Picking Flowers, SAS B767 and Pankow

BLOG # 1470 

Still in The Time of Covid

Hey there. I'm back again, so soon after last time. My cards today come from -- today you have to read the blog to find out. 

Let's start this off with a card from a Postcrosser Down Under. Not a heck of a lot to say about the card other than a few ladies are gathering flowers. May be a picture of a painting, but it doesn't say and I'm no expert. 

Rafi used 3 nice stamps on her card. The left stamp is the latest addition to my Aviation Stamp Collection. It is 1 of 2 different stamps in a minisheet, issued in 2019 ,  commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the First England to Australia Flight.  The middle stamp , also from 2019, commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the Murchison Meteorite Falling to Earth. The right stamp was issued this year and Commemorates the 150th Anniversary of Sydney to San Francisco Mail Steamer Service. Shown on the stamp is the S.S. Wonga Wonga. 

Today's second card , another addition to my Aircraft / Airline Collection shows a SAS B767-ER in a Star Alliance livery. This B767, registered as OY-KDH,  is still active after 31.4 years. It was delivered new to Scandinavian Airlines. In those 31.4 years it has seen service with 8 other airlines.  It was converted to a freighter in January of 2010, with ABX Air. The picture on the card was taken at London Heathrow in February 1998.

 Jean Pierre sent this card from Vilnius, Lithuania. He got a very clear and readable postmark on both stamps used. The left stamp is 1 of 3 in a set showing Historic Banknotes. The right stamp Commemorates the 30th Anniversary of the Restoration of Independence.

Today's 3rd card is from Germany. It's a look at a large intersection in Pankow. Pankow is part of Berlin, formally part of East Berlin. 

This is a card I received from Isa, a lady I swap cards with in Germany. She used 2 of the common Flower definitives along  with a stamp  issued this year to Commemorate the 300th Anniversary of the Birth of Baron von Munchhausen in 1720.

That's it for today, a little shorter than my usual. Thanks for cards today do out to Rafi, Jean Pierre, and Isa. Remember , take care, wash your hands and wear a mask. 

Antwerp, Nieuwpoort Light, Bruges, Andorra and Viaducts

BLOG # 1469 - In the Time of Covid

 Hello once again. I`m back a little sooner that most of you might have anticipated. This time around I have three cards from Belgium, one from Turkey, one from Czech Rep and one from Andorra. I will do the Belgian cards first. All three were sent by Johan and each received a First Day of Issue cancellation on the stamps. 

First Card : Here we see a scene in Antwerp, a port city on the River Scheldt, dating back to the Middle Ages. It shows the Brabo Fountain , located in the Grote Markt, in front of the Town Hall. The sculpture was erected in 1887. 

The legend of the statue you see there is as follows : The giant Druon Antigoon cut off a hand of all the sea captains who moored in the area and who refused to pay a toll. He then threw the hand in the Scheldt. At some later time the captain of the Roman Army, Brabo , cut off the hand of the giant. The fountain reflects the moment when Brabo throws the hand of the giant into the river. 

Johan used a great large stamp on this card. It is 1 of 5 different  in a sheet , promoting Liege Squares. 

 

Johan has a fine postcard blog called johanpostcards and you can visit it right here .

Here is the second card from Johan showing the Nieuwpoort Lighthouse. This town in northern Belgium is known for its beach and marina. The current lighthouse stands at 29.0 m and was opened in 1949. The original lighthouse here was built in 1881 and destroyed during the first war. It was rebuilt in 1923 and then destroyed by the Germans in 1944. Tough being a lighthouse here !

 

Again issued on Jun 15 of this year, this stamp is from a sheet of 5 identical stamps honoring Team Belgium, Faster, Higher, Stronger.

Card 3 from Johan -- A lady from Bruges doing some crafting. Bruges is the capital of West Flanders, known for canals, cobbled streets and medieval buildings. The Historic centre of the city was added to the UNESCO World Heritage  list in 2000. 

 The stamp on this card is again from a sheet of 5 stamps, called Football Unites. 

My next card , from Turkey shows an engineering and construction marvel . It is the Varda Viaduct , located in Hacikiri village in Adana province, Turkey. The stone arch structure is 172 m long, 98 m high and contains 11 arch spans. It was constructed between 1905 and 1916. 

Mea , a Postcrosser from from southern Turkey sent this card. He used a really nice large stamp issued this year. An Europa stamp, it celebrates Ancient Postal Routes. 

 

What about another viaduct , this one in Czech Rep. This time it is the Znojmo Railway Viaduct, constructed between 2008 and 2009. It replaced a temporary bridge built in 1992 and that one replaced the original bridge from 1871. The current viaduct has 4 spans, is 220 m long and 48 m high.

Vaclav sent this card from Pilsen, home of Pilsner Brewery since 1842. He used a 2018 stamp celebrating Czech Jazz. 

Well you made it, here is the last card of the day. A nice look at Pessons Lakes , a great hiking area in the Pyrenees Mountains. This high mountain lake is at an elevation of 2294 m above sea level in the parish of Encamp.

Josep & Assumpta used a Coat of Arms stamp from 2019.

Be sure to check out the blog   - Letters and postcards from everywhere - by Josep & Assumpta . Click  right here .

Well so ends another update. Thanks for the cards today go out to  Johan, Mea, Vaclav and Josep & Assumpta. This blog would not exist without people like you guys. Big thanks to you all. 

Take care, safe safe, wear a mask !

A Train, a Church and Clocktower, a Nude, a Lighthouse , Mannheim and The Queen

BLOG # 1468  - Still In the Year of Covid

Howdy folks, it's me back at it again. I have a few cards to showcase again today. This time the cards are from Germany, France, and Poland.

So here we go .

Today's first card is a look at Mannheim. The city , located in southwest Germany, is over 400 years old . It is famous for its exceptional inventive power. Mannheim is the home of the world's first bicycle in 1817 and the world's first automobile in 1885.

 Dominique posted this card on July 30 and it arrived here in Airdrie on August 7th. The stamp commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the Wormser Dom. 

Today's second card shows the Amiens Cathedral, in the city of Amiens, in northern France. This Roman Catholic church is the tallest complete cathedral in France. It was built between 1220 and 1270 and added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981. The clock tower , near the cathedral, is called the Dewailly Clock. It was designed by Emile Ricquier and donated in 1896. The figure of the bare breasted lady, often called Mary Shirtless, is the work of Albert Roze. 

Dominique posted this card on July 27 and I received it on August 6th. Looks like the above German card arrived the fastest. The stamp on this one is from 2017, 1 of 4 different stamps in a minisheet issued for European capitals- this one is for Valetta, Malta. 

My next card arrived from Poland but it's subject matter is certainly not Polish. It shows Her Majesty The Queen from three portraits from 1928, 1942 and 1952. The card is reproduced from a stamp designed and issued in 1986 for the sixtieth birthday of Elizabeth II. 

Karoline used a mini collection of stamps on her card. The first three, from left to right , are Flower & Fruit definitives from 2015. The top right stamp , from 2019, was issued to highlight Polish cities - this time for Bialystok.  The bottom right stamp , from 2018 showcases via Carpathia. 

I received this next card from Lemgo, a medieval town of about 40,000 people in the northwestern part of Germany. The card shows one of the photos of German fashion photographer Marc Collins.  As you can see by this card, he also does fine art, swimwear, and nude photography. 

Elena used an often seen Flower definitive along with a stamp from this current year highlighting the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

This card from western Brittany shows the new and the old. You can see the current lighthouse of Eckhmul, the old lighthouse and the signal station. This light , also known as Point Penmarc'h Light or Saint-Pierre Light , located in Penmarc'h , Brittany, France is one of the tallest lighthouses in the world at 213 feet. It opened in October 1897. 

 

Jean Pierre used a Holidays stamp from a set of 12 issued earlier this year. 

Here we go now with the last card for today. Where's it from - you be the judge. From looking at the card , one would be inclined to say it arrived from somewhere in Canada, but all might not be as it seems. For all you train card collectors, this shows an old Canadian Pacific train called The Canadian , from 1930. 

O.K. here's where it gets a bit tricky. The card was sent by Jean Pierre , who lives in France. It has a Canadian stamp on it from 1993, valued at 43 cents. The current rate is 92 cents or $1.07 depending on the quantity purchased. And the only postmark or cancellation reads France La Poste. So you be the judge of where this card originated from. 

 This Canadian stamp was issued in 1993 to Commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the City of Toronto. So you tell me - where did it come from . If it came from France , why does it have a Canadian stamp ? If it came from Canada, why is there such a low value stamp from 1993 on it and why is there a  La Poste cancel on it ?  

 That's all for this time. Thanks for the cards go out to Dominique, Karoline, Elena, and Jean Pierre.

Take care now, drop by again soon.  Remember - Stay Safe, keep your distance and wear a mask.

UNESCO WHS, a Cloverleaf, Space Dogs and more

 BLOG # 1467 

In the Year of Covid

Howdy folks . Time for a few more postcards, I think . The cards this time are from Germany, Italy, Russia and China. The first card is a look at Neuschwanstein Castle, a 19th century palace on a hill above the village of Hohenschwangau in southwest Bavaria. The construction of the castle was started on September 5, 1869 and was finished in 1886. 

A Postcrosser named Kurt sent this card along. He used a nice Lighthouse stamp from this year. It shows the Schleimunde lighthouse. 

Card # 2 arrived from Puglia , Italy,  a southern region forming the heel  in the so called boot of Italy. On this card we can see two UNESCO World Heritage Sites. On the top is Castel del Monte, a 13th century citadel and castle in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. It is of an octagonal design with an octagonal tower at each corner. It was added to the UNESCO World  Heritage list in 1996. 

On the bottom is Alberobello, a small town in southern Italy famous for its trulli buildings. Trulli are  stone huts with distinctive conical roofs. It made the UNESCO list in 1996 also.

Jean Pierre used a 2019 Christmas stamp on this card. 

This next card is from St. Petersburg and was sent by Postcrosser Sergey. Here we see Strelka and Belka, two Russian space dogs. They spent a day in space aboard Korabi-Sputnik 2 on 19 August 1960. These 2 dogs , accompanied by a rabbit, 42 mice and 2 rats were the first Earth born creatures to go into orbit and return alive. Part of the card design is an old Russian stamp from 1960 honoring the 2 dogs. 

 

Sergey used a stamp from 2019 showcasing the Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival.

 

The 4th card today is from China - Wuhan in fact. Yes that Wuhan of Covid fame. The card celebrates the 7th Wuhan Postcrossing Meetup. They must have had a good turnout as the card is signed by 14 or so Postcrossers. The card gives an overview of the Meizi Interchange. Located on Jiangcheng Avenue, Hanyang District, it is the only interchange blending in the waterscape of Wuhan. The cloverleaf design incorporates 3 levels of roadways. 

Viola used a couple of stamps from a couple of different years. The left stamp if from 2018, 1 of 2 in a Tourism issue. The set shows Sights of Kashgar.  The middle stamp, from 2011, is 1 of 2 celebrating the International Horticultural Exhibition. The right stamp was issued in 2018 and that's all I know about it. I couldn't find any other information.

 

Well that's all for this time. It was good to get back here at it. Thanks for today's cards go out to Viola, Sergey, Kurt and Jean Pierre. Thanks or dropping by , take care and stay safe.

Cards By Jean Pierre

BLOG # 1466

Still in the time of Covid

Once again it is time for an update. This past while I have received an abundance of cards from Jean Pierre. So without further ado here are some of them. The first one shows a view of Rochefort - en - Terre, in the department of Brittany. The village was chosen by the French as the favourite village of 2016. Quite an honour for a village of 700 residents. 

Jean Pierre used a 2019 stamp Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Paris.

My second card arrived from Josselin, a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany. It shows the medieval Josselin Castle which was built after 1370. The castle is still the residence of Josselin de Rohan, fourteenth Duke of Rohan. 

The stamp is from this current year and was issued for the Salon Philatelique de Printemps de Dole, which was to take place from March 27 to 29. Unfortunately due to Covid -19 it was cancelled. 

My next card was mailed from Concarneau. This is a commune in the Finistere department of Brittany in north western France. The town has two distinct areas ; the modern town on the mainland and the medieval Ville Close, a walled town on a long island in the centre of the harbour. The card shows the entrance to the Walled Town , the belfry and its clock.

The stamp, again from 2020, celebrates Frederic Dard, French crime writer. His San-Antonio book series was wildly popular. 

Now for the last card for this time. It is from Quimper, a city in Brittany. The city was originally settled during Roman times. On the card you can see the Chapel of Notre - Dame - de - Rocamadour. This a a catholic chapel located in Camaret-sur-Mer in Finistere, France. It is located near the Vauban Tower, which you can see on the right. The oldest part of the current chapel dates from 1527. 

Jean Pierre used a stamp from a set of 12 issued in June. They all showcased Cosmos Flowers. 

Well that ends this update. Big thanks for all cards go to Jean Pierre. Thanks for dropping by and stay safe.