Tuesday 21 December 2021

A Postcard A Day -Tuesday 21 December 2021- T for

 Hello lovely ladies,

I bet you are all ridiculously busy as Christmas is a big thing in the Anglo-Saxon world. Not so here.(a village in rural southern Spain) Here it is still a religious festival, no presents are exchanged, people don't decorate the house, nobody I know has a Christmas tree and people don't send Christmas cards. On Christmas eve they get together with the family and have a large fish based meal. That is it. We have been invited by our Mexican friends for the Christmas Eve meal. Their three sons and (nearly) daughters in law will be there too, one of which is Dutch, so the language spoken at the meal will be English. Great.

Let me show you my postcard for today:

It comes from Poland, and the castle in the photo is the famous Neuschwanstein castle in Germany. Isn't it beautiful?

The castle was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, also known as the “Fairytale King”. This fairytale look of the Neuschwanstein castle inspired Walt Disney to create the Magic Kingdom. 

Neuschwanstein’s positioning is also a fairytale one. It is located in the Alps in Bavaria, Germany, in a magnificent landscape, on the top of a hill. Neuschwanstein overlooks the Hohenschwangau valley.

 Neuschwanstein is a castle of the paradox, it was built in the 19th century in Bavaria, in a time when castles no longer had strategical and defensive purposes. While Neuschwanstein’s look is that of a medieval castle, it was equipped inside with state of the art technology at that time. For example on every floor of the castle there were toilets with automatic flushing system, as well as an air heating system for the whole castle. Water was supplied by a nearby spring situated at only 200 meters above the castle. 

Truly stunning or what!

The stamps are interesting. 

The one on the left commemorates the killing of 9 miners. 
Wikipedia writes:

The Pacification of Wujek was a strike-breaking action by the Polish police and army at the Wujek Coal Mine in KatowicePoland, culminating in the massacre of nine striking miners on December 16, 1981.

It was part of a large-scale action aimed to break the Solidarity free trade union after the introduction of martial law in Poland in 1981. Although the strike was suppressed, in a longer term, it turned out to be a milestone towards the collapse of the authoritarian system in Poland and, ultimately, to the collapse of the Eastern Bloc

36 years have passed since the bloody pacification. On the occasion of the anniversary, Poczta Polska issued this stamp.
The blue stamp on the right is one of four common postage stamps showing images of insects against the background of stylized letters E and P. (I assume Europe and Poland). They were put into circulation on August 16, 2013.
This week has been a quiet week for us. All clubs and activities have stopped until after the 6th of January (Three Kings). 
Our chickens are laying more and more eggs. We now get at least three a day. 
Some are small and some are very large (these have double yolks). 

Today we join all the lovely ladies of the T-gang at Elizabeth and Bleubeard's Altered Book Lover. But I need a drink to participate.
Here are the scrambled eggs we made on Sunday morning, and there behind the plate is a cup of tea!
Lets have one more photo:
Here I am with my hubby at a friend's birthday party on Saturday (more drinks in view).
That is it from me today.

 Graham (most of you know his name by now) and I like to wish everyone who celebrates Christmas a very happy one.

Please stay safe,

Big hug,

Lisca




13 comments:

kathyinozarks said...

Hi Lisca, Wow what a gorgeous castle, and the views amazing-what a wonderful place to have been able to live there. enjoyed the photos and the stamps.
I didn't realize the holiday was celebrated that simply-but I love that, too much commercialism here in the States in many cases.
Enjoy your holiday, Happy T hugs Kathy

Mae Travels said...

Interesting that your little village has such a different Christmas custom than the Anglo-Saxon world. I hope you enjoy the holiday.

best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Carola Bartz said...

Interesting that a card from Poland has Neuschwanstein as an image. I never liked that castle very much, it is too much over the top. But that's Ludwig II for you. He built several other castles as well, my favorite among them is Linderhof which is much smaller and has a lovely garden. - The picture of you and your husband is lovely! Have a peaceful Christmas.

Linda Kunsman said...

That is such a beautiful postcard and castle. I would have loved to see it in person when I was in Germany years ago...
Sounds like a lovely gathering you will be attending. I know the holidays vary from country to country- and I guess the US in general is over the top on material things an over doing it all. I prefer the European way:)
A gorgeous photo of you and Graham. Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas, and happy T day too!

Sharon Madson said...

Lisca, I love the photo of you and your husband. The Neuschwanstein castle is fabulous. That is interesting how they celebrate Christmas in Spain. In the U.S., I agree that it is too commercial. We try to put the emphasis on the "reason for the season" in our home. I have a couple of nativity scenes out, but we do put up a small tree, and do some gifts, but not big like some. In fact, hubby and I do not even give each other gifts, just for kids and grandkids, but low key. I try to make gifts. Anyway, Merry Christmas.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

What a stunning postcard. I have always been impressed with the Neuschwanstein castle. It was the inspiration for Disney's castle at Disneyland in California. So interesting to read about it, too.

You are getting lots of eggs now. Soon you will be giving some away or even selling them, maybe. Your scrambled eggs look good with your tea.

That's a lovely photo of you and Graham enjoying time together. I was surprised at how your village and most of Spain celebrates Christmas. Regardless, I hope yours is healthy, joyous, and safe.

Thanks for sharing Neuschwanstein castle, your eggs, your tea, and your wishes for a festive Christmas with us for T this Tuesday, dear friend.

Iris Flavia said...

Will you believe that - I had no idea in Spain they don´t celebrate Christmas like so many others do!
And also. I am German and learn about the "Fairytale King" on your blog! But then... is Bavaria Germany? Kidding. On my first day of school my parents forced me into a Dirndl (but it was from Austria).

I repeat myself. Why have I not learned in school... my maternal side comes from Königsberg. I should know (now I do).

Your chickens sure make a point there. Oh, how are all the clubs etc to survive, so sad.

Love your last pic and wish you a very Merry Christmas and a great T-Day for now! And a big hug :-)

nwilliams6 said...

Merry Christmas to you and Graham too! Lovely post cards and stamps. That castle is amazing and the technology for the time is amazing too. Your eggs are impressive! Wow! So cool. You two look fab at the party too. Thanks for all your posts and comments, Lisca, they have blessed me this year. Hugz

My name is Erika. said...

It is so interesting how Christmas is not a big holiday in Spain. Three of my grandparents came from Scandinavia, and it is big there too. The Scandinavia holiday is a little different from what we have in the US, but it is always fun to celebrate. I think sometimes things here in the US get a bit too carried away. How about in Holland compared to Spain? I love your postcard today and I bet it would be a wonderful castle to visit. If we ever get past covid that is. I wish you and Graham a wonderful holiday dinner out, and however you celebrate, I hope it is a good one. Happy T day too. Hugs-Erika

Divers and Sundry said...

I love hearing how the day is observed in other places. I know you'll enjoy the Christmas Eve gathering :) Happy T Tuesday!

CJ Kennedy said...

Your Christmas Eve celebration sounds a lot like the Italian celebration of Feast of the 7 Fishes. I visited Neuschwanstein many years ago. Very much a fairytale castle and the blueprint for Disney's Cinderella castle at its theme parks. Happy T Day

Darla said...

The postcard if the castle is beautiful. Thank you for all the history about it and also the story behind the images on the Polish stamps. We have a low key Christmas celebration (for the U.S.) The last couple of years staying home and this year spreading our family visits out over the week so we aren't bunching up in big groups. Have a wonderful holiday.

Empire of the Cat said...

What a fantastic location to build your fairytale castle, I would spend all my time looking out the windows. It certainly gets a bit manic around this time of year, everyone goes crazy, I am trying to remain stress-free and won't be doing much at all if I can help it. Festive Wishes and Happy T Day Elle/EOTC xx