France: Raving Rabbids

On 12th June I got a postcard from France.

It shows a Raving Rabbid. Raving Rabbids is a video game franchise published by French video game company Ubisoft. Originally created for the Rayman video game franchise in 2006, the Rabbids became so popular that they became their own franchise and also appeared in other types of media. As of 2019 the series had sold over 20 million units.

I bought this card online and put this pair of stamps on it. Afterwards I sent it to my mail friend William in France, who helped me to get this card cancelled. The stamp about the Raving Rabbids (issued 07-09-2020) was one of my favourites in 2020. This is a great addition to my collection of Childhood Heroes on Stamps!

Poland: Łódź

On 10th June I got a postcard from Poland.

It shows various views of Łódź. Łódź is the third largest city in Poland and a centre of education, entertainment and industry. The main view of this card shows the Izrael Poznański Palace, the former residence of Izrael Poznański, one of the key industrialists that drove the textile revolution in Łódź. The palace was marked for its opulence and grand size and distinguished itself from the surrounding residences. Since 1975 it is home to the Museum of the City of Łódź. 

The stamp shows Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz, a Greek-Polish athlete who fought as a saboteur in the Greek Resistance during World War II and was executed by the Nazis. It was issued on 25th March 2021.

Thank You very much Lukas!

USA: Metropolitan Museum of Art

On 9th June I got two postcards: one from the USA and one from the Netherlands.

The card from the USA is something I had been looking for for years, brought to me through official Postcrossing, a card from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for short known as Met, is the largest art museum in the USA and one of the most important museums in the World. Its permanent collection contains over two million works. The main building near the Central Park is by area one of the largest art galleries in the World and the much smaller second location, The Cloisters, still contains an extensive collection of pieces from Medieval Europa. I would love to visit both places one day, but for now this card of 11th century bracelets has to be enough, although I would not say no to other cards from the museum.

A Global Forever stamp was used.

Thank You very much Ann!

Netherlands: Amsterdam

On 9th June I got two postcards: one from the Netherlands and one from the USA.

The card from the Netherlands shows an old view of Amsterdam. 

One stamp from a set of six about First Atlases was used on the card. I bought the complete sheet last year and you can see it HERE.

Thank You very much Lisa!

Taiwan: Taiping Lighthouse

On 8th June I got three postcards: one from Taiwan and two from Germany.

The card from Taiwan shows the Taiping Lighthouse. Taiping Island or Itu Aba is one of the Spratly Islands. It is controlled by Taiwan, but also claimed by China, the Philippines and Vietnam. Shortly before I got this card, the Punk Philatelist wrote an interesting article about this lighthouse, which you can read HERE.

Four nice stamps were used on this card, but as I usually do not have luck with identifying Taiwanese stamps, I do not even try with these. This card was by the way sent through official Postcrossing.

Thank You very much Scott!

Germany: Adenauer House in Rhöndorf

On 8th June I got three postcards: two from Germany and one from Taiwan.

One of the cards from Germany shows the Adenauer House in Rhöndorf. The Adenauer House is the former home of Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. The house was built at his behest in the 1930s and he died there in 1967. One of his most famous guests there was French President Charles de Gaulle. Since the 1970s the house is used as museum. 

The stamp shows a view of Bonn, the former capital of the Federal Republic, which is located near Rhöndorf.

The second German card I got on that day was also bought in the museum and shows a portrait of Konrad Adenauer with the quote: "Everyone has the right to become smarter."

A flower definitive was used here and it got cancelled with the Covid-19 postmark from the mail sorting centre 41. 

Thank You very much Marcel!

cover from the USA

On 8th June I got not only three postcards but also a cover from the USA.

Used on the cover was a nice stamp set issued on 23rd January 1986. It celebrates Stamp Collecting in conjunction with the Ameripex Stamp Exhibition and is a joint issue with Sweden. The other stamp is from a set of fifty which all show similar Greetings for all US States (issued 04-04-2002). This is Massachusetts. 

In the cover were two cards.

The first one is a maxicard from Greenland and celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Christianisation of Greenland in 1971. Interestingly there was a recent stamp set for the 300th anniversary of the same event. 

The other card shows two views of Nogales in Mexico, one taken in 1898 and the other from 2008. Nogales is a big city on the border between Mexico and the USA. Right across the border in the US state of Arizona there is another city with the same name.

Thank You very much Sam-Quito!

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!