Here are the postcards!

I’ve been collecting postcards since 2008. Since then, I’ve sent and received over 1800 postcards from all over the US and dozens of countries. I respond to every postcard I receive, so I’m always open for private swaps.

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My origin story: Back when I was a young boy, I got the idea to write a letter to several world leaders, but I only ever ended up writing the US president and the Queen of England. I was so tickled to receive responses from President Bush and then Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II! Well, they weren’t directly from the world leaders, but rather from their staff members. President Bush sent me an autographed photograph (which I lost later in a show-and-tell accident).

One of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting sent me a very detailed letter, typed on Buckingham Palace stationery, answering all of my questions about the Queen’s horses and her corgis and her favorite foods. I marveled at the strangely-sized paper, the texture of the embossed coat of arms centered at the top of the page, and the stamps on the envelope. A real person had spent time reading my letter, responding to it, folding it and placing it in an envelope, and then more real human beings had taken the time and effort to transport it from London to some mail distribution center, to an airport in England, to an airport in the US, and back through the various USPS chains until it arrived in a plastic mailbox at the foot of my driveway in southeast Michigan.

I’m still fascinated by this process today, and all for less than the price of some chocolate! So I maintain correspondence with about a dozen penpals across the world, and send and receive postcards. At last count, I have a little under 2,000 postcards that I’ve received. Keep scrolling to see the most recent postcards that have arrived in my mailbox.

Kristopher Geda 4/7/21 Kristopher Geda 4/7/21

saguaro meets auto (Arizona)

This postcard arrives courtesy of Postcrossing. The sender writes simply “There is something magical about it; you leave as one person and return completely different.” - K.D. Wiggen.
I can’t say that I recognize the quote, nor the quoted (maybe it’s Kate Douglas Wiggin? - what a delicious connection to San Francisco!), but it’s a great sentiment all the same! I’ve never visited Arizona, but it’s certainly on my list.

Kristopher Geda 4/6/21 Kristopher Geda 4/6/21

la première carte postale (Canada)

Aujourd’hui est arrivée la cinquante-unième carte postale de ma très bonne amie Mélanie qui habite Montréal. Nous nous sommes connus par Postcrossing il y a un bon moment, mais nous continuons à échanger des carte postales, des lettres, et des visites. Il y a deux semaines, nous avons asisté une lecture sur l’histoire des cartes postales qui nous a beaucoup plu. Nous avons appris que la Tour Eiffel a eté une des premières images à apparaître sur une carte postale. Donc celle-ci est tellement apte pour notre amitié. Merci beaucoup, Mélanie, et à très bientôt!

Kristopher Geda 4/5/21 Kristopher Geda 4/5/21

Deception Pass, Whidbey Island (Washington)

This postcard came from the Pacific Northwest and pictures a famous bridge crossing a famous waterway. Of course, the PNW has so many famous waterways, but I appreciate that Amelia thought to send it in connection with the famous bridge in the city I live in. I haven’t been up this far along the Pacific Coast, but someday soon I hope to visit it, maybe to see orca or gray whales! This is one of the reasons I love Postcrossing so much; I get to hear from people around the world and I get to add new places to my wanderlust list!

Kristopher Geda 4/4/21 Kristopher Geda 4/4/21

Lake Tahoe is beautiful

This postcard comes from my cousins who visited Lake Tahoe for a weekend. She writes that “Tahoe is beautiful” and I can’t disagree, although I’m sad to only have visited it in winter and never in summer. There’s something about alpine lakes that is so alluring - maybe I’ll be able to visit Lake Tahoe during the summer soon! Thanks, Laura!

Kristopher Geda 4/3/21 Kristopher Geda 4/3/21

potatoes, so many potatoes (Germany)

In my Postcrossing profile, I say that I am interested in food and cooking, so I am absolutely in love with this postcard of potatoes that came from Schermbeck in Germany! Ralf writes that “in Germany, the people love potatoes. Potatoes cooking, potatoes baking, potatoes fried, potato dumplings. Everything is possible.” This is my new philosophy on life and I have Ralf to thank for it: Potatoes - everything is possible.

Kristopher Geda 3/30/21 Kristopher Geda 3/30/21

postal iconography (Canada)

This postcard comes from Québec, Canada via Postcrossing and features many logos of national postal systems from around the world. Can you find yours? I love the color-theming, too. Which places use blue, red, or yellow? There are a few using green, too! But why not black or purple, I wonder?

Kristopher Geda 3/29/21 Kristopher Geda 3/29/21

Peggy’s Postcards: Walt Disney World

I’ve been to Walt Disney World and I’m pretty sure I rode the Skyway, but I’d have to check with my parents to be sure as I was very young at the time. My trip may have even pre-dated this postcard (most of the postcards in this collection pre-date me). Nonetheless, on 23 April 1990 Peggy writes:

Howdy from the land of unrelenting smiles, constant cuteness and a problem-free world. D. turned 40 yesterday at Epcot where he was recieved congrads from hundreds of strangers thanks to the shirt I made that said “I’m 40 today.” We’ll keep ongoing till our feet fall off - see ya! P, D, & S

Kristopher Geda 3/29/21 Kristopher Geda 3/29/21

star field - New Jersey

This beautiful image comes from a Postcrosser in New Jersey. There’s something so beautiful about deep space images; I’m sure there’s a lot of artistry in deciding how to colorize the images, but the shapes and intensity variation are really stunning. It reminds me of two of my favorite scarves which I bought years ago from Slow Factory. I don’t think they make them anymore, but I really love them and when I wear them, I get a lot of compliments.

Kristopher Geda 3/27/21 Kristopher Geda 3/27/21

Italy via Portland, Oregon

Yet another beautiful postcard from my dear friend Linda arrived today. She writes that she’s running out of postcards from her previous travels, which is a situation I’ve found myself in lately, too! Because I’m not traveling nearly as much as I used to, even to take day trips here and there, I find that I have so few postcards to send to friends and family. I have been going through some old postcards however and deciding which ones to send off. I haven’t been to Florence, but I hope to visit it someday soon!

Kristopher Geda 3/26/21 Kristopher Geda 3/26/21

Peggy’s Postcards: Chersonissos, Crete (Greece)

Here’s another postcard from Peggy’s Postcards and this one is from the beautiful islands of Greece. While I haven’t been to Crete itself, I have visited Tinos and Mykonos, which isn’t that far away. The Greek islands are really spectacular and definitely merit a revisit. I wonder how (little) they’ve changed since Anne sent this postcard some decades ago?

Dear Peggy, We’ve now reached Crete and it is a beautiful island. Unfortunately, we no have only five days left so we have to return to Athens to catch our plane soon. Greece is just great and the people so friendly. So far we have been to Corfu, Sparta, Geraki, Corinth, Nafplion and Athens. It has been quite a varied tour. I start at Strathclyde a week on Monday - I must say work doesn’t seem too inviting at the moment. I hope you have every success in the coming year. Don’t forget Scotland, so until we meet again, Yours, Anne.

Kristopher Geda 3/24/21 Kristopher Geda 3/24/21

Peggy’s Postcards: Plaza y Pirámide de la Luna (Mexico)

This is the inaugural Peggy’s Postcard of the new blog, and what a beautiful card it is! This one was sent from Mexico to Peggy while she was living in Edinburgh, Scotland. Unfortunately, the date is illegible so I’m not sure when Grandma sent this postcard. Nevertheless, she wrote:

Dearest, someday your strike will be over. Am having a perfectly marvelous time in Mexico. Wish you could be with me - sunshine, memories, friends keep me going. I hope you are enjoying your house and your exciting experiences. Love, Grandma

The postcard depicts La Plaza y Pirámide de la Luna (the Plaza and Pyramid to the Moon) in San Juan Teotihuacan, México. I haven’t visited any of the many ruins in Mexico, but I hope to get the chance to do so soon! Just remember: without the indigenous peoples of the Americas, among the many beautiful things we wouldn’t enjoy today are this temple, chocolate, tomatoes, potatoes, corn, and squash!

Kristopher Geda 3/24/21 Kristopher Geda 3/24/21

the return of Peggy’s Postcards

Starting today, I’ll be continuing with my series of Peggy’s Postcards. If you’re new to my postcard collection, this is one of two special sets of postcards that I’ve been posting. In contrast to my standard posts, these postcards were not sent directly to me. Instead, Peggy’s Postcards is a collection of almost 5 dozen postcards that the eponymous Peggy donated to me while going through her extensive correspondence. Many of the postcards were penned originally by Peggy herself and sent to friends and family from her various travels across the US and the world many decades ago. Knowing that I like postcards, she sent me the lot and has given me permission to post them (with addresses and other identifying information redacted). I upload the front and the reverse of these postcards, and usually transcribe the message, too. I’ll be picking up with the nineteenth postcard in my collection (they’re in no particular order), and as my energy and interest dictates, may upload the first eighteen at some point. Enjoy!