Germany: Himmelpforten

On Wednesday I got two postcards from Germany.

One of the cards is a Christmas card postmarked at the Christmas post office in Himmelpforten. In 1961 arrived the first letter to Santa in Himmelpforten and the head of the post office answered it. A newspaper reported on this and soon more letters came.

Stamp:
Snowman (issued 03-11-2014)
with the special postmark of Himmelpforten's Christmas post office

Germany: Villa Hügel

Today I got three postcards from Germany.

One of them shows the Villa Hügel in Essen. The Villa Hügel was built 1873 by the industrialist Alfred Krupp for living and representation. It is equipped with 269 rooms.

Stamp:
Dresden (from set of two) (issued 03-04-2014)
with a special postmark from the International Christmas Market showing the Christmas imp from Denmark

Thank You very much Klaus!

Germany: Bonn at Christmas time

Today I got three postcards from Germany.

One of them shows Bonn at Christmas time. 

Stamp:
Snowman (issued 03-11-2014)
with a special postmark from the Christmas Market in Bonn

Thank You very much Sandra!

Germany: Freiburg Minster

Today I got three postcards from Germany.

One of them shows the Freiburg Minster in Baden-Württemberg in winter. Freiburg is the fourth largest city of Baden-Württemberg and Germany's southernmost big city. From 1945 to 1952 was Freiburg the capital of the German State of Southern Baden. The Freiburg Minster is the cathedral of Freiburg and was mainly built in Gothic style. The tower is 116m high and was once one of the tallest church buildings in the World.

Stamp:
Glücksburg Castle (from set of two) (issued 02-01-2013)

Thank You very much Natalia!

Germany: Bamberg Horseman

On Wednesday I got a postcard from Germany.

The card shows the Bamberg Horseman located at the Bamberg cathedral. Bamberg was once an important link with the Slav peoples and in the late 18th century it was the centre of the Enlightenment in southern Germany. Since 1993 is the Town of Bamberg on the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Stamp:
100 years of the Monument to the Battle of the Nations in Leipzig (issued 10-10-2013)

Thank You very much Svea!

USA: Owney at the National Postal Museum

On Tuesday I got four postcards: three from the USA and one from Malaysia.

One of the cards from the USA shows the preserved remains of Owney at the National Postal Museum in Washington D.C. The National Postal Museum was opened in 1993 through an agreement of the United States Postal Service and the Smithsonian Institute.

With nice stamps:
75th anniversary of Batman (two from set of eight) (issued 09-10-2014)
Farmers Market (from set of four) (issued 07-08-2014)

On the backside is the story of Owney.

Thank You very much Kathy!

USA: Carnegie Museum of Natural History

On Tuesday I got four postcards: three from the USA and one from Malaysia.

One of the cards from the USA shows the Dinosaur Hall at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. The Carnegie Museum of Natural History was founded in 1896 by Andrew Carnegie and is today one of the five largest natural history museums in the USA. The museum houses the third largest collection of displayed dinosaurs in the USA and the largest collection of Jurassic dinosaurs in the World.

Stamps:
75th anniversary of Batman (two from set of eight) (issued 09-10-2014)
Farmers Market (from set of four) (issued 07-08-2014)

Thank You very much Kathy!

USA: Pittsburgh

On Tuesday I got four postcards: three from the USA and one from Malaysia.

One of the cards from the USA shows Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is a big city and the second largest city of the US State Pennsylvania. Once was Pittsburgh the centre of the steel industry of the USA.

Stamps:
75th anniversary of Batman (two from set of eight) (issued 09-10-2014)
Farmers Market (from set of four) (issued 07-08-2014)

Thank You very much Kathy!

Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur

On Tuesday I got four postcards: one from Malaysia and three from the USA.

The card from Malaysia shows Kuala Lumpur. On 7th December it was announced that Kuala Lumpur is one of the New 7 Wonders Cities.

Stamp:
Year of the Horse (from set of four) (issued 27-01-2014)

Thank You very much Matthew!

cover from Germany

On Tuesday I got only four postcards but also a cover from Germany.

Stamp:

Bremen (from set of two) (issued 05-06-2014)

Inside were two postcards and two stickers.
One of the cards shows again the International Christmas Market in Essen.

The card was issued in 2012 by the German Post and was postmarked on 20-12-2012 with a special postmark showing Santa Claus driving a car.

The other card is a Postcrossing card and shows a World map.

The two stickers celebrate the 750th anniversary of the Münster Cathedral.

Thank You very much Klaus!

Vietnam: Year of the Goat

Today I got four postcards: two from Vietnam, one from Malaysia and one from Germany.

One of the cards from Vietnam shows an illustration of a goat family. The card is a maxicard.

Stamp:
Year of the Horse (from set of two) (issued 01-12-2013)

Thank You very much Phan!

Vietnam: Year of the Goat

Today I got four postcards: two from Vietnam, one from Malaysia and one from Germany.

One of the cards from Vietnam shows an illustration of a goat. The card is a maxicard. The stamp is from a set of two and was issued on 01-12-2014 to celebrate the Year of the Goat.

Stamp:
100th birth anniversary of Tran Dai Nghia (issued 13-09-2013)

Thank You very much Phan!

Germany: Striezelmarkt in Dresden

Today I got four postcards one from Germany, two from Vietnam and one from Malaysia.

The card from Germany shows the Striezelmarkt in Dresden. The Striezelmarkt in Dresden was first held in 1434 and is thus one of the oldest Christmas Markets in Germany. The name Striezelmarkt comes from the word Stollen. On the Striezelmarkt are the World's largest Christmas pyramid from the Ore Mountains and the largest walkable candle arch.

Stamp:
Glücksburg Castle (from set of two) (issued 02-01-2013)
with a special postmark of this year's Striezelmarkt

Thank You very much Amelie!

Malaysia: Royal Belum State Park

Today I got four postcards: one from Malaysia, one from Germany and two from Vietnam.

The card from Malaysia shows a view of the Royal Belum State Park in Belum-Temengor in the Malaysian State of Perak. Belum-Temengor is both the largest continuous forest complex in Peninsular Malaysia and one of the World’s oldest rainforests. Belum-Temengor is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna including the Malaysian tiger, the tapir, all ten species of hornbills and three species of Rafflesia.

Stamps:
Endangered Reptiles (from set of four) (issued 28-09-2005)
Songket (from set of four) (issued 29-04-2005)

Thank You very much Matthew!

The Faroe Islands and World War I

Today I got not only four postcards but also my ordered stamps from the Faroe Islands.

One set I ordered is about the World War I Centenary.

Although Denmark and thus the Faroe Islands stayed neutral during World War I the Faroe Islands were highly affected by it. As the belligerents put up naval blockades there were soon after the declaration of war bottlenecks in supply on the Faroe Islands. In the adversity the Faroese started to experiment around to get the most necessary goods. For example they used roe to extend rye flour or blubber as lamp oil and fuel for motorboats. 

On 1st February 1917 the German Empire declared the waters around the British Islands stretching to the southern part of the Faroe Islands as war zone and announced to dump all boats in the zone by submarines. Hopefully the Faroese still sent out their fishing boats but on the 23rd and 24th May 1917 the German submarine UC 33 dumped altogether eight Faroese boats. 

The most Faroese stayed at home during World War I but Christian Ludwig Petersen having emigrated to Canada fought in many battles with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. After the war he went back to the Faroese Islands and never talked about what happened in the war.

The other stamps you can find here.