The Last Cards of 2020 - Goodbye, So Long , Farewell

BLOG # 1492 -- Still In The Time of Covid

Well we made it to the end of the year , I can't say I'm sad to see 2020 end. I only hope for better things in 2021. When I wrote yesterday's blog, I had 3 cards left for today. Well one card arrived today, so now I have four for this time. Of course the one that arrived today, is the last card for 2020. 

My first two cards are from Berlin, Germany. Both are Aviation themed cards and welcome additions to my Aircraft & Airlines card collection. The first one shows a Lufthansa Regional Bombardier CRJ900. Registered as D-ACKB this aircraft is 14.6 years old and was built in Montreal. It's last flight was on 12 Nov of this year and it's present status is  " parked " . Not sure if this is due to lack of flights due covid or if it is parked permanently. 

I received this card from Jean Pierre via Rafal in Berlin. Rafal used an ATM stamp along with a stamp from 2015. It commemorates the 175th  Anniversary of the world's first stamp, the Penny Black.

My second card shows a Germanwings Airbus A319. This aircraft D-AKNH had its first flight with Eurowings in 1998. It flew with Germanwings from 2002 until 2009. It saw service with a number of airlines since 2009 before ending up again with Eurowings in 2017. D-AKNH has been stored now since 2019. 

 Again this one is from Jean Pierre via Rafal. It has another ATM stamp along with 2 others. The left stamp was issued in 2017 and commemorates the 1000th Anniversary of the city of Neunburg worm Wald. The right stamp shows Naumburg Cathedral and was issued in 2017.

Time now for the third card, from France. It's a look at the old stone bridge in the commune of Lagrasse in the Southern part of the country. In 2016 Lagrasse had a population of 560 and has been labelled as one of the most beautiful villages in France. The Lagrasse Bridge crosses the Orbieu River and was built in the 13th century. The abbey in the background is much older dating from the 7th century. 

Dominique used a stamp from 2015, celebrating French military officer Jacques II de Chabannes. 

Here it is -- the last card for today, and the last of the week, the month, and the year. Some may even say the last of the decade. I know, some say the decade is already one year old, others say a new decade starts tomorrow. I believe one has to remember that there was no year zero . If you believe that , then decades start with a 1 and the new decade starts tomorrow. What do you think , leave me a comment and let me know. 

Fittingly this last card is also an addition to my Aircraft & Airlines collection.  It`s a HOP! Embraer 170. HOP! is an Air France regional airline with its headquarters in Nantes Airport. Aircraft F-HBXN is 16.6 years old and saw service with 2 other airlines previous to HOP!. 

  This last card is from Jean Pierre and he used a semi-postal stamp from 1992. The surcharge was for the Red Cross. 

That`s it, blog number 53 for 2020. Thanks for today`s card go to Jean Pierre, along with Rafal and Dominique. 

Along with Jean Pierre and Dominique I need to thank Ana, Johan, Gerda, Indrit, Josep & Assumpta, Bruce, Meelis, Jobbo, Barbara, Isa and Mike & Ashley for all the cards they have sent along this past year. Oh and I can`t forget My Lovely Teena, she has sent along a few to me as well. Without people like these I most likely wouldn`t have a blog. So Thank You one and all. 

So , so long 2020 , it really hasn`t been a pleasure, but I`m hoping for Big things in 2021. 

Until then- wear your mask, wash your hands and keep your distance.