Arseguel, Bamberg, Regensburg and Banff and Cows

BLOG # 1563   ---   Day 706 of the Pandemic

Hey there, here I am again, time for a few more cards . This time I have 1 from Spain , 2 from Germany and 2 others from my part of the word. 

Today's first card gives us a look at the small village of Arseguel, located in the Pyrenees, in the northern part of Catalonia, Spain. It has a population of 85 and can be found at 949 m, at the foot of the rocky cliffs of the Serra del Cali . 

 Josep and Assumpta  used a stamp from last year, 2021. It highlights the Alcala de Henares Film Festival in Madrid. 

 

Next are 2 cards from Germany, the first one a view of Regensburg, a Bavarian city on the Danube River in southeast Germany. It is home to a 12th century stone bridge, a 310 m long icon with 16 arches and also the 13th century Regensburg Cathedral.   

This is a card from David`s first trip of 2022. He used a stamp with a date of 2022 on it, but it was actually issued in early December of 2021. It is 1 of 4 in a set called World of Letters. 

David`s second card is from the magnificent city of Bamberg, Germany. Located in Northern Bavaria, where the Regnitz and Main rivers meet, Bamberg dates from the 9th century.  It has structures from the 11th to 19th centuries. Bamberg has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1993 and is home to Europe`s largest intact old city wall. 

This card arrived with 2 stamps, both issued in 2021. On the left is a very nice stamp , in my opinion, 1 of 2 in a set called Fabulous Germany. On the right is a stamp showing Treasures of Philately - in this case the Bordeaux Cover. 

The final 2 cards for today were sent to me by My Lovely Teena , from her last excursion to the Banff area. We enjoyed a nice ice cream cone at Cows Ice Cream Shop on Banff Avenue. Hence this next card  `Making MeMOOries !`. 

Teena used the recent Buffy Sainte-Marie stamp on this one. 

And the final card is of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel , in the early days. Opened in 1888, it has 765 room and 12 restaurants. In case you plan to book in there, note that Room 873 is supposedly haunted. The hotel was built by Canadian Pacific Railway and is an Historic Site of Canada. Again if you plan to stay there, be sure to check out their brunch. It is to die for !

Teena used the Christopher Plummer stamp from last year on this one. Plummer starred in The Sound of Music as Captain Von Trapp. 

Well that`s it for this time. Thanks for today`s cards go out to Josep and Assunpta, David and to My Lovely Teena. 

I mentioned in my last update about the trucker protestors, Well they have only gotten worse and in fact spread to a few other countries. Me, I`m just waiting for the police here in Canada to grow a set and just do their job. At this point I`m ashamed to be a Canadian. I never thought that I would ever write that !

Tanners House, Malaysia Airlines A350, and Cattlegonia

BLOG # 1562   ---   Day 697 of the Pandemic 

Hello - it's been almost a week since I've been here, so I guess it's time to get back at the Blog. I have a few cards from here and there and around. 

First up is a card from Alsace, France. It's a look at Tanners House. At the heart of Strasbourg’s La Petite France district, tucked amid the half-timbered houses and snaking canals of the historic neighborhood, the Tanners House, or Maison des Tanneurs, is one of the area’s most famous landmarks. A lasting vestige of the old tanners district, the former tannery was built in 1572 and is known for its timbered galleries and slanted roofs, where dyed hides were once draped to dry in the sun.

Dominique used a stamp from 2021 that commemorated the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of novelist Gustave Flaubert. 

Next is another addition to my Aircraft / Airlines on Postcards Collection. This one is a Malaysia Airlines A350, shown landing at Toulouse in December 2017. Registered as F-WZHE , it was delivered to Malaysia Airlines in November 2017. After Malaysia , it saw service with Singapore Airlines, Asiana Airlines and Cathay Pacific. Never been on a A350 !

Jean Pierre used 2 stamps on this one. On the left is 1 of 6 Flower definitives from 2016. On the right, from 2020, 1 of 2 celebrating the Johore Constitution. 

Card # 3 . Cattlegonia never heard of it - how about as a parody of Patagonia. Well , I've been to the real Patagonia and since I live in Alberta, I guess I've also been to Cattlegonia. The card originates from Cows Ice Cream in Banff. Cows serves the Best ice cream in the world - Hoofs down. Cows thrives on parodies , instead of hoodies, you can buy MOOdies at Cows. How about these T-shirts -- Anne of Green Stables, Night of the Living Cows, Cow Wars, Just Moo It, Louis MOOtan, Game of Cones, Cows on the bus go Moo Moo Moo, Dunder MOOflin , Dr. Moo and Scooby Moo. My favourite - since I am in Canada is Moo The North !   

Enough of this silliness but they do serve delicious ice cream. Take it from me.

I sent this card to myself for a little fun. I picked it up at Cows in Banff during my latest overnight there, a short while ago. I used the recent Margaret Atwood stamp from last year. Not my favourite writer but a lot of people read her, she must do something right. 

That's it for today. Thanks for cards this time go out to Dominique, Jean Pierre and me. 

Pandemic update - Canada wise.  The pandemic is still alive and well here, but like everywhere people are tired of the restrictions. Provinces are starting to look at lifting the restrictions as is happening in other countries. I'm not sure that is the way to go but no one is asking my opinion. Although 90 percent of truckers in Canada are vaccinated and can cross the Canada/US border, many of the 10 percent of unvaccinated truckers have formed truck convoys and occupied Ottawa, Coutts the international border crossing between Alberta and Montana, and have now set up in Winnipeg, Toronto and Quebec City. Their demands include, all vaccine mandates removed and Canada's government to step down and be replaced by a group from the trucker's convoy. So far the police have been showing restraint, I'm just waiting for them to man up and do their job. 

I try my best to not address politics here  but sometimes one has to say what one thinks. And I just did, truckers be damned .