A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 20 October 2026 - T for

Hello lovely girls,

I have a beautiful postcard to show you today:

It's a world famous work by Leonardo da Vinci called The Lady with the Ermine. It is found in the Czartoryski Museum in Krakow. I didn't see it personally but my friend Keren visited the museum on the day that we flew back  (Their flight was much later than mine so they had time). She obviously bought a postcard and sent it to me. Thank you Keren.

Wikipedia writes:

The Lady with an Ermine is a portrait painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. Dated to c. 1489–1491, the work is painted in oils on a panel of walnut wood. Its subject is Cecilia Gallerani, a mistress of Ludovico Sforza ("Il Moro"), Duke of Milan; Leonardo was painter to the Sforza court in Milan at the time of its execution. It is the second of only four surviving portraits of women painted by Leonardo, the others being Ginevra de' Benci, La Belle Ferronnière and the Mona Lisa.

Cecilia was born in early 1473 into a large family from Siena. Her father's name was Fazio Gallerani. He was not a member of the nobility, but he occupied several important posts at the Milanese court, including the position of ambassador to Republic of Florence and Republic of Lucca. Her mother was Margherita Busti, the daughter of a noted doctor of law.

She was educated alongside her six brothers in Latin and literature. In 1483 at the age of ten, Cecilia was betrothed to Stefano Visconti, but the betrothal was broken off in 1487 for unknown reasons. In May 1489, she left home for the Monastero Nuovo, and it was possibly there that she met Ludovico.

It has always been known that Leonardo painted a portrait of Ludovico Sforza's mistress, Cecilia Gallerani, but the Lady with an Ermine remained largely unknown to scholars until nearly the 20th century. The painting was acquired in Italy in 1798 by Prince Adam George Czartoryski,  and incorporated into the Czartoryski family collections at Puławy in 1800. The inscription on the top-left corner of the painting, LA BELE FERONIERE. LEONARD DAWINCI., was probably added by a restorer shortly after its arrival in Poland, and before the background was overpainted. Czartoryski was clearly aware it was a Leonardo, although the painting had never been discussed in print; no record exists of any previous owner. The Belle Ferronière is the Leonardo portrait in the Louvre,(see photo above) whose sitter bears such a close resemblance; the Czartoryskis considered this sitter to be the same.

"Monuments Men" – Frank P. Albright, Everett Parker Lesley, Joe D. Espinosa – and Polish liaison officer Karol Estreicher pose with the painting upon its return to Poland in April 1946. 

In 1939, anticipating the German occupation of Poland, it was again moved to Sieniawa, but it was discovered and seized by the Nazis and sent to the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin. In 1940, Hans Frank, the Governor General of Poland, saw the painting there and requested it be returned to Kraków, where it hung in his suite of offices in the Wawel Castle. In 1941, it was transferred to a warehouse of other plundered art in Breslau. In 1943 it was brought back to Kraków and exhibited at the Wawel Castle. At the end of the Second World War it was discovered by Allied troops in Frank's country home in Schliersee, Bavaria, and was returned to Poland in 1946. (See photo above) It was again placed on exhibit at the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków.

The stamps are beautiful. The orchid is exquisite and the stamp on the right features

Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz (1911–1943) He was a Polish-Greek champion athlete turned World War II secret agent who led a high-impact sabotage campaign against Axis forces in occupied Greece

The Legendary Saboteur of WWII

A champion swimmer for Iraklis Thessaloniki, Iwanow-Szajnowicz earned a degree in Agriculture from the University of Leuven in Belgium and was fluent in six languages. He was trained as an agent and saboteur by the secret services of Poland and Great Britain and operated in Greece under the codename Bolby, inflicting significant damage on Axis forces.

Captured by the Germans in December 1941, he managed to escape but was later placed on their wanted list. On September 8, 1942, he was apprehended by the Italians. In both instances, Iwanow-Szajnowicz fell into enemy hands due to betrayal. A hero until the end, he had to be shackled at the execution site as he attempted to flee even then. He was executed on January 4, 1943, in Kaisariani, proclaiming, “Long live Poland, long live Greece.” (CultureisAthens.com). 

Read more about him here.

What have I been doing here in Spain? Not much really. All my clubs and associations are starting up again this month. On Friday I will be going to make-up classes. I have also signed up for castañets but nothing has been organised yet. I'm going to the gym twice a week and do Pilates twice a week, and I'm learning the piano:

I've subscribed to Simply Piano and am now figuring out how to get some speakers or how to connect my keyboard to my tablet or phone. In the meantime I'm learning chords and the program that I purchased also features drawing lessons so I have started those too:

Today I am going to link with the T-Party, hosted by Elizabeth and Bluebeard. I need a drink. I have been out with my friends a few times but I have forgotten to take any pictures, so here is one from my stay in Krakow:

We were having breakfast and I asked for iced coffee. This is what I got. It was delicious!

I chose a fruit waffle for my breakfast and look at it! Very nice indeed.

I will finish with some photos of my (photogenic) cat Ronnie:

That's all folks! 

Thank you in advance for your comments. I always love it when people let me know they've visited and commented on what I wrote.

Happy T-Day all!

Lisca

A PostcardA Day - Friday 16 October 2026 - Friday Smiles and Friday Face Off

 Hello lovely peeps,

Do you like Art Nouveau? I do and if you do too, then you can relish in the images I have found regarding my postcard for today:

The postcard is sent to me by Rolf (via Postcrossing), who lives in Darmstadt. It features a part of the Mathildenhöhe.

Wikipedia writes:

The Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt , or simply Mathildenhöhe, in the southern Hessian city of Darmstadt, is a complex of buildings and parks in the Art Nouveau and early Modernist styles , built between 1897 and 1914 on the hill of the same name in the east of Darmstadt's city center. 

It is the result of the Mathildenhöhe artists' colony, initiated by the then Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse, where important artists and architects such as Joseph Maria Olbrich , Peter Behrens , and Albin Müller explored new paths in experimental architecture, new spatial art, and forward-looking design with a holistic approach. 

Because of its significant contribution to the development of modernist architecture, urban landscape design, and the avant-garde processes in which this occurred, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on July 24, 2021.  

The Mathildenhöhe is named after Grand Duchess Mathilde , wife of Grand Duke Ludwig III of Hesse and by Rhine.

The card features a relief among a plane tree grove with the so-called wedding tower in the background.

Rolf has a blog and he gives an explanation on his blog: RolfSchaefer.blogspot)

The relief "Sleep" is one of four allegorical relief groups by the artist Bernhart Hoetger in the sculpture park "Platanenhain" on the Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt, which represents the perpetual cycle of life with becoming and passing away as an overarching theme.

The figurative representation with gestures, facial expressions and posture corresponds to the theme of sleep. Visitors are kept at a distance by a magnificent barrier and the background is protected by a lattice wall overgrown with ivy. (Rolf Schaefer.blogspot)

Rolf writes about the wedding tower:

The 48.5 metre high brick tower on Darmstadt's Mathildenhöhe was completed in 1908 and is classified as Art Nouveau. It is the city's landmark and is intended to commemorate the wedding of Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig to Princess Eleonore zu Solms in 1905. Hence the name "Wedding Tower". 

The five final arches of the roof, reminiscent of an outstretched hand, are striking. This explains why the tower is popularly called the Five-Finger Tower.

On the seventh floor, below the roof arches, there is a viewing room with many windows that can be reached via 195 steps or by the lift that was installed later. Visitors can enjoy a panorama over the city and a wide view.

On the postcard only a few trees are visible, but there is an entire plane tree grove:

Again, Rolf writes about this:

The Plane Tree Grove is part of the Darmstadt Artists' Colony ensemble which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2021. The park artwork with half-height plane trees planted at regular intervals and pruned every year to form a closed green roof is a beautiful place to linger, listen to concerts or play boules. The plane tree grove is decorated with over 40 sculptures and reliefs created for the 1914 Art Nouveau exhibition based on designs by the artist Bernhard Hoetger.

Rolf shares a few more photos:

The panorama and the combination with the Art Nouveau buildings and the style of 16th-century Russian churches is somewhat jarring.

Tsar Nicholas II, a brother-in-law of Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig, had the chapel built as a place of worship in 1897-99 by the St. Petersburg court architect Leontij Nikolajewitsch Benois. The "Russian Chapel" on Mathildenhöhe was integrated into the emerging ensemble of the Darmstadt artists' colony and the Art Nouveau buildings and visually integrated with a water basin in front. Serbian Orthodox services are still held in the chapel today.

Rolf writes:

The Ernst Ludwig House was the main building of the Art Nouveau Exhibition of 1901 and has housed the "Museum Künstlerkolonie Darmstadt" since 1990. The striking omega portal is flanked by two monumental figures, Adam and Eve, created by the sculptor Ludwig Habich. I chose this section of the picture because the southern museum portal leaves a lasting memory for most visitors to the Darmstadt Artists' Colony. Why Adam is naked and Eve clothed remains unexplained.

Even the railway station in Darmstadt is beautiful:

Above the entrance portal of the Glückert House (below), designed by Olbricht in 1901 as an artist's house, acquired by the furniture manufacturer Glückert

I feel a trip to Germany coming up.

 Where is Darmstadt anyway?

Lisca, stop day dreaming! 

What else has made me smile?

This is my cat Ronnie having a drink from his fountain.

Above are two little plants that my friend Antonia gave me. They found a place in front of the patio doors (plenty of light) on top of the ledge to my bedroom. Initially my bedroom opened up to the patio, but we then realized, people would have to walk through my bedroom to get to the patio. So we made this little wall so my bed is not visible.

That is it from me today. I will be joining Friday Face Off although the faces are cat faces today (among the funnies).

There will be some funnies at the end which (hopefully) will make you smile.

Take care and 

Keep Smiling!

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 13 Octoiber 2026 - T for pagodas, the Ark Church, and chilli chocolate

 Hello lovely peeps,

I have a postcard with some gorgeous stamps for you and I would also like to show you a little more of my trip to Krakow. 

But let's start with a postcard. It's from Quanzhou in China:

It came to me via Postcrossing:

It is one of Quanzhou's most famous historic towers, the East and West Pagodas located inside Kaiyuan Temple.

Wikipedia writes:

Kaiyuan Temple is a Buddhist temple located in West Street, Quanzhou, China, and is considered as the largest Buddhist temple in Fujian province with an area of 78,000 square metres (840,000 ft²).

In 2021, the temple was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List along with other sites near Quanzhou because of its importance during the medieval global maritime trade based in Quanzhou and its testimony to the global exchange of ideas and cultures. The temple is also one of few in China to contain Hindu monuments, left there by traders from Southern India.

(Above photo from the Internet)

To me these two pagodas look alike but they were built in different eras. 

One of them is the Zhengou pagoda and the other one the Renshou pagoda. I don't know which one is featured on the card.

But one of the stamps on the card also features a pagoda:

And with Google translate I have been able to establish that this is the Zhengou pagoda.

Zhenguo Pagoda (镇国塔) or the Tower of Safeguarding the Nation, is a five-storey wooden pagoda first built in 865 in the Tang dynasty (618–907). It is the East pagoda to its West twin pagoda Renshou. But it was destroyed and rebuilt into stone pagoda in 1238 in the Song dynasty (960–1276). The 48.24-metre (158.3 ft) pagoda was octagonal with five storeys. Every storey is carved with sixteen reliefs with a total of 80 vivid human figures. (also from Wikipedia).

The card was sent to me by Chen Jianrong and he used lots of beautiful stamps:

I have been able to find out more about these stamps.

The top one shows monkeys, created  using cloned somatic cells (don't ask! I don't understand things like that).

The bottom one features a 500 metre aperture spherical radio telescope.

At the top you can see the Chang'e 4 probe and below that, the first quantum science experimental satellite.

Now for things that I liked in Krakow. We visited many museums and Wawel Castle. The Castle museum has so much to offer that we did one floor at a time. We saw beautiful works of art and artefacts with explanations of Poland's complicated history.(We were given an audio guide).

What I particularly liked, and want to show you, are the heating stoves in every room. They are covered with beautiful ceramic tiles:

Below, a detail:

They were all different but equally stunning.

One day when my friend's husband was not feeling very well, my friend and I went to visit the Ark Church.

It was something we had heard about and were keen to visit (although neither of us is Roman Catholic).

From the photo you can see it looks a bit like a boat (ark). The official name is the Church of Our Lady Queen of Poland but is generally known as the Ark of the Lord Church. It is located at 1 Obronców Krzyza Street in Nowa Huta, which seemed to me a pleasant suburb of Krakow.

Built between 1967 and 1977, it was the first new church to be built in Nowa Huta. The history is fascinating. Wikipedia writes:

As early as 1952 local residents formed a parish and started lobbying for permission to build a church but the Communist government would not grant building permits or allocate any land for the building. In 1956 residents delivered two petitions advocating for the building to local authorities and permission was granted. In 1957 they placed a wooden cross near Plac Teatralny (Theater Square) to mark the location of the future church. In October 1959 authorities withdrew the building permission and the land was taken back. This led to community protest by the residents of Nowa Huta and on April 27, 1960 when authorities came to remove the wooden cross, the 1960 Nowa Huta protests  broke out that were met with violence from the militia.

I love the  the 8-metre (26 ft) tall crucifix: a work of Bronisław Chromy.

In 1965 a new location was finally secured which is credited to the intervention of then metropolitan bishop, Karol Wojtyła (who would later become Pope John Paul II). The church was designed by architect Wojciech Pietrzyk in 1965, who used Le Corbusier’s chapel in Ronchamp for his model.  Construction began on the new building in 1967. Due to political restrictions construction was primarily carried out by volunteers, with no assistance from the government over 9 years.  The cornerstone (a fragment of St Peter’s tomb sent from Vatican) of the new church was laid by the then Bishop of Kraków, Karol Wojtyła. On May 15, 1977, Karol Wojtyła, by now a cardinal, consecrated the church, giving it the name of Our Lady Queen of Poland.

During the 1980s martial law period, the church became a focal point for anti-communist resistance. Monthly masses held there often turned into protests, and the site saw events like the death of Bogdan Włosik, a young protester shot by security forces in 1982. In 1992 a monument was erected on the site commemorating his death.

These are just my photos, but if you are interested in the architecture, look it up on the Internet.

Near the church there was a little street market going on. Many stalls had mushrooms:

Today I will link up with Elizabeth and Bluebeard for T stands for Tuesday. And I need a drink of course. Well, today it's not tea, but hot chocolate. Within the Wawel Castle grounds in Krakow there is a little place that serves hot chocolate (and ice cream and other chocolate products as Wawel chocolate is quite popular.) 

The building houses a tourist office and other admin offices. There are a few tables and chairs (plus parasols) outside.

My friend and I chose chilli chocolate:

Best hot chocolate I ever had! My friend and I liked it so much we returned there on the last day to have another chilli chocolate!

One last drink for the T-Party: 

One afternoon we decided to take advantage of 'happy hour' and have a cocktail. Cocktails are getting more popular in Europe especially among young people. But I am old so no experience at all. The day before I had asked a girl, what she was drinking as I was fascinated by what looked like a coffee in a stemmed glass. I was told it was an espresso martini. So that is what I ordered. And I loved it!

That is all from me today.

Happy T-Day!

Lisca