Over the years, I managed to collect postcards from many countries and territories… And, after plotting everything onto a map, I noticed how remote some of them truly are! Well, it’s difficult to define what “remote” means, so I guess any loose, subjective approach to the concept of “remoteness” would be happily accepted in this thread!
Here are my remotest postcards:
(1) Orkney Islands, United Kingdom
(click on the image to enlarge)
GB-1260561, a truly rare postcard I received from the Orkney Islands. They are located so far up north! 22 thousand people live up there – it’s super cold during winter and you can even see the northern lights. I guess you’d feel extremely close to nature from a place like that – beautiful jagged rocks, rough sea and strong winds.
The postcard was sent from Kirkwall: with its 9,000+ inhabitants, it is the largest settlement on the island. Look below for a truly “Nordic” (I know it isn’t technically Nordic) view from the Orkney Islands!
(2) Norilsk, Russia
(click on the image to enlarge)
Another beautiful postcard! Look at the map – Norilsk is truly remote! And well within the Arctic Circle. It is the northernmost city with more than 100,000 inhabitants – a true “polar” metropolis, so to speak. The polar night here lasts from November 30th to January 13th. Temperatures can dip down lower than -40 degrees (Fahrenheit or Celsius… it’s the same – freakin’ cold!) and snowfall has been recorded even in July!
Norilsk is basically like an island, as it is not connected to surrounding cities (the road goes as far as Dudinka, a smaller settlement close to the city, and that’s all). That’s why people living in Norilsk refer to the rest of Russia as “the continent”, or “the mainland”. Truly an isolated and remote place!
Buildings in Norilsk have big numbers on the walls – this is extremely useful during harsh winters, as they can be seen from far away.
Furthermore, these apartment blocks stand on stilts – you’ll notice that they never actually touch the ground below! That’s because the whole city is built on permafrost (permanently frozen ground – even during summer): if the buildings stood directly on it, they’d end up melting it!
And here’s a picture of Norilsk during winter, just for reference!
(3) Pyongyang, North Korea / (4) Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
Ok, these ones aren’t really that remote… They’re just rare! I’ll show them to you some other day.
And, now, please show me your remotest cards! 
