Aland

Another postcard from dear Liisa in my mailbox! I like this decoration with the colours of flag of Aland very much, haven't seen anything like it before. 

Such a cute stamp (the left one) with even cuter animal - the stoat (Mustela erminea), also known as the ermine or short-tailed weasel.  It's a species of Mustelidae native to Eurasia and North America, distinguished from the least weasel by its larger size and longer tail with a prominent black tip. The winter fur is very dense and silky, but quite closely lying and short, while the summer fur is rougher, shorter and sparse. During the winter the  fur is white while the summer fur is s sandy-brown on the back and head and a white below. An adorable animal indeed!

Aland

Here comes a stunning view from Aland, sent by dear Liisa of course :)  Even though Aland has its own postal administration, it still uses the Finnish five-digit postal code system, using the number range 22000-22999, with the prefix AX. The lowest numbered postal code is for the capital Mariehamn, AX 22100, and the highest AX 22950 for Jurmo. I must admit I'm a big fan of Aland stamps (even the priority sticker is so nice!). The stamp used on the postcard was issued in June last year in a set of two stamps representing dragonflies. This is the Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum), a European species of dragonfly of the family Libellulidae that attains a wingspan of up to 6 cm. Thanks a bunch, Liisa!

Aland

Liisa was so kind and, among all the covers she has sent me, she found energy to write a postcard more. And guess what, it's my first written and stamped from Aland. She even used a matching stamp! I'm so happy :)

Aland, officialy the Aland Islands,  form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea, situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and form an autonomous and demilitarised Swedish-speaking region of Finalnd. The islands collectively constitute the smallest region of Finland, with only 0.49% of its land area, and 0.50% of its population.

The autonomous status of the islands was affirmed by a decision made by the League of Nations in 1921 following the Aland crisis. By law, Åland is politically neutral and entirely demilitarised. The islands were granted extensive autonomy by the Parliament of Finalnd in the Act on the Autonomy of Åland of 1920.  Åland's original name was Germanic "Ahvaland" which means "Land of Water". In Swedish, the name eventually developed  into Åland, literally "river land"- even though rivers are not a prominent feature of Åland's geography.

The Åland archipelago consists of nearly 300 habitable islands. 80 of those are inhabited by app. 30,000 people. The largest and the capital town is Mariehamn, with population of 11,000. The official motto of Aland, that I like quiet a lot, is "The Islands of Peace". Thanks, again, Liisa!