USA: Niagara Falls

Last Tuesday I got a postcard from the USA.

It shows the Niagara Falls. The Niagra Falls is a group of three waterfalls on the border between Canada and the USA. It is famed for its beauty and is a valuable source of hydroelectric power. In all my years of collecting postcards this is just my second card of this famous spectacle of nature. The first one I received from Canada in August 2013.

Three great stamps were used on the card. First of all there is this year's Year of the Ox stamp (issued 02-02-2021). I really like this stamp with the shining crown and the nice blue, although I have heard that there are complaints that the stamp does not use the traditional colours of red and golden. The other two stamps celebrate former Chinese New Years, the Year of the Rat in 2008 (issued 09-01-2008) and even nicer the Year of the Ox in 2009 (issued 08-01-2009). Great to have these two stamps together on one card! Suitably they were cancelled in Buffalo with an Earth Day postmark. 

Thank You very much Audrey!

cover from the USA

On 15th April I got a cover from the USA.

Two stamps from the National Parks set (issued 02-06-2016) were used on the cover. The postmark celebrates the christening of the USS Montana (SSN-794), a Virginia-class submarine.

Thank You very much Sam-Quito!

Japan: Mount Kōya

On 14th April I got three postcards: one from Japan, one from Austria and one from Germany.

The card from Japan shows the Great Stupa Konpon-Daito on Mount Kōya. Mount Kōya is a large temple settlement in the Wakayama Prefecture. As location of the Kongōbu-ji Temple it is the ecclesiastical headquarters of the Koyasan sect of Shingon Buddhism. According to Shingon Buddhism doctrine the Great Stupa represents the central point of a mandala covering all of Japan. Since 2004 is Mount Kōya as one of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range on the UNESCO World Heritage List. 

One of the ten new Hospitality Flowers stamps (issued 01-04-2021) with its First Day Special Postmark was used on the card. 

Thank You very much Keiko!

Germany: Semperoper

On 14th April I got three postcards: one from Germany, one from Japan and one from Austria.

The card from Germany shows two views of Dresden, a panorama above and the Semperoper below. The Semperoper is an opera house originally built by Gottfried Semper in 1841, although I was rebuilt twice later on. Major works by Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss premiered there. 

The card was sent from the new philatelic shop in Dresden, where the new pictorial postmark shows the Semperoper. 

Thank You very much Amelie!

Austria: Sweets and Desserts

On 14th April I got three postcards: one from Austria, one from Germany and one from Japan.

The card from Austria shows different sweets, cakes and other desserts from the country. When I am on holidays in Austria, my favourite sweets are Mozartkugeln, Linzer Augen and Palatschinke, although I would love to try all of the ones shown on the card.

A different type of sweet food is shown on the stamp: a Jar of Jam by the company Staud's, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The stamp was issued on 9th April 2021.

Thank You very much Anita!

cover from the USA

On 10th April I got two covers including one from the USA.

As I had mentioned earlier, I joined the American Philatelic Society at the beginning of the year. This cover now includes my member card. Six stamps were used here of which four are in a bloc. I really like the postmark inscribed American Philatelic Centre. 

cover from Germany

On 10th April I got two covers including one from Germany.

This cover I sent to myself to get a special postmark. I used the nice stamp about 1700 Years of Jewish Life in Germany (issued 04-02-2021). The special postmark shows a Stolperstein. Stolpersteine are concrete cubes bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution aiming to commemorate individuals at exactly the last place of freely chosen residency. With more than 75000 Stolpersteine in 26 countries it is the largest decentralised monument in the World. 

Poland: Floriańska Street in Kraków

Last Thursday I got a postcard from Poland.

It shows the Floriańska Street in Kraków. Floriańska Street is a street in Kraków's Old Town running from the Saint Florian's Gate to the Market Square. The view on this card faces towards the Market Square and Saint Mary's Church can be seen in the background. Many shops as well as monuments are located on this street. The most famous of them might be the former house of famous painter Jan Matejko. This card is such a nice reminder of My Trip to Kraków back in 2019, when I passed this street multiple times.

Three interesting stamps were used on the card. On the right is Poland's Year of the Ox stamp (issued 26-02-2021). After the Year of the Rat this is already the second Polish stamp about Chinese New Year. Like last year's issue it is round. The stamp in the middle is from a set of three about Dinosaurs (issued 25-11-2020). Shown on this one is the predatory dinosaur Dilophosaurus. The other two stamps show Scelidosaurus and Coelophysis. This set was apparently rather popular among collectors, as it is already sold out in the Polish Post's online shop and as a second set was already announced for 2022. The last stamp commemorates the 5th anniversary of the Territorial Defence Force (issued 14-02-2021), the fifth military branch of the Polish Armed Forces made up of professional and part-time volunteer soldiers. The two stamps on the right were cancelled with a special Postcrossing postmark from Wrocław. Throughout the year two different Postcrossing postmarks are used in the city. This one shows bees, while the other one shows storks.

Thank You very much Ola!

cover from the USA

Last Thursday I got not only a postcard but also a cover from the USA.

The two stamps used on the right are from a set of four called Holiday Window Views (issued 06-10-2016). The postmark is from the KNOXPEX philatelic exhibition in Knoxville, Tennessee.

In the cover was this map of New Mexico. New Mexico is a US State in the southwestern part of the country. By area it is the fifth largest, but by population just the 36th largest and sixth least densely populated state. The area was originally a part of Mexico. At the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848 it was however annexed by the USA and was admitted to the Union as the 47th state in 1912. On the map you can find the state's capital Santa Fe, the largest city Albuquerque, the UNESCO World Heritage Sites at Carlsbad and Taos, the alien landing site in Roswell and much more.

Thank You very much Sam-Quito!

covers from the USA

Last Wednesday I got two covers from the USA.

On the first cover there is a special postmark that I already got on another cover that arrived on 11th March. I really wonder why this one took until the 7th April to reach me. The postmark celebrates the inauguration of Biden and Harris and two related US flag stamps were used as postage.

The card inside shows a view of the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness. The Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness is a wilderness area in New Mexico. Established in 1984, the Wilderness is a desolate area of steeply eroded badlands.

Three stamps were used on the second cover. The stamp on the left shows Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan (issued 27-06-1980). Helen Keller was an American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer. Born in Alabama, she lost her sight and hearing after a bout of illness at the age of nineteen months. She then communicated primarily using home signs until the age of seven when she met her first teacher and life-long companion Anne Sullivan, who taught her language, including reading and writing. The stamp in the middle shows the Purple Heart (issued 05-05-2011), a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5th April 1917, with the U.S. military. The last stamp shows a painting of Madonna and Child from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is a Christmas stamp and was issued on 3rd October 2018. The stamps were cancelled with a big green Saint Patrick's Day postmark.

The card inside shows some facts about the Wolf. 

Thank You very much Sam-Quito!

Italy: Toirano Caves

Last Tuesday I got two postcards: one from Italy and one from Taiwan.

The card from Italy shows one of Toirano Caves. The Toirano Caves are a karst cave system in Liguria. In the caves remains of Cave Bears were discovered.

The card was sent with a nice special postmark about this year's Sanremo Music Festival. I also like the stamp about Domenico Modugno (issued 10-02-2018) very much. He was the winner of the festival in 1958, 1959, 1962 and 1966 and also represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest threetimes. His song Nel blu dipinto di blu is probably one of the most famous Eurovision songs, although he just came in third with the song in 1958.

Thank You very much Davide!

Taiwan: National Palace Museum

Last Tuesday I got two postcards: one from Taiwan and one from Italy.

The card from Taiwan shows a jade piece from the collection of the National Palace Museum. The National Palace Museum is the most important museum in Taiwan. Most of the pieces in its collection are from the Forbidden City in Beijing and were moved to Taipei during the Chinese Civil War. As back then only the best pieces were moved to Taipei, the museum is one of the most important museums of Chinese art in the World.

A stamp with a matching tab was used on the card as well as a thematic cancellation.

Thank You very much Johanna!

Germany: Braunschweig Lion

In late March all the philatelic shops in Germany were closed. Most of them were however reopened on different locations on 1st April. The new locations are nearly all worse for the general public and the philatelic range on sale is much smaller, but they all got new pictorial postmarks. Unfortunately I was not able to go to the new shop on the first day, as I did not have the time to go to the other end of the city. I really do not like this new development and together with the Matrixcode it might really be a reason for me to stop collecting German stamps, but the new pictorial postmarks are something nice to collect. 

The postmark from Braunschweig shows the Braunschweig Lion, my city's most famous attraction. When I visited the shop I got this card of the lion cancelled with the new postmark.

Macau: Postcrossing Meet-up

On 31st March I got two postcards: one from Macau and one from Germany.

The card from Macau is the official card of a Postcrossing Meet-up held on 23rd November 2020.

The card was signed during the meet-up.

The stamp is from a set of eight about the UNESCO World Heritage in Macau (issued 31-07-2008). It shows the Quartel dos Mouros. The special postmark celebrates the International Arbor Day.

Thank You very much Jerry!

Germany: Bielefeld Conspiracy

On 31st March I got two postcards: one from Germany and one from Macau.

The card from Germany deals with the Bielefeld Conspiracy. The Bielefeld Conspiracy is a satirical conspiracy theory that claims that the city of Bielefeld does not exist. The theory was first posted in 1994 and was ended in 2019, as noone was able to present an evidence of the nonexistence, although 1million Euro were offered for anybody who could. Nonetheless the conspiracy was and still is used in the public image of the city.

One of two stamps about a panorama of Bremen was used (issued 05-06-2014). 

Thank You very much Marcel!