Toulouse, Dusseldorf, Kukesi, Valbona and Charlie Lim

Hello again, I'm back with a few more cards.
I'm starting off today with a card showing the Basilica of Saint-Sern, located in Toulouse. Constructed between 1080 and 1120 , it is the only remaining part of the Abbey of Saint-Sernin. It is the largest Romanesque building in Europe , and perhaps the world. The church was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1988.

Dominique used 2 older stamps on his card, both were issued in 1973.  On the left is a stamp showcasing the Red Cross. It is 1 of 2 in a set. On the right is a stamp honouring Polish Refugees for the period of 1921-1925.

My next card is another Airport card, this time Dusseldorf International. It is the 3rd busiest airport in Germany, handling 23.5 million passengers last year.

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Jean Pierre sent this card and used a 2017 Europa Castles stamp along with a Flower definitive.

 A couple of cards from Albania are up next. This first one gives us a look at Kukesi, a town in northeastern Albania, with a population just over 48,000. It is a rather new town, having been built in the 1970s. The old town was submerged in 1976 beneath the Fierza Reservoir. Kukesi was the first town in history to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. This was because 450,000 Kosovo Albanian refugees crossed the Frontier and were housed in camps in and around Kukesi, during the Kosovo conflict.

Both of my Albania cards today are compliments of Indrit. He has a fine postcard blog called  Albania Postcard .  Indrit used a 2016 stamp, 1 of 2, issued for the 2016 European Football Championships in France.

Indrit's second card shows a path on the hike from Valbona to Thethi. This hike follows an old mule path and is one of the most popular in the Accursed Mountains or as they are often called the Albanian Alps.

Indrit used the same stamp as was on his first card, so no need to see it again.

That was card # 4700 , that I have received since I started this collection way back 10 plus years ago. Who would've thought ?


Today's last card is an Oil-Painting photograph by Charlie Lim. Lim's pictures are taken in the dark. His process is called Light Paintography and when put on canvas his photos resemble a Rembrandt painting.

Chan used a International definitive, 1 of 8 in a set, this one features Wildlife.

A short update today, with thanks for cards going out to Dominique, Jean Pierre , Indrit and Chen. Take care , back soon.

More Cards That Arrived While I Was Away

Today it's Round # 2 of the cards that arrived while I was down east.

 Let's start with a card from China. It shows the Nanjing Changjiang River Bridge at sunset. The bridge is a double decked  road and rail bridge across the Yangtze River. It was constructed between 1960 and 1968 and sees approximately 80,000 vehicles and 200 trains per day. A rather infamous fact about this bridge is that it has surpassed the Golden Gate Bridge as the most frequent suicide site in the world, with more than 2,000 suicides by 2006. A local man, Chen Si, has been hailed as a hero for saving the lives of more than 300 people planning to jump off the bridge. He has devoted his free time to patrolling the bridge to help anyone in distress. Chen Si's story and those of some of the people he has saved are told in the documentary film " Angel of Nanjing " .

Peng Tao, a Postcrosser in Changsha, Hunan sent this card. He used a great Bird of Prey stamp from a set of 4 issued in 2014. The Flower stamp I know nothing about.

Munich Airport is the subject of my next card and it's Germany's second busiest airport. It handled 42 million passengers in 2016, with flights to 248 destinations. The airport is named after Franz Josef Strauss, a German politician. .  Jean Pierre's card shows aircraft from Aer Lingus, Air Berlin, Korean Air and Lufthansa.

 

Jean Pierre used a Flower definitive and 1 of 2 in the 2017 Micro Worlds set.

Ravindra's card of Unseen Sri Lanka is next. It shows us Mini World's End at Pitamaruwa, Madulsima. This is a deep escarpment situated at Pitawala Pathana offering great views of the valley below.

Ravindra used a matching stamp from the Unseen Sri Lanka series issued in 2016.

Concarneau is the subject of this next card. Concarneau is a commune in north-western France. The town has two distinct areas- the modern town on the mainland and the medieval Ville Close , the walled  town on a long island in the middle of the harbour.

Bruce sent this card along, as he was visiting the area. He used 2 stamps, on the left is a 2015 Architecture in France stamp and on the right a Joint Issue With Canada. It is 1 of 2 in the 2017 Vimy Memorial set.

Time for another card from Jobbo, not his typical touristy card though.

Jobbo's card arrived with 3 great stamps as usual. On the left is a 2012 stamp showcasing H.R.H. Prince Nares Varariddhi. The middle stamp commemorates the 60th Anniversary of Thammasat University. It was issued in 1994. The stamp on the right is a little trickier. An overprint from 6,Baht to 10 Baht,  but I don't know the year it was first valid. The original 6 Baht stamp was issued in 1997.

It's last card time. This one comes from Gerda and gives us a look at the European Badger. These badgers are instantly recognizable with their two black stripes running the length of their white faces.

Gerda used 2 Flower ( Forest Hyacinths ) stamps from a set of 5 issued this past year.

That's it - another update complete. Thanks for cards today go out to Peng, Jean Pierre, Ravindra, Bruce, Jobbo and Gerda.

Cards That Arrived While I Was Away

Hello again. Well I'm back from my little jaunt down east. All I can say is Canada is one big country. It takes a long time to go and a long time to come back. And, sadly there wasn't any time for postcards. But on a brighter note, on my return my mailbox was stuffed with 16 wonderful cards.  So.....let's go !

First up is a card from My Lovely Teena, maybe the last one from our recent trip to B.C.  She found this card in the Old School Museum in Crofton, British Columbia. Crofton is a small coastal town and a terminus for the Salt Spring Island ferry. The town has a population of around 1,100 and they are known as Croftonites. Crofton was founded in 1902 by Henry Croft who owned a nearby copper mine .

Teena's card shows low tide at the Crofton Seawalk, with the Old School Museum in the background. The seawalk was completed in 2002 , on Crofton's 100th Anniversary and extends for a kilometre from the wharf and ferry terminal to Crofton Beach.

My Lovely Teens used one of the Round Canada 150 stamps. It's one of ten in a pane, issued on June 1, 2017. This Paralympic Glory stamp marks two events on Canadian soil - the 1976 and 2010 Paralympics.

My second card arrived from Slovenia and it's been on the go since the 20th of July. Two months , I guess it has a story to tell.
The card shows Triglav in the evening. Triglav is a mountain in Slovenia with an elevation of 2864 metres , making it the highest mountain in the country and the highest peak in the Julian Alps.

Dominique used 2 stamps, both issued this year, on his card. On the left is 1 of 3 celebrating Roses. On the right is a stamp highlighting 50 Years of a Trade and Business Fair.

Mongolian wrestling is the subject of my next card. It is the folk wrestling style of Mongols, in which any touching of the ground with anything other than a foot loses the match. Wrestling is the most important of the Mongolian's  " Three Manly Skills "  and the other two are horsemanship and archery.

David used 2 great stamps from a 2016 set of 5 Male Animals. Shown are the Male Camel and a Stallion.

Here's one more for my Airlines / Aircraft card collection. It's an Air Dolomiti Embraer 195. The airplane , registered as I-ADJN is just over 8 years old. Today is September 20th and this aircraft has been in Munich, Sofia, Pisa, Prague and Turin , all today.

Jean Pierre posted this card in Munich and used a 2016 stamp of the Castles of Germany set. Shown is Lowenburg Castle.

My next card is from Yangon , Myanmar. Unfortunately Myanmar has been in the news a lot lately and not in a good way. I think it's time for Aung San Suu Kyi to step up and show the world what she's made of. That's one Canadian to another talking, as she holds Honorary Canadian Citizenship.
Now on to Jobbo's card. It's a picture of Shan fishermen practising their trade at Inle Lake.

Jobbo used a recent stamp showing a Xylophone.

It's time for my last card for today. It arrived from Washington, D.C. , USA. The card is from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. and shows the " Spirit of St. Louis " , Charles Lindbergh's monoplane in which he flew nonstop solo across the Atlantic from New York to Paris in 1927.

I've had the pleasure of seeing this airplane up close, having visited the Museum around fifteen years ago. It's a great place with lots of interesting exhibits.

Meelis used 2 different Postcard Rate Shell stamps from 2017, and a 2017  Basketball Round Forever stamp.

That's all for today. My Thanks today go out to My Lovely Teena, Dominique, David, Jean Pierre, Jobbo and Meelis. Good cards from Great People. See you again soon.

Salt Spring Island Visit

Hello again, I made it back , the soccer game didn't quite go as I hoped. That happens some times.
My cards today are all cards of Salt Spring Island, B.C. My Lovely Teena and I recently spent a few days on Vancouver Island to celebrate our anniversary . We spent time in Parksville, Nanaimo and took a ferry over to Salt Spring Island.

So My first card today is from Nanaimo, a city and ferry port on the east coast of Vancouver Island. It is also known as  ' The Harbour City ' .  Nanaimo is the home of The Bastion, a wooden tower dating from 1853. You can see it on the postcard, upper left.
The city is also known for the Nanaimo Bar, a no-bake cookie bar with custard filling, a Canadian dessert named after Nanaimo.
So here's the card from My Lovely Teena.

Teena used a recent F1 In Canada stamp. The set of 5 was issued May 16th of this year. Scottish speedster Sir Jackie Stewart is the subject of this stamp. He dominated F1 racing in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The rest of today's cards all represent Salt Spring Island. Salt Spring is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia and Vancouver Island. Salt Spring was the first of the Gulf Islands to be settled back in 1859, when it was known as Admiral Island. During the 1960s , the island became a political refuge for United States citizens, for draft dodgers during the Vietnam War. The island's population is just over 10,200 and the largest village on the island is Ganges. Two famous residents of Salt Spring Island deserve a mention - Robert Bateman, painter and Paul Valdeman Horsdal or Valdy as he is commonly known, singer songwriter and musician.

Let's start with a card showing Ganges Harbour, a popular port of call for sailboats cruising B.C.'s Gulf Islands. Ganges was named after the British naval ship HMS Ganges.

This card arrived with a nice Salt Spring Cancellation on the Ayrton Senna stamp, another from the F1 In Canada series. The fierce and fearless Brazilian won the Formula I Grand Prix of Canada in 1988 and 1990.

Here's another card from My Lovely Teena. This one is of the Mermaid statue, designed by Tom McPhee , and installed in downtown Ganges. It is an 8 ft. bronze statue completed in 2001. Its inscription reads " Service Above Self " , the motto of Rotary Club.

Teena used a round Canada 150 stamp from a pane of 10. The pane was issued on Canada Day , July 1st and the one shown celebrates Canada's most famous robotics accomplishment - the Canadarm, which took flight in 1981 aboard the space shuttle Columbia.

The next 2 cards showcase another location on Salt Spring Island - Fulford Harbour. Fulford is a village on the southeast side of Salt Spring , near the island's southern end. It was named for Captain John Fulford of HMS Ganges.
St. Paul's Church is the first landmark to be seen by visitors as the ferry approaches Fulford Harbour. It is Salt Spring Island's oldest church and was built in 1883. The windows, door and bell were brought over from Vancouver Island by First Nations people.

It's Gilles Villeneuve this time. Canada's hometown hero was a force to be reckoned with from the late 1970s to early 1980s.

Today's last card is another , but closer,  look at St. Paul's Church. I earlier mentioned the door, the windows and the bell, - well the stones used for its construction were also brought over from Vancouver Island. They were ferried in First Nations war canoes and then dragged across Salt Spring Island on stone boats pulled by oxen.

My Lovely Teena used the  Ayrton Senna stamp so I don't think I need to show it again.

That's it for this time. Thanks to My Lovely Teena for her cards. Take care, see you again soon.
I will be away for a little while, going east for a bit - 6,125 km east.

Hey It's September

I know I'm late, it's been September for awhile now. Here's my excuse. I didn't receive any postcards on September 1st and then our post offices were closed on the 2nd, 3rd and the 4th for Labour Day. Mail arrived on the 5th, the 7th and 8th , so finally I have something to put up here on the blog. I have some nice cards to show today - I know, nice is a relative term and what I might consider nice , someone else might hate. But a true collector, like me, likes all the cards that arrive in my mailbox.
That's enough of the wordy stuff, it's on to the cards.

Let's start with a nice - there's that word again- long card from Copenhagen, Denmark. It's a sunset view of Nyhavn - the 17th century waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen. It is lined by brightly coloured 17th and 18th century townhouses, bars and cafes. There are a couple of interesting houses in the area. No 9 Nyhavn is the oldest house in the area dating back to 1681. The design of the house has not been altered since that time. The famous Danish fairytail  writer Hans Christian Andersen used to live at No 20 Nyhavn. This is where he wrote The Tinderbox, Little Claus and Big Claus and The Princess and the Pea  . Andersen also lived at No 67 and No 18.

This is a card from Bruce, who who was on a 3 week European trip. He used stamps from 3 different sets of four. On the left, from 1991, is a stamp from the Art Objects set. The middle stamp, from 1994, is from the Tramways set. Lastly the stamp on the right is 1 of the Peace & Freedom set.

Here's another one of the nice cards and it's a great addition to my Airplane / Aviation Collection. It's an Airbus A380 from Toulouse and it is the world's largest passenger airliner. It has 40 percent more floor space that a B747-800. Airbus is big business in France, with over 26,000 employees, 21,000 in Toulouse alone. Airbus has delivered  215 A380s as of August 2017 and Emirates Airlines operates 97 of them.

That's a great picture, for sure. Thanks Dominique. The card arrived with a 2016 stamp commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the founding of the Front Populaire in 1936. It was an alliance of left-wing movements that operated from 1936 to 1938.

My next card arrived from Krakow, the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. The card shows an evening view of the Church of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven or Saint Mary's Church,  as it is often called. It is located adjacent to the main market square in Krakow. The church was completed around 1347.
On every hour, a trumpeter signal is played from the top of the taller of Saint Mary's two towers. The tune breaks off in mid stream to commemorate the famous 13th century trumpeter, who was shot in the throat while sounding the alarm before the Mongol attack on the city.

Amelia used 2 Flower stamps from 2015. Shown on the left is a Sunflower and on the right , a Rose.

Here's another nice and interesting card from France. It gives us a look , albeit an ominous one, at a part of Clairvaux Abbey, located in Ville -sous- la -Fente. This former Cistercian Monastery dates from 1708. The building is now Clairvaux Prison, a high security prison. One of its permanent residents is Ilyich Ramirez Sanchez , otherwise known as Carlos the Jackal.

 

This is another card from Dominique and he used a beautiful 1973 stamp. It feature the Five Master ship  France II , the second largest commercial sailing ship ever built.

 One more nice card to end of this update. This is a card that arrived from Munich and is yet another addition to my Airplane Collection. This time it's a MIAT Mongolian Airlines Boeing 767-300. Registered as JU-1021 this 767 entered service in May 2013.

Jean Pierre used the 2 stamp set showing Lake Chiemsee , the largest lake in Bavaria. They were issued in 2015.

There you go, another update done. Thanks for cards today go out to Bruce, Dominique, Amelia and Jean Pierre. I will be back here either tomorrow or Sunday , with luck. I have a soccer game to attend tomorrow and then it's Monster Jam on Sunday with my 4 Grandsons. We'll be watching Double Trouble, Grave Digger, Monster Mutt Dalmatian, Northern Nightmare and Zombie. Who knows - maybe they will be selling postcards there. Take care, see you here soon.