26th/27th July 2022: Spider-Man, Germany

Spider-Man is a character in the comics of the US publisher Marvel. Although there were to this date many character using the alias Spider-Man, the most famous and original one is Peter Parker, a young man bitten by a radioactive spider which grants him super powers. He was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and had his first appearance in 1962. To this date he is one of the most popular comic characters of all time. Aside from comics Spider-Man appeared in multiple other forms of media including movies, TV shows, video games and even a musical. In live action movies Peter Parker was played by Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and most recently Tom Holland, the latter version being part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Spider-Man: No Way Home is currently on 7th spot in the list of highest-grossing movies. To celebrate Spider-Man's 60th anniversary a stamp was issued in Germany on 7th July 2022. I used it on these three matching cards and got the First Day Special Postmarks. The stamp marked the beginning of a stamp series about Super Heroes.

26th July 2022: Haus Bürgel in Monheim am Rhein, Germany

Haus Bürgel is a medieval manor built on the remains of a Roman castell. Since 2003 it is home to an archaeological museum. The still visible Roman remains are as part of the Lower Germanic Limes since 2021 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Thank You very much Marcel!

26th July 2022: Eel Fishery Museum in Monheim am Rhein, Germany

The eel fishing vessel Fiat Voluntas was built in 1937. Since 2019 it is used as museum ship and is home to an interactive exhibition about fishery on the Rhine and eel fishery in particular.

Thank You very much Marcel!

26th July 2022: Environmentalism, Germany

Back in September 2021 an art contest for children was started by the German Post. The children were supposed to design a stamp about environmentalism and this one is the winning entry created by a at the time seven year old boy from Bavaria. 

21st July 2022: Tokugawa Art Museum, Japan

The Tokugawa Art Museum was opened in 1935 and shows the priceless collection of the Owari branch of the Tokugawa clan. 

A nice stamp about Woody from the Toy Story movies was used here together with its First Day Special Postmark. It is from a set of twenty about Toy Story Characters (issued 13-07-2022). The other stamp was issued on 11th December 1967 to celebrate the upcoming Year of the Monkey.

Thank You very much Keiko!

20th July 2022: Rickmer Rickmers in Hamburg, Germany

Rickmer Rickmers is a three masted barque permanently moored as a museum ship in Hamburg since 1983. Originally built in 1896 by the Rickmers shipyard in Bremerhaven, she was first used on the Hong Kong route carrying rice and bamboo.

Thank You very much Marcel!

19th July 2022: Cover, Card and Souvenir Sheets from Austria

Thank You very much Anita!

15th July 2022: My Trip to Stendal

Stendal is a town in the German State of Saxony-Anhalt. It is a former member of the Hanseatic League and is known as unofficial capital of the Altmark Region. It preserves a picturesque old town. Stendal Station is the most important interchange and rail hub in the north of Saxony-Anhalt.

Johann Joachim Winckelmann, the father of the modern archaeology and the discipline of art history, was born in Stendal in 1717. In 1955 the only Winckelmann Museum in the World was opened there. I really enjoyed this museum, which shows exhibits about Winckelmann's life and work as well as some copies of Ancient statues.

Here are two more cards about Stendal's medieval architecture.

I had visited Stendal, because a special stamp about the city's 1000th anniversary was issued on 7th July 2022. These two cards I sent to myself with the stamp and special postmarks. They arrived on 26th and 27th July. 

15th July 2022: Sardinia, Italy

Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the twenty regions of Italy. It is a popular tourist destination due to its long-untouched landscapes. 

Thanks goes to my Father for sending this card during his holidays!

13th July 2022: My Trip to the Natural History Museum in Braunschweig, Germany

12th July 2022: Year of the Tiger Stamps from Singapore

12th July 2022: Naschmarkt in Vienna, Austria

The Naschmarkt exists since the 16th century. Today it is Vienna's most popular market and is also often visited by tourists.

Thank You very much Anita!

9th July 2022: Museum of History in Shkodra, Albania

Shkodra is the fifth largest city in Albania and a cultural centre. The Museum of History was opened in 1947.

Two stamps about art were used here. The left stamp is one of eight about Albanian Art issued on 27th December 2017 and the right stamp is from a four stamp Euromed set about Handicraft Jewelry issued on 11th May 2022. The left stamp actually shows the Albanian national hero Skanderberg.

Thank You very much Marcel!

9th July 2022: Valbona Valley, Albania

The Valbona Valley is located in the Albanian Alps in northern Albania. In 1996 the Valbona Valley National Park was created, which however is since 2022 a part of the Alps of Albania National Park. Within the valley are some old beech forests included on the UNESCO List.

The left stamp shows Albanian scholar and writer Dhimitër Shuteriqi (1915-2003). It is from a set of four honouring Famous Men (issued 28-09-2015). Although inscribed 2021, the right stamp was just issued on 14th April 2022. It is from a set of two about the Egyptian Vulture.

Thank You very much Marcel!

9th July 2022: Tirana, Albania (my first card!)

Albania is a country in Southeast Europa bordering on Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Greece. First becoming independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, Albania has undergone a diverse political evolution transitioning from a monarchy to a communist regime before becoming a sovereign parliamentary constitutional republic.

Tirana is the capital and largest city of Albania as well as the country's most important economic, financial, political and trade centre. It is home to a mixture of architectural styles reflecting the influential periods in its history. The current appearance was considerably shaped by two totalitarian regimes, once by the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini during the Second World War and the regime of Enver Hoxha in the aftermath.

The stamp is from a set of four about Early Locomotives and Their Inventors issued on 27th September 2015 in commemoration of the 190th anniversary of the first Locomotive. This stamp shows Robert Stephenson and the Rocket of 1829.

Thank You very much Marcel!