Thursday, July 28, 2011

DE-986223




Kleinwalsertal (little Walser valley) is a part of Austria, but only accessible from Germany to the north, and thus is an Austrian "practical exclave" or "pene-exclave". It used to have special tax free status which became obsolete when Austria acceded to the EU.
It is a commune of the state Vorarlberg which is the most western state of Austria. It consists of three villages which are situated along the River Breitach: Mittelberg, Hirschegg, and Riezlern.
The valley is famous in Central Europe as a ski and hiking resort. The 5,000 inhabitants, who are called "Walser", provide 12,000 beds for tourists.
Due to the terrain there is no direct access by car to the other parts of Austria. Therefore the Kleinwalsertal can only be accessed via Oberstdorf, a nearby village in Germany.
From 1891 Kleinwalsertal enjoyed a customs union with Germany, a free border, and used the Deutsche Mark. Since Austria joined the European Union in 1995, followed by the signing of the Schengen Agreement (1997) and the introduction of the Euro (2002), this special status no longer applies.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

RU-489946





DE-985449


Virginia map



 July 2011 Alternative RR, from #1 Angee

Virginia
"Old Dominion"
Capital: Richmond
Area: 40,815 sq. ml
Population: 1969 est. 4,648,000
Motto: Sic Semper Tyrannis - Thus always to tyrants
Flower: American Dogwood
Bird: Cardinal

Tree: American Dogwood
Tenth of the Original 13 States


Tuesday, July 26, 2011

JP-173371




ES-116196




PT-185384




 Vista parcial de Vila Marim

GB-241836





Notre-Dame




 France x other countries RR, Group 210, from Oxymord

Paris et ses merveilles
La facade de la cathedrale Notre-Dame (1163-1330) et la rosace sud

Roros, Norway



 France x other countries RR, Group 210, from jenta

PL-200069





 "Two bears" by Ch. Opperman. Original is painted with the help of mouth

NL-701882


Hoogerheide is a village in the south of the Netherlands, in the municipality of Woensdrecht, North Brabant, Netherlands. The name "Hoogerheide" means "High Heath" in English. The Grand Prix Adri van der Poel cyclo-cross race is held annually in Hoogerheide.


Lisbon




 Portugal to other countries RR, Group 14, from joaninha

BY-213548





Bottlenose dolphins





 July 2011 Alternative RR, from #16 citykitten

A Bottlenose Dolphin family pod

Monday, July 25, 2011

TW-333242




FI-1147732





A Faberge egg





 Received from LJ-community post_lottery

A Faberge egg "Order of St. George" made under the supervision of the Russian jeweller Peter Carl Fabergé in 1916, for Nicholas II of Russia, who presented the egg to his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna.
This was the last egg that the Dowager Empress received.

Made during World War I, the Order of St. George egg commemorates the Order of St. George that was awarded to Emperor Nicholas and his son, the Grand Duke Alexei Nikolaievich. The Order of St. George egg, and its counterpart the Steel Military egg were given a modest design, in keeping with the austerity of World War I.
Fabergé billed 13,347 rubles for the two eggs.
The Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna took the Order of St. George egg with her when she traveled to Kiev in May 1916, thus avoiding the October Revolution. The Russian Provisional Government forced the Dowager Empress to travel to Crimea, from where she fled in 1919 on board HMS Marlborough, Maria Feodorovna died in Denmark in 1928, and her jewels were valued at £100,000 by the jeweler R. G. Hennel & Sons.
Several of the jewels were acquired by Queen Mary, and the sale raised £136,624. The Order of St. George egg was inherited by Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia and after her death in 1960 was sold at Sotheby's for the equivalent of $30,910 to the Fabergé Company.
In 2004 it was sold as part of Forbes Collection to Viktor Vekselberg. Vekselberg purchased some nine Imperial eggs, as part of the collection, for almost $100 million.


RU-487223





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