My Trip to Wolfenbüttel

Last Friday I was again in Wolfenbüttel, as just when returned from my last trip there, a new special exhibition opened in the Schloss.

The Schloss Wolfenbüttel is the second-largest surviving castle in Lower Saxony and served as the main residence for the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel between 1432 and 1753. It is now used by a secondary school, the Federal Academy of Arts Education and a museum.

At the Schloss I also found a card of a reconstruction of Schloss Salzdahlum.

Schloss Salzdahlum was built as summer palace by Duke Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel between 1688 and 1694. It was a centre of Baroque culture in Northern Germany and was modelled after the Palace of Versailles, but to save money it was mainly built from wood. In 1813 however the palace was destroyed, as it did not resist the weather and was mostly ruinous. Its extensive art collection was the foundation for the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum in Braunschweig.

Spain: Sóller in the Serra de Tramuntana

Last Thursday I got three postcards: one from Spain, one from Thailand and one from Taiwan.

The card from Spain shows Sóller in the Serra de Tramuntana. The Serra de Tramuntana is a mountain range in the northern part of the Balearic Island of Mallorca. Despite the scarce resources agriculture is carried out in the region for millennia, which has created a landscape marked by agricultural terraces and inter-connected water works. The Cultural Landscape of the Serra de Tramuntana is since 2011 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Stamp:
Centenary of the Castillos de Valderas (issued 10-04-2018)

Thank You very much Marcel!

Taiwan: Pingzhen Meet-up

Last Thursday I got three postcards: one from Taiwan, one from Spain and one from Thailand.

The card from Taiwan is about the Postcrossing Meet-up in Pingzhen in December 2019. It was turned into a maxicard with one of Taiwan's two Year of the Rat stamps (issued 03-12-2019).

It is an official card: TW-2911926

The card was signed during the Meet-up.
Stamp:
Chinese Fruit Engravings (from set of two) (issued 15-07-1999)
with the same special postmark as on the front side

Thank You very much Komimi!

Thailand: Mice

Last Thursday I got three postcards: one from Thailand, one from Taiwan and one from Spain.

The card from Thailand shows an illustration of mice.

With related stamps:
Year of the Mouse (issued 02-01-2020)
with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Kwanjira!

Austria: Schloss Stainz

Last Wednesday I got two postcards: one from Austria and one from Germany.

The card from Austria shows Schloss Stainz. Schloss Stainz, originally a monastery, dates back to 1229. In 1840 Archduke Johann, son of Emperor Leopold II and an avid hunter, purchased the building complex for use as a hunting lodge. Today it houses two branches of the Universalmuseum Joanneum, since 2006 the Styrian Hunting Museum and since 2009 also the Museum of Agriculture and Forestry.

With a nice matching stamp:
125 years Stainz Railway (issued 28-05-2017)
with a Leap Day postmark

Thank You very much Anita!

Germany: European Turtle Dove

Last Wednesday I got two postcards: one from Germany and one from Austria.

The card from Germany shows an European Turtle Dove. The European Turtle Dove is a migratory bird from the bird family Columbidae. Populations of the bird are in rapid decline across Europa and it has red list conservation status globally. In Germany it is the Bird of the Year for 2020.

I bought this card in my home town.

Stamp:
Cornflower (issued 01-07-2019)
with a special postmark showing also European Turtle Doves

Saudi Arabia: Historic Jeddah

On Tuesday I got two postcards: my first card from Saudi Arabia and one from Germany.

Saudi Arabia is a country in Western Asia constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and bordering on Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen. It is the World's second largest oil producer and the largest economy in the Middle East. It is a member of the United Nations and the G20. Riyadh is the country's capital. 

The card shows a view of Historic Jeddah. Jeddah is the commercial centre of Saudi Arabia, the country's second largest city and a global city. It is also the principal gateway to Mecca, the holiest city in Islam. Historic Jeddah is since 2014 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Stamp:
Caves of Saudi Arabia (from set of six) (issued 09-2019)

Thank You very much Gert!

Germany: Richmond Castle

On Tuesday I got two postcards: one from Germany and my first card from Saudi Arabia.

The card from Germany shows Richmond Castle in Braunschweig. Richmond Castle was built between 1768 and 1769 for Augusta, a British princess and wife of Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, who became Duke of Brunswick in 1780. It was designed by Carl Christoph Wilhelm Fleischer in the Baroque style and also has a park in the style of a classic English landscape garden. 

Stamp:
Cornflower (issued 01-07-2019)
with a Leap Day postmark

cover from Italy

On Tuesday I got not only two postcards but also a cover from Italy.

With a great stamp:

Italian Mail (from set of three) (issued 01-07-2010)

70th Sanremo Music Festival (issued 07-02-2020)

with First Day Special Postmark

Inside was a mint version of the stamp. You can see it here.

Thank You very much Davide!

My Trip to Hamburg

On Monday I was in Hamburg.

Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany and one of the sixteen German States. Also it is the third largest German-speaking city, the seventh largest city of the European Union and the largest city of the European Union which is not the capital of its country. For centuries Hamburg has been a centre of trade and although it witnessed many catastrophes during its history, the city has managed to recover and emerge wealthier each time. Especially due to its port, the third largest in Europa, it is known as Germany's Gate to the World. It is also a centre of commerce, education, industry, law,  logistics, media, music, research, science and tourism and international summits are often held in the city such as the G20 Summit in 2017.

My main reason to visit Hamburg was the chance to get a special postmark for the new Sesame Street stamp (issued 02-03-2020), which was available from a special post office at the headquarters of the NDR. I got the postmark on the card above. Later that day I also got the card cancelled at the philatelic shop in Hamburg with both a normal and a pictorial postmark.

Afterwards I also visited the Museum of Hamburg History.

The Museum of Hamburg History is a museum about Hamburg's history from 800 until today. It was opened in 1922.

China: Wuxi Meet-up

Last Friday I got a postcard from China.

It is the official card of the recent Postcrossing Meet-up in Wuxi. This meet-up was the second joint meet-up between Wuxi and Singapore and the 14th meet-up in Wuxi. As a reminder, back in 2017 Singapore and Wuxi held the first ever joint Postcrossing Meet-up. Earlier I already got the card from Singapore. You can see it here. Here you can also see the cards of the first joint meet-up.

The card was signed during the meet-up.
Stamps:
Fruits (two from set of four) (issued 14-07-2018)
Beautiful China (from set of six) (issued 19-05-2013)

Thank You very much Jifeng!

Pakistan: Lahore Fort

On Thursday I got three postcards: one from Pakistan, one from Austria and one from Thailand.

The card from Pakistan shows the Naulakha Pavilion at the Lahore Fort. The Lahore Fort is a citadel with 21 notable monuments and was built when the Mughal Empire was at its artistic and aesthetic zenith. Since 1981 are the Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Stamps:
Mohammed Ali Jinnah (from set of twelve) (issued 11-09-1994)

Thank You very much Gert!

Thailand: Year of the Mouse

On Thursday I got three postcards: one from Thailand, one from Pakistan and one from Austria.

The card from Thailand is a maxicard about the Year of the Mouse. The stamp was issued on 2nd January 2020.

The card was signed during the Postcrossing Meet-up in Bangkok.
Stamps:
International Letter Writing Week (from set of four) (issued 04-10-2011)
Thai Alphabet (from set of fourty-four) (issued 29-07-2011)
Symbol of Love (issued 07-02-2020)
The hearts on the stamp are printed with glitter.
New Year (from set of four) (issued 15-11-2017)

Thank You very much Poy!

Austria: Rote Nasen Clowndoctors

On Thursday I got three postcards: one from Austria, one from Thailand and one from Pakistan.

The card from Austria shows two Rote Nasen Clowndoctors. Rote Nasen Clowndoctors is an Austrian society founded in 1994. It sends specially trained clowns to hospitals and other care facilities to bring the people there joy, hope and optimism. Already in 1996 such Clowndoctors were also active in Hungary and until today the programme was expanded to other countries like Croatia, Germany, Palestine and Poland.

The card was turned into a maxicard. The stamp was issued on 25th February and commemorates more than 25 years of Clowndoctors.

On the backside are two more copies of the same stamp.

Thank You very much Anita!

Italy: Milan

On Tuesday I got five postcards: one from Italy, one from Estonia and three from Germany

The card from Italy shows various views of Milan. Milan is the capital of Lombardy and the second largest city in Italy. It is a global city and centre of art, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, industry, media, services, research and tourism. In 1906 and 2015 it hosted the World's Fair and in 2026 the Winter Olympics will take place in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. In recent days however the city has been petrified by the coronavirus and large event are cancelled or postponed.

Stamps:
Italian Mail (from set of three) (issued 01-07-2010)
Centenary of Aurora Fountain Pens (issued 24-05-2019)
with a special postmark about the opening of a new Leonardo da Vinci gallery at the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia in Milan

Thank You very much William!