Germany: Castle Church in Wittenberg

Today I got two postcards: one from Germany and one from Italy.

The card from Germany shows the interior of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. The Castle Church was built between 1490 and 1511 at the behest of Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, in the Late Gothic style. It forms a part of the Wittenberg Castle and is the site where Martin Luther posted his Ninety-five Theses in 1517 (today eactly 499 years ago!), which contributed to the church's nickname "Reformation Church". The Church just reopened on 2nd October after a renovation, which was carried out to be prepared for the big jubilee of the Reformation next year. As one of the Luther Memorials in Wittenberg is the Castle Church since 1996 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

I got this card a few weeks ago in a cover.

With related stamps:
UNESCO World Heritage - Luther Memorials in Eisleben and Wittenberg (issued 07-05-2009)
It is a joint issue with the United Nations.
500th birthday of Lucas Cranach the Younger (issued 01-10-2015)
with a special postmark about the reopening of the Castle Church

Thank You very much Michaela for sending me the card in an envelope!

Italy: Palazzi dei Rolli in Genoa

Today I got two postcards: one from Italy and one from Germany.

The card from Italy shows the Palazzo Doria Tursi, the Palazzo Reale, the Palazzo Pantaleo Spinola and the Palazzo Rosso on Genoa's Strade Nuove. The Palazzo Doria-Tursi houses Genoa's city hall and a museum. The Palazzo Reale houses the National Gallery and is known for its historic furniture and decoration. The Palazzo Pantaleo Spinola is today the headquarters of the Banco di Chiavari e della Riviera Ligure. The Palazzo Rosso is one of the most important picture galleries in the city. Since 2006 are the Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli in Genoa on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The card was signed during the Postcrossing Meet-up in Genoa.
Stamps:
EUROPA (from set of two) (issued 09-05-2016)
Women in Art (from set of seven) (issued 02-01-2002)
with a special postmark about World Post Day

Thank You very much Irene!

Italy: Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo

On Saturday I got four postcards: one from Italy, one from the Netherlands, one from Germany and one from Japan.

The card from Italy shows the Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo. Palermo is the capital of Sicily. The Palazzo dei Normanni is the oldest royal residence in Europe. It was the seat of the Kings of Sicily during the Norman domination, was later used as the main seat of power for the subsequent rulers of Sicily and as imperial seat of Frederick II and Conrad IV and now houses the Sicilian Regional Assembly. As part of the Arab-Norman Palermo it is since 2015 on the UNESCO World Heritge List.

Stamp:
Italian City Squares (from set of eight) (issued 02-07-2016)

Thank You very much Anastasia!

Japan: Tottori Sand Dunes

On Saturday I got four postcards: one from Japan, one from Italy, one from the Netherlands and one from Germany.

The card from Japan shows the Tottori Sand Dunes. The Tottori Sand Dunes form the only large dune system in Japan. They are a part of the San'in Kaigan Global Geopark.

Due to a small mistake in the address the German Post covered a big part of the stamps with a label. :(
Stamps:
Autumn Greetings (from set of ten) (issued 03-10-2016)
Definitives (from set of twelve) (issued 2015)
with a special postmark showing also the sand dune

Thank You very much Keiko!

Germany: Frauenkirche in Dresden

On Saturday I got four postcards: one from Germany, one from Japan, one from Italy and one from the Netherlands.

The card from Germany shows the Frauenkirche in Dresden, where the celebrations of the German Unity Day were held in 2016. 

I bought this card when I visited Dresden some years ago. 

Stamp:
25 years German Unity (issued 01-10-2015)
with a special postmark about the German Unity Day from Dresden

Netherlands: De Wallen

On Saturday I got four postcards: one from the Netherlands, one from Germany, one from Japan and one from Italy.

The card from the Netherlands shows De Wallen in Amsterdam. De Wallen is the largest and best known red-light district in Amsterdam. It was one of the first places in the World where prostitution became legal.

Stamp:
Dutch Icons (from set of five) (issued 03-01-2014)

Thank You very much Jobbo!

Thailand: Museum Siam

On Friday I got three postcards from Thailand.

One of them shows the Museum Siam. The Museum Siam was opened in 2008 and is located in Bangkok. It uses interactive storytelling with seven characters as intermediates and focuses on the national identity of the people in Thailand. 

Stamps:
King Bhumibol (from set of four) (issued 01-07-1989)
King Bhumibol (from set of two) (issued 02-07-1988)
King Bhumibol (from set of four) (issued 01-07-1989)

Thank You very much Jobbo!

Thailand: Thai Alphabet

On Friday I got three postcards from Thailand.

One of them shows a letter of the Thai alphabet. The Thai alphabet consists of 44 consonant letters and 15 vowel symbols. It is in use since 1283 and is related to the Lao alphabet. 

The card is a maxicard. The stamp is from a set of 48 stamps about the Thai Alphabet (issued 29-07-2011) and got a special postmark at the Thai Book Expo held in Bangkok.

On the backside is another stamp from the set with another special postmark and the Thai stamp from the big ASEAN joint issue (issued 08-08-2015).

Thank You very much Cherry!

Thailand: World Post Day

On Friday I got three postcards from Thailand.

One of them bears various special postmarks about World Post Day.

With related stamps:
World Post Day (whole set) (issued 09-10-2016)
with First Day Special Postmark
King Bhumibol (from set of fourteen) (issued 10-10-2010)

Thank You very much Cherry!

Germany: Naumburg Cathedral

On Thursday I got three postcards from Naumburg.

Naumburg is a city in the German State of Saxony-Anhalt. It is located on the Saale and is the administrative centre of the Burgenlandkreis.

Two of the cards show the Naumburg Cathedral. The Naumburg Cathedral was built between the 13th and 15th century. It is a masterpiece of the Late Romanesque and Early Gothic styles and is especially known for the statues of its founders, which are located inside of the cathedral and prominently feature Margrave Ekkehard, his wife Uta and other local nobles. In 1542 it became the seat of Nicolaus von Amsdorf, the first Protestant bishop of Germany. Today it seeks for the inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

I got this card a few weeks ago in a cover and used it to get a special postmark.

EDIT:

The Naumburg Cathedral is one of the new UNESCO World Heritage Sites of 2018.

With a matching stamp:
Naumburg Cathedral (issued 06-10-2016)
with a special postmark showing the cathedral and the statue of Uta

To celebrate the issuance of the Naumburg stamp a Postcrossing Meet-up was held in the city on 22nd October. The second card was signed during the Meet-up.
With the matching stamp:
Naumburg Cathedral (issued 06-10-2016)

The last card is the official postcard printed for the Postcrossing Meet-up in Naumburg.

It was also signed during the meet-up.
Stamp:
Naumburg Cathedral (issued 06-10-2016)

Thank You you very much Marcel for sending me the first card in an envelope and Thank You Corinna and Hanko for sending me the other two cards from the meet-up!

Germany: First German Airmail

On Wednesday I got a postcard from Germany.

The card is a reproduction of the postcard printed for the first German airmail. On 19th May 1912 Mannheim and Heidelberg became the first German cities to be connected by airmail. For the event special postcards were printed. 30000 postcards were posted, but on the airplanes was only enough space for 3000 cards, so the most cards only got the postmark but were not really in the air. 

I bought this card in my hometown.

With a matching stamp:

100 years First German Airmail (issued 13-09-2012)

with a special postmark about World Post Day

I also sent to myself another cover about World Post Day.

With nice stamps:
Sending Mail (whole set) (issued 12-04-2007)
Receiving Mail (whole set) (issued 20-09-2007)

Jersey: Mont Orgueil

On Tuesday I got two postcards: my first card from Jersey and one from Germany.

Jersey is the largest Canal Island. Jersey is neither a part of the European Union nor of the United Kingdom, but a British Crown Dependency. The capital of Jersey is Saint Helier. Jersey issues it's own stamps since 1969.

The card shows Mont Orgueil. Mont Orgueil is a castle overlooking the harbour of Gorey on Jersey's eastern coast. It was first mentioned in 1212 and for a long time it was the primary defence of Jersey. Since 1929 it houses a museum.

With great stamps:
Dragons (two from set of six) (issued 06-01-2015)

Thank You very much William!

Germany: Gütersloh

On Tuesday I got two postcards: one from Germany and my first card from Jersey.

The card from Germany shows various views of Gütersloh. Gütersloh is a city in the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the administrative centre of the Gütersloh district and the eighty-fourth largest city in Germany with a little bit less than needed for the status of a big city. The city is known for being home of the headquarters of Bertelsmann and Miele. 

EDIT:

Since 2018 Gütersloh is a big city.

Stamp:
Lighthouse (from set of two) (issued 11-06-2015)

Thank You very much Marcel!

Hong Kong: ePrix

On Monday I got a postcard from Hong Kong.

It was printed for the 2016 Hong Kong ePrix. The 2016 Hong Kong ePrix was held on 9th October and was the first race of the third season of the Formula E, the class of auto racing that uses only electric-powered cars. It was the first time that the ePrix was held in Hong Kong. The winner was Sébastien Buemi of Renault e.Dams. 

The card is prepaid.

Thank You very much Joe!

covers from Jersey

On Monday I got three covers from Jersey.

Stamps:

Dragons (from set of six) (issued 06-01-2015)

EUROPA (whole set) (issued 03-05-2016)

Stamps:
Hornby Toy Trains (two from set of six) (issued 24-03-2015)
These two stamps from the set are Jersey's EUROPA 2015 stamps.
Links with China (from set of six) (issued 22-09-2015)
Longest Reigning Monarch (from set of four) (issued 09-09-2015)

Stamps:
Definitives (seven from set of eleven) (issued 18-02-2015)

Thank You very much William!

Germany: August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben

In early October I visited the Hoffmann-von-Fallersleben-Museum in Wolfsburg to buy postcards for the new stamp about the 175th anniversary of the Song of Germany, which was issued on 6th October. Last Saturday finally all cards came back from the postmarking unit with the special postmarks I planned to get.

August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben was born in Fallersleben in 1798. He went to schools in Helmstedt and Braunschweig and later studied in Göttingen and Bonn. In 1823 he started to work at the university library of Breslau. He married in 1849 and in 1860 he became librarian in Corvey Castle near Höxter, where he also died in 1874. Today he is especially known for writing the text of the Song of Germany, the German national anthem, although he wrote many other poems and also children's songs, which are very famous in Germany. 

Stamp:
175 years Song of Germany (issued 06-10-2016)
with a special postmark showing Hoffmann's birth house in Fallersleben

Stamp:
175 years Song of Germany (issued 06-10-2016)
with a special postmark from Hamburg, where the Song of Germany was first played

Stamp:
175 years Song of Germany (issued 06-10-2016)
with a special postmark from Höxter

The Hoffmann-von-Fallersleben-Museum is housed in the Fallersleben Castle since 1991. It focuses on the work and life of August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben and the time in which he lived.

Montenegro: Millennium Bridge in Podgorica

On Friday I got two cards: my first card from Montenegro and one from Malaysia.

Montenegro is a country in Southeastern Europe bordering on Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Albania. In 2006 the country declared its independence from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the federation of Montenegro and Serbia established in 1992. It is a candidate negotiating to join the European Union.

The card shows the Millennium Bridge in Podgorica. Podgorica is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. Between 1946 and 1992 it was known as Titograd. The Millennium Bridge is one of the city's most prominent landmarks and became a symbol of Montenegro's increase in prosperity.

With a nice stamp:
EUROPA (from set of two) (issued 02-04-2008)

Thank You very much Anna!

Malaysia: 4th Malaysia Postcrossing Meet-up

On Friday I got two cards: one from Malaysia and my first card from Montenegro.

The card from Malaysia was printed for the 4th Malaysia Postcrossing Meet-up, which was held on 1st October during the Malaysian Stamp Week. On the front site of the card are various special postmarks about the Stamp Week including one about the Postcrossing Meet-up.

The card was signed during the meet-up.
With a nice stamp:
International Definitive - "Fauna" (from set of eight) (issued 01-10-2016)
with one of the special postmarks about Stamp Week

Thank You very much Shaliza!