Vietnam: Flag

****** Happy New Year! ******

Yesterday I got my last card of 2017. It comes from Vietnam.

The card shows the Flag of Vietnam. The Flag of Vietnam is red with a golden star in the centre. It was created in 1940 and was adopted as flag of North Vietnam in 1945. Since 1976 it is the flag of the unified Vietnam. 

With a nice stamp:
APEC Summit (issued 06-11-2017)
40 years Diplomatic Relations with Thailand (from set of two) (issued 05-08-2016)
It is a joint issue with Thailand.

Thank You very much Matthew!

Italy: Rome

On Thursday I got a postcard from Italy.

It shows the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain and the Forum Romanum in Rome.

Stamp:
The Millennium (from set of two) (issued 01-01-2000)
with a special postmark from Rome

Thank You very much William!

My Trip to Bad Gandersheim

Yesterday I was in Bad Gandersheim and there I bought a few cards for my collection.

Bad Gandersheim is a small town in the Harz Foreland in southern Lower Saxony. It is known for its many timber-framed houses and mineral spring.

The Portal zur Geschichte is a museum with three exhibitions at two locations, the Abbey Church in Bad Gandersheim and the Brunshausen Abbey. Its main theme is the history of the Gandersheim Abbey and the exhibition of the church treasure. 

The Gandersheim Abbey Church is the collegiate church of the Gandersheim Abbey, which was founded in 852 by Duke Liudolf of Saxony, whose rich endowments ensured its stability and prosperity. Although the church is still used today, it also houses one of the exhibitions of the Portal zur Geschichte.

The Brunshausen Abbey was founded in the 9th century. Before the Gandersheim Abbey Church was finished, the Brunshausen Abbey was the home of its canonesses. Abbess Elisabeth of Saxe-Meiningen turned the abbey into an Baroque summer palace in the 18th century. Today the Brunshausen Abbey shows two exhibitions of the Portal zur Geschichte. One focuses on strong women who lived in Bad Gandersheim and the fine stitches the canonesses created and the other shows the Baroque mural paintings.

One of the most famous inhabitants of the Gandersheim Abbey was Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim, the first German poetess. Due to her Bad Gandersheim is included in the list of the extraordinary women places in Lower Saxony.

The Roswitha Fountain was unveiled in 1978. It shows Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim while she presents her writings to Otto the Great.

Yesterday I was also twice in Seesen, as I had to change trains there. Luckily I was able to buy also there a postcard for my collection.

Seesen is a town on the northwestern edge of the Harz mountain range. The small town was home to Israel Jacobsen, William Steinway and Wilhelm Busch.

Vietnam: Year of the Dog

Yesterday I got a postcard from Vietnam.

It is a maxicard of the new Year of the Dog stamps. The stamp is from a set of two and was issued on 1st December.

The second stamp from the set was used as postage.

Thank You very much Phan!

Austria: Kunsthaus Graz

On Saturday I got two postcards from Austria.

One of them shows the Kunsthaus Graz. The Kunsthaus Graz was built as part of the European Capital of Culture celebrations in 2003. It shows art from the 1960s and onwards. The building was designed in the style of the blob architecture and is now a landmark of Graz. The museum is a part of the Universalmuseum Joanneum.

Stamps:
Definitive (from a set of nine) (issued 01-03-2015)
Personalised stamp "Prater"
with a special postmark from the philatelic shop in Graz

Thank You very much Anita!

Austria: Styrian Armoury in Graz

On Saturday I got two postcards from Austria.

One of them shows the interior of the Styrian Armoury in Graz. The Styrian Armoury was built between 1642 and 1644 to house the large quantities of armour and weapons of the Styrian army, which were needed for the almost continuous conflict with the Ottoman Empire. In 1749 it was decommissioned, but the weapons stayed. Today it is the World's largest historic armoury and attracts visitors from all over the World. Since 1892 it is a part of the Universalmuseum Joanneum. 

Stamps:
Definitive (from a set of nine) (issued 01-03-2015)
EUROPA (issued 06-05-2013)
with a special postmark from the philatelic shop in Graz

Thank You very much Anita!

New Zealand: National Aquarium of New Zealand

On Friday I got a postcard from New Zealand.

It shows a Seahorse at the National Aquarium of New Zealand. The National Aquarium of New Zealand is a public aquarium in Napier. It was opened in 1976.

With related stamps:
Christmas (from set of five) (issued 01-11-2017)
Seashore (four from set of ten) (issued 21-02-1996)

Thank You very much Sharon!

Italy: Lagazuoi

On Thursday I got a postcard from Italy.

It shows Lagazuoi. Lagazuoi is a mountain in the Dolomites. During World War I the mountain was hard-fought between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The wartime tunnels can be still seen today.

On the backside is a stamp of the Rifugio Lagazuoi.
Stamp:
EUROPA (from set of two) (issued 09-05-2017)

Thank You very much Cristina!

Spain: Plaza de España in Seville

On Wednesday I got two postcards: one from Spain and one from Luxembourg.

The card from Spain shows the Plaza de España in Seville. The Plaza de España was built for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 and is today one of the most famous places in Seville. It was used as filming location for Lawrence of Arabia and Star Wars: Episode II. In 2017 it was added to the list of the Treasures of European Film Culture.

With a great stamp:
Malaga Film Festival (issued 16-04-2017)
The stamp is transparent.
Stamp Design Contest (from set of two) (issued 01-02-2017)
King Felipe VI (from set of six) (issued 02-01-2016)
with a special postmark from Seville

Thank You very much William!

Luxembourg: Grund

On Wednesday I got two postcards: one from Luxembourg and one from Spain.

The card from Luxembourg shows Grund. Grund is a quarter of Luxembourg City.

With a great stamp:
Grand Duke Henri (from set of four) (issued 16-03-2004)
150 years Treaty of London (issued 09-05-2017)
Silver foil was added to the stamp.
with a special Christmas postmark

Thank You very much William!

Frohe Weihnachten!

Merry Christmas to Everyone!

On Tuesday I got my two German Christmas cards with special postmarks.

The first one shows Santa Claus with a big Lebkuchen heart. Lebkuchen is a traditional German baked Christmas treat. It consists of a big part of nuts and is usually covered with chocolate. The most famous types of Lebkuchen come from Nuremburg, Aachen and Basel.

Stamp:
Christmassy Chapel (issued 02-11-2017)
with a special postmark of this year's Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg

The second one shows Castor and Frippe preparing for Christmas. Castor and Frippe are two children's book characters created by Lars Klinting, who appeared in seven of his books.

Stamp:
Attendance of the Three Kings (issued 02-11-2017)
with a special postmark from the Christmas Post Office in St. Nikolaus

Germany: Saxony from Papersisters

On Monday I got a postcard from Germany. 

It is Papersisters' German Landmark postcard of Saxony. Saxony is a German State in East Germany bordering on Brandenburg, Poland, the Czech Republic, Bavaria, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt. It was founded after the German Reunification. Dresden is the state's capital and Leipzig is its largest city. Only other big city is Chemnitz.

Among other the card shows the Frauenkirche and Semperoper in Dresden, the Muskau Park and the Thomaskirche in Leipzig.

With matching stamps:
Semperoper (issued 13-11-2003)
Muskau Park (issued 12-07-2012)
It is a joint issue with Poland.
with a special Christmas postmark from the Ore Mountains

covers from Germany

On Monday I got not only a postcard but also two covers from Germany.

Stamps:

Astrophysics (whole set) (issued 07-12-2017)

with matching special postmarks from Heidelberg

Stamp:
100th birthday of Heinrich Böll (issued 07-12-2017)
with First Day Special Postmark

cover from Malaysia

On Saturday I got a cover from Malaysia.

With nice stamps:
60 years diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom (whole set) (issued 03-11-2017)
with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Shaliza!

cover from Russia

On Tuesday I got two covers including one from Russia.

Stamp:

100th birthday of Indira Gandhi (issued 21-09-2017)

Inside were five stamps from my wishlist:
120 years diplomatic relations between Russia and Thailand (issued 03-07-2017)
Fables (whole set) (issued 17-05-2017)

Thank You very much Elena!

cover from Germany

On Tuesday I got two covers including one from Germany.

Stamp:

300th birthday of Johann Joachim Winckelmann (issued 12-10-2017)

with a special postmark of Winckelmann's 300th birthday

Germany: Düsseldorf at Christmas

On Monday I got a postcard from Germany. 

It shows Düsseldorf during Christmas time. 

Stamp:
Astrophysics (from set of two) (issued 07-12-2017)

Thank You very much Marcel!

United Kingdom: Brighton

Last Friday I got a postcard from the United Kingdom.

It shows various views of Brighton. Brighton is a part of the city of Brighton and Hove on the south coast of England. It is the most famous and important seaside resort in the United Kingdom.

With nice stamps:
Classic Toys (two from set of ten) (issued 22-08-2017)

Thank You very much William!

Japan: MOA Museum of Art

Last Thursday I got two postcards: one from Japan and one from Belgium.

The card from Japan shows the Golden Tea Room at the MOA Museum of Art. The MOA Museum of Art was opened in 1982 and houses the private art collection of the multimillionaire Mokichi Okada. It shows various pieces of art from all classical periods of Chinese and Japanese art including a few National Treasures.

Stamp:
Winter Greetings (from set of fourteen) (issued 01-12-2017)
with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Keiko!