As the title of today's update reads, these are all going to be from my brother Dale. They arrived from Rio de Janeiro, Amsterdam, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, and Copenhagen. So you can see, he does get around.
We'll start with the Rio card. This one arrived mid August. It''s an official FIFA postcard. In addition to the usual Rio scenery , the card also has the Official Emblem of the 2014 FIFA World Cup which was held in Brazil. Dale wrote that the city was crazy - wild with people, excitement and traffic !
Most of the cards I receive from Brazil have small uninteresting stamps and this one is no exception. It's too bad too, as I know Brazil issues nice, large and interesting stamps, as I see them in my online stamp catalogue. But for whatever reason they never seem to be available at local post offices down there. The stamp used here is 1 of 4 issued back in 2009 to celebrate postal service. Even for such a celebration, the stamps were boring. Don't get me wrong , I'm not saying this is a problem only in Brazil - Canada is just as guilty. Just try buying a nice stamp here and 9 times out of 10 , they are no longer available. But the small uninteresting ones are always available. Why do you think this is ? Sorry for my little rant there, here's the stamps Dale used.
My second card is from The Netherlands - Amsterdam and shows Dam Square. Dam Square, or simply the Dam, is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Its buildings and frequent events make it one of the most well-known and important locations in the city. The dam's main square became a "national" square well known to nearly everyone in the Netherlands. It has frequently been the location of demonstrations and events of all kinds, and a meeting place for many people. The National Monument in the center of the square was added in 1956.
I'm not one to talk as you might well know, but I believe what I just ranted about Brazil stamps applies to the Netherlands stamps too. I guess I'll leave it at that. This is 1 of 5 International Rate stamps showing Dutch Symbols, issued this current year.
We're off to Saint Petersburg next. Here we see The Church of the Resurrection or ( Church of the Spilled Blood ). This Church was built on the site where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated and was dedicated in his memory. Construction began in 1883 and progressed slowly and was finally completed in 1907.
It's quite obvious today is not going to be a banner stamp day. Need I say more, I think not ? Here we have 2 of 12 definitives showing the buildings and architecture of The Kremlin.
After St. Petersburg Dale traveled on to Helsinki, Finland and his next card shows us the Central Railway Station in that city. The station is used by approximately 200,000 passengers per day, making it Finland's most-visited building.The station building was inaugurated in 1919. It was chosen as one of the world's most beautiful railway stations by the BBC in 2013.
Well what do we have here ? Another case of Inconsiderate Defacing , this time from Finland. So it's not just something that happens in Canada, as I mentioned in my Tuesday, October 7 blog. The stamp is 1 of 3 in a 2013 Fruits set.
Pen cancels - how I hate you.
Denmark is next with this Greetings From Copenhagen card. Copenhagen is the capital and most populated city of Denmark, and second largest in Scandinavia, with an urban population of 1,246,611 and a metropolitan population of 1,975,361. It was founded as a Viking village in the 12th century.
Now , finally stamp-wise , we have 2 stamps on this card. Both are definitives, not that there is anything wrong with that.
There you have it, one more update. Thanks to Dale for all these cards.
See you again soon.
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