Saturday, November 7, 2020

Madeira, JAL 777, Heidelberg and Reinhardstein Castle

 BLOG # 1482  - In The Time of Covid

Well October has come and gone, we're in to November now. The month may have changed but the world seems to have not. We're still in the thick of it with no end in sight. We can only hope for a vaccine sooner than later.  Now, moving on ...

My cards today are from Portugal, Japan, Germany and Belgium and let's take them in that order. The Portugal card is a map card of Madeira Island. The island's capital is Funchal and is located on the main island's south coast. Madeira is volcanic, green and rugged, with high cliffs and pebbly beaches. It is at the top of a massive shield volcano that rises 6 km from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. 



Jean Pierre used a stamp from 2016 on this card. It is 1 of 3 in a set showing Christmas and New Year Festivites. 


Jean Pierre posted this card on World Post Day - October 09th. And of course that's not to be confused with World Postcard Day  - October  01st .


My second card today is from Osaki City, Japan. It's a look at a Japan Airlines ( JAL ) Boeing 777-300.  The airline actually has 40 B777s in its fleet. Of those 40 aircraft , 17 are 777-300s as shown on the card. The other 23 are B777-200s. 


 Kuzuko , a Postcrosser in Osaki, used a current stamp on her card. It is 1 of 9 in a set , all showing Mount Fuji. 


Heidelberg Palace or Castle is featured on my next card. The old arched bridge is also quite visible as well. The first structure of the castle was built before 1214. It was struck and largely destroyed by lightning in 1537 and again in 1764. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures North of the Alps. 

The Old Bridge shown on the card was opened in 1788. It crosses the Neckar River and is the 8th bridge built on the site since the 13th century. 


Dominique used a 2018 stamp commemorating the 1000th Anniversary of the Wormser Dom , the Worms Cathedral.


Here's another castle to end the day with. This time it's Reinhardstein , a 14th century castle in Belgium. It was totally rebuilt in the 1970s and is now a private property , however it can be visited on guided tours. A nice enough castle although it is technically a 20th century building. 


Gerda used a number of stamps on her card. The left stamp, from 1985 celebrates Stamp Day 1985. The middle stamp, a semi-postal, was issued in 1984 to celebrate Children. A set of 3 was issued . The right stamp, from 2020, is 1 of 5 in a set celebrating the History of Pigeon Racing.


Gerda has a great postcard blog called " My Postcard-Page ". Check it out  here .

Well we've come to the end of another update. Thanks for today's cards go out to Jean Pierre, Kazuko, Dominique and Gerda. 

Remember we're in the midst of it, so wear a mask, keep your distance, wash your hands and don't touch your face. 

Take care, stay safe.



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