Here are the postcards!
I’ve been collecting postcards since 2008. Since then, I’ve sent and received over 1800 postcards from all over the US and dozens of countries. I respond to every postcard I receive, so I’m always open for private swaps.
My origin story: Back when I was a young boy, I got the idea to write a letter to several world leaders, but I only ever ended up writing the US president and the Queen of England. I was so tickled to receive responses from President Bush and then Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II! Well, they weren’t directly from the world leaders, but rather from their staff members. President Bush sent me an autographed photograph (which I lost later in a show-and-tell accident).
One of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting sent me a very detailed letter, typed on Buckingham Palace stationery, answering all of my questions about the Queen’s horses and her corgis and her favorite foods. I marveled at the strangely-sized paper, the texture of the embossed coat of arms centered at the top of the page, and the stamps on the envelope. A real person had spent time reading my letter, responding to it, folding it and placing it in an envelope, and then more real human beings had taken the time and effort to transport it from London to some mail distribution center, to an airport in England, to an airport in the US, and back through the various USPS chains until it arrived in a plastic mailbox at the foot of my driveway in southeast Michigan.
I’m still fascinated by this process today, and all for less than the price of some chocolate! So I maintain correspondence with about a dozen penpals across the world, and send and receive postcards. At last count, I have a little under 2,000 postcards that I’ve received. Keep scrolling to see the most recent postcards that have arrived in my mailbox.
Bertold Brecht (Oregon)
Linda sends this in the wake of a disastrous election, reframing the question as “What happens to democracy when all the freedoms disappear?” Unluckily, we will be finding out in the years to come. And American voters will have gotten just what they asked for (or didn’t but deserve anyway, by sitting this one out).
Trick or Treat (Finland)
I’m so impressed by how many PostCrossing MeetUps that my friend Jussi attends! This one is no exception!
Suzhou treasures (China)
This postcard arrived from China after only one month; not bad for approaching the holidays! The postcard depicts some treasures from Suzhou in Jiangsu province.
Pristina (Kosovo)
Just when I think we’ve exhausted the innumerable postcards that have come in from Matty’s huge trip, another one makes its way to me! This one from Kosovo, a place I’ve never been (or even gotten close to, really). I’d really love to visit it. Matty writes that it’s beautiful, friendly, and cheap! What more is there to ask for?!
Cassis (France)
Moi, je connais le Cassis mieux pour sa crème de cassis, mais Dominique m’écrit que les calanques sont renomées pour leur vin et les plages nudistes! Il m’écrit aussi que même si c’est rare de rencontre des vins Californiens en France, il a bu une bouteille dans un restaurant connu à Baden Baden: Robert Mondavi Private Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2019. Il lui a beaucoup plu! J’en suis heureux car que je sais que les styles sont différents entre la France et la Californie.
Claudette Colbert’s home (Illinois)
More excellent vintage postcards from our niece and her boyfriend in Illinois this week! This one features the home of Claudette Colbert in Holmby Hills, California. Who the heck is Claudette Colbert and why do we care about her home in Holmby Hills (honestly, never heard of it)?!
Mariposa Grove (Illinois)
Mariposa Grove is of course in California, but the card comes from our niece and her boyfriend in Illinois. Where they routinely find such great California cards in Chicago is beyond me!
Zellenberg (France)
D’un côté, cette carte postale pourrait réprésenter la Californie, sauf que les maisons ne sont pas aussi belles ici qu’en Alsace. Évidemment, on voit ici une vue de Zellenberg, sur la Route des Vins d’Alsace. Dominique me récommend deus grands crus: Froehn et Schoenenbourg. <3
a beautiful friend’s kiss (Portugal)
This is one of the few postcards to come in an envelope from PostCrossing; I’m only posting the top half of it here. You can see the whole thing —and how!— by following the link to its entry on PostCrossing. As it turns out, the sender didn’t recognize the men in this photo. I was happy to be able to oblige with their stage names.
tea time (Poland)
PostCrossing is even more international than it appears at first! This postcard comes from Ann, originally from Belarus and now practicing dentistry in Poland. Fantastic!
la rivière de Strasbourg (France)
Dominique m’envoit cette carte postale de sa ville natale. Il m’éxplique bien sur la rivière et ses formes passées et actuelles. Il faut vraiment la visiter!
Peterborough Canoes (Ontario)
One of the problems with these scans is that there’s nothing for scale, so you can’t know from looking at this entry that this postcard is massive! It’s almost half the size of a standard sheet of paper! Quinn and Lorris visited the Jiimaan Kinomaagewin | Musée Canadien du Canot | Canadian Canoe Museum, which was recently renovated during Canadian Thanksgiving. Peterborough is also home to the world’s largest hydraulic lift lock between Lake Ontario and the Georgian Bay. Super cool!
Stanley Park, Vancouver (British Columbia)
Huzzah! Another postcard from my in-laws’ trip to Vancouver! They walked quite a bit around Stanley Park from their hotel. They’re considering a move to Vancouver and this was an exploratory trip!
Panama multiview
Lucky for me, the USPS is still forwarding mail - even postcards - that were sent to our old address. This one was dated 11 August 2024 and arrived at my new address on 25 October (there’s a backlog of postcards I’m posting here, so it’ll be a while before it actually makes it live on the blog). Matty sent this on his cross-globe tour from North America to Europe to Central America and South Asia. Beautiful!
Vancouver multiview (British Columbia)
Hot on the heels of Andy’s trips to Vancouver, BC, his mom and stepdad made their first trip just a few weeks ago. Decades ago, my mother-in-law had heard about the incredible Vancouver public library, and as they’re consummate library nerds, it was one of the first stops on their tour. They were not disappointed!
Tirana (Albania)
Some countries have a very different indigenous name for themselves and Albania is a great example of this! The Albanian for Albania is Shqipëria! So cool! Thanks Matty for sending this to me!
Jama Masjid (India)
I keep writing about Matty’s “European tour” but given that it had a stop in Massachusetts and one in India — evidently — it’s not the right term! I can’t wait to learn more about this trip!
Second City (Illinois)
One of my goals is to see a Second City show in real life, but I’ll have to settle for SNL skits as many of the stars have come through Second City first! Thanks to Kimee and Michael for this missive from their attendance at a show!
Millennium Force (Ohio)
The last postcard, I think, from the Geda Trip to Cedar Point finally depicts a roller coaster I know! I remember reading about the Millennium Force, which I believe was the tallest, fastest, steepest roller coaster at the time of its opening. Our nephew Hunter proposed to his girlfriend on the trip and they’ll be married soon! Congratulations!