Sunday, August 30, 2020

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 !

No comments: