Year of the Ox from the Åland Islands

On 10th November I got my stamp order from the Åland Islands, which included the new Year of the Ox souvenir sheet. 

Germany: Municipal Art Gallery of Viersen

On 7th November I got two postcards: one from Germany and one from Russia.

The card from Germany shows the Municipal Art Gallery of Viersen. The Municipal Art Gallery is housed in a representative neo-renaissance townhouse and shows an important collection of graphic reproductions. The building is surrounded by a sculpture park. 

A nice stamp about the 1100th birthday of Otto the Great (issued 09-08-2012) was used, which had to be added with a flower definitive to reach the current value needed to send a postcard within Germany.

 Thank You very much Marcel!

Russia: Moscow Meet-up

On 7th November I got two postcards: one from Russia and one from Germany.

The card from Russia shows some sort of building, but unfortunately I do not know more. This is an official card.

It was signed during a Postcrossing Meet-up in Moscow and was cancelled with a Postcrossing postmark, but unfortunately it was wiped away partly on the stamp.

 Thank You very much Yulia!

Japan: Mount Fuji

On 5th November I got a postcard from Japan. 

It shows Mount Fuji. Mount Fuji is the highest volcano in Japan and has always been a sacred place and a source of artistic inspiration. Nowadays it is also an internationally recognised icon of Japan. Since 2013 is Mount Fuji on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

A special stamp was used on this card. It is my first stamp about the Year of the Ox 2021. I am now collecting Lunar New Year stamps since 2012 and it is always nice to start searching for them every year. This year however is even more special, as I was born in a Year of the Ox. If you want to help me collecting you can find a missing list among the pages of this blog. 

 Thank You very much Keiko!

Austria's Covid-19 Stamp

On 4th November I got a cover from Austria.

A personalised stamp about Beethoven was used on the cover.

In the cover was a postcard with the one of the most extraordinary stamps of the year used on the backside. Like many other countries also Austria issued a stamp about Covid-19 (issued 30-10-2020), but this one is more special than all others. It is printed on real toilet paper! It is wonderful to have such a historic issue in my collection and it even got the First Day Special Postmark. 

The card also has a Covid-19 theme.

 Thank You very much Anita!

France: Brive-la-Gaillard

On 3rd November I got two postcards from France.

One of them shows various views of Brive-la-Gaillarde. Brive-la-Gaillarde is a commune in the Corrèze department.

Six Marianne stamps and one about Jacques Chirac (issued 28-09-2020) were used. The special postmark is from the philatelic shop in Brive-la-Gaillard.

On the same day I also got this mint stamp about Chirac issued on the same date by the French Post in Andorra. Chirac was a French politician who served as Prime Minister, Mayor of Paris and finally as President of France between 1995 and 2007. 

 Thank You very much William!

France: Gourdon

On 3rd November I got two postcards from France.

One of them shows various views of Gourdon. Gourdon is a commune in the Lot department and home to a high concentration of prehistoric sites.

The fourth of the six recent sport stamps (issued 18-09-2020) was used and the postmark is from the philatelic shop in Gourdon. 

 Thank You very much William!

cover from France

On 3rd November I got not only two postcards but also a cover from France.

Many Marianne stamps were used on the cover and a stamp about Mohamed Bourouissa (issued 12-10-2020), an Algeria-born French photographer who recently won the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize.

In the cover were two mint stamps about Jacques Chirac as well as a FDC of the wonderful Raving Rabbids stamp (issued 07-09-2020) and the related booklet also with special postmarks.

 Thank You very much William!

Spain: Carballo and A Toxa

On 2nd November I got two postcards: one from Spain and one from Austria.

The card from Spain shows a view of Carballo. Carballo is a municipality in Galicia.

Actually these are two cards, which were attached to each other with washi tape. The second card shows the Chapel of Las Conchas in A Toxa, a church covered with shells.

A nice stamp was used to sent this card. It commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration (issued 08-06-2020) and is the first stamp in a new series about the Founding Fathers of the European Union. 

 Thank You very much Diana!

Austria: Halloween

On 2nd November I got two postcards: one from Austria and one from Spain.

The card from Austria is a Halloween Card.

The card was signed during a small Halloween Meet-up in Vienna and was sent with a matching personalised stamp and a special postmark.

 Thank You very much Anita!

cover from the USA

On 2nd November I got not only two postcards but also a cover from the USA.

I had recently already said that I am currently spoiled with many nice covers from the USA with different special postmarks. While most of the covers are sent normally, some were sent in bigger covers. This one was even more special. 

Inside was not only the postmarked cover (you can already see it here) but also a postcard, a sticker and a flyer about the Goose Day in the Juniata River Valley.

Thank You very much Sam-Quito for asking for the special postmark and Big Thanks to the people of the Juniata River Valley Visitors Bureau for the goodies!

Austria: Vienna International Centre

On 29th October I got two postcards: one from Austria and one from Hong Kong.

The card from Austria shows the M Building at the Vienna International Centre. The Vienna International Centre was built between 1973 and 1979 by Austria and the City of Vienna for housing international organisations, as Austria had offered the United Nations an International Centre in 1967. Today it is home to the CTBTO, the IAEA, the UNCITRAL, the UNIDO, the UNODC, the UNHCR, the UNOOSA and the ICPDR. The M Building was built to host the conferences during the asbestos removal works in the other buildings between 2004 and 2013 and as the Vienna International Centre needs permanently more space for conferences.

Like many other countries around the World also Austria issued a stamp about the 75th anniversary of the United Nations (issued 24-10-2020). It shows an aerial view of the Vienna International Centre and was used together with its First Day Special Postmark on this card.

 Thank You very much Anita!

Hong Kong: Skyline

On 29th October I got two postcards: one from Hong Kong and one from Austria.

The card from Hong Kong shows an illustrations of the city's skyline. This is an official card.

Beside two definitives one of the six stamps issued this year about the Ocean Park (issued 18-08-2020) was used. I had shown the complete set of maxicards earlier on this blog.

 Thank You very much Jessica!

Poland: Regional Museum in Wągrowiec

On 28th October I got a postcard from Poland.

It shows the Regional Museum in Wągrowiec. The Regional Museum is housed in the former residence of the local Cistercian abbey's abbot. It was founded in 1986 and shows exhibits about the town's history and the region's ethnography as well as art and photographs. 

Two interesting history-themed stamps were used. The left stamp commemorates the 80th anniversary of the Katyn Massacre (issued 04-04-2020), a series of mass executions of over 20000 Polish military officers and educated people carried out by the Soviet NKVD in April and May 1940. The discovery of the mass graves by Nazi Germany three years later led to the severation of diplomatic relations between the Polish government-in-exile in London and the Soviet Union, as the former asked for an investigation by the Red Cross. Just 50 years later the executions were officially acknowledged and condemned. The rather small stamp on the right commemorates the 40th anniversary of Solidarność (issued 31-08-2020), the trade union which played a vital role in the end of the communist rule in Poland.

 Thank You very much Paulina!

Italy: Castel del Monte

On 27th October I got three postcards: one from Italy, one from France and one from the USA.

The card from Italy shows Castel del Monte. Castel del Monte was built in the 1240s by Emperor Frederick II. The Emperor imbued it with symbolic significance with its location, precision of its layout and the perfectly regular shape. Also it is a successful blend of elements from classical antiquity, the Islamic Orient and European Gothic. It is shown on the Italian version of the one cent Euro coin and since 1996 it is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The stamp commemorates the Superior Court of Public Waters.

 Thank You very much Cristina!