We love to travel, but we can’t go everywhere. Well, not this year at least.

This is part of our 100 Things in 2016 challenge. Here’s the full list.

Postcrossing helps scratch that itch a little bit. It’s a service that matches you up with strangers from other countries. You send postcards to someone, and someone else will send a postcard to you. We found some lovely postcards featuring Portland bridges, and I sent out five of them (the maximum allowed for first-time users) to Russia, Belarus, Germany, Japan, and the Czech Republic.

In return, I received a delightful array of postcards from all over – two from Russia, and one each from the Czech Republic, Germany, and Taiwan. Each of them was accompanied by a lovely note, too.

This was fun, because it’s fun to get mail. I can imagine the kids getting a kick out of this too. The community is mature, but seems earnest, and I wasn’t trolled even once.