Denmark: The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen

Today I got three postcards. One of them was my first postcard from Denmark. This week I bought a new album for bigger postcards, so now I can collect them too. The card shows the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen. The bronze is 1,25 meters high and thus the smallest town's landmark in the world. The design was made by Edvard Eriksen. The ideal for the bronze is Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Little Mermaid".

With very tiny stamp:
Queen Margrethe II (issued 07-01-2013)

Thank You very much Chris!

Italy: Saint Peter's Square

Today I got three postcards. One of them was my first card from Italy. The card shows the Saint Peter's Square in Rome (actually in the Vatican, but the whole Vatican is in Rome!). The Square was built in front of the Saint Peter's Basilica (the building in the background) between 1656 and 1667.

With nice stamp:
Pope Francis (issued 02-05-2013)
(It is a joint issue with Argentina and the Vatican)

Thank You very much Giuseppe!

Hong Kong: 150 years Red Cross

Today I got three postcards. Two of them were from new countries and one was from Hong Kong. I do not know what the card shows, but it looks really nice.

With great stamps:
Definitive (issued 31-12-2006),
Revitalisation of Historic Buildings in Hong Kong (from set of six) (issued 07-05-2013)
and a new Red Cross stamp for my collection (from set of four) (issued 28-02-2013)

Thank You so much John!

cover and stamp from Italy

Today I received a cover from Italy. The cover is stamped with the Italian EUROPA 2013 stamp "Postal vehicles" (from a set of two) (issued 09-05-2013).

Inside the cover was the Italian stamp celebrating the new Pope (issued 02-05-2013)! It is a joint issue with Argentina and the Vatican State. The text HABEMUS PAPAM on the stamp is Latin and means "We have a (new) Pope".
The new pope is called Francis, but his civic name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 17th December 1936. He is the pope since the 13rd March 2013 after Pope Benedict XVI had abdicated (the first abdication since 1294!). He is the first pope from South America.

Thank You very much Giuseppe!

Germany: 150 years Red Cross

Some weeks ago I bought the German stamps celebrating the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Red Cross (issued 04-04-2013). In 1859 the Swiss salesman Henry Dunant was part of Battle of Solferino where 6 000 soldiers were killed and 25 000 were injured and he was appalled that nobody could help them.  So he wrote a book about the battle sent by him to leading figures in whole Europe. Furthermore, he wants to close a contract protecting the neutrality of the invalids, the people helping them and the facilities adapted for them. In 1863 he founded together with four other citizen the Committee of the Five. At the Committee' s suggestion there was the first international conference to found a organisation to manage this exercise. 

Germany: Hindenburgdamm

Yesterday I got a postcard showing the Hindenburgdamm which I sent to me when I was on Sylt. The Hindenburgdamm was built between 1923 and 1927. It was opened on 1st June 1927 and is named after Paul von Hindenburg (former Reich President) having opened the dam and having been the first voyager.

Stamp:

gliding flight on the Wasserkuppe (issued 03-01-2011)

Estonia: Toompea

On Monday I got two postcards: one from Russia and my first postcard from Estonia. The postcard from Estonia shows Toompea in Estonia's capital Tallinn. In Toompea Castle topped by the Tall Hermann is the official residence of the parliament of Estonia (Riigikogu). Toompea is part of the old town of Tallinn and thus since 1997 a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

With nice stamp:

Year of the Snake (issued 08-02-2013)

Thank You so much for this great postcard Heidi!

Russia: Saint Basil's Cathedral-Moscow

On Monday I got two postcards: my first from Estonia and one from Russia. The card from Russia shows the Saint Basil's Cathedral in Russia's capital Moscow. It was built between 1555 and 1561 in orders from Ivan the Terrible. In the background you can see the Red Square being a UNESCO World Heritage since 1990 and the eastern Kremlin Wall.

With many great stamps:
Gifts of Nature-Strawberry (from set of five) (issued 27-08-2003)
(the stamp is aromatic and smells of strawberries)
Let's preserve the nature of the Caspian Sea (issued 09-09-2003)
Christmas (the stamp sparkles) (issued 01-12-2011)
Historical centre of St. Petersburg-Winter Palace (from set of three) (issued 26-04-2013)

Thank You so much for the great card and stamps Irina!

Cover from Slovenia

 On Wednesday I got four postcards and one cover. The cover was from Slovenia

Stamps:
EUROPA (issued 22-03-2013)

Thank You so much Mateja!

Finland: My first Moomin postcard!

On Wednesday I got four postcards and three of them were from new countries. One new country was Finland. The postcard shows a Moomin. The Moomins are figures in many children's books written by Tove Jansson and in a telecast.

With great matching stamp:

Moomins-Moominpappa (from set of six) (issued 06-05-2013)

with First day special postmark

and with new Moomin Prioritylabel!

Thank You so much for this great postcard Maarit!

Åland Islands

On Wednesday I got four postcards and three of them were from new countries. One new country were the Åland Islands.  Åland is autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland with a Swedish-speaking population.

The sender said that the card not really shows Åland but it really looks like it!

With great stamp:
Åland seen by Marcus Grönholm (issued 26-07-2008)
(the street on the stamp is rough so you can feel it)
with special postmark from the ferry between Mariehamn (Åland's capital) and Kapellskär (in Sweden)

Thank You so much for this great postcard Leila!!

Belarus: Holidays

On Wednesday I got four postcards. Three of them were from new countries and one was from Belarus. The card from Belarus shows Holidays in Belarus. It shows Kaliaday, Spring greeting, Kupalle and Dazhynki.

With great stamps:

Bird of the Year: Grey goose (issued 11-03-2009)

and EUROPA stamps showing children's books (issued 19-03-2010)

Thank You so much Victoria!

Brazil: Copacabana

On Wednesday I got four postcards and three of them were from new countries! One new country was Brazil! The cards shows the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. It is one of the most famous beaches in the world. And in the back ground is the Sugarloaf Mountain. Since 2012 is Rio de Janeiro a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 With many great stamps:
International Polar Year (issued 18-03-2009)
and other colourful stamps!

Thank You very much for this great postcard Christina!

Germany: Leipzig/Halle Airport

On Thursday I got a new postcard from my mum. The postcard shows the Leipzig/Halle Airport being located between the big towns of Leipzig and Halle (Saale) in Saxony. The airport was commissioned in 1927. The airport is measured in passengers the 14th largest airport in Germany, but in charge the 2nd largest

Again with Janosch stamp.

Germany: Margravial Opera House in Bayreuth

On Tuesday I got two cards one from Germany and one from Japan. The postcard from Germany shows the Margravial Opera House in Bayreuth. It was built between 1745 and 1748 by Joseph Saint-Pierre and the interior is designed by Giuseppe Galli Bibiena and his son Carlo. The woman on the card is Wilhelmine of  Prussia, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, a sister of Frederick the Great. The Margravial Opera House is since 2012 a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 Again with sweet Janosch stamp.

Thank you so much for this great card Natalie!

Japan: Totoro

On Tuesday I got two cards one from Japan and one from Germany. The postcard from Japan shows Totoro and is a new one for my Totoro collection. The text on the card means "Thank you every one".

Stamp:

Philately Week (issued 25-04-2013) with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You so much Ai!