Three Cards in January

Howdy folks, I'm back with another small update`, update # 2 for 2015. I have just 3 cards for this time. One is from Belgium and 2 are from Czech Republic. Let's start with Belgium. This card is all about doing away with the old and bringing in the new. It is an adaptation of a 1948 photo of Lana Morris, a British film, stage and television actress during the 1950s and 1960s. So Happy New Year from Lana.

Johan sent this card along, carrying his best wishes for 2015. Be sure to check out his postcard blog called "Johan Postcards " right  here . He used 2 self adhesive Christmas stamps to move this card along. They resemble Christmas gifts wrapped , with ribbon.

This second card arrived from Prague, Czech Republic. It gives us a look at Golden Lane , an ancient street located in the Prague Castle complex.  Golden Lane dates from the 15th Century and has a beautiful, olden world quaintness about it. It comprises 11 historic houses, inside which period scenes have been created to show the life of the artisans who once worked, ate, drank and slept in them. The origin of some of the houses goes back to the 16 ^th century. The renowned writer Franz Kafka lived in the Golden Lane for some time during the World War I. The house no. 14 was a home of the fortune-teller Madame de Thebes since 1918. She used to crystal gaze and tell fortunes from cards. She was killed by the Gestapo at the end of the World War II., reportedly because she foretold that Adolf Hitler will die soon. Probably the oldest house in the street is the one with number 20. It looks almost the same as it did in the 16 ^th century.

 This is another card from Meelis. He always sends great cards with great stamps on them. On this one he used 2 wonderful aviation themed stamps , making it an even better card for me. On the far left is a 1996 stamp, from a set of 3 , showing Aircraft. Next is a Flower definitive from 2007. Then another aviation stamp. This one is from a 2014 Transport set of 2. The 2nd stamp in that set is Rail related. Finally on the right is a 2002 stamp celebrating the NATO Summit held in Prague in November of that year.

  

My last card for today, arrived as a surprise to me , ( well all cards arrive as a surprise, but this one more so than most ) . It is a thank you card from Monika in Prague. About 6 months ago I was contacted by a guy at the Polish Antarctic Station asking if  I'd  send a couple of cards to some young people in Europe. Of course I agreed and this card arrived back from one of them. Zbigniew if you're reading this, I never did receive your card from down there. Monika's card is a  look at Charles bridge and Lesser Town Bridge Tower.   The Lesser Town Bridge Tower was built in the second half of the 15th century under the rule of King George of Podebrady. The Charles Bridge is famous for the many statues of saints that embellish the bridge along its length.
Due to its prominent position the Charles Bridge has played an important part in Prague's history. In 1648, at the end of the Thirty Years' War, the invading Swedes were halted on this bridge and in 1744 the Prussians were defeated here but today the bridge is often overrun with tourists.

Monika's stamp is from 2011 and is a Z rate definitive in an Architecture series.

Well that's about it for this time. Short and sweet I'd say. Thanks to Johan, Meelis and Monika. See you back here again soon. Take care.