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!

Germany: Hambach Castle

Last Friday I got four postcards from Germany.

One of them shows Hambach Castle. Hambach Castle is a castle in Neustadt an der Weinstraße in the German State of Rhineland-Palatinate. Although it dates back to the Middle Ages, it just rose to fame in the 19th century and is today considered to be one of the most important and famous sites of German history, as in 1832 30000 people came together at the castle to call for liberty, equality, tolerance, democracy and a unified Germany. Due to this Hambach Festival the castle has become a symbol of German democracy. Both for the 150th and 175th anniversary of the festival the castle was restored and now includes a museum and convention centre. As the festival with attendees not only from Germany but also from France and Poland can be seen in a cross-border context, it got the European Heritage Label in 2014.

Due to the European Heritage Label I thought it was suitable to use the stamp about the German Presidency of the European Union (issued 02-07-2020) with its second First Day Special Postmark on this card, which I bought online earlier this year. At a local stamp shop I also bought a matching stamp about the 175th anniversary of the Hambach Festival (issued 03-05-2007).

Germany: Flag of Europa

Last Friday I got four postcards from Germany.

One of them shows the Flag of Europa. The Flag of Europa is an official symbol of the Council of Europa and the European Union. It consists of a circle of twelve five-pointed stars, symbolising completeness and perfection, on a blue field. The flag was first adopted by the Council of Europa in 1955. Since 1985 it is also used by the European Communities, which later became the European Union. Back in 2015 for the 30th anniversary of the flag as symbol of the European Communities I was desperately looking for a card of it, but had no luck. So now I am especially happy to have one in time for the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This card was designed by the Papersisters and uses many blue stamps from European countries.

For sure the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union was commemorated with a stamp, which I used on this card with its First Day Special Postmark. It was issued on 2nd July, one day after the presidency started, and shows the official logo. I also used two more Europa-themed stamps. The lower one was issued on 2nd January 2007 for Germany's last Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Surprisingly the stars on the stamp are actually embossed. The last stamp celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Maastricht Treaty (issued 13-11-2003). If you look closely you can find this stamp also on the front side.

Germany: Freiburg Minster

On Friday I got four postcards from Germany.

One of them shows Freiburg Minster. Freiburg Minster was began around 1200 in the Romanesque style, but the construction continued in 1230 in Gothic style. Already the Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt praised the beauty of the tower and today it is still considered to be a masterpiece of the Gothic style. As by a miracle it survived World War II without destructions although surrounding areas were completely destroyed. Since 1827 it is the cathedral of the newly erected Archdiocese of Freiburg.

Also this card I bought on the Internet. The stamp celebrates the 900th anniversary of Freiburg (issued 02-07-2020) and the First Day Special Postmark from Bonn also shows the Freiburg Minster. I prepared another card with this stamp, but that one travelled longer.

Germany: Lighthouse Schleimünde

On Friday I got four postcards from Germany.

One of them shows the Lighthouse Schleimünde. The Lighthouse Schleimünde is a lighthouse at the mouth of the river Schlei. It was erected in 1871 and since then its colour changed eight times. 

I bought this card on the Internet earlier this year, as I knew that a matching stamp will be issued this month. The stamp is from the long running German lighthouse series and was issued on 2nd July. The colourful ring around the lighthouse shows its different colours during the decades.

Covid-19 Cover from Switzerland

On Friday I got not only four postcards but also a cover from Switzerland.

Two stamps were used on the cover. The left one is from the current Swiss definitive series about train stations. This one shows the train station of Fleurier and is one of four stamps in the series issued on 6th September 2018. The right stamp however is the more interesting one. The cover also included a mint version of it. 

The stamp is Switzerland's issue about Covid-19. Switzerland was very quick with the issuance of this stamp. It was already issued on 6th April and was designed in just six days. Switzerland is thus the third country in the World with a Covid-19 stamp after Iran and Vietnam and the first in Europa. The stamp however is quite expensive and only sold in sheets of ten, so I am very happy to get a single mint copy and one on the cover. The high price is because the stamp includes a donation for the good cause. The inscription is slightly misleading. It says 100+500, but actually the stamp is sold for "only" 5 francs which are donated completely and in return you can use the stamp as postage of 1 franc. Within the first ten days already more than half a million francs were donated with the stamps.

Thank You very much Yue!

Germany: Städtisches Museum in Braunschweig

On Friday I visited once again the Städtisches Museum in Braunschweig to see their new special exhibition about Florentine Baroque art from the Haukohl Family Collection. Actually the exhibition was supposed to begin on 15th March, but just two days earlier all museums in Lower Saxony had to close due to Covid-19, so the exhibition was opened when the museum was allowed to reopen in May. Unlike for the last exhibition they unfortunately did not have postcards about this one, thus I just bought three cards showing general exhibits from the museum.

Germany: PS Speicher in Einbeck

On Tuesday I got a postcard from Germany.

It shows the PS Speicher in Einbeck. The PS Speicher is a museum about the development of individual transport and shows bicycles, cars and motorcycles from the last 130 years. It was opened in 2014.

The backside with printed text and address reveals that this is actually just advertising, but it is also a real postcard, so I am happy to add it to my collection.

Thank You very much PS Speicher for this nice advertising idea!

China: Traditional Painting

Last Saturday I got a postcard from China.

It shows a traditional painting.

Three stamps were used on this card. My favourite is the one on the right. It was issued on 24th April 2020 and celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Successful Launch of China's first Satellite, Dong Fang Hong I. After the Soviet Union, the USA, France and Japan China was just the fifth country in the World to independently launch a satellite. It was heavier than the first satellites of other countries and carried a radio transmitter which broadcast The East is Red. Although it just had a design life of 20 days, it remains in orbit until today. On the stamp the satellite is embossed. The other two stamps are from a set of six about Chinese Ancient Mythology (issued 06-08-2019). These two show Cangjie, official historian of the Yellow Emperor and the inventor of Chinese characters, and Leizu, the wife of the Yellow Emperor who discovered the silk farming and invented the silk loom.

Thank You very much Ruinan!

China: Calabash Brothers

One Friday I got four postcards: one from China, two from Germany and one from Australia.

The card from China shows the Calabash Brothers. Calabash Brothers is a Chinese animation TV series produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio. The episodes were produced with a vast amount of paper-cut animations and in China it was extremely popular when it aired on TV in 1986 and 1987, but internationally it became not as famous as for example Havoc in Heaven. It tells the story of seven calabashes (a type of fruit) transformed into boys with supernatural powers to fight against two demons. On 1st June 2020 a nice set of six stamps was issued about the animation. One of these was used on this card to turn it into a maxicard. I really like the design of the card with heroes and villains. 

Four stamps were used as postage. From left to right they show the Dream of Red Mansions (from set of four) (issued 22-04-2018), Cantonese Opera (from set of three) (issued 15-10-2017), Chinese Ancient Mythology (from set of six) (issued 06-08-2019) and Paper Cuts (from set of four) (issued 08-02-2020).

Thank You very much Yue!

Australia: Indian Pacific

One Friday I got four postcards: one from Australia, one from China and two from Germany.

The card from Australia shows the Indian Pacific. The Indian Pacific is an Australian passenger rail service that operates between Sydney on the Pacific Ocean and Perth on the Indian Ocean and thus crosses the Australian continent from East to West. As such it is one of the few truly transcontinental trains in the World and is considered to be one of the World's great rail journeys. The train's route also includes the World's longest straight stretch of railway track. The line was made possible due to the conversion of different gauges, which earlier has presented an extremely difficult problem for rail transport in Australia. Thanks to it the journey from Sydney to Perth now only takes roughly three days. For the first time the two cities were connected by the line in February 1970 and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this Transcontinental Railway Australian Post issued a stamp on 11th February 2020. This card, which shows the inaugural Indian Pacific passenger train, is actually the maxicard of the stamp.

Like all Australian maxicards this one is prepaid.

Thank You very much Jingdan!