Tuesday 4 June 2024

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 4 June 2024 - T for kittens, castles and trains

 Hello lovely peeps,

Here I am in the Netherlands. The idea is to celebrate my mum's 100th birthday (tomorrow) which she actually missed as she died in October. But my sister and I said we'd celebrate her 100th anyway as she had started planning a party even back then. It's not going to be a big do, but my sister and her husband, as well as other family are getting together for drinks and nibbles and a good old catch up.

My card for today are some cute kitties which were sent to me from Germany:


It was sent to me by Tatiana who lives in Lörrach. Lörrach  is a city in southwest Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss borders.  It is the home of a number of large employers, including the Milka chocolate factory owned by Mondelez International. (Wikipedia)

Nearby is the castle of Rötteln on the Wiesental, whose lords became the counts of Hachberg and a residence of the Margraves of Baden; this was destroyed by the troops of Louis XIV in 1678, but was rebuilt in 1867. Lörrach received market rights in 1403, but it did not obtain the privileges of a city until 1682.

The stamp is the standard young animal stamp:
Here are the baby mountain goats. Very cute.
Tatiana also adds a butterfly sticker.

I've been traveling through Spain, France, and Belgium by train to get to the Netherlands.
The above train took me from Madrid to the French border. I then had to get a bus to actually cross the border as the rail width is different in Spain, so there are no through trains. Once in France (Bayonne) I walked along the river from the bus stop to the station (together with other travellers going in the same direction). 

The station was not very far away:

And now I am in the Netherlands staying with my friends who came to see me in Spain over Christmas. Here we are having a meal out.

They are originally from the Phillipines and Ingrid made some rice cakes they call 'puto':
We had them for breakfast.Very yummy!

Last night Angelo made us some lovely gin and tonics:
He puts slices of cucumber in it in stead of lemon and I must say it's very nice.

Here is another one:


And these are also my 'ticket' to the T-Party, hosted by Elizabeth and Bluebeard.

Wishing you a wonderful T-Day,

Keep smiling,

Lisca








6 comments:

My name is Erika. said...

I love the idea that you are celebrating your Mom's 100th. Why not? It's good you are thinking of her even though she is not physically there to celebrate with you. That's interesting that the track size varies in Spain. I wonder if Iris knows about that. And how was Madrid? Have a wonderful get together for your Mom's birthday and visit with your friends. And Happy T day too. hugs-Erika

Iris Flavia said...

Erika, I sure agree: Celebrate!!!
In fact, I always tell my Brother when it is "the" date of Mom or Dad and flowers go to the grave.
And, Lisca, have a good Birthday-"party"!
And, yes. Europe tries to have a system but so far most countries have their own track width. This goes still back to war times - different track width - you cannot enter and conquer!
Nice I am the train weirdo, LOL....
The system we try to go for is called ETCS, European Train Control System... will take some years...

Mae Travels said...

Again, your geography lessons are fun — an obscure place in Germany, and how to take a train across much of the Continent. I think Russia also has a different RR gauge, like Spain, which is inconvenient for long-distance travelers. Needless to say, everything here is one standard, but it’s still almost impossible to make long distanced journeys by train.
Have a good visit to the Netherlands.
best,mae

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Loved the kittens and enjoyed the history lesson about the castle.

I was surprised to learn about the different sized train tracks from one country to the next. Ours are all the same, but as Mae pointed out, you would have a great deal of trouble going across country in any of our trains.

How delightful that you and your sister are celebrating your mother's 100th b'day per her wishes. I hope you will share a few shots with us when it happens.

I love how you and your friends share a drink in that cafe. I really like the coffee pot and coffee etched on the wall of that cafe.

Thanks for sharing your postcard, trip, and drinks with us for T this Tuesday, dear Lisca.

CJ Kennedy said...

How lovely to celebrate your mom's 100th birthday with family and friends. Have a blast. I'm sure she'll be smiling down and enjoying the celebration. Happy T Day

Spyder said...

Sorry I'm so late, I know I did come before as I remembered the kittens! Sometimes I have trouble finding the right post! Well done to your mum! 100years years, wow, she has seen some remarkable history. Happy late T day for last week!
((Lyn))