Quedlinburg, Germany

Quedlinburg is a town located north of the Harz mountains, in the Land of Sachsen-Anhalt, was a capital of the East Franconian German Empire at the time of the Saxonian-Ottonian ruling dynasty. 

It has been a prosperous trading town since the Middle Ages. 

In 1994 the medieval court and the old town were included on the UNESCO world heritage list. The number and high quality of the timber-framed buildings make Quedlinburg an exceptional example of a medieval European town. 

The Collegiate Church of St Servatius is one of the masterpieces of Romanesque architecture.

Baba Nyonya ~ Wedding Chamber

(Bridal Chamber ~ Postcard I bought from The Baba Nyonya Heritage in Melaka)

Baba and Nyonya are the descendants of Chinese from China who intermarried with local women. The men are known as the Babas and Women are Nyonyas. The Babas and Nyonyas are known as 'Peranakan' , they speak the Malay patois which is Malay mixed with Chinese phrases.


A traditional Baba Nyonya Wedding or Peranakan Wedding is loaded with complex rites preparations and numerous ceremonies which lasts up to 12-30 days for the riches! It’s a very tedious process (both in the preparations, time and money). Similar like their Chinese counterpart, the Peranakan put a great emphasis on choosing auspicious dates and times and even the furniture that incorporates lots of Chinese elements. However, their taboos are much more and strictly observed than the Chinese. 


* There were some differences between Baba Nyonya in Melaka (Malacca) and Penang, basically due to influences from the West (Holland and British) in those old days. 


The following are the mansions of the riches which has converted into a Museum 

The Baba Nyonya Heritage

48/50, Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock

75200 Malacca. 

Malaysia.

Pinang Peranakan Mansion

29, Church Street, 

10200 Penang. 

Malaysia. 

Tags: baba nyonya bridal chamber | malacca | melaka | baba nyonya | peranakan | straits born

Artist of Taiwan : 李檬

李檬* 台湾

some of his masterpiece can be find here 

Typical Belgium (I love Fries)

Photograph @ Marc Boseret

Belgium is best known for its chocolate, waffles, fries and beer and 

Moules-frites or Moules et frites is a popular main dish of mussels and fries 

considered as the national dish of Belgium

Hmm.. I personally love fries 

Just imagine a night out in the cold and then feel the warmth in your hands from the hot bag of fries you’ve just bought.

Ok ok ... back to reality, I have looked around for the secret recipe (it available online though)

Step by step 

1. Peel the potatoes and cut it into strips around 10mm thick. 

2. Rinse these raw fries in cold water to remove the excess starch and dry them thoroughly.

3. Pre-frying stage: gently lower the fries into the fat, heated to 150°C, and leave them to swim for 4-5 minutes. During this stage the raw potato will be cooked without turning brown. 

4. Once the fries have started ‘singing’ – they will bubble to the surface – gently lift and shake them

5. Pre-fried fries now be spread out and cooled down for at least half-a-hour

6. Heat the fat to 180°C. Gently lower the pre-cooked fries into the fat for a few minutes. They will start to sing after two or three minutes, then remove them and shake off the fat. 

Note: Precooking takes some of the moisture out of the potato. If the oil is too hot, the potato sticks will burn and the moisture has no means of escape, producing soggy fries. 

2nd Fried makes them deliciously crispy.

country with lot of windmills and tulips

Love this postcard

Magnificent view of tulips and windmills  

Rinus send me this postcard and mentioned in the postcard 

that there are around 10 million bicycles 

1050 windmills 

100 watermills

in Holland

Love the stamps, all are pasted neatly. 

Thank you Rinus.

You cheer up my day :) 

Bookplate

A bookplate, also known as ex-librīs, 

is usually a small print or decorative label pasted into a book since 15th century, 

often on the inside front cover, to indicate its owner. 

more read on Bookplate images  and 

The Bookplate Society

  

Thank you to Duanting send me this postcard. 

National Park Ergaki

@Alexandr Ermolitsky

Ergaki, also written as Yergaki (south of Krasnoyarsk territory in central Siberia), the hidden gems of the pearl of the Sayan Mountains. 

The postcard shows the Svetloe lake is often called 'The Great Lake'. 

There is an existence of Heaven in Earth

Thanks to Liza to send me this gorgeous view postcard.

The Old Harbour at Rotterdam

@ Emile Luider / Imago, 1985

A postcard from Petra, Nederland. 

As Petra marked an arrow (<--->

tilted building is one of the group of Cube Houses which are located next to the historic merchant houses.  

The mixture of historic homes and modern houses that makes the Old Harbour splendid. 

Charles Bridge, Prague

Charles Bridge is a stone bridge that connects the Old Town and Lesser Town (Malá Strana), famous landmark of Prague. Both tram and car were allowed in the past but now it is a pedestrian zone for people. 

In all year long, you may find the artists, musicians and souvenir vendors at both side of the bridge. A great time of day to come to the bridge is at sunset when one can enjoy a breathtaking view of the fully lit Prague Castle against the evening sky.

go there at night or very early in the morning, if you want a peaceful solitude moment .

Thank you to Marbeta send me this gorgeous piece..

1600 Panda in Malaysia (Page 1)

Those pandas, looks so awesome, they aren't real...

there are made of paper mache. 

All panda was here in Jan 2015 , Malaysia.

My family so lucky to adopt one of 1600.