Belgium: Grand-Place in Brussels

On Monday I received three postcards: one from Belgium, one from Finland and one from Japan.

The card from Belgium is a vintage card and shows the Grand-Place in Brussels.

Brussels is the capital of Belgium and also one of the three Belgian Regions. Brussels is the seat of the European Union and the NATO.

The Grand-Place is a important political and commercial centre and since 1998 a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Stamps:
Nobelprize Winners-Corneille Heymans (from set of two) (issued 14-02-1987)
Highlights of Belgium (from set of five) (issued 14-02-2011)

Thank You very much Henk!

Singapore: Orchard Road

On Wednesday I received two cards: one from Singapore and one from the Netherlands.

The card from Singapore shows the Orchard Road. The Orchard Road is a 2,2 kilometre-long boulevard. It is a huge tourist attraction and the most popular shopping enclave in Singapore.

Stamps:
Year of the Snake (whole set) (issued 03-01-2014)

Thank You very much Jeremy!

Netherlands: Rietveld Schröder House

On Wednesday I received two cards: one from the Netherlands and one from Singapore.

The card from the Netherlands shows the Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht. The house was commissioned by Ms Truus Schröder-Schräder as family house and was designed by the architect Gerrit Thomas Rietveld. It was built in 1924. Since 2000 it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Stamp:
EUROPA 2012 (from set of four) (issued 26-03-2012)

Thank You very much Marleen!

cover from Thailand

On Wednesday I received a cover from Thailand and two cards.

Stamps:

60 years Diplomatic Relations with Laos (whole set) (issued 22-04-2011)

a Label showing a elephant family

Inside the cover were a Kung Fu Panda playing card game.
This is one of the cards:

Thank You very much Ta!

Canada: Victoria

On Tuesday I received two nice cards from Canada.

One of the cards shows the Parliament Building in Victoria. The city was founded in 1843 and was named after Queen Victoria. The most of the ground of Victoria is apart from the Parliament Building owned by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Victoria is the capital of British Columbia.

Stamp:
Year of the Horse (from set of two) (issued 13-01-2014)

Thank You very much Laura!

Canada: Mount Doogie Dowler

On Tuesday I received two nice cards from Canada.

One of the cards shows a ferry in front of the Mount Doogie Dowler in British Columbia.

Stamps:
Year of the Horse (from set of two) (issued 13-01-2014)

Thank You very much Laura!

Cyprus: Paphos

On Monday I received five postcards: my first card from Cyprus, two from Thailand and two from Hong Kong.

The Republic of Cyprus is a insular state in the Mediterranean Sea. Cyprus is a member of the EU and of the UN. The capital of Cyprus is Nicosia.

Cyprus is the fiftieth country from which I received a postcard.

The card shows Paphos. Paphos is a coastal city in the southwest of Cyprus. Near Paphos is the mythical birthplace of Aphrodite.

Stamps:
EUROPA 2010 (whole set) (issued 05-05-2010)
Refugee Fund (issued 2011)

Thank You very much Nasia!

Hong Kong: Statue Square

On Monday I received five postcards: two from Hong Kong, two from Thailand and my first card from Cyprus.

One of the cards from Hong Kong shows the Statue Square. The Square is home to the legco building, Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, the Standard Chartered Bank and the Mandarin Oriental.

Stamps:
Year of the Horse (whole set) (issued 11-01-2014)
with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Kun!

Hong Kong: Lions Viewpoint Pavilion

On Monday I received five postcards: two from Hong Kong, two from Thailand and my first card from Cyprus.

One of the cards from Hong Kong shows the Hong Kong harbour seen from the Lions Viewpoint Pavilion on the Peak.

Stamp:
Year of the Horse (issued 11-01-2014)
with special postmark from Ma On Shan

Thank You very much Kun!

Thailand: Loy Krathong

On Monday I received five postcards: two from Thailand, two from Hong Kong and my first card from Cyprus.

One of the cards from Thailand shows the Wat Mahathat in Sukhothai. Sukhothai was the first capital of Siam and since 1991 it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The card shows the Loy Krathong festival celebrated at the temple.

With matching Loy Krathong stamp (from set of four) (issued 10-11-2011)
and the rest of the Eight Immortals stamps (issued 01-02-2011)

Thank You very much Ta!

Thailand: Buddha Head in the Tree Roots

On Monday I received five postcards: two from Thailand, two from Hong Kong and my first card from Cyprus.

One of the cards from Thailand shows the Buddha Head in the Tree Roots in the Wat Mahathat in Ayutthaya. Ayutthaya was founded in 1350 and was after Sukhothai the second capital of Siam. Since 1991 is the Historic City of Ayutthaya a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Stamps:
Thai Heritage Conservation Day (from set of eight) (issued 02-04-2013)
Thai Heritage Conservation Day is a regular issue from Thailand Post. This year the stamps show Khon Masks. Khon Masks were used to represent characters in performances of epic stories. This Khon Mask represent Phra Shiva.
The Eight Immortals (four from set of eight) (issued 01-02-2011)

Thank You very much Ta!

Belarus: Corpus Christi Church at Nesvizh

On Wednesday I got two nice postcards from Belarus.

One of them shows the Corpus Christi Church at Nesvizh. The Corpus Christi Church is one of the oldest baroque structures outside Italy and was commissioned by Mikołaj Krzysztof "the Orphan" Radziwill. The house of Radziwill is a noble family of Lithuanian origin and their archives are since 2009 a part of the Memory of the World Programme of the UNESCO. The house of Radziwill built a Architectural, Residential and Cultural Complex at Nesvizh which is since 2005 a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Corpus Christi Church is a part of this complex.

In the upper right corner of the card is part of the miniature sheet of the actual stamp.

The nice stamp is in the bottom left corner:
Zoos in Belarus-Amur Leopard in the Minsk Zoo (from set of four) (issued 09-07-2013)
The Minsk Zoo was founded in 1984 by nature amateurs such as Fiodor Nevzin. Its collection includes both exotic animals and rare fauna of Belarus.
with the First Day Special Postmark of another stamp

Thank You very much Kate!

Belarus: Minsk with Postcrossing stamp

On Wednesday I got two nice postcards from Belarus.

One of the cards shows the Freedom Square in Minsk. Minsk is the capital and largest city of Belarus. Minsk is also the administrative centre of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Stamp:
Postcrossing (issued 02-01-2014)
Postcrossing is a website offering to receive postcards from the whole world. For every card you sent you get a postcard from a random chosen member in the world. At the moment Belarus get sixth place sending postcards. This stamp is the fourth stamp honouring Postcrossing. The first stamp was issued in 2011 in the Netherlands and the other two stamps were issued in 2013 in Finland and Lithuania.
with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Kate!

Japan: Tokyo

On Wednesday I got three nice postcards from three continents: one from Japan, one from the USA and my first card from Belgium.

The card from Japan shows the Tokyo Metropolis. Tokyo is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and the capital of Japan. Tokyo is the seat of the the Japanese Government and the Imperial Palace in Tokyo is the home of the Imperial Family. Tokyo is also a global city. Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture and the city of Tokyo. Tokyo hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1964 and will host them again in 2020.

The card shows also the Mount Fuji in the background. The Mount Fuji is a sacred place and source of artistic inspiration. The top of Mount Fuji is often snowcapped and Mount Fuji is an internationally recognised icon of Japan. Since 2013 is the Mount Fuji a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

With nice stamp:
Animation Heroes No.20-Doraemon (from set of ten) (issued 04-06-2013)
with nice matching special postmark
Doraemon is a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko Fujio. The series is about a robotic cat names Doraemon travelling back in time from the 22nd century to aid a pre-teen boy called Nobita Nobi. Doraemon is in Asia as famous as Micky Mouse in the Western Hemisphere.

Thank You very much Keiko!

Belgium: Belfry of Brugge

On Wednesday I got three nice postcards from three continents: my first card from Belgium, one from Japan and one from the USA.

Belgium is a country in Europe. It is bordering on the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France. It is a Benelux country and a member of the EU, of the NATO, of the UN and of the OECD. The capital of Belgium is Brussels.

The card shows the Belfry in Brugge.

Brugge is the capital of the Belgian province of West Flanders and the most populous city of the province. Brugge is also a Bishop's see and in 2002 Brugge was the European Capital of Culture. Since 2000 is the Historic Centre of Brugge a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Belfry of Brugge is as one of the "Belfries of Belgium and France" since 1999 also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Stamps:
Nobelprize Winners-Albert Claude (from set of two) (issued 14-02-1987)
Albert Claude (1899-1983) was a Belgian scientist. In 1974 he got the Nobelprize in Medicine.
Highlights of Belgium (from set of five) (issued 14-02-2011)
The stamp shows the Manneken Pis and the Atomium in Brussels.

Thank You very much Henk!