Adventures learning geography with two little girls and their mommy, through Google Earth, Postcrossing and Geocaching!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

36th Out, Groningen, Netherlands

Groningen, Netherlands is the largest city in northern Netherlands and archaeological finds date from 3950 BC to 3720 BC.  Daniel Bernoulli a famous mathematician and physicist was born there.  He is most known for his "Bernoulli Equation" which I have actually used in my work as a geologist!  The equation deals with Force Potential~the hydraulic head of groundwater...
I just reviewed this for my State Boards exam!

35th Out, Gorzow Wielkopolski, Poland

This card is going to Gorzow Wielkopolski, Poland.  It is along the Warta river.  There are two large forest areas near Gorzow Wlkp.  The Gorzow Woods with the Barlinek-Gorzow Landscape Park and the Notec Woods.  The largest oil fields in Poland are also located near here. 

34th Out, Tata, Hungary

Our next card is going to Tata, Hungary which has been inhabited since prehistoric times, with archaeological findings dating back to 50,000 BCE!  Later is was a Roman settlement.

33rd Out, Tainan City, Taiwan

This card is going to Tainan City, Taiwan, ROC.

Archaeological revelations of Zuozhen people indicated that the Tainan region has been inhabited for at least 20-30,000 years!
Momofuku Ando is a famous person from Tainan, he was the founder of Nissin Foods and the inventory of instant noodles!  In other words, Top Ramen and Cup Noodles (Much More Than a Soup!)!  So cool to learn.

32nd Out, Jyvaskyla, Finland

Wow!  There is a lot to learn about Jyvaskyla!
Wikipedia had all of the following information.
Jyvaskyla is the only city in Central Finland and is the site of many education related firsts in Finland, it is known as a city of schools, the Athens of Finland, and has many buildings designed by Alvar Aalto.  Relics from the Stone Age are found here and cultivation had already started 3500 years ago. 
Kyla means village
jyvas has been associated with Taxus, a genus of yews, and the Old Prussian word Juwis.  It has also been speculated that the word jyvas refers to the sun's reflection off the surface of the water.

Finland Arrived

Hurray! US-1083362 was received!

The postcard US-1083362 to Lotsku in Finland has arrived! It reached its destination in 14 days after traveling 7,475 km!

Lotsku wrote you a message:

"Hi Selena & Gabriella!
Wow, you have got good finnish ;D. Our name is... = Meidän nimemme on... But it doesen´t matter if You say Minun nimeni on, I undrestand. If you want know more Finnish, you can send message ;)). Happy Postcrossing and thanks for the interesting carg!
Lotta"

Thanks Lotta, all the finnish we know is from you!  Thank you for the lesson, and we may be asking you for more!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Netherlands Arrived

Hurray! US-1062885 was received!

The postcard US-1062885 to Ellen363 in Netherlands has arrived! It reached its destination in 28 days after traveling 7,656 km!

Ellen363 wrote you a message:

"Hello!
Thank you very much for the nice postcard! A great addition to my collection!
Happy postcrossing!
Ellen"

Monday, April 25, 2011

Taiwan Arrived

Hurray! US-1083375 was received!

The postcard US-1083375 to javasparrow in Taiwan has arrived! It reached its destination in 12 days after traveling 10,043 km!

javasparrow wrote you a message:

"thanks for sending me this amazing postcaed! the water look stunning! also thanks for wishing me gook luck at university! i just read your blog, and you have two lovely daughters! :")"

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Geocaching with Daddy

Mommy had to work out of town all day today, so the girls spent the day with Great Grandma Pat, and on their way home with Daddy, they got to go geocaching!  He picked such a fun one that they even had to do some "rock climbing."



Monday, April 18, 2011

25th Received, Turnov, Czech Republic

Today we got a card from the Czech Repbulic, a region named "Bohemian Paradise," with many rocks, hills and castles.  According to Pavel, there is a tradition of cutting gemstones, and they work for one of these companies.

24th Received, Kemerovo, Russia

We received a postcard from Stepan from Kemerovo, Russia.  She is 10 years old.

23 Recieved, Brazil

This card came to us from Leonardo, who is 17 years old.  He forgot to put the ID on the card, so we can't register it.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

31st Out, New Taipei City, Taiwan

This is another card going to a city that we've sent quite a few to already!
Bei-Yi is a big fan of Harry Potter!  And guess what?  So are we!
New Taipei City was incorporated December 25, 2010... I've said that a time or two... :)

30th Out, Ristiina, Finland

We are sending a card to Lotta in Ristiina, Finland.  She is 10 years old and has given us a Finnish lesson.

Hello = moi
my name is = minun nimeni on
happy postcrossing! = hauskaa postcrossingia!
I hope you like this card = toivon etta pidat tasta kortista
bye bye = hei hei

Moi from Spokane, Washington, USA!  minun nimeni on Selena and Gabriella.  Toivon etta pidat tasta kortista, hei hei.  Hauskaa postcrossingia!

29th Out, Minsk

Minsk is  a very popular place these days, I'll have to check, but we've received and sent a few cards from Minsk already!

22nd Received, Ukraine

Ira,  After registering the postcard from you, I looked to see where in Ukraine you are from.  My husband spent time in Lviv when he was in school.  They took a trip visiting Germany, Poland, Ukraine (which was then still USSR) and Hungary.  His trip was in 1989.  When they were in Lviv (which they called Lvov) they attended some type of folk dancing and cultural event. 
Have a great day!
Christina and Family

21st Received, Helsinki, Finland

This card shows many views of Helsinki.  When I think of Helsinki, I can't help but think of the TV show Alias, and Sidney rushing off to Helsinki for some mission.  (It's sad to think that I know most of my foreign capitals and main cities for this same reason)
Heta tells us in her card, that Finland has thousands of lakes and islands (about 188,000 lakes and 179,500 islands).  The largest lake is Saimaa, near the town of Mikkeli.

20th Received, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan

We received our 20th card from Mei-Ling in southern Taiwan.  She sent us a beautiful card of Alishan, with it's "sea of clouds."  This is common in the autumn time.  The Alishan National Scenic Area looks beautiful.  Alishan is said to be one of the two most well-known scenic spots in Asia, and I can see why!  We would love to visit here someday.

Taiwan Arrived

Hurray! US-1053229 was received!

The postcard US-1053229 to amanda27409 in Taiwan has arrived! It reached its destination in 16 days after traveling 10,044 km!

amanda27409 wrote you a message:

"Thanks for your postcard. I very like it. Grand Coulee Dam is so~~~~Big!@0@
Happy postcrossing!!
Amanda"

Yes, Grand Coulee Dam is BIG!   It is the largest electric power-producing facility in the United States and one of the largest concrete structures in the world!  (Wikipedia)

Italy Arrived

Hurray! US-1053216 was received!

The postcard US-1053216 to Yorrick in Italy has arrived! It reached its destination in 15 days after traveling 8,810 km!

Yorrick wrote you a message:

"Thanks very much for thwe card with those extraordinary statues, which I have been reading and thinking about. I supposae all open air, publioc statuary transforms the place it is in to some extent, but not so clearly as these (so perhaps they revealsomething about statuary itself, at aby rate to the common viewert), or, if what I read about them freprebnting the dead is true, in quite this way. I would guess thatb they are intended to evoke a Native American belief. Am I right ?
Thanks so much for getting me to think, anyway,
XXX David"
David,
These statues are called, "The Joy of Running Together."  They depict the annual "Bloomsday" run that is held the first Sunday in May.  Each year approximately 50,000 people run a 12k race through our downtown and surrounding areas.  http://www.bloomsdayrun.org/BloomsdayHistory.htm.

Poland Arrived, She's been to Spokane!

April 5, 2011, how exciting that we have sent a card to someone who has spent time in Spokane! 
Anna, it is Manito Park, and we spend TONS of time there in the summer!  Thanks for the message, I can't stop smiling either :).  If you make it back this way let us know and we'll have some fun!!!!


Hurray! US-1053227 was received!

The postcard US-1053227 to annmount in Poland has arrived! It reached its destination in 14 days after traveling 8,119 km!

annmount wrote you a message:

"I'm so happy - I can' stop smiling :)
Why ?
Because I received card from Spokane.
In 2008 I was in East Coast for 5 weeks and our destination was Spokane - I love this park and carousel :) We were (my family and I) also in Manitou park (I don't excacly remeber the name :D)
I really miss Spokane - I have there a lot of fun (I bought in downtown my camera and my photographical adventure began).
Well - one day I'll return there :D
Have a nice day!
Anna"

Monday, April 4, 2011

Lithuania Arrived

Hurray! US-1053231 was received!

The postcard US-1053231 to anittta in Lithuania has arrived! It reached its destination in 13 days after traveling 8,100 km!

anittta wrote you a message:

"Hi, thank you for the card with Washington view:) wish you all the best and happy postcrossing"

Friday, April 1, 2011

France Arrived

Hurray! US-1055863 was received!

The postcard US-1055863 to Marieuh in France has arrived! It reached its destination in 8 days after traveling 7,761 km!

Marieuh wrote you a message:

"Hello !
Thank you very much for your postcard, I like it :)
Good Life,
Marie :)."