Vancouver Island, Texel, Supetar, and Air Europa

 BLOG 1534 -- Day 569 of the Pandemic

Hey , how`s it going today . Hope you are all safe and doing well. 

Today I want to start off with a few cards received after my return from a little trip to Vancouver Island about a month ago. My Lovely Teena always drops a postcard or two in the mail to me from wherever we go. Vancouver Island was no exception. The three cards I am showing today were all posted in Parksville. The city of around 12,500 is world renowned for its wide tidal sand flats and  sun warmed salt water. Parksville beach was recently named one of the top six beaches in North America. Parksville is also the home of Beachfest - the only World Championship Sand Sculpting official qualification event in Canada. 

Teena used the recent Stan Rogers stamp on this card. Rogers was a wonderful Canadian balladeer. 

Here`s the 2nd Parksville card :

This one shows an original watercolour by Canadian artist Coral Barclay.

On this one Teena used the Karen Kain stamp, as she performed in Swan Lake. Kain is one of the longest serving Artistic Directors of the National Ballet of Canada. The commemorative stamp was issued April 29th, International Dance Day.

The 3rd card from Parksville - it actually shows a scene you might see on Vancouver Island but not likely in the Parksville area. 

The stamp on this one is the Perry Caribou , one of five Snow Mammals issued in February. 

Now for a few cards not from My Lovely Teena. 

This first one gives us an image of Texel Island. Texel is one of the Dutch Wadden Islands off the coast of the Netherlands. Texel is a paradise for beach lovers with its 30 km long sandy beach.

Dominique used a 2014 International Rate Cow stamp.

My next card arrived from Supetar, Croatia. It is the capital of the Dalmatian island of Brac, located at about a one hour boat trip from Split. The town was founded in the 16th century. Jean Pierre`s card gives us an aerial view of part of Supetar.

Jean Pierre used a stamp from 2020, commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Military and Police Operation ` Lightning `. 

Time now for the latest addition of my Aircraft and  Airline Card collection. Here we have an Air Europa Embraer E195 registered as EC-KRJ. This aircraft flew with Air Europa from November 2008 until June 2016. The picture on the card shows EC-KRJ at Palma in July 2009.

Jean Pierre used a 2020 stamp that celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Spanish Legion.

That`s six cards and my limit for today. Thanks for dropping in and I hope you found something to your liking. Today I have to thank My Lovely Teena, Dominique and Jean Pierre for all the great cards and stamps. 

If you read my last update , you know where I stand on the pandemic and vaccination so I won`t repeat myself other than to say , vaccination is the only thing that is going to turn the tide.  

Annevoie Gardens, SAA A340, Views of Estonia, Baden-Baden, Bermuda B.O.T, and Niki Lauda and Lauda Air

BLOG 1533  and Day 567 of the Pandemic

Well hello once again. Apparently the lost has returned. After two weeks away from the blog, it`s certainly time to get back at it. Lots of cards have built up so I`ll get right to it. Today`s cards arrived from Belgium, South Africa, Estonia, Germany, Bermuda and Czech Republic, and that`s the order you will see them . 

First up is this view of a portion of the Annevoie Water Gardens located in Anhee, Belgium. The gardens were created some 250 years ago. There are many fountains, water jets and cascades, all of which operate entirely naturally, without any mechanical or electrical means. The water here has flowed nonstop for over 240 years. 

Gerda used 2 stamps on this card. On the left , from 1971 is a semi-postal, 1 of 4 in a set showing Insects from the Antwerp Zoo. The right stamp, from 2015, is a definitive showing Fries. 

Be sure to check out Gerda`s fine postcard blog called `My Postcard-Page ` right here  .

My next card is a fine addition to my Aircraft and Airline postcard collect, as are all aviation themed cards. This time it`s a South African Airways A340, registered as ZS-SXD. The aircraft is 16.8 years old, having been delivered to SAA in Feb 2005. It flew for SAA until May of 2005 when it was leased to Jet Airways for 2 years. Then it was back to SAA from May 2007 until May of 2019 when it was removed from use and stored at JNB. The special Team South Africa livery shown on the card was added in Jul of 2019. 

 

Bruce used a nice World Cup 98 stamp along with a minisheet of one issued in 2018, celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Nelson Mandela. It was a Joint Issue with Germany.

Now it`s a card from Estonia. This card shows a number of views of north Estonia. We can see wild strawberries, the Museum of Coastal Folk in the village of Pringi and a view of Tallinn from the sea. 

Meelis used a rather large stamp from this year. It celebrates the Chinese New Year - Year of the Ox. 

We`re half way there. 

This next card is a view of Baden-Baden, a town in southwestern Germany`s Black Forrest. The main focus on the card is the Stiftskirche Church. Part of the church dates back to the first half of the 13th century.

Dominique`s stamp is 1 of 2 issued this year showing Underground Stations in Westend Frankfurt.

 

I don`t receive many cards from Bermuda, so it`s always great to receive one. It also brings back memories of our vacation there many many moons ago. This British Overseas Territory is just a beautiful spot. Who can forget the Bermuda Shorts, Horseshoe Bay Beach with its pink sand, the Crystal Caves, St George town, the Royal Naval Dockyard and Gibbs Hill Lighthouse.  Jean Pierre`s card has lots of Bermuda information on the front.

The stamp used is 1 of 4 , issued in 2019, celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Bermuda Floating Dock.

Here we go with the last card for this time. Who knew it was to be another entry in my Aircraft and Airline card collection . Surely not me !

This time it`s a Lauda Air B767-ER, registered as OE-LAV. Lauda Air was an Austrian Airline that operated from 1979 to 2013. That`s owner Niki Lauda in the lower right. 

OE-LAV was delivered new to Lauda Air on 16 Oct 1981. It was the 283rd B767 built. Sadly this aircraft operated Lauda Air flight 004 on 26 May 1991. It was involved in an accident - an in flight break-up over Thailand. There were 213 fatalities and zero survivors. 

I received this card from Rob in Czech Republic. We have swapped cards a number of times. Guess I owe him another one.   Rob used 2 stamps on his card. The top stamp, from 2015, is 1 of 4 in a set showing Planes and other Vehicles That Brought Freedom. The bottom stamp was issued in 2019 and highlights Czech Designs by Vaclav Kral.

That ends this update. I have to thank Gerda, Bruce, Meelis, Dominique, Jean Pierre and Rob for these great cards and stamps. 

The pandemic is still with us - going on 19 months with no let up. The 4th wave is upon us here in Alberta, Canada.  The hospitals are bursting at the seams, the ICUs are overfull and too many people are dying every day. It has become the pandemic of the unvaccinated. To anyone out there not vaccinated, Shame on you. To anyone not wearing a mask, Shame on you. Get vaccinated for God`s sake !! 

B737-300, Andorra WHS, Istanbul, Heidelberg and La Rochelle

BLOG #  1532    -- Day 554 of the Pandemic

Hello again, well I ended the last update with an aircraft card, so it's only right to start off today with another aircraft card. It's an Air France B737-300 , registered as F-GIXX. The picture was taken in June of 2000 at LHR. The -300 was Air France's least numerous 737 variant operated by the airline. They operated a total of only 9 from 1991 to 2004. 

Jean Pierre used a 2021 stamp showcasing Hunspach Bas-Rhin -- France's favorite village in 2020. 

My next card arrived from Andorra. It's a look at the Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley., a glacial valley in the southeast of the country. This is the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Andorra. It was added to the list in 2004. 

Josep and Assumpta used a 2019 Coat of Arms stamp suitable for international mail. 

Now it's time for a card from Turkey. Here we see an evening view of Istanbul showing the Bogaz Koprusu Bosphorus Bridge. Other names for the bridge are the First Bridge and 15 July Martyrs Bridge. It opened in Oct of 1973, is 1560 m in length and connects Europe and Asia. 

Bugra used 2 rather large Bird stamps on this one. They are from a set of 3 showing Storks.

The last two cards for this time were sent by Dominique, one from France and the other from Germany. Both arrived in my mailbox the same day, Friday 13 August. Heidelberg , subject of this card, is a town on the Neckar River in southwestern Germany, founded in 1196. The top left part of the card shows the sandstone ruins of Heidleberg Castle. In the foreground is Old Bridge across the Neckar River. 

  A recent Flower definitive arrived on this card. 

Now here's the last card for today. It's a look at La Rochelle, a thousand year old port city in southwestern France. The medieval towers at the entrance to the Old Town are emblems of the city and great tourist attractions. 

Dominique used a 1972 stamp, 1 of 3 in a set entitled History of France. 

There you go -- that's today's cards, and I have Jean Pierre, Josep and Assumpta, Bugra and Dominique to thank for them. So Thank You so much. 

Last words for today . If you haven't already - get vaccinated. It's the only solution. 

Take care.

Bridges, a Lighthouse, A B777, A Falls, and other things

 BLOG # 1530  --  Day 547 of the Pandemic

Well it's been a while, that's for sure. I have no excuses other than life goes on. I'll be the first to admit that just two updates for the month of August is a pretty pathetic excuse for a blog. I can only hope to do better this month. I have lots of cards so that won't be a problem.  

Let's start with this card from France. it's a view from the National Museum of the Naval School of Medicine in Rochefort. It's a look at skeletons, body parts , bones , etc. It kind of reminded me of Body Worlds, an exhibition I went to in Edmonton a number of years ago. It was amazing that people , including me, paid real money to look at dead bodies. 

Dominique used a French Art stamp from 1972. It is by Claude Monet, painted in 1866 and titled Women in the Garden. 

 

My next two cards arrived from Croatia, one from Trogir and the other from Split. Trogir is a town of around 14,000 on the Adriatic coast, about 6 km from the Split Airport. Since 1997, the historic centre of Trogir has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites for its Venetian architecture.  

Jean Pierre's card is an overview of the town and yacht mooring facilities. 

Jean Pierre used 2 stamps from 2020. Both show Sea Life in Croatia. 

Here's the card from Split. It actually shows an area of the Plitvice Lakes National Park. The park was added to the UNESCO WHS list in 1979 for its outstanding and picturesque lakes, caves and waterfalls. 

Jean Pierre used a single stamp this time from this year. It is 1 of 4 in a set of Croatian  Marian Shrines. 

My next card , another from Dominique, is from the Netherlands. It shows Brandaris Lighthouse on the Dutch Wadden Sea island of Terschelling. The original light here was constructed in 1594. The current light was first lit in 1835 and later electrified in 1907. It is the oldest lighthouse in the Netherlands. 

This time Dominique used a stamp from this year, showing Typically Dutch Houseboats. 

I think I can do a couple more cards and then call it a day. Next is another Rochefort card from Dominique. Dominique commented as to where else one might see 3 bridges in such a limited area.

Well .... but first here is the card in question. 

A nice stamp from 1972 arrived on this card. It is 1 of 2 in a History of France set.

Now getting back to bridges in a limited space . Have a look at this picture of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It's not known as the City of Bridges for nothing. A total of 8 bridges cross the South Saskatchewan River in city of Saskatoon. Only 4 are viewable in this picture. 

 

Now , the last card of the day. An aircraft card   -- what else ? It's an Air France B777-300ER. Registered as F-GSQI, it is 16.6 years old. It was delivered to the airline in March of 2005. It has only seen service with Air France but was stored at ORY from August 2020 till April 2021. It is again flying with Air France. 

Jean Pierre's stamp , issued this year, celebrates the 75th Anniversary of The Little Prince. 

Well that's all I got for this time. Thanks for cards going out today to Dominique and Jean Pierre. 

For a while now I have been ending off by saying wash you hands etc, well that seems to not be enough. The only thing that is going to work is vaccination. So Get Vaccinated. If you got 1 shot, go get your 2nd.