the card, Alexandra! I truly appreciate the effort to find out which type of postcards I love to get my hands on. :)

*FYI: A glacial erratic is a piece of rock that differs from the size and type of rock native to the area in which it rests. "Erratics" take their name from the Latin word errare, and are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundreds of kilometers. (Wikipedia)

Wishing you happy journeys...

See more postcards at

Trakai Island Castle

This is my very first postcard from Lietuva (Lithuania)! I got it from a swap with Grazvydas, who asked for a postcard of Coron, Palawan.

I absolutely fell in love with this card when I saw it on her trade album.  Who wouldn't, anyway?


Here are some information I got on the Trakai Castle:

"The centrepiece of the old Lithuanian capital of Trakai is its picture-postcard Island Castle. The painstakingly restored red-brick Gothic castle is perched atop an island on Lake Galvė. It probably dates from around 1400, when Vytautas, Lithuania's Grand Duke of the time, needed stronger defences than the nearby peninsula castle afforded.

A footbridge links it to the shore and a moat separates the triangular outer courtyard moat from the main tower with its cavernous central court and a range of galleries, halls and rooms. Some house the Trakai History Museum (Trakų istorijos muziejus) which charts the history of the castle. The castle's prominence as a holy site is reflected in its collection of religious art on display in a seperate gallery. In summer the castle courtyard is a magical stage for concerts and plays."  (Source: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/lithuania/sights/museum/trakai-island-castle)

The postcard came with this nice train stamp:

Ačiū for the card, Grazvydas!  Man tai patinka! 

Wishing you happy journeys...