Thanksgiving Day, Metz, Montenegro Airlines and More

 BLOG # 1536     -  Day 581 of the Pandemic

Hey , today is Thanksgiving Day here in Canada - not a good day to be a turkey for sure. What do I have to be thankful for - my family and I are healthy, none of us have caught Covid, we all have a house over our heads, we all have enough to eat, we all live in a great country where we have many freedoms that others in many countries do not and of course I am always thankful for the Love of My Lovely Teena. So Happy Thanksgiving Day, Canada.

So now on to postcards. Today I will highlight cards from Russia, New Zealand, France, Montenegro, the U.S.A and Gibraltar. This first card is a look at a 1962 painting showing Cheboksary, the capital of the Russian republic of Chuvashia. 

Anna sent this card and used 2 of the often seen Russian definitives, one from 2019 and one from 2020. 

Card # 2 for today arrived from Whanganui, a city in New Zealand on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, about 200 kilometres north of Wellington. 

The two stamps on this card date from 2011 and 2017. The left stamp is a Fauna stamp issued for Child Health and is from a minisheet of 3. The right stamp showing a South Island Saddleback is 1 of 5 in a Recovering Native Birds minisheet.

My next card shows the Temple Neuf, a Protestant church in Metz, France. It is located on place de la Comedie, near the opera and theatre. It opened in 1904. 

Dominique used a 2021 stamp showcasing Saint Louis Royal Chapel.

Card # 4 - The newest addition to my Airlines and Aircraft Postcard Collection. This time it is a Montenegro Airlines Boeing 737-500. Registered as 9H-OME it flew for Montenegro  from April 2018 to November of the same year. The picture on the card was taken in Dusseldorf, Germany. While 9H-OME only flew with Montenegro for a short time, the aircraft is 30.5 years old. It also saw service with Braathens, Norge, Blue Air, Air X Charter and Volotea Airlines. 

Jean Pierre used an Olympic Stamp from 2021. It Commemorates the Sumer Olympic Games of 2020, which of course were held in Tokyo in 2021. 

I know I mentioned at the start that I had a card from the USA and one from Gibraltar to show but I have to hold them for next time. So that Montenegro Airlines card was the last for today. Thanks for cards this time go out to Anna, Jean Pierre and Dominique. 

I will be back here again soon so in the meantime and keeping with the pandemic, I am thankful to all you out there that have been vaccinated. To any readers unvaccinated, get vaccinated and you will have a lot to be thankful for also.   

Elephants, A Jet Lineup, Halloween, Ladies Standing Tall and MiG -29s

BLOG 1535 -- Day  574 of the Pandemic

Hello , it`s October, I know, I know I`m a little late. Let`s start with this card of a Mother and her young one. Two elephants from South Africa. There are about 24,000 elephants in the wild in South Africa today, a dramatic rise from a hundred years ago with fewer that 150 at that time. 

Bruce used a Registered Small Letter Rate stamp from 2017. It shows a view of Camdeboo National Park. 

My next card is from Switzerland and shows a sight not seen too often these days - a line of jets waiting for takeoff. I wonder if it will ever get back the way it was .

Here Jean Pierre used 2 stamps. On the left, a stamp from 1993, 1 of 3, celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the First Stamps in Switzerland. The stamp on the right is 1 of 2,  issued in 2019 as a Joint Issue with Liechtenstein.

Now here is my first Halloweèn card of this year. A little early, but better early than the other.  It arrived from Japan. 

I never have much luck identifying stamps from Japan. There seems just to be an endless list of them and without a year date , most times I just give up. Talk about frustration ! I was lucky with the one on the bottom on this card, though. It was issued in 2020, 1 of a set of 4, issued for International Letter Writing Week. 

Here`s a man of authority for sure, at least it appears that way. It is Finland`s 6th president Karl Gustaf Mannerheim. He was in that role from August 1944 until March 1946. He also held a few other titles - Regent of Finland, Commander-In-Chief of the Finnish Armed Forces, and Marshall of Finland. Participants in a Finnish survey taken 53 years after his death in 1951 voted Mannerhein the greatest Finn of all time. Obviously they never heard of Miika Kiprusoff . 

Sari used an assortment of 4 stamps on this card. I`ll go from left to right for these. Far left is a Bird stamp from 2017, 1 of 4 in a minisheet. Next is a 2003 stamp showing the painting `The Fighting Wood Grouses `by Ferdinand von Wright. Then we have another 2003 stamp, this time it is 1 of 6 in a Summer Insects and Wildlife issue. The last stamp, the green one, is an imperforated , self-adhesive showing Birch Leaves. 

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I like the ink stamp of the Airmail plane. 

I have two more cards for today and they arrived from PostCrossers in Germany.  First is this Black & White card of 4 young ladies trying to be just a little taller than they  actually are. 

Silke used a Flower definitive from the long running set along with a 2018 Tourism stamp of Germany`s Most Beautiful Panoramas. Sadly the stamp is only half of the panorama. 

And the final card is of course Aviation themed. It`s two MiG-29 Aerobatic Team  aircraft of the Soviet Air Force. The team consisting  of 6 MiG -29s is called The Swifts. They are based at the Kubinka Air Base in Moscow.

Elfie used a 2021 stamp which I highlighted in my blog of Sept 27th. 

So there ends another update. Thanks for today`s cards and stamps go out to Bruce, Jean Pierre, Silke, Sari and Elfie. Thanks so much to everyone. 

As always   --- If you are not .... Please get vaccinated. 

Vancouver Island, Texel, Supetar, and Air Europa

 BLOG 1534 -- Day 569 of the Pandemic

Hey , how`s it going today . Hope you are all safe and doing well. 

Today I want to start off with a few cards received after my return from a little trip to Vancouver Island about a month ago. My Lovely Teena always drops a postcard or two in the mail to me from wherever we go. Vancouver Island was no exception. The three cards I am showing today were all posted in Parksville. The city of around 12,500 is world renowned for its wide tidal sand flats and  sun warmed salt water. Parksville beach was recently named one of the top six beaches in North America. Parksville is also the home of Beachfest - the only World Championship Sand Sculpting official qualification event in Canada. 

Teena used the recent Stan Rogers stamp on this card. Rogers was a wonderful Canadian balladeer. 

Here`s the 2nd Parksville card :

This one shows an original watercolour by Canadian artist Coral Barclay.

On this one Teena used the Karen Kain stamp, as she performed in Swan Lake. Kain is one of the longest serving Artistic Directors of the National Ballet of Canada. The commemorative stamp was issued April 29th, International Dance Day.

The 3rd card from Parksville - it actually shows a scene you might see on Vancouver Island but not likely in the Parksville area. 

The stamp on this one is the Perry Caribou , one of five Snow Mammals issued in February. 

Now for a few cards not from My Lovely Teena. 

This first one gives us an image of Texel Island. Texel is one of the Dutch Wadden Islands off the coast of the Netherlands. Texel is a paradise for beach lovers with its 30 km long sandy beach.

Dominique used a 2014 International Rate Cow stamp.

My next card arrived from Supetar, Croatia. It is the capital of the Dalmatian island of Brac, located at about a one hour boat trip from Split. The town was founded in the 16th century. Jean Pierre`s card gives us an aerial view of part of Supetar.

Jean Pierre used a stamp from 2020, commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Military and Police Operation ` Lightning `. 

Time now for the latest addition of my Aircraft and  Airline Card collection. Here we have an Air Europa Embraer E195 registered as EC-KRJ. This aircraft flew with Air Europa from November 2008 until June 2016. The picture on the card shows EC-KRJ at Palma in July 2009.

Jean Pierre used a 2020 stamp that celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Spanish Legion.

That`s six cards and my limit for today. Thanks for dropping in and I hope you found something to your liking. Today I have to thank My Lovely Teena, Dominique and Jean Pierre for all the great cards and stamps. 

If you read my last update , you know where I stand on the pandemic and vaccination so I won`t repeat myself other than to say , vaccination is the only thing that is going to turn the tide.  

Annevoie Gardens, SAA A340, Views of Estonia, Baden-Baden, Bermuda B.O.T, and Niki Lauda and Lauda Air

BLOG 1533  and Day 567 of the Pandemic

Well hello once again. Apparently the lost has returned. After two weeks away from the blog, it`s certainly time to get back at it. Lots of cards have built up so I`ll get right to it. Today`s cards arrived from Belgium, South Africa, Estonia, Germany, Bermuda and Czech Republic, and that`s the order you will see them . 

First up is this view of a portion of the Annevoie Water Gardens located in Anhee, Belgium. The gardens were created some 250 years ago. There are many fountains, water jets and cascades, all of which operate entirely naturally, without any mechanical or electrical means. The water here has flowed nonstop for over 240 years. 

Gerda used 2 stamps on this card. On the left , from 1971 is a semi-postal, 1 of 4 in a set showing Insects from the Antwerp Zoo. The right stamp, from 2015, is a definitive showing Fries. 

Be sure to check out Gerda`s fine postcard blog called `My Postcard-Page ` right here  .

My next card is a fine addition to my Aircraft and Airline postcard collect, as are all aviation themed cards. This time it`s a South African Airways A340, registered as ZS-SXD. The aircraft is 16.8 years old, having been delivered to SAA in Feb 2005. It flew for SAA until May of 2005 when it was leased to Jet Airways for 2 years. Then it was back to SAA from May 2007 until May of 2019 when it was removed from use and stored at JNB. The special Team South Africa livery shown on the card was added in Jul of 2019. 

 

Bruce used a nice World Cup 98 stamp along with a minisheet of one issued in 2018, celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Nelson Mandela. It was a Joint Issue with Germany.

Now it`s a card from Estonia. This card shows a number of views of north Estonia. We can see wild strawberries, the Museum of Coastal Folk in the village of Pringi and a view of Tallinn from the sea. 

Meelis used a rather large stamp from this year. It celebrates the Chinese New Year - Year of the Ox. 

We`re half way there. 

This next card is a view of Baden-Baden, a town in southwestern Germany`s Black Forrest. The main focus on the card is the Stiftskirche Church. Part of the church dates back to the first half of the 13th century.

Dominique`s stamp is 1 of 2 issued this year showing Underground Stations in Westend Frankfurt.

 

I don`t receive many cards from Bermuda, so it`s always great to receive one. It also brings back memories of our vacation there many many moons ago. This British Overseas Territory is just a beautiful spot. Who can forget the Bermuda Shorts, Horseshoe Bay Beach with its pink sand, the Crystal Caves, St George town, the Royal Naval Dockyard and Gibbs Hill Lighthouse.  Jean Pierre`s card has lots of Bermuda information on the front.

The stamp used is 1 of 4 , issued in 2019, celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Bermuda Floating Dock.

Here we go with the last card for this time. Who knew it was to be another entry in my Aircraft and Airline card collection . Surely not me !

This time it`s a Lauda Air B767-ER, registered as OE-LAV. Lauda Air was an Austrian Airline that operated from 1979 to 2013. That`s owner Niki Lauda in the lower right. 

OE-LAV was delivered new to Lauda Air on 16 Oct 1981. It was the 283rd B767 built. Sadly this aircraft operated Lauda Air flight 004 on 26 May 1991. It was involved in an accident - an in flight break-up over Thailand. There were 213 fatalities and zero survivors. 

I received this card from Rob in Czech Republic. We have swapped cards a number of times. Guess I owe him another one.   Rob used 2 stamps on his card. The top stamp, from 2015, is 1 of 4 in a set showing Planes and other Vehicles That Brought Freedom. The bottom stamp was issued in 2019 and highlights Czech Designs by Vaclav Kral.

That ends this update. I have to thank Gerda, Bruce, Meelis, Dominique, Jean Pierre and Rob for these great cards and stamps. 

The pandemic is still with us - going on 19 months with no let up. The 4th wave is upon us here in Alberta, Canada.  The hospitals are bursting at the seams, the ICUs are overfull and too many people are dying every day. It has become the pandemic of the unvaccinated. To anyone out there not vaccinated, Shame on you. To anyone not wearing a mask, Shame on you. Get vaccinated for God`s sake !! 

B737-300, Andorra WHS, Istanbul, Heidelberg and La Rochelle

BLOG #  1532    -- Day 554 of the Pandemic

Hello again, well I ended the last update with an aircraft card, so it's only right to start off today with another aircraft card. It's an Air France B737-300 , registered as F-GIXX. The picture was taken in June of 2000 at LHR. The -300 was Air France's least numerous 737 variant operated by the airline. They operated a total of only 9 from 1991 to 2004. 

Jean Pierre used a 2021 stamp showcasing Hunspach Bas-Rhin -- France's favorite village in 2020. 

My next card arrived from Andorra. It's a look at the Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley., a glacial valley in the southeast of the country. This is the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Andorra. It was added to the list in 2004. 

Josep and Assumpta used a 2019 Coat of Arms stamp suitable for international mail. 

Now it's time for a card from Turkey. Here we see an evening view of Istanbul showing the Bogaz Koprusu Bosphorus Bridge. Other names for the bridge are the First Bridge and 15 July Martyrs Bridge. It opened in Oct of 1973, is 1560 m in length and connects Europe and Asia. 

Bugra used 2 rather large Bird stamps on this one. They are from a set of 3 showing Storks.

The last two cards for this time were sent by Dominique, one from France and the other from Germany. Both arrived in my mailbox the same day, Friday 13 August. Heidelberg , subject of this card, is a town on the Neckar River in southwestern Germany, founded in 1196. The top left part of the card shows the sandstone ruins of Heidleberg Castle. In the foreground is Old Bridge across the Neckar River. 

  A recent Flower definitive arrived on this card. 

Now here's the last card for today. It's a look at La Rochelle, a thousand year old port city in southwestern France. The medieval towers at the entrance to the Old Town are emblems of the city and great tourist attractions. 

Dominique used a 1972 stamp, 1 of 3 in a set entitled History of France. 

There you go -- that's today's cards, and I have Jean Pierre, Josep and Assumpta, Bugra and Dominique to thank for them. So Thank You so much. 

Last words for today . If you haven't already - get vaccinated. It's the only solution. 

Take care.