Hot Air Balloons

What comes in your mind when yo see such a picture? For me it's about dreaming, summer, relaxation & vivid colors. The picture was taken in October 2010 at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. On the blue balloon you can see a golden symbol of the sun. This was of great importance to all of the Native American Indian tribes. The rays of the sun signified the cardinal directions, North, South, East and West. It is the symbol of Zia people and also the flag of New Mexico state where Albuquerque is.
The card came with 3 beautiful stamps.
The 0.50 ruble (2008) shows a fox from Russian fauna. It's a part of Definitive Issues (or common) stamps.
The 6 ruble (2007) shows the snow leopard one of the endangered species protected by WWF (whose logo you can observe on the left of the stamp).
The 20 ruble (2014) is a Joint Issue with Switzerland (clock series) and depicts the clock located on the building of the Kazan railway station in Moscow, established by the architect A.V. Schusev.
The personalized sticker on the lower left corner is a very nice touch-addition to the card, also showing its source. It is a common practice among some of the forum users to personalize their sent cards.

Thank YOU, Natali !

Country: Russia / USA

Description: Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (2010)

Photo: Eric Ward aka a4gpa

Publisher: PostMania.ru

Source: June Alt. RR 2

Time spend with a friend...

One of my favorites postcards are those related to drinks, especially red wines.

I just love this simple & beautiful picture with wise words ("Zeit, die mit einem Freund verbracht wird, ist niemals verloren"). That means "Time spent with a friend is never lost". That reminds me of another saying: The most precious gift you can give is YOUR time because you give a piece of your own life that can never be taken back.

The card came with two very lovely stamps:
The 62 Euro-Cents (2013) shows a glass of wine featuring Southern Styria, one of the Austrian Wine Regions and Sauvignon Blanc wine variety.
The 80 Euro-Cents (2015) is one of Europa stamps with Matador wooden toy construction set.

Thank YOU, Marianne !

Country: Germany (but sent from Austria)

Description: two glasses of red wine

Publisher:  Alpha Edition

Source: Send 2, Receive 2 RR - 1310