Gelukkig Nieuwjaar

...or Happy New Year, the equivalent for Dutch. You can see how this is spelled in other 166 languages. The card features a beautiful winter landscape, the only Holidays cards I like besides religious ones.

On the back there are two stamps. The first one shows a portrait of Tiësto, from a serie of 5 Dutch DJ issued in 15 October this year. The second one (2013) shows a snowy painted street with DECEMBER theme.

Thank YOU, Els !

Country: The Netherlands (but printed in Belgium)

Description: winter landscape with trees near a river

Publisher: Corna-Glamo SA

Marchés de Noël

During this time of the year everybody love Christmas Markets. I've never been to a BIG serious one (only small, local ones in my country that I won't count). This one show (I guess) the Strasbourg Market. I have to reasons to believe this. In the background there seems to be the Strasbourg Cathedral and secondly this card is signed by PostCrossing members in Strasbourg Meeting (13 December 2014).

The main stamp (no dated) and suitable for 20g letter shows a Ribeauvillé house façade. The others 0,01 & 0,05 € (not shown in the picture) are common stamps showing Marianne de la Jeunesse.

Thank YOU, Niklot !

Country: France (but with German ID)

Description: Christmas Market in Strasbourg (Alsace)

Publisher:Editions Valoire-Estel (Blois)

Nativity Fresco

 

This is one of the most beautiful Christmas cards I've ever received. It came as a RR exchange from the same person who send earlier a Končul Monastery postcard. Orthodox frescos are always a pleasure to receive and show. The fresco itself is decorated with classy ornaments and fonts (too calligraphic to decode, BUT perhaps a Christmas wish written in Serbian). Returning to fresco itself, a small detail gives the scene originality: the bathing (or baptizing?) of Christ in the below register of the scene.

The stamps are with religious themes as well.

The fist one (23 dinars, 2014) shows a fresco called "Christmas hymn" (1309-1316) from Žiča Monastery.
The second stamp (46 dinars, 2103) is an adaptation/reproduction Christmas icon after works of the famous painter Pavel Đurković.
The postcard came with very beautiful handwriting.

Thank You, Ana !

Country: Serbia

Description: Nativity Fresco (location unknown)

Publisher: Издавачки фонд Српске православне цркве (Publishing Fund of the Serbian Orthodox Church)

LTS Boeing 757-200

Yesterday I've received an official postcard from Germany showing a vintage Boeing 757-200 airplane operated by LTS. Lufttransport Sud (LTS) was an airline based in Munich and it flew from May 1984 until 1998 when it merged with LTU. In 2009 LTU ceased operations and merged with Air Berlin.
About the stamp I've already wrote here.

Thank YOU, Beate !

Country: Germany

Description: LTS Boeing 757-200 D-AMUR

Publisher: Dressler & Schreiner - Düsseldorf

Collage with a squirrel

My Postal Love collection got another beautiful piece, aside from books & key postcard.
This time is a squirrel who overlap a musical Grand Staff and a vintage-style written address. In the right corner there is a Austro-Hungarian 5 Heller stamp (1904-1905) with Emperor Franz Joseph. On top, the "postcard" term is written in some European languages such German, French, Italian, Hungarian, Russian/Serbian, Polish etc.
The publisher offers other similar postcards with animals such as a bird, three foxes, a reindeer, a dragon, a rabbit or a cat. The idea and design are simply brilliant.
The 0.29 € stamp shows a stylized bells form 2005 December/Christmas collection.
The 0.39 € stamps were made for marking a special event: the Dutch Royal Wedding of Willem-Alexander and Máxima on 02.02.2002.

Thank You, Rietha !

Country: Poland (but sent from Netherlands)

Description: Collage with a squirrel

Publisher: Postal Love

2014 Christmas Angels

Another MaxiCard from Australia came last week (re-sent in a forum RR group). The window depicted on the stamp (and card) is in the apse chapel of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne. The building is both the tallest and largest church in Australia. Details of angels (faces, wings, clothes) are outstanding & bright. A true delight to eye.

The stamp (2,55 AUD) was issued in 31 October 2014 and the cancellation stamp shows two hanging bells.

Thank You, Azzi !

Country: Australia

Description: MaxiCard showing a detail from stained-glass windows in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne

Publisher: Australia PostOffice

Exotic Card

I was wondering when I will receive my first exotic postcard, since some of forum members already received something. Well... the pleasant surprise came into my inbox today, after traveling 25 days from Mauritius. It shows the famous Trou aux Biches beach. The dreamy landscape is a refreshment in those cold grey winter days. 

On the back it came very well decorated with rubber stamps like the one in the picture but also with ecological messages like: "Conserve Water", "Recycle" or "Save Energy".

The 2014 stamp with 14RS value shows a bat (Roussette de Rodrigues) from Mauritius Fauna, unfortunately one of the critically endangered species.

Thank You, Eraina !

Country: Mauritius

Description: Trou-aux-Biches, a public beach in northern coast of the island Mauritius
Location: here

Publisher: Kawaii Edition Ltd.
Photo: Jean Claude & Christian Nourault

Končul Monastery

This beautiful card is the first one (stamped) from Serbia, although I have plenty of blank Serbian cards from my previous trips here. It came as a RR exchange from another forum member and it shows an Orthodox Monastery, 3 km away from Raška. It was founded by Great Duke-ruler Stefan Nemanja about 1175 and had close relations with Studenica Monastery, a UNESCO whs.
Unfortunately, in 1686 the monastery was destroyed during Great Turkish War and remained in ruins until 1861 when church was reconstructed, keeping its original basic shape. After 1980, a group of nuns led by Abbess Katarina settled here and begun to build a monastic life & community.
About the stamps: The 22 dinars (2011) shows an icon of Jesus Triumphal entry into Jerusalem by well-known Serbian painter Arsenije Teodorović and is one of the two stamps celebrating 2011 Easter. The 40 dinars (2007) have a beautiful white rose (Vendela) designed by N. Skočajić.

Thank You, Ana !

Country: Serbia

Description: St. Nicholas Monastery in Končul, near Raška

Publisher: Просвета (Prosveta) Belgrade

Chanterelle

 

 

I always loved mushrooms. Seeing them in their natural area is relaxing and power-giving.
So, naturally, the cards showing those wonders of nature are for good among my favorites. Lena (aka Jumping-frog) from Sweden was kind enough to send me one in November Surprise RR.
Chanterelle reminds me of my childhood when I was searching for them with my father and my grandmother. Always a joy when discovering them growing in the silent woods. In Romanian we called them gălbiori (yellow-little-ones). I can confirm that they are VERY tasty, especially prepared with garlic.
About the stamps. Both were printed this year (2014) using vivid colors.
The fist one is part of Celebration Time! series, with characteristic symbols such as trumpet or presents. (Designer: Veronica Ballart Lilja)
The second is part of Among Berries and Leaves series, designed by Jesús Verona.

Thank You, Lena !

Country: Sweden

Description: Chanterelle in the wild (macro)

Publisher: Trivselkort Cadeaux

Royal Scot

This is my very first received PHQ card. I was not aware that they are so many, although I saw them mentioned on quite a few postcrossers wishlists.
Part of a 5 pieces series (#81 Famous Trains: a tribute to the age of the steam locomotive), the card is a reproduction of a stamp designed by Terence Cuneo and issued by the British Post Office on 22 January 1985.
Royal Scot was an express passenger train service that has been running between London Euston and Glasgow Central since 1862 on West Coast Main Line, mirroring the East Coast Main Line famous train Flying Scotsman. The LMS Coronation Class locomotive in the picture bears No. 46243 and was called City of Lancaster 'Duchess Pacific'.
The postcard have a 2.50$ (ND 2014) Canadian stamp since it was posted from here and it's a reproduction of  Railcuts #1, one of the Edward Burtynsky’s photographs.

Thank You, Fiona !

Country: United Kingdom (but sent from Canada)

Description: Royal Scot with locomotive City of Lancaster 'Duchess Pacific' Class No. 46243

Publisher: The House of Questa Ltd. London

Let it snow !!!

Today was the first snow of this season. Not much, but enough to bring joy to my soul. Without knowing anything about, a day before I purchased a pack of 3 German postcards winter-themed. I just love this kind of cards and I want to share them with you.

Beringen Church

This card came as a exchange Belgium x World in the forum RR section.

The main picture shows a Neo-Gothic style church called Sint-Pietersbandenkerk
(or St. Peter in Chains) and it is located in Beringen's Market Square.
The small pictures shows
1. Playground Leisure Resort (Recreatieoord "t Fonteintje") - location
2. Watersport Center (Watersportcentrum Paalse Plas) - location
3. Millennium Golf Park (near Watersport Center)
The stamp (2014) looks like the end-of-year gift, with value & year on the green ribbon. Very artistic.

Thank You, Bonnie !

Country: Belgium
Description: Sint-Pietersbandenkerk Church in Beringen, Belgium
Publisher: Unknown (due postcard decorations)
Location: church, playground and watersport center & golf park

Peace in the Sky

This postcard is a part of the Malay Project called Peace in the Sky who aims to promote a series of flight safety and world peace, especially after tragic MH17 Flight event.
"We would give out specially designed postcards for the people, and encourage them to send it out to their friends and families overseas, or foreign charity organizations that they are closely affiliated with, so that we could extend our wish for flight safety and world peace to every corner in the world". (YB Datuk Liang Teck Meng - Member of the Parliament of Malaysia)
There are other postcards with different design (3 different languages). You can see them all on photo section of the Facebook dedicated page. Also there is a similar design.
I got this card from one of the PostCrossing forum lottery organized by Matthew07.

First row:
1. Vueling (Spain)
2. Air New Zealand (New Zealand)
3. Fiji Airways (Fiji)
4. SriLankan Airlines (Sri Lanka)
5. China Eastern Airlines (China)
6. Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopia)
7. Icelandair (Iceland)
8. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (The Netherlands)
9. Korean Air (South Korea)
10. Vietnam Airlines (Vietnam)
11. Singapore Airlines (Singapore)
12. Transaero Airlines (Russia)

The second row
13. TAP (Portugal)
14. WestJet Airlines (Canada)
15. TAM Airlines (Brazil)
16. Thai Airways (Thailand)
17. Scandinavian Airlines (Sweden, Norway and Denmark)
18. Virgin Atlantic (United Kingdom)
19. Aegean Airlines (Greece)
20. Air Astana (Kazakhstan)
21. Air Canada (Canada)
22. TUI Travel / Thomson (Germany and United Kingdom)
23. ANA All Nippon Airways (Japan)
24. Niki (Austria) - subsidiary of Air Berlin

The third row
25. SwissAir (Switzerland)
26. Aeroflot Russian Airlines (Russia)
27. Turkish Airlines (Turkey)
28. AeroSvit Airlines (Ukraine)
29. S7 Airlines Siberia Airlines (Russia)
30. Aer Lingus (Ireland)
31. Qatar Airways (Qatar)
32. AirAsia (Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Thailand)
33. Air Greenland (Greenland) - subsidiary of Scandinavian Airlines
34. Air China (China)
35. South African Airways (South Africa)
36. Lufthansa (Germany)

The fourth row
37. UNKNOWN
38. Austrian Airlines (Austria) - subsidiary of Lufthansa
39. JetStar Airways (Australia) - subsidiary of Qantas. The JetStar Group conists of JetStar Asia Airways (Singapore), JetStar Japan (Japan), JetStar Pacific Airlines (Vietnam) and JetStar Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
40. Hawaiian Airlines (USA)
42. Gulf Air (Bahrain)
42. Brussels Airlines (Belgium)
43. Finnair (Finland)
44. EVA Air (Taiwan)
45. China Southern Airlines (China)
46. easyJet (United Kingdom)
47. Avianca (Colombia)
48. SilkAir (Singapore) - subsidiary of Singapore Airlines

The fifth row
49. Iberia (Spain)
50. Horizon Air / Alaska Airlines (USA)
51. Kenya Airways (Kenya)
52. Dragonair (Hong Kong) - subsidiary of Cathay Pacific
53. Middle East Airlines (MEA) - Air Liban (Lebanon)
54. UNKNOWN
55. JAL - Japan Airlines (Japan)
56. TigerAir (Singapore)
57. Shenzhen Airlines (China) - subsidiary of Air China
58. Scoot (Singapore) - subsidiary of Singapore Airlines
59. Grand China Air (China). The logo can be found as well on subsidiary companies Hainan Airlines, Lucky Air, Yangtze River Express or Hong Kong Airlines
60. Oman Air (Oman)

The sixth row
61. Spice Jet (India)
62. Continental Airlines (USA)
63. British Airways (United Kingdom)
64. Asiana Airlines (South Korea)
65. Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong)
66. Air Mauritius (Mauritius)
67. Air France (France)
68. Air Seychelles (Seychelles)
69. UNKNOWN
70. Avianca (Brazil)
71. Azul Brazilian Airlines (Brazil)
72. China Airlines (Taiwan)

The seventh row
73. Qantas Airways (Australia)
74. Emirates (United Arab Emirates)
75. Air New Zealand (New Zealand)
76. US Airways (USA)
77. UNKNOWN
78. Garuda Indonesia (Indonesia)
79. IndiGo Airlines (India)
80. jetBlue (USA)
81. Malaysia Airlines (Malaysia)
82. AirTran Airways (USA) - subsidiary of Southwest Airlines
83. Germanwings (Germany) - subsidiary of Lufthansa
84. kulula (South Africa)

The postcard came also with 2 nice stamps.
The 5 sen (ND 2002) shows a Theobroma cacao tree.
The 50 sen (ND 2010) shows Bunga Tiga Bulan flower.

Thank You,  Matthew07 !

Country: Malaysia
Description: Peace in The Sky Project postcard with different airplane tails
Publisher: Persatuan Penggerak Perpaduan Malaysia (PPPM)

Glenelg Tram

This is a  H Class Adelaide tram. They were built in 1929 by Pengelley and Co, specifically for the Glenelg line and commenced operations on 14 December 1929. In 1930 the 376 tram (the one in the postcard) was fitted with a Simens Schukert pantograph. Incredibly, 4 of the cars remained in limited heritage service until of 2009, nearly 80 years after they were introduced. They have many of the characteristics of American interurban streetcars of that period an respect a classic Tuscan Red and cream exterior colour scheme. In 2000 five H-class were specially refurbished with the intention of retaining these cars for special weekend and holiday operations. 

There is no stamp on the card, except an imprinted "postage pre-paid" as seen here. The stamp in the front is also imprinted and it's an Australian 1878 horse driven tram. The real stam was issued in 1989.

Thank YOU, Agnieszka !

Country: Australia

Description: Glenelg H-Class Tram on Jetty Rd.

Photo: Ron Ryan
Location: Mosley Square, Adelaide

Hopi Pottery

Today another great card came in my inbox as a result of October 50 RR. It shows a set of Hopi pottery: wedding vase and a butterfly bowl (white ones) and stunning red polychrome vases. On the left, a Hopi Wedding Belt and a Sash belt (worn by Kachinas in various dances and ceremonies) frame these beautiful artworks.
The forever stamps are from a series just released (26 sept), called Celebrity Chefs. The card got 3 of them: Felipe Rojas-Lombardi, Joyce Chen and James Beard. You can read more about them and their contribution to cuisine here.

Thank YOU, Meredith !

Country: United States

Description: Hopi pottery

Photo: Paul Markow

Publisher: Smith-Southwestern

elegant blue & white

Since China invented the porcelain there was always a fascination towards those fine & elegant products. Traditional blue and white porcelain is regarded as one of the most unique forms of Chinese ceramics, highly collectible and often used for decoration. This kind of porcelain came to represent the mainstream of Chinese porcelain during the Ming and Qing dynasties when porcelain was produced. Different quality products were made: exquisite works for imperial court and simple ware for common people’s daily use.

Some details of technological  process... Firstly patterns with cobalt blue pigments are applied to a plain ceramic body, upon which a clear layer of glaze is added. At the end the item is put in an oven at high temperatures. The card showing a decorated dish is the light version of a MaxiCard since identical stamps were issued in September 2014. And the the postal stamp used to mail this one is the same with the one mentioned in an earlier post of this blog.

Thank YOU, Wenwah !

Country: China / Hong Kong
Description: Dish decorated with floral design in underglaze blue, Qing dynasty

As internationally as it can be

A week ago I've received this official postcard from Singapore. Nothing special so far. But at a close look I discovered that the building is from Japan (Kyoto) and the publisher (LAVERTON) is from China. The washi tape used for decoration bears french words "c'est délicieux" & "à bientôt". International!

The card came with 2 beautiful stamps (2103) from Singapore vanishing trades.

The 30c shows a Songkok maker. They came predominantly from Sumatra or of Sumatran descent. Songkok is a traditional Muslim head gear worn when attending prayers at the mosque or at religious events and festive celebrations.

The 20c shows a lantern maker. They painted famous legendary figures over oiled paper stretched over interwoven ribs of delicate bamboo.

Thank YOU, Kit !

Country: Difficult to say... Japan (place), China (publisher) and Singapore (stamps)

Description: Painted view of a Kyoto pagoda

Publisher: LAVERTON (China)

Guniujiang Nature Reserve

Situated in Anhui province, between county towns of Shitai and Chizhou, the Guniujiang Nature Reserve is also known as “the last piece of virgin forest in the East China area”. The main peak (shown in the postcard) is 1727,6 meters and in the shape of a bull falling from the sky, hence the name Guniujiang (guniu and jiang mean bull and falling respectively in Chinese). In ancient times it was called West Huangshan Mountain, now it is a national nature reserve and a national geological park.
The nature reserve is divided into four scenic zones: the Prominent Peak, Queer Peaks, Shuanghekou and Longmen (Dragon Gate). Now some major scenic spots in the Longmen Scenic Zone have been developed and opened to the public, including the Yanjia Village, Lover's Valley, Longmen Pool and Four Overlapping Waterfalls.

The entire area hosts over 1.300 plants and at least 1.000 species of animals and it is known as the "green natural museum and the treasure house of wild animals and plants in East China".
There are 3 glued stamps and one imprinted.
The green 10 fēn (ND 2002) shows a globe and a tree and as a sign of environmental protection of forests.
The 3 yuán (ND 2006) shows Greeting Chinese characters.
The 80 fēn imprinted stamp shows a lotus(?) flower.

Thank You, Zhoufan !

Country: China
Description: Guniujiang peak
Location: near Chizhou

Hello Ski Fans !

I love ski and everything related to it (including postcards). I've started this passion 2 years ago and I'm still an intermediate. Every time I think of snow & skiing I got a very pleasant feeling, even if the season didn't come yet.

This Austrian postcard feature 3 people skiing. I have no detail about location, but it could be in Reutte since the publisher is from here. The 1-piece costume and the oldish skis place the photo around 1990. Beside the fact that all skis are made by Fischer (a very well-known Austrian ski equipment manufacturer) I couldn't find any other information.

The stamp (ND 2012) features a Swallowtail Butterfly and a neat AirMail Sticker with 1 Europe value. Those unit values (as the forever stamps in US) are useful because you don't have to bother with postal fares anymore.

Thank You, Tanja !

Country: Austria (but sent from Belgium)

Description: Austria Ski Greetings

Publisher: Franz Milz Verlag

Twilight Express

This beautiful train came from Japan and is called Twilight Express. Its service started in July 1989, initially operating as a charter. In the following years other coaches were introduced. Between 2001-2002 the coaches underwent a program of interior refurbishment. But sadly, at the beginning of next year, its services are scheduled to be discontinued. The train shown in the postcard have an EF81 electric locomotive and runs on the Kosei railway line, operated by JR West.

The stamp belongs to a 10 stamps serie issued in October 2013 and shows the 1957 Odakyu 3000 romancecar.

Thank You, Nozomi !

Country: Japan

Description: Twilight Express on Kosei

Photo: Akira Yuasa

UNESCO Paoay Church

Another great postcard came from a specific RR and it's my first from Philippines. The Paoay Church (1694 - 1710) is an example of an earthquake baroque architecture. It got huge wall reinforcements (14 buttresses) on the sides and back of the building as a response to earthquake threats in the area. The materials used for the walls were a mixture of coral stone and bricks. Large coral stones were used at the lower level of the walls, while bricks, smaller and more manageable to transport, were used at the upper levels. Inside, the church looks empty, austere and stark, with few old images of saints and a simple wooden cross at the altar. Unfortunately, the original ceiling is no longer in existence today. The church is complemented with a bell tower located at its right-hand side and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993 under the collective group of Baroque Churches of the Philippines.
The stamps are nice, even if they look simple.
The 1 peso stamp (2013) features a Pinecone Fish (Monocentrus japonicus), also called the Pineapple Fish.
The 10 pesos stamp (2014) evokes the Birth Centenary of Apolinario Mabini, a Filipino revolutionary leader, educator, lawyer and statesman. Artwork by Kenneth V. Cantimbuhan.

Thank You, Jessica !

Country: Philippines

Description: St. Augustine Baroque Church (Paoay) - UNESCO 677

Publisher: Sterling Paper

Photo: Vik Peñas
Location: Paoay, Ilocos Norte

Orang Asli

This card came from my very first direct swap in PostCrossing. It started at the end of July. The recipient got my card in August. Mailed this one on 9th of September and it arrived 3 days ago. I didn't knew that Malaysia is a slow-mail country till now. But maybe it's an exception... Anyway, never loose hope !!!

It's my first Malaysian card and it show an aborigine (called Orang Asli) who plays a nose flute. The "Orang Asli" are made up of nearly 100 different ethnic sub-groups. These include around twenty in Peninsular Malaysia although administratively, they are categorized as Negrito, Senoi and Aboriginal Malay. Sabah and Sarawak, on the other hand, has between 30 to 40 distinct sub-groups each with an even more amazing number of languages and dialects. Malaysia has one of the oldest rainforests where there are still those jungle tribes who hunt with blowpipes using poisoned dart. They hunt monkeys, gibbons, squirrels and birds. They have their own dances and musical instruments like the one shown in the picture.

The nose flute is spread all over the Pacific Rim and partially in Africa, India and China.

The stamp (70 sen - 2010) shows an Negrito aborigine who "menyumpit" (hunts with a blowpipe). Primarily hunter-gathers, the Negrito people subsist on the bounty of Peninsular Malaysia's abundant rainforests for food as well as shelter.

Thank You,  SL Liew !

Country: Malaysia

Description: Orang Asli plays a nose flute

Publisher: Yacine Collection

Share Taiwan with the World

 

This beautiful watercolor painting came yesterday from Taiwan. It was made by Hibeetle (or Lim), a painter and graphic designer that lives on the island. He likes to share his hand-painted postcards with the others and he have an account at PostCrossing as well. The card itself is designed around Postcrossing idea. On the back it have a special place for Postcard ID and the date. As well it got a very artistic AIR MAIL design.

And something about the stamp... In 2008, the Taiwanese government started the electrification of the Hua-tung railway line (161 km) connecting the two cities located on the eastern coast of the island, Hualien and Taitung. This project was completed in 2014 and the Taiwanese Post issued on June 28, 2014 a special souvenir sheet evoking some portions of this Hua-tung railway line.
The 12NT$ shown here depicts the Taroko Express (in operation since February 2007), on a section of the Kecheng bridge (seen behind).

Thank You, Wei Shan !

Country: Taiwan

Description: world map (with Taiwan) in watercolor painting

Publisher: Hibeetle