Germany: Geißenklösterle

On 2nd October I got four postcards: two from Germany and two from Austria. 

One of the cards from Germany shows the Geißenklösterle. The Geißenklösterle is an important archaeological site of the European Upper Paleolithic, as it contains traces of early prehistoric art from between 43000 and 30000 years ago. For example the oldest known musical instruments were found here. As one of the six Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura it is since 2017 on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This finally (again) completes my collection of German UNESCO Sites.

The card was cancelled with the Covid-19 postmark from the mail sorting centre 41 on World Postcard Day.

 Thank You very much Marcel!

Germany: Urgeschichtliches Museum Blaubeuren

On 2nd October I got four postcards: two from Germany and two from Austria. 

One of the cards from Germany shows the Venus of Hohle Fels from the collection of the Urgeschichtliches Museum Blaubeuren. The Urgeschichtliches Museum Blaubeuren was opened in 1965 and is since 2012 a branch of the Archaeological State Museum of Baden-Württemberg. It shows important prehistoric artifacts from the Swabian Jura. The Venus of Hohle Fels for example is the oldest known undisputed example of a depiction of a human being in prehistoric art.

The card was sent on World Postcard Day and got the Covid-19 postmark from the mail sorting centre 41 in Mönchengladbach. 

 Thank You very much Marcel!

Austria: Austrian Parliament Building in Vienna

On 2nd October I got four postcards: two from Austria and two from Germany. 

One of the cards from Austria shows the Austrian Parliament Building in Vienna. The Austrian Parliament Building is home to the two houses of the Austrian Parliament, the National Council and the Federal Council. It was built between 1874 and 1883 in a Greek Revival style making it one of the first Neoclassicsl buildings of the Ringstraße. A famous feature of the building is the Pallas Athena fountain.

A magnificient matching souvenir sheet was used on the card (issued 30-09-2020). It celebrates the Centenary of Hans Kelsen's Austrian Constitution. 

 Thank You very much Anita!

Austria: Ludwig van Beethoven

On 2nd October I got four postcards: two from Austria and two from Germany. 

One of the cards from Austria shows Ludwig van Beethoven. Born in Bonn in 1770, Beethoven spent a big part of his life in Vienna.

2020 was supposed to be Beethoven Year, but as you all know a different theme became more important. Nonetheless many countries still issued stamps about Beethoven's 250th birthday, however it took me until October to receive a second one of these after the German one: the Austrian one, which was used together with the First Day Special Postmark on this card. Although the stamp reproduces the same picture as so many other stamps this year, it is still more special, as parts of the text are written in silver.

 Thank You very much Anita!

Hong Kong: Ocean Park

Giant Pandas in Zoos is one of my favourite collections and when Hong Kong issued a set of six stamps about animals from the Ocean Park plus a set of maxicards, I could not resist to buy them. Ordered in August, they finally reached be on the 2nd October.

My World Postcard Day

As all my readers probably know, 1st October was the first World Postcard Day. Although I was very busy at that time due to an internship in Schöppenstedt I still managed to do some mail-themed things on that day.

First of all I for sure sent some cards. As I was in Schöppenstedt anyway, I used the day to send some cards with the local date postmark, but as the postcard selection was not so big, I only sent cards about the Eulenspiegel Museum. The first card shows the museum building, a second card shows some Eulenspiegel illustrations and a third unwritten card shows an Eulenspiegel statue. On both the first and second card I applied a tourist cachet from the museum, on the second card I applied as well cachets from Kneitlingen, where Eulenspiegel was born, and Ampleben, where he was baptised. On the second card I used a matching Eulenspiegel stamp issued in 2011, one of my most favourite stamps of all time. Both cards I sent arrived one day later, on the 2nd October.

Later that day I joined the Postcrossing talk at the Virtual Stampex and also looked around at the show a bit more. To celebrate this special stamp show Guernsey prepared a set of six Post and Go stamps. I preordered this special cover a few days before the show and received it on the 5th October. 

For sure I also sent a card to myself from my local post office, as I was there to buy the new October stamps. However that card travelled for a very long time. Just on the 20th October I found it in my mail box. I wonder where it had for for so long. In the meantime I had already got World Postcard Day cards sent from Austria, Taiwan and Portugal, which I will show in the next days.

So, that was my World Postcard Day. What did you do on this day? Are you already looking forward to the next year?

Singapore: Clarke Quay

On 30th September I got a postcard from Singapore.

It shows the Clarke Quay. The Clarke Quay is a historical riverside quay in Singapore. Clarke Quay was named after Sir Andrew Clarke, Singapore's second Governor who played a key role in positioning Singapore as the main port for the Malay states of Perak, Selangor and Sungei Ujong. Today five blocks of restored warehouses house various restaurants and nightclubs that are popular among locals and tourists.

Two stamps were used on the card, an old one and a recent one. The left stamp was issued on 4th July 1990 and is from a set of nine about Singapore Tourism. A Dragon Boat Festival is shown on the stamp. The right stamp celebrates the Bicentenary of the Singapore Police Force. It is from a set of six and was issued on 11th January 2020.

Thank You very much Jobbo! I have to confess that I have never seen a movie of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, so I do not know whether they are good or not. Stay safe!

Writing about Singapore I just have to show this recent stamp. Does it not look impressive?

cover from Andorra

On 30th September I got not only a postcard but also a cover from Andorra. 

Two stamps of the Spanish Post in Andorra and a special postmark were used. Of note is the right stamp. It was issued on 8th November 2019 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the entrance of Andorra in the European Council and is a joint issue with the French Post in Andorra. 

 Thank You very much William!

France: La Manche

On 29th September I got a postcard from France. 

It shows different views of La Manche in Normandy. 

The card was sent from Cherbourg. Beside seven Marianne stamps one of four stamps about flora (issued 12-06-2020) was used.

 Thank You very much William!

Austria: Cumberland Wildpark

On 28th September I got a postcard from Austria. 

It shows the Cumberland Wildpark. The Cumberland Wildpark is a zoo in Upper Austria. It was founded in 1970 and is home to animals of 70 species.

A cute postmark about the zoo's 50th anniversary was used on the card. 

 Thank You very much Anita!

Germany: Hessian State Museum in Darmstadt

On 26th September I got a postcard from Germany. 

The card shows the Hessian State Museum in Darmstadt. The Hessian State Museum in Darmstadt is one of the oldest and biggest museums in Germany. Beside art it shows exhibits about cultural and natural history. Important exhibits include fossils from the Messel Pit, one of the plaques from the Magdeburg Ivories and Pieter Brueghel the Elder's The Magpie on the Gallows. 

The Covid-19 postmark from the mail sorting centre 60 was applied on the card. Again this is a longer version than usual, but I still do not know why it is longer. As postage the latest German lighthouse stamp was used.

 Thank You very much Martin!

Japan: Eihei-ji Temple

On 25th September I got a postcard from Japan.

The card shows the Eihei-ji Temple in the Fukui Prefecture. Eihei-ji is one of two main temples of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism.

One of five stamps about the Centenary of Rotary Japan was used. It was cancelled with the First Day Special Postmark. 

Thank You very much Keiko!

cover from Italy

On 24th September I got a cover from Italy. 

A stamp about the 40th anniversary of the Strage di Bologna (issued 02-08-2020), a terrorist bombing of the Bologna Centrale railway station by the neo-fascist terrorist organization Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari, was used twice on the cover.

Inside was a postcard about Covid-19 with a special postmark on the backside

 Thank You very much Marco!

Japan: National Museum of Ethnology

On 23rd September I got five postcards including one from Japan. 

The card shows the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka. The National Museum of Ethnology is one of the major museums in Japan and Japan's largest research institute in the academic disciplines of humanities and social sciences. Built on the former grounds of Expo 1970, it opened to the public in 1977. 

One of twenty autumn greeting stamps (issued 21-08-2020) was used on the card. The special postmark is from Osaka. 

Thank You very much Keiko!

France: Normandy Landings

On 23rd September I got five postcards including one from France. 

It shows a map of the Normandy Landings and various historic pictures. The Normandy Landings, part of Operation Overlord, was an important turning point of World War II and marked the beginning of the liberation of Western Europa.

This year's EUROPA stamp was used. The postmark looks also very interesting, but unfortunately no name is visible. However I was told that it was sent from Avranches.

 Thank You very much William!

Germany: AM-Postmarken

On 23rd September I got five postcards including two from Germany. 

One of them celebrates the 75th anniversary of the AM-Postmarken. It was printed on a historic Boston Press.

The recent matching stamp and its First Day Special Postmark were used on the card.

 Thank You very much Claas!

Germany: Jewish Museum in Berlin

On 23rd September I got five postcards including two from Germany. 

One of the cards from Germany shows the Jewish Museum in Berlin. The Jewish Museum in Berlin is the largest Jewish museum in Europa and one of the most visited museums in Berlin. It shows artifacts from two millennia of German-Jewish history. Also it is known for its deconstructivist building by Daniel Libeskind. 

A common definitive was used.

 Thank You very much Mariel!

Austria: Güssing

On 23rd September I got five postcards including one from Austria. 

The card shows an aerial view of Güssing. Güssing is a town in Burgenland and the capital of the Güssing district. A special landmark of the town is the castle, which is one of the oldest castles in Burgenland. 

A matching stamp about viticulture in the Southern Burgenland was used on the card and got cancelled with the First Day Special Postmark.

 Thank You very much Anita!

France: Normandy

On 22nd September I got three postcards: two from France and one from Germany. 

Both cards from France show various views of Normandy and were sent with recent stamps. The first card got the special postmark from the philatelic shop in Bayeux, the second the one from Vire.

 Thank You very much William!