Taiwan: Taiwan Blue Magpie

Yesterday I got my first four postcards of 2017: one from Taiwan, one from Russia, one from Turkey and one from Thailand.

The card from Taiwan shows Taiwan Blue Magpies. The Taiwan Blue Magpie is a bird from the crow family, which is endemic to Taiwan. In 2007 it was inofficially voted for the national bird of Taiwan.

With matching stamps:
Variable Value Stamps
with a special postmark from the 6th Taiwan Postcrossing Meet-up

Thank You very much Lin!

Thailand: Grand Palace

Yesterday I got my first four postcards of 2017: one from Thailand, one from Taiwan, one from Russia and one from Turkey.

The card from Thailand shows the Chakri Maha Prasat in the Grand Palace. The Grand Palace is a complex of buildings in Bangkok. Construction started in 1782, but it was enlarged over the centuries. Between 1782 and 1925 it was used as residence of the Thai Kings and still today it is used for official events. Today it is also one of the most important tourist attractions in Thailand.

Stamps:
Development Programs of King Bhumibol (from set of five) (issued 09-06-1996)
Rice Cultivation (from set of four) (issued 25-02-1999)

Thank You very much Jobbo!

Germany: My Trip to Hanover

Yesterday I was in Hanover to buy the new Variable Value stamps.

Hanover was first mentioned in 1163. In 1636 Duke George of Brunswick-Lüneburg from the House of Welf moved his residence to the town. In 1692 it became the capital of the Electorate of Hanover and in 1815 of the Kingdom of Hanover. Between 1714 and 1827 Hanover was ruled in personal union with the United Kingdom. The kingdom was annexed by Prussia in 1866 and Hanover became capital of a Prussian province. The new connection with Prussia meant an improvement in business and industry, although it was generally opposed by the people of Hanover. Since 1946 is Hanover the capital of the German State of Lower Saxony and today it is also the thirteenth largest city of Germany.

Although the new Variable Value stamps were issued yesterday, they were only available in a few selected vendors all over Germany. The other vendors will be equipped later.

The Herrenhausen Gardens consist of the Great Garden, the Berggarten, the Georgengarten and the Welfengarten. Started by the Kings of Hanover in the 17th century the gardens were not much altered after the beginning of the personal union. Thus they remained their Baroque appearance and are today among the most important Baroque gardens in Europe.

The Market Church of Saints George and James is the oldest parish church in Hanover's Old Town and the preaching venue of the bishop of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover. The church has a large pentagram on the tower and a Martin Luther Memorial is located next to the church.

The Leibniz House was built in 1499. It is named after Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who lived in the house between 1698 and his death in 1716. The house is today used by the University of Hanover and houses a small exhibition about Leibniz.

The Church of the New Town was built in the Baroque style between 1666 and 1670. Leibniz is buried in the church.

The Lower Saxony State Museum was founded in 1856. First known as Museum of Art and Science and later called Museum of the Province of Hanover, it got its current name in 1950. Its collections focus on archaeology, art, coins, ethnology and natural history.

The Historical Museum of Hanover was founded in 1903. It focuses on the history of Hanover and the former possessions of the House of Welf in modern day Lower Saxony.

One of the cards I bought in the Historical Museum shows Hanover's Synagogue. The Synagogue of Hanover was built between 1864 and 1870 and was destroyed in 1938. The Historical Museum shows a model of the Synagogue.

In 2000 the World's Fair was hold in Hanover. It was located on the Hanover fairground, the largest exhibition ground in the World.

Germany: Lower Saxony from Papersisters

Yesterday I was in Hanover and there I got the German Landmark postcard of Lower Saxony from Papersisters cancelled.

Lower Saxony is one of the States of the Federal Republic of Germany bordering on the Netherlands, Bremen, Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. The modern state was founded in 1946 when the State of Hanover, the Free State of Braunschweig, the Free State of Oldenburg and the Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe were combined. The capital and largest city is Hanover. Other big cities are Braunschweig, Oldenburg, Osnabrück, Wolfsburg, Göttingen, Hildesheim and Salzgitter. Among the German States it is the second largest by area and the fourth largest by population.

Among others the card shows the North Sea with the Wadden Sea, the New Town Hall of Hanover, the Old Town of Lüneburg, the Lüneburg Heath and the Harz.

I stamped the card with various stamps about Lower Saxony:
Till Eulenspiegel (issued 07-07-2011)
Wadden Sea (issued 01-07-2013)
Fagus Factory in Alfeld (issued 02-10-2014)
Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum in Braunschweig (issued 02-01-2017)

Germany: Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum

The German Stamp Year 2017 starts with a real highlight (at least for me), as today a special stamp was issued about the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum in my hometown. The stamp is from a set of two and shows Johannes Vermeer's "Das Mädchen mit dem Weinglas", the most famous exhibit of the museum. To commemorate the new stamp a special postmark was available and limited covers were sold.

The Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum was founded in 1754. It is thus one of the oldest museums in Germany and Europe and houses an important collection of Western old master paintings with paintings by Cranach, Rubens and Rembrandt. The museum was closed for renovation in 2009 and was reopened on 23rd October 2016.

Collectibles from the Team "Erlebnis: Briefmarken"

Today the Team "Erlebnis: Briefmarken" of the Deutsche Post was in my hometown, so I was able to buy some collectibles for my collection.

The special postcard I bought commemorates the 25th anniversary of the revival of the railway service to the Brocken in 2016. 

Stamp:
125 years Harz Narrow Gauge Railways (issued 09-02-2012)
with a special postmark about the anniversary

The cover I bought was printed for the change of name of the airport of Hamburg, which is known as Hamburg Airport Helmut Schmidt since 2016.

Stamps:
Variable Value stamp (from set of two) (issued 24-10-2008)
Aircrafts (from set of four) (issued 12-06-2008)
with a special postmark of the event

The maxicard I bought shows the Christmas Market in Erfurt. The stamp is a Christmas stamp and was issued on 2nd November 2016.