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