Taiwan: Taipei Beimen Post Office

On 31st July I got a postcard from Taiwan.

It shows the Taipei Beimen Post Office. The Taipei Beimen Post Office is the main post office in Taiwan's capital. It was constructed during the Japanese colonial time and was opened in 1930. Beside being a post office it is also home to a branch of the Postal Museum since 2015.

Even more interesting than the card are the stamps. As you probably noticed many countries began to issue stamps about Covid-19. At first I wanted to collect them all, but when there were more and more stamps from countries hard to get I discarded the idea and now only actively collect the thematic stamps that I like or that are somehow special. However I still try to make a complete list on my other blog. Click here if you are interested. Taiwan issued its stamps about the pandemic on 21st July with the slogan Taiwan can help, pointing out that Taiwan's tactics against Covid-19 are not heard around the World, although it got through the time very well so far. The matching special postmark was used as well.

Thank You very much Shu-i!

cover from Canada

On 31st July I got not only a postcard but also a cover from Canada.

Many wonderful older Canadian stamps were used on the cover. Many favourites are the Wooping Cranes, Queen Elizabeth and the Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck with an embossed snowflake.

Inside was a written and stamped postcard.

It shows the waterfront of Toronto. Toronto is a city on Lake Ontario. It is Canada's largest city and the capital of the Canadian Province of Ontario. It is also a centre of business, finance, arts and culture.

Three stamps with their special postmarks were used on the card. The upper two stamps deal with the 75th anniversary of the End of World War II (issued 29-04-2020) and show two Canadian war heroes. Léo Major, who is said to have liberated the Dutch city of Zwolle single-handedly, is shown on the left stamp and Veronica Foster is honoured on the right stamp. She worked in a manufacturing plant that produced munitions and matériel during World War II and was chosen to represent all the women doing so on contemporary propaganda posters. The third stamp is from a set of seven about the Group of Seven (issued 07-05-2020). The Group of Seven was a group of seven Canadian landscape painters founded in 1920. This particular stamp shows Frederick Varley's Stormy Weather.

Thank You very much Allison!

Germany: German Oil Museum in Wietze

Long time no see. I was on holidays and afterwards very busy due to an exam, but now I try to slowly get back to my cards. I have already scanned everything that arrived during my abscence and that I bought while I was away and will show it to you in the coming weeks. 

Let's start with this postcard from Germany which arrived on 30th July before my holidays began. It is from the German Oil Museum and shows an old photo of an oilfield in Wietze. The small village of Wietze in the German State of Lower Saxony has played a special role in the history of crude oil extraction. As early as 1652 the oil from mineral deposits at Wietze was scooped from tar pits on the surface and used as a grease and medicament. In 1858 one of the first boreholes in the World for the extraction of oil was sunk here and between 1900 and 1920 it was the most productive German oilfield. From 1920 to 1963 oil was also extracted from underground mines. The German Oil Museum was opened in 1970 on a part of Wietze's oilfield and deals with the origin, extraction and use of crude oil with a special focus on Wietze. 

On the backside there is a seal of the German Oil Museum. One of the two stamps of the Bonn panorama issued on 2nd January 2020 was used on this card and it got cancelled with the Covid-19 postmark from the mail sorting centre 29 in Celle.

Thank You very much Claas!

Japan: Giant Panda at the Kobe Oji Zoo

Yesterday I got a postcard from Japan.

It shows a Giant Panda from the Kobe Oji Zoo during the years. The Kobe Oji Zoo is a municipal zoo in Kobe in the Japanese Hyogo Prefecture. Since 2000 it is home to Giant Pandas, which are among the most popular animals in the zoo. It is always great to get a new card with these wonderful animals and this year so far has been a very good one for my Giant Pandas in Zoos collection. With this one I now have a card from all three Japanese zoos with Giant Pandas.

A stamp about the Centenary of the National Monuments System was used on the card. It is from a set of ten and was issued on 17th July 2020. Also look at the cute panda illustration on the back side of the card.

Thank You very much Keiko!

Italy: FS E.646 Trains

On Friday I got two postcards: one from Italy and one from Austria.

The card from Italy shows two FS E.646 trains. The FS E.646 is a class of electric locomotives used on Italian railways. It was introduced in 1958 and retired in 2009.

One of the eight stamps about the 90th birthday of Donald Duck (issued on 30-10-2019) was used on a card together with a Disney-themed special postmark. I really like this stamp with Donald and his three nephews. One of the usual Italian Mail stamps (from set of three) (issued 01-07-2010) was used as well.

Thank You very much Davide!

Austria: Wurstelprater

On Friday I got two postcards: one from Austria and one from Italy.

The card from Austria shows some attractions of the Wurstelprater. The Wurstelprater is an amusement park. Although it is actually just a section of the actual Wiener Prater, a large public park, it is often also just called Prater. It already dates back to 1766, when the Prater was turned from an imperial hunting lodge to a public park and the first snack bars, stalls and bowling alleys opened. The Wiener Riesenrad, one of Vienna's most famous attractions, is located in the Wurstelprater. From 1920 to 1985 it was the World's tallest extant Ferris wheel. It was shown in The Third Man and James Bond's The Living Daylights and was thus awarded as one of the Treasures of European Film Culture.

The Schweizerhaus is a traditional Viennese restaurant in the Prater. Already in 1716 a hut for Swiss hunters was mentioned in the Prater. Later a restaurant in a Swiss style was built, which was taken over and made into a family business by Karl Kolarik in 1920. To commemorate the centenary of the take over this stamp was issued on 11th July. Beside the building it also shows a delicious Stelze.

Thank You very much Anita!

Austria: Piber Federal Stud

Last Thursday I got two postcards from Austria.

The first card shows the Piber Federal Stud, where the Lipizzan horses for the Spanish Riding School are bred. The history of the Spanish Riding School dates back to the 16th century. In 1580 a stud was founded in Lipica in modern-day Slovenia, where the Lipizzan horses have their origin. World War I was a difficult time for the breed, as the horses were evacuated from Lipica and came to different studs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After the war the empire was no more and the horses were now in different countries. Austria kept the stallions of the Spanish Riding School and some breeding stock, which was consolidated at Piber by 1920. Today circa 40 Lipizzan foals are born in Piber, but only the best stallions are later sent to Vienna to be trained for the Spanish Riding School. 

A wonderful matching stamp was used on the card. It was issued on 4th July 2020 and celebrates the centenary of the Piber Federal Stud.

Also the second card deals with the Piber Federal Stud. This one shows a close-up of a Lipizzan horse.

The same stamp with the same special postmark was used on this card.

Thank You very much Anita!

Italy: Basilica of San Gaudenzio in Novara

Last Tuesday I got three postcards: one from Italy, one from Germany and one from Austria.

The card from Italy shows the Basilica of San Gaudenzio in Novara. Novara is a city in northwest Italy. It is the capital city of the province of Novara and the second largest city in Piedmont after Turin. It is an important crossroads for commercial traffic along the routes from Milan to Turin and from Genoa to Switzerland. The Basilica of San Gaudenzio is the highest point in the city and its symbol. The basilica itself was built in the 16th and 17th century, but the monumental cupola was just added in the 19th century. Novara is also the seat of the bishop, although his seat is not the basilica, but the Novara Cathedral. 

One of Italy's two EUROPA stamps was used on the card (issued 29-06-2020). The map on the card looks very impressive, but it is unfortunately too small to see any details. Even more interesting are actually the postmarks. Used directly on the stamp is the new postmark about Covid-19 mentioning The Strength of Italy. A special postmark from the philatelic shop in Novara is next to the stamp. During the travel the card got also cancelled with multiple machine postmarks.

Thank You very much Davide!

Austria: Franz Lehár

Last Tuesday I got three postcards: one from Austria, one from Italy and one from Germany.

The card from Austria shows Franz Lehár. Franz Lehár was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He was born in a town in modern-day Slovakia in 1870, studied violin at the Prague Conservatory and later became a part of the cultural milieu in Vienna. As composer he was self-taught. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is The Merry Widow, and is considered to be one of the founders of the Silver Operetta Era in Vienna. Franz Lehár died in Bad Ischl in 1948.

For Lehár's 150th birthday a new stamp was issued on 11th July 2020, more than two months after his actual birthday. I especially like the special postmark from Bad Ischl.

Thank You very much Anita!

Germany: Gustav Adolf Stave Church in Goslar

Last Tuesday I got three postcards: one from Germany, one from Austria and one from Italy.

The card from Germany shows the Gustav Adolf Stave Church in Goslar's borough Hahnenklee-Bockswiese. The Gustav Adolf Stave Church was built between 1907 and 1908 as a copy of the Borgund Stave Church in Norway. Although I was already often in Goslar, I have never seen this church. Maybe I should go there on my next trip to the city.

This card travelled quite slow. It got cancelled on 12th July, but just arrived here on 21st July. Two stamps were used as postage. The right stamp is a flower definitive with a Cuckooflower (issued 18-12-2018) and the left one commemorates the Bicentenary of the University of Bonn (issued 01-02-2018).

Thank You very much Marcel!

covers from the USA

Last Tuesday I got not only three postcards but also two covers from the USA.

Stamps:

Maine Statehood Bicentenary (issued 15-03-2020)

with First Day Special Postmark

label

This was the first US stamp for which the dedication ceremony was cancelled due to Covid-19.

Stamps:
Pears (issued 23-03-2017)
50 years Earth Day (issued 18-04-2020)
with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Yue!

New Zealand: Tui with Bear Hunt Stamps

On Thursday I got three postcards: one from New Zealand and two from Germany.

The card from New Zealand shows a Tui. One of the first things that comes to my mind when I think about New Zealand are birds. The birds of New Zealand are often endemic and include such famous ones as the Kiwi, the Kea or the Kakapo. Already in the 1770s Captain James Cook noted that the bird song was deafening. The Tui is one of these endemic birds. It is a passerine and can be found on most islands of New Zealand. They have a complex variety of songs and calls and just like parrots they can also clearly imitate human speech.

And look at these cute stamps. In the last months so many countries issued stamps about Covid-19, but I think New Zealand has some of the best. Issued on 20th May in a sheet of six they show the Bear Hunt. The Bear Hunt was a phenomenon during the Covid-19 lockdown. In New Zealand and also in other countries families were entertained and delighted by teddy bears, which were put in windows or other creative locations to create a magical experience for kids during this stressful time. Shown on these two stamps are Theodore Bear and Frontliner Bear. Theodore Bear and his friend Rudolph, who is holding the latter in this picture, had daily adventures and the stories for them became so popular that they will now be published as a book. Frontliner Bear was chosen to represent and honour the hard working medical workers. The complete sheet includes stamps with a face value of $11.70, but it is sold for $14.70 and includes a donation to the New Zealand Red Cross.

Thank You very much Lara!

Germany: Freiburg im Breisgau

On Thursday I got three postcards: two from Germany and one from Germany.

One of the cards from Germany shows various views of Freiburg im Breisgau. Freiburg im Breisgau or Freiburg for short is a big city in the German State of Baden-Württemberg, the fourth largest of its state and the southern most of Germany. It is one of the traditional German university towns and in recent years also became famous for its high standard of living and advanced environmental practices. Not only it is an popular tourist destinations for itself but also it is the primary tourist entry point to the Black Forest. Between 1945 and 1952 it was the capital of the German State of (South) Baden before it was merged with Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern to form Baden-Württemberg. 

Just like on the recent card about the Freiburg Minster I also used the stamp about Freiburg's 900th anniversary (issued 02-07-2020) on this card. Four famous buildings from Freiburg are shown on the stamp: the Historical Merchants' Hall, the Martinstor, the Freiburg Minster and the University Library. All four you can also find on the card.

Germany: Open-air Bath

On Thursday I got three postcards: two from Germany and one from Germany.

One of the cards from Germany shows an illustration of an open-air bath. 

I bought this card in my home town and used it for this new stamp set about the Open-air Bath in Witten (issued 02-07-2020). If you look closely you can see the face of Spongebob Squarepants on the right stamp.

cover from Germany

On Thursday I got not only three postcards but also a cover from Germany.

One of the many German childhood hero stamps of 2020 was used on the cover. This one is about the 300th birthday of Baron Munchhausen (issued 07-05-2020). Nice to have that one used on a cover for my collection as well. Also it got cancelled with the Covid-19 advertising postmark.

Inside were four postcards: three from the Czech Republic and one from Suriname.

The first Czech card shows Kynžvart Chateau. Kynžvart Chateau was rebuilt in the first half of the 19th century by Austrian Chancellor Klemens von Metternich, who turned it into a location for many discussions and negotiations of European diplomacy. Most famously it was the centre of the Peace League Proposal in 1840, an important moment in the search for a lasting balance of power in Europe. Also it is home to a library of European importance. I am very happy to add this card to my collection, as last year the Kynžvart Chateau got the European Heritage Label. For years now I am collecting postcards about the European Heritage Label, but they are so hard to find that every new addition is a welcome surprise. My missing list for these cards is here. Maybe somebody can help me to get any others of them.

The second Czech card shows the Cheb Museum. The Cheb Museum is housed in the historic town house where Albrecht von Wallenstein was murdered in 1634. Founded in 1874, it is one of the oldest regional museums in Bohemia.

The third Czech card shows the geological exhibition of the Municipal Museum of Františkovy Lázně. The Municipal Museum of Františkovy Lázně was founded in 1912.

The card from Suriname looks a bit surreal. It shows the Duivelsei, a rock seemingly balanced on the edge of a mountain. It is located in the Central Suriname Nature Reserve, a conservation unit which preserves an area of tropical rainforest in pristine condition. Since 2000 is the Central Suriname Nature Reserve on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Thank You very much Marcel!