Austria: Palmenhaus Schönbrunn

On 2nd June I got three postcards: one from Austria and two from Germany.

The card from Austria shows the Palmenhaus Schönbrunn. The Palmenhaus is the most prominent of the four greenhouses in the Schönbrunn Palace Park and one of the largest botanical exhibits in the World. 

A nice matching stamp was used on the card. It celebrates the Centenary of the Creation of the Austrian Federal Gardens (issued 29-05-2021), when the gardens of the Habsburg residences were transferred to the ownership of the republic. The stamp smells of flowers. 

Thank You very much Anita!

Germany: Sophie Scholl

On 2nd June I got three postcards: two from Germany and one from Austria.

One of the cards from Germany is a Papersisters card about Sophie Scholl, one of the most famous Germans of the Resistance against the Nazism. 

I sent this card to myself with the new stamp about Sophie Scholl's Birth Centenary (issued 06-05-2021) and a special postmark from Forchtenberg, where she was born.

Germany: Bavarian Forest

On 2nd June I got three postcards: two from Germany and one from Austria.

One of the cards from Germany shows again the Bavarian Forest.

Like the other card I bought this one online and sent it to me with the German EUROPA stamp (issued 06-05-2021) and a different special postmark.

Austria: Albertina

On 31st May I got three postcards from Austria.

One of them shows the Albertina in Vienna. The Albertina houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the World, but is also home to other works of art ranging from da Vinci, Dürer and Bruegel to Toulouse-Lautrec and Monet. It is also one of the most visited art museums in the World.

The stamp and special postmark on the card celebrate the 250th anniversary of Wiener Börse (issued 28-05-2021). Founded by Maria Theresa in 1771, the Wiener Börse or Vienna Stock Exchange is one of the oldest exchanges in the World.

Thank You very much Anita!

Austria: Graz Hauptbahnhof

On 31st May I got three postcards from Austria.

One of them shows Graz Hauptbahnhof. Graz Hauptbahnhof is the main railway station of Styria's capital. In 2003 and 2004 it was voted as Austria's most beautiful railway station and it is also the busiest in Austria outside of Vienna. As soon as the Koralm Railway will be finished, the importance of the railway station increases even more, as then all railway transport to Italy will pass through Graz. 

The special postmark about a philatelic and numismatic event in Seiersberg was used here, but the event was cancelled due to Covid-19. 

Thank You very much Anita!

Austria: Kunsthistorisches Museum

On 31st May I got three postcards from Austria.

One of them shows the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. The Kunsthistorisches Museum is one of the most important art museums in the World and the most visited museum in Austria. During my trip to Vienna in 2014 I also visited this museum, but did not buy a card of the building, so great to get one now.

A stamp about a Gigant 600 motorbike (issued 28-05-2021) was used here.

Thank You very much Anita!

cover from the USA

On 31st May I got not only three postcards but also a cover from the USA.

The cover was sent in a glassine envelope. 

The postmark here celebrates the Norwegian National Day known as Constitution Day. The day is also known as Syttende Mai, meaning 17th May, however the postmark dates two days earlier than the official date. The location of the postmark is Stoughton, a town in Wisconsin known for its Norwegian heritage.

Another piece of European heritage is shown on the card inside. Did you know that Madrid is actually a village and artists' community in New Mexico? And I thought it would be the capital of Spain.

Thank You very much Sam-Quito!

Italy: Chamois

On 29th May I got a postcard from Italy.

It shows Chamois in the Aosta Valley. Chamois is the only municipaliy in Italy that can not be reached by car. If you want to go there you need to walk or use the cable car. 

A nice stamp about the Death Bicentenary of Napoleon (issued 05-05-2021) was used here. Italy is one of just four European countries with a stamp for this important anniversary. The others are Andorra (French Post), France and Malta. However there is also a set of Saint Helena and some catch-penny issues from Africa. The stamp was cancelled in Novara on Mother's Day.

Thank You very much Davide!

cover from the USA

On 29th May I got not only a postcard but also a cover from the USA.

Not sure were this cover was so long. This is my second cover with the Perseverance postmark and the first arrived over a month earlier. The stamp on the left is from a set of four about American Dance (issued 26-04-1978) and on the right are two Go Green stamps (issued 14-04-2011).

The card inside shows a nice view of New Mexico. Unfortunately the card does not say where exactly this place is.

Thank You very much Sam-Quito!

Japan: Mount Kōya

On 28th May I got two postcards: one from Japan and one from China.

The card from Japan shows a different view of the Great Stupa Konpon-Daito on Mount Kōya.

The stamp used is from the series about Japanese Tradition and Culture. This time twenty stamps about the Kimono were issued. Issue date was the 21st May 2021.

Thank You very much Keiko!

China: Shanhai Pass

On 28th May I got two postcards: one from China and one from Japan.

The card from China shows the Shanhai Pass. The Shanhai Pass is one of the major passes of the Great Wall and is located at the eastern terminal point of the Ming dynasty Great Wall, where it meets the Bohai Sea. Like the rest of the Great Wall it is since 1987 on the UNESCO World Heritage List. 

The complete about the 70th anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between China and Pakistan (issued 21-05-2021) with its First Day Special Postmark was used on this card. While the Pakistani set is hexagonal, these are shaped like flags or waves. Shown on them are the ports of Zhuhai and Gwadar. The other two stamps show Chinese scenery.

Thank You very much Mo!

cover from the USA

On 27th May I got a cover from the USA.

One stamp about the Surrender of Saratoga (issued 07-10-1977) and two from a set of ten about Botanical Art (issued 29-01-2016) were used on the cover. The postmark is about ZIP Code Day in Avoca, Iowa, the day when postcode and date match. Is this a thing in your country? I have already seen similar postmarks from various towns in the USA, but here in Germany there were maybe one or two in the last years. 

Inside was this card about the White Sands National Park in New Mexico, the largest gypsum dunefield in the World. Originally created as National Monument in 1933, it is a National Park since 2019.

Thank You very much Sam-Quito!

USA: Vader's Little Princess

On 26th May I got two postcards from the USA.

One of them shows an illustration of Vader's Little Princess by Jeffrey Brown. Jeffrey Brown is an American cartoonist. His first book, Clumsy, was published in 2002, but he might actually be most famous for his Star Wars comics. The first one was Darth Vader and Son in 2013, which shows Darth Vader as hapless father to the young Luke Skywalker. It was followed by Vader's Little Princess in 2013. That book uses the same premise, but with Leia instead Luke. Good Night, Darth Vader and Darth Vader and Friends followed in 2014 and 2015.

Two more of the great Star Wars Droids stamps (issued 04-05-2021) were used on the card. Here you can see the most famous and popular droids of the franchise, R2-D2 and C-3PO, who appeared in many movies, TV series, books and comics since their first appearance in the original Star Wars movie in 1977. 

Thank You very much wanderingpt17!

USA: New York City

On 26th May I got two postcards from the USA.

One of them shows an aerial view of New York City.

The card was sent with the US Year of the Ox stamp (issued 02-02-2021) and its First Day Special Postmark. The other stamp shows Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold (issued 05-11-1988), an aviation pioneer and general officer.

Thank You very much Yue!

cover from the USA

On 26th May I got not only two postcards but also a cover from the USA.

The cover was sent with one of those super long travelling national park postmarks. This one is dated 4th January, so nearly took five months to reach me. One stamp out of four about Basket Design Quilts (issued 08-03-1978) and two stamps out of four about Birds in Winter (issued 22-09-2018) were used on the cover.

The card in the cover shows a view of the Rio Grande in New Mexico, which in Mexico is known as Rio Bravo. Originating in Colorado's Rocky Mountains, it runs through New Mexico and afterwards forms the border between Mexico and the US State of Texas. It is one of the longest rivers in the World.

Thank You very much Sam-Quito!

Austria: Villach

On 25th May I got a postcard from Austria.

It shows an evening view of Villach. Villach is a city on the Wörthersee in the Austrian State of Carinthia. It is the seventh largest city in Austria, the second largest in Carinthia and the largest Austrian city that is not the capital of its state. I love this kind of superlatives! Also it is a important transportation hub and was in 1997 the first Alpine Town of the Year. 

The card was sent with a special postmark about a Stamps & Art event in Villach. I like this illustration by an artist called Frau Isa. 

Thank You very much Anita!