Stamps from Armenia, Israel, Latvia, the Faroe Islands and Gibraltar

In mid-December my family asked me to order some stamps as Christmas present, so I decided to order some stamps from Armenia, the Faroe Islands, Israel, Latvia and Malta. The stamps from the Faroe Islands and Latvia arrived shortly after. The stamps from Armenia just arrived in mid-January and the stamps from Israel even needed until the end of January to reach me. The stamps from Malta are still missing. Now that I got a stamp order from Gibraltar, which I placed more than two months later, I lost every faith that the stamps from Malta will ever arrive. Nevertheless here are some of my favourite stamps from all the order.

Many of the stamps from Armenia and Israel are commemorating World War I.

At the beginning of World War I the traditional territories of the Armenians were divided between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. In the Ottoman Empire the Christian Armenians were accused to be liable to ally with Russia and the government treated the entire Armenian population as an enemy within its empire. On 24th April 1915 Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople were arrested and exiled. This marked the beginning of the Armenian Genocide. In the coming months the Armenians in Eastern Anatolia were  displaced, killed or forced to walk in inhuman conditions towards the southern borders of the Ottoman Empire. Around 1,5million Armenians lost their lives during the Genocide. After World War I the short-living First Republic of Armenia was established.

Centenary of World War I (issued 29-09-2014)

Centenary of the Armenian Genocide (issued 29-01-2015)

The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government on 2nd November 1917. With it the British government announced their support for the Zionist aim of establishing a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, which was then still under Ottoman rule. Thus the British hoped to mobilise new ressources.

Centenary of the Balfour Declaration (issued 12-09-2017)

The Battle of Jerusalem was a part of the British Sinai and Palestine Campaign against the Ottoman Empire. The battle started on 17th November 1917 and already on the 9th December Jerusalem surrended to the British, although fightings continued until the 30th December. When General Edmund Allenby entered the Old City on 11th December, he was the first Christian in many centuries to control the holy city. The capture of Jerusalem was a great morale boost for the British Empire and led to a loss of prestige for the Ottoman Empire in the Arabic World. After the battle the British established a new strategically strong fortified line.

Centenary of the Battle of Jerusalem (issued 31-05-2017)

My favourite stamps from Latvia and the Faroe Islands are the Family Superteam from Latvia (issued 16-05-2017) and the Seven Swans from the Faroe Islands (issued 08-09-2017).

One of the souvenir sheets I got from Gibraltar is about the engagement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (issued 10-03-2018).

Taiwan: Sailor Moon

On Friday I got a postcard from Taiwan.

It shows Sailor Mars from the Sailor Moon manga series. Sailor Moon is a manga series by Naoko Takeuchi. It was published between 1991 and 1997 and is about the Sailor Soldiers, female supernatural fighters who protect the Solar System from evil. There are also TV series and movies based on the manga.

Stamp:
Tainan City (from set of four) (issued 28-03-2017)
with a special Sailor Moon postmark

Thank You very much Laetitia!

My Trip to Friedland

On Friday I visited the Museum Friedland and there I got two postcards for my collection.

Friedland is a municipality in the German State of Lower Saxony near the borders with Hesse and Thuringia. In 1945 the British military administration built a camp in Friedland as the first way station for refugees, evacuees and returning soldiers of World War II. After the large waves of refugees of the mass expulsions abated, the camp was used as a way station for German or ethnic German emigrants from Eastern bloc countries. The Museum Friedland was opened in Friedland's train station in 2016.

German Peanuts Stamps

On 1st March 2018 German Post issued two stamps about the Peanuts. The stamps were issued gummed, self-adhesive and as a souvenir sheet and many special postmarks were available for the issue. Although there were some delays in getting some of the special postmarks from the postmarking unit, I now finally have all of them in my collection.

The Peanuts is an American series of comic strips by Charles M. Schulz. The publication of the series began in 1950 and just stopped after the author's death in 2000, as Schulz enacted that the series should not be continued after his death. The series is about the inconsistency of the human life and is played by suburban kids. 

Luckily I was able to get a few Peanuts postcards from Japan, as there are no available were I live. One of the cards I turned into a maxicard with the two self-adhesive stamps and their First Day Special Postmarks from Bonn.

With a nice matching stamp:
Peanuts - gummed version (from set of two) (issued 01-03-2018)
with First Day Special Postmark from Bonn

The First Day Special Postmark for the souvenir sheet and the one for the gummed version from Berlin I got on covers. On covers I also got two special postmarks from Bonn and Munich.

cover from Macao

On Wednesday I got a cover from Macao.

With nice stamps:

Year of the Dog (two from set of five) (issued 05-01-2018)

Census (from set of three) (issued 23-08-2001)

Inside were a Year of the Dog maxicard with another stamp from the set and a small card with a Year of the Dog ATM stamp and a special postmark.

Thank You very much Wing!

My Trip to Stadthagen

On Tuesday I was in Stadthagen and there I bought some cards for my collection.

Stadthagen was once the capital of the Principality of Schaumburg and is today the capital of a district of the same name in the German State of Lower Saxony. It is located on the German Timber-Frame Road and it is also known for its Weser Renaissance buildings.

The most famous landmark in Stadthagen is the Mausoleum of Prince Ernst. The Mausoleum of Prince Ernst was built between 1620 and 1627 next to the Saint Martini Church and was used as burial site of the House of Schaumburg and the House of Schaumburg-Lippe until 1915. It is a domed heptagon in Italian renaissance style. Inside is a resurrection monument by Adrian de Vries, which is the only work of the artist which is still at its original place. It is considered to be a site of European rank.

Austria: Vienna

On Tuesday I got a postcard from Austria.

It shows various views of Vienna.

The card was signed during the Postcrossing Meet-up in Vienna.
Stamp:
Eurovision Song Contest (issued 24-04-2015)
with a special postmark from the philatelic shop in Graz

Thank You very much Anita!

Guernsey: Postcrossing

On Monday I got my stamp order from Guernsey including two cards from Guernsey and my first two cards from Alderney.

The two cards from Guernsey were printed in 2016 for Guernsey's second Postcrossing stamp set. The stamps were issued on 14th July 2016 and on both cards the matching stamps are applied.

Alderney: Saint Anne

On Monday I got my stamp order from Guernsey including my first two cards from Alderney and two cards from Guernsey.

Alderney is the third-largest and northernmost Canal Island and as part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey it is a British Crown Dependency.

One of the cards from Alderney shows the Victoria Street in Saint Anne. Saint Anne is the capital of Alderney.

With a matching stamp:
Alderney Scenes (from set of six) (issued 17-05-2017)

Alderney: The Wombles

On Monday I got my stamp order from Guernsey including my first two cards from Alderney and two cards from Guernsey.

One of the cards from Alderney shows Alderney Womble. The Wombles are fictional characters in a series of children's books written by the British authoress Elisabeth Beresford. They like to help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in creative ways. The characters got especially famous by a TV series of the BBC.

This card with the matching special postmark is limited to 100 cards.

With a nice matching stamp:
50 years of The Wombles (from set of six) (issued 14-02-2018)
with a matching special postmark

Singapore: Chinatown

On Thursday I got a postcard from Singapore.

It shows Chinatown. Chinatown was the traditional quarter for Chinese immigrants in Singapore and although the Chinese are today the largest ethnic group in Singapore, this quarter is still known for its many traditional Chinese shops and markets. It is also a popular tourist attraction.

Stamp:
50 years of Independence (from set of six) (issued 05-08-2015)

Thank You very much Jobbo!

cover from France

On Thursday I got not only a postcard but also a cover from France.

Stamps:

Fête du Timbre (whole set) (issued 10-03-2018)

with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much William!

USA: New York City

On Monday I got a postcard from the USA.

It shows the skyline of New York City.

Stamps:
label
Year of the Dog (issued 11-01-2018)
with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Yue!

France: Abbeville

On Saturday I got two postcards: one from France and one from Hong Kong.

The card from France shows various views of Abbeville. Abbeville is a commune on the River Somme in the Somme department.

Stamps:
Marianne
EUROPA (issued 16-05-2017)
with a special postmark from the philatelic shop in Abbeville

Thank You very much William!

Hong Kong: Festive Customs

On Saturday I got two postcards: one from Hong Kong and one from France.

The card from Hong Kong is a maxicard about Festive Customs. The stamp is from a set of six and was issued on 27th February 2018.

Stamps:
Bamboo Carvings (from set of six) (issued 14-11-2017)
The stamp is embossed.
Definitive (from set of sixteen) (issued 07-2014)

Thank You very much Kayee!

cover from Germany

On Saturday I got not only two postcards but also a cover from Germany.

Stamp:

Chocolate Cosmos (issued 03-12-2015)

with a special postmark about the 200th birthday of Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen

EUROPA Stamp Cover from Russia

On Thursday I got a cover from Russia.

With a nice stamp:

EUROPA (issued 21-02-2018)

The stamp shows the Floating Bridge at Zaryadye Park. Zaryadye Park is a landscape urban park in Moscow. It was opened in September 2017 and is the first public park opened in Moscow for over 50 years. The Floating Bridge is an observation desk, which seems to hover over the Moscow River. It is unique in Russia and offers an amazing view of the Moscow Kremlin.

Bridges (from set of four) (issued 15-08-2011)

Thank You very much Elena!

Germany: Halloren Chocolate Factory in Halle

On Monday I got two postcards: one from Germany and one from Hong Kong.

The card from Germany shows the Chocolate Museum at the Halloren Chocolate Factory in Halle. The Halloren Chocolate Factory is the oldest operating chocolate factory in Germany. It was founded in 1804 and since 1952 it is known as Halloren. Its most famous products are the "Halloren-Kugeln" or Halloren globes, which were especially popular in the former German Democratic Republic and remained popular after reunification. The Chocolate Museum was opened in 2002.

The card was signed during the Postcrossing Meet-up in Halle.
Stamp:
100th birthday of Heinz Sielmann (issued 08-06-2017)

Thank You very much Thomas!

Hong Kong: Tian Tan Buddha

On Monday I got two postcards: one from Hong Kong and one from Germany.

The card from Hong Kong shows the Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island. The Tian Tan Buddha, which is also called Big Buddha, is the biggest detached Buddha Statue in sitting posture of the World. It is 34m tall and is located close to the Po Lin Monastery. To reach the Tian Tan Buddha you can use the bus, the Ngong Ping 360 gondola cable car or climbe 268 steps.

Stamps:
Festive Customs (two from set of six) (issued 27-02-2018)
with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Joe!