3rd September 2022: Book, Singapore

This card was sent on 3rd November 2021, so it travelled ten months. Two nice stamps were used.

Thank You very much Isaac!

Poland: Gliwice Radio Tower

On 7th April I got two postcards: one from Poland and one from Austria.

The card from Poland shows the Gliwice Radio Tower. The Gliwice Radio Tower is a transmission tower and the tallest wooden structure in Europa. It was erected in 1934/35 as Sendeturm Gleiwitz when the territory belonged to Germany. On 31st August 1939 the SS staged a "Polish" attack on the station, which was later used as justification for the invasion of Poland and thus the beginning of World War II. Since 2005 the station houses a branch of the Gliwice Museum about radio history and art.

Two nice stamps were used here. The small one on the left promotes Vaccinations against Covid-19 (issued 15-07-2021) and the right stamp celebrates the 75th anniversary of the United Nations (issued 24-10-2020). 

Thank You very much Marcel!

Spain: Girona

On 4th April I got three postcards: two from Spain and one from Germany.

One of the cards from Spain shows a view of Girona. Girona is the capital of the Province of Girona in Catalonia and one of the major Catalan cities. Back in 2016 I also visited this beautiful city on a trip to Catalonia.

Three stamps were used here, two about the Spanish King and a Solidarity Stamp for the UNHCR Covid-19 Relief Program (issued 18-06-2021). The card was cancelled at the philatelic shop in Girona.

Thank You very much William!

Germany: Zwinger in Dresden

On 4th April I got three postcards: one from Germany and two from Spain.

The card from Germany shows various views of the Zwinger in Dresden. The Zwinger was built between 1709 and 1728 by Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann at the behest of Augustus the Strong. It is one of the most important buildings in the Baroque style and one of the best-known sights of Dresden. Today it houses various museums. 

The card was cancelled with the Covid-19 postmark from the mail sorting centre 04 in Dresden. By now those postmarks are in use for over two years.

Thank You very much Marcel!

Austria: Vaccination against the Pandemic

On 25th March I got a postcard from Austria.

It shows Planet Earth together with a Coronavirus. Earth says "Thanks for the Break" and the virus asks "Do you think they [the humans] understood it?" This is now the 100th card on my blog with a connection to Covid-19. After 2.5 years there is still no real end for the pandemic in sight. 

After toilet paper and a mask this is now already Austria's third extraordinary Covid-19 stamp. It is printed like a pflaster and promotes vaccinations with the slogan "It does not hurt". The issue date was the 15th March 2022. 

Thank You very much Anita!

Germany: Essen by Night

On 4th January I got a card from Germany.

It shows a view of Essen by night. The centerpiece of the card shows the Monument of Emperor William I. The Emperor visited Essen multiple times, as this was the headquarters of the Krupp company, which played a major role in supplying the Imperial military. The monument was erected in 1898 and Friedrich Alfred Krupp was one of its biggest sponsors. 

The card was sent on 31st December, but was just processed on 3rd January, so actually it is insufficiently stamped due to a postage increase becoming effective on New Year's Day. The stamp used here is from the series about Childhood Heroes and shows Vicky the Viking (issued 03-12-2020). It got cancelled with the Covid-19 postmark from the postmarking centre 45. Those postmarks are now in use for 1.5 years and there is still no end in sight.

Thank You very much Marcel!

Stamp Order from New Zealand

On 30th December I got my stamp order from New Zealand.

One of the main reasons to order the stamps was the new set about the Year of the Tiger (issued 01-12-2021). I like the colours of these and it is nice to see that they used the same art style as last year.

Of course I also ordered the stamps about the 20th anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring (issued 01-09-2021), the first installment in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. I have just seen that for this year a set is already announced for the 20th anniversary of the second movie, The Two Towers. Beside the mint souvenir sheets I also bought this set of maxicards.

Unlike most other postal administrations New Zealand Post used real stamps to send the envelope. Beside two definitives there is even a commemorative stamp about the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (issued 07-10-2020), which of course were not held until 2021. 

Christmas Mail from Me

Like every year I have once again send some Christmas cards to myself to collect the special postmarks. I sent them all out on 10th December.

The first card returned one week later on 17th December. It shows this cute illustration of forest animals sending mail. 

This card is however not from Germany, but arrived from Switzerland. I really like the Swiss Christmas stamps (issued 11-11-2021), ordered some online and saw that it is possible to get a Swiss Christmas postmark. So of course I had to take the chance. I was really suprised that this was the first card to arrive. Within one week it travelled from Germany to Switzerland, was perfectly postmarked and came back. That is true Swiss efficiency!

The first German card arrived on 21st December and it is the most hilarious Christmas card I have seen in the shops this year. Kloß is the German word for dumpling, so the card plays with the fact that Kloß sounds a bit like Clause and shows a dumpling with a Santa's hat.

On this card I got a postmark from the Christmas Market in Erfurt. The market as such I think was cancelled last-minute due to Covid-19, but as the stalls were already set up, they were allowed to remain and some could even sell their goods.

The second German card arrived on the same day and it shows an illustration similar to the first card.

Actually I was not planning to get this postmark for myself, but I was a bit absent-minded and put the card in the wrong cover. This is from Engelskirchen.

The last card took a day longer and arrived on 22nd December. I chose this card to get the postmark I actually wanted when I realised my mistake with the other card just on time.

Here is the postmark from St. Nikolaus that I get every year. It is a bit special this year, as on 6th December 2011 I got my first stamp album, so a personal jubilee for me.

Germany: Antikolonialdenkmal in Bremen

On 10th December I got a postcard from Germany.

It shows the Antikolonialdenkmal in Bremen. The Antikolonialdenkmal was originally erected in 1931 as main monument to Germany's colonial past, in 1990 however it was rededicated as an anticolonial monument. In the years since then it became a place of active debate over the dark sides of the German imperialism in Africa and Namibia in particular. 

A nice stamp was used here. It is the most recent stamp in the series about Childhood Heroes (issued 02-12-2021) and shows Bibi and Tina. Great to get this stamp on "real" (commercial) mail and not only on the philatelic cards I sent to myself. As the postage will be increased in January, there is just one month to get this stamp properly used without extra stamps. In addition it was cancelled with the Covid-19 postmark from the mail sorting centre 28 in Bremen.

Thank You very much Svenja!

Sam-Quito's Postmark Covers of November

Reached the end of another month of mail, so it is time to show the covers received by Sam-Quito. I am now just three weeks behind with being up to date. Beginning for December I will show the covers again separately, so last post of this kind.

On 5th November arrived this cover on which two stamps from a set of sixteen called Go Green (issued 14-04-2011) were used. The interesting postmark celebrates the 500th anniversary of San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. I have recently already got the official cover produced for this anniversary (click here).

The card shows Acoma Pueblo near Albuquerque. Also known as Sky City, this is believed to be the oldest continuously inhabited town in the USA.

This cover arrived on 20th November. The right stamps honour Ruth Aiko Asawa (issued 13-08-2020), an American sculptor best known for her wire sculptures, and the other stamp is from a set of eight about the 150th of the Universal Postal Union (issued 06-06-1974). It shows an artwork by Jean Siméon Chardin. Another interesting postmark was used here. It is about the Alaska State Fair and shows Big Foot.

The card shows the University of New Mexico. The University of New Mexico is a public research university founded in 1889 and has roughly 25000 students. Its main campus is in Albuquerque, but there are also branches in Gallup, Los Alamos, Los Lunas, Rio Rancho and Taos.

On 26th November arrived this cover with six stamps about US Presidents. They are from a set of 36 issued for the Ameripex 1986 showing 35 presidents and the White House (issued 22-05-1986). The postmark is about the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion. 

In the cover was this card about the Sandia Peak Tramway. This aerial tramway has the World's third longest single span, is the longest aerial tram in the Americas and was the longest in the World from 1966 until being surpassed in 2010. 

On 27th November arrived this big cover from Omaha. Inside were three covers.

The first cover bears three stamps about Roses (issued 11-07-1978), the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Mayflower in Plymouth Harbour (issued 17-09-2020) and a Mystery Message (issued 14-07-2021). Can you read what is written on the it? A strange theme for a stamp. I really like the postmark about Covid-19 vaccinations.

The card shows hot air ballons in Albuquerque.

The second cover got six more Presidents and a baseball postmark. 

The card in this cover shows the Pueblo Bonito, the largest and best-known great house in Chaco Culture National Historical Park, which is since 1987 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The third and last cover for the month got six Presidents more and a second Baseball postmark. 

This card shows the grave of Billy the Kid, one of the most famous Wild West persons.

Thank You very much Sam-Quito!

Germany: Lyonel Feininger

On 19th November I got a postcard from Germany.

It shows a painting of the Market Church in Halle by Lyonel Feininger. Lyonel Feininger was born in New York City in 1871 and in 1887 he moved to Germany. He was one of the most important artists of the Classical Modernity. One of the earliest members of the Bauhaus, he moved back to the USA after the Nationalsocialist seizure of power. I bought this card when I was in Halle in June.

I got the card cancelled with a special postmark about Feininger's 150th birthday. Originally this postmark was supposed to be used in July, but the event was cancelled due to Covid-19. Luckily the postmark was later used during a different event.

Souvenirs from the 74th Salon Philatélique d'Automne

After the Salon Philatélique d'Automne had to be cancelled in 2020 due to Covid-19, this philatelic event returned in 2021. Like every time since 2016 William once again sent me some nice souvenirs from the exhibition. The first arrived on 11th November and the last on 22nd November.

On 11th November arrived two very big covers which are nearly too big for my scanner. This first one is from France and beside the Marianne definitives is a stamp about the Birth Centenary of Georges Brassens (issued 25-10-2021), a famous French singer-songwriter and poet. The postmark has a antarctic theme.

In the cover was this sheet of paper with the recent souvenir sheet about Goldorak (issued 11-10-2021) and its First Day Special Postmark. Goldorak or also known as Grendizer is a Japanese manga and anime series which was very popular in France.

The second cover of the day is just as big and was sent through the French Post in Andorra. Also here are many definitives, but also two commemoratives stamps. The left stamp is about the Altarpiece of Santa Creu de Canillo (issued 03-11-2019) and on the right stamp you can see the Estany Esbalçat (issued 21-08-2020). 

In the cover were three sheets of paper with stamps from France, the TAAF and Luxembourg. The French souvenir sheet celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Salon Philatélique d'Automne (issued 04-11-2021), the stamps of the TAAF show various Antarctic animals (issued 04-11-2021) and the Luxembourgian stamp is a personalised stamp about Coco Chanel. 

On 15th November arrived this cover from Switzerland with the two Swiss EUROPA stamps of this year (issued 06-05-2021) and a special postmark of the event.

One day later came this cover from France which was sent after the event and which included a sheet of paper with five different French special postmarks used during the exhibition. I especially like the one about Napoleon. The stamp on the cover, which was sent from the philatelic shop in Boulogne-sur-Mer, commemorates the Birth Bicentenary of author Gustave Flaubert (issued 08-11-2021). 

As I said the last cover came on 22nd October and is from Monaco. For some reason the postmark is dated 19th July 2021, which is the First Day of the used sepac stamp. Maybe due to the postmark the cover was sent in a big outer cover from Monaco by registered mail.

Thank You very much William!