Entity # 193 and Other Cards

Well I'm back , just a day later than planned. I had a successful trip to Newfoundland. While I was away for the 10 days, quite a few postcards built up in the mailbox. Postcards arrived from Iceland, Austria, Germany, The United Nations in Geneva, Finland, Scotland, Switzerland, and Japan. Not a bad haul, maybe I should go away more often.
First up today is the card from Iceland. Jaana R sent the card , she recently also sent a card from Greenland. She has since moved on to Finland. Looks like she gets around more than I do. The card was posted from Reykjavik, the capital and largest city in Iceland. Iceland is a country in Northern Europe in the North Atlantic Ocean between the rest of Europe and Greenland. It is the least populous of the Nordic Countries, with a population of about 316,000.

The stamp is a 2007 issue , 1 of a set of 2 highlighting wild berries.

The second card today is from Graz, Austria. It was sent by Postcrosser Anita M. Graz is the 2nd largest city in Austria, with a population of around 290,000. The city has a long tradition as a student city with 6 universities and 44,000 students. Graz's old town is one of the best preserved city centers in Central Europe. In 1999 it was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The card shows various scenes and buildings in Graz.

Anita used a special issue scratch stamp. It was issued in2008 amnd marks the 50th Anniversary of Austria Airlines. It is another addition to my airlines on stamps collection. The scratch stamp formed part of a contest in which one could win trips or airplane models. Unfortunately, as Anita used the stamp for postage, one can assume that she did not win a prize.

The third card is from Igor in Germany. It shows a scene from The Prince House in Heritage Park in Calgary, from where I am writing this blog. Igor used 2 semi-postal stamps featuring the A380 on one and a Ju 52 on the other. Both stamps have special commemorative postmarks from Friedrichshafen marking the 100 years anniversary of balloon flights. Two more stamps for my aircraft on stamps collection.

Next is a postcard from the United Nations in Geneva. The UN in Geneva is the 193rd stamp issuing entity from which I have received a stamped and mailed postcard. I have now received postcards from The UN in New York, Vienna and Geneva. The card sent by Laurent W shows the Universal Postal Union Monument in Berne. The bronze and granite statue commemorating the Union's founding in 1874 was unveiled on 04 October 1909. It is the work of the French sculptor Rene De Sain-Marceaux. The sculpture embodies the UPU's truly universal mission, depicting five messengers who symbolize the five continents as they pass letters around the globe. The UPU is the international organization that coordinates postal policies between member nations and hence the world-wide postal system.

The stamps that Laurent used are just beautiful. They were issued in 2006 and are a set of 2 showing world heritage sites. In this case it is Mont Saint Michel and Provins. Provins is a commune of France with a population of 11,667. Provins was listed as a UNESCO WHS in 2001.
Mont Saint Michel is a rocky tidal island in Normandy, France. It is located 1 kilometer of the country's north coast. It was added to the list in 1979.
The Eiffel Tower on both stamps is raised or embossed, adding to the beauty of these two great UN stamps.

The card from Finland was from a fellow Postcrosser. it is from Pietarsaari - Jakobstad. It has a couple of views of the town. Pierarsaari is a small coastal town . Most of its residents speak Swedish and its Swedish name is Jakobstad.

The stamp used is a 2008 issue , part of a set of 5 values, featuring music, greetings and wishing stamps.

The card from Scotland is posted from Sanquhar, Dumfriesshire, the site of the world's oldest post office. I wrote about this post office in an earlier blog, dated 26June. But, what is special about this postcard , is that it contains a special postmark denoting it as the world's oldest post office. So it's a real keeper for sure. Thanks to Frances Barbour of Newark Farm for this great postcard.

The Switzerland postcard shows a unique view of Zurich Airport. It was sent by Postcrosser Chris and the airport picture was taken by Chris's boyfriend. I think it is a very good picture and is a very different airport view.

The stamp , one of a set of 4 , was issued in 2007.

The last card for today is one that I picked up in Newfoundland on my trip. It shows Gander Airport on Sept 11, 2001. It shows many of the aircraft that were grounded at YQX , Gander, on 911. The picture was taken by local Gander photographer Charlie Falk.

That's all folks.