From: Budapest, Hungary (XR-0601)

Private Exchange XR-0601:

This is the first private swap card I received. I love interesting architecture, and we don't have many old buildings here in the USA. Many thanks to Kriszti!

About the postcard

Sender:	szirmaik
Received:	Unknown
Travelled:	10034 km (6236 mi)

About the location

Location:	Budapest, Hungary
Lat, Lon:	47° 30' N, 19° 5'E
Population:	1,695,000
Language(s):	Hungarian
Tidbit:	The Hungarian Parliament Building (pictured, center left) is one of the largest parliament buildings in the world: 268 m x 123 m, 96 m tall, with 691 rooms! Construction started in 1885 and was completed in 1904, but not before the architect went blind.

To: Helsinki, Finland (US-20009)

Postcrossing card US-20009:

About the postcard

Recipient:	Satu (Santsa)
Posted:	2006-03-11
Registered:	2006-03-18
Travelled:	9020 km (5605 mi)

About the destination

Location:	Helsinki, Finland
Lat, Lon:	60° 10' 32'' N, 24° 56' 3'' E
Population:	559,046
Language(s):	Finnish, Swedish
Tidbit:	From Wikipedia: Some widely renowned bands originate from Helsinki, including Stratovarius, HIM, The Rasmus, and The 69 Eyes. Eek! I've never heard of any of these. *goes to become more musically literate*

To: Schalkhaar, Netherlands (US-20008)

Postcrossing card US-20008:

About the postcard

Recipient:	Jeanine (LD)
Posted:	2006-03-11
Registered:	2006-03-18
Travelled:	9070 km (5636 mi)

About the destination

Location:	Schalkhaar, Netherlands
Lat, Lon:	52° 16' N, 6° 12' E
Population:	Unknown
Language(s):	Dutch, Frisian
Tidbit:	He he, another city stumps Wikipedia. But I did find a page about the province (Overijssel), which has a river named IJssel. This river is a branch of the Rhine, and ' [t]he name IJssel is thought to derive from the Germanic i sala, meaning "dark water".'

To: Singapore, Singapore (US-17137)

Postcrossing card US-17137:

About the postcard

Recipient:	Adeline (evilsatan22)
Posted:	2006-02-20
Registered:	2006-03-04
Travelled:	13999 km (8699 mi)

About the destination

Location:	Singapore, Singapore
Lat, Lon:	1° 17' 35'' N, 103° 51' 21'' E
Population:	4,425,720
Language(s):	Malay (National), English, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil
Tidbit:	From Wikipedia: The name Singapore was derived from the Malay word singa (lion), which itself is derived from the Sanskrit word सिंह siMha of the same meaning, and the Malay word "pura", also derived from the Sanskrit word पुर pura (city) [1]. Hence, Singapore is also known as the Lion City. The naming is attributed to a minor prince named Sang Nila Utama, who according to lore, saw a lion as the first living creature on the island and decided to name it Singapura as a result.

To: Santa Iria da Azóia, Portugal (US-16962)

Postcrossing card US-16962:

About the postcard

Recipient:	Maria (mariadocostume)
Posted:	2006-02-18
Registered:	2006-03-01
Travelled:	9204 km (5720 mi)

About the destination

Location:	Santa Iria da Azóia, Portugal
Lat, Lon:	38° 51' N, 9° 5' W
Population:	Unknown (102638, Lisbon area)
Language(s):	Portuguese
Tidbit:	You can visit Maria's weblog: http://quanto-a-mmmim.blogspot.com (as-mmmy-concern) (in Portuguese, so I can't read it!)

To: Hürth-Efferen, Germany (US-13899)

Postcrossing card US-13899:

About the postcard

Recipient:	Kaija (kaneli_oon)
Posted:	2006-01-27
Registered:	2006-03-10
Travelled:	9181 km (5705 mi)

About the destination

Location:	Hürth-Efferen, Germany
Lat, Lon:	50° 52' N, 6° 52' E
Population:	54,568 (Hürth, 2003)
Language(s):	German
Tidbit:	From Wikipedia: In former times, the Eifel aqueduct, a Roman aqueduct which supplied the city of Cologne with drinking water, went through Hürth. A couple of springs and streams in today's municipal area were used for that purpose before the Eifel aqueduct was built. Remnants of the aqueducts can still be found in the underground of the city.

My postcrossing history: at two months

I have been very busy at work so I have much updating to do, but for now I'll just add my new history map. More postcards to be posted soon!