Postcard from Brunei

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A postcard from Brunei, sent on 24 January 2008, showing Kampong Ayer, or the Water Village, according to wikipedia: "an area of Brunei's capital city Bandar Seri Begawan that is situated in the middle of the Brunei River. 39,000 people live in the Water Village. This represents roughly ten percent of the nation's total population. All of the Water Village buildings are constructed on stilts above the Brunei River... People have lived in Kampong Ayer for over 1300 years. Antonio Pigafetta dubbed it the "Venice of the East" when the fleet of Ferdinand Magellan visited." in 1521. Truly impressive!

The 50 sen stamp is part of a 1985-1986 series of definitives showing the portrait of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

Cover from Italy no. 5

Another treat from Italy, from Giovanni! The centenary of the Alfa Romeo company is commemorated by these two elegant stamps with a coupon. The left-hand stamp shows Alfa Romeo 24 HP from 1910 and the right-hand stamp the brand new Alfa Romeo Giulietta from 2010. The letter was sent from the post office in Milano Isola, with the first day cancellation (20 March 2010).

The stamps have been issued as part of a highly collectable "Made in Italy" series, begun in 2004 with Italian brand-shoes. More info here.

Grazie, Giovanni, come sempre:-)

Cover from Latvia no. 3

Another great cover from Oleg, sent on 10 December 2009 from Riga. And two of my favourite topics! The 0.35 lat stamp commemorates the 90th anniversary of the Latvian railways with a very tasteful picture of the steam engine "Kurland" (issued in 2009). The two coats of arms are part of an ongoing series presenting Latvian towns and regions, in this case Smiltene (2006) and Daugavpils (2005).

Thank you, Oleg! The Czech train is about to depart to Riga too:-)

Postcard from Ukraine no. 3

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A postcard received a few days from Ukraine, showing the Trinitarian Church in Kamianets-Podilskyi (Ukrainian: Кам’янець-Подільський), Khmelnytskyy region, in southwestern Ukraine. Interestingly, the coat of arms has a very similar sun symbol as the one used on the Argentian flag presented in my previous post.

The stamps here are definitives with handicraft objects with the year 2010 (in the tiniest of prints immaginable:) - the blue and red vessels, and 2008 - the decorative tile.

Thank you, Tanya!

Cover from Argentina no. 3

A fantastic cover sent on 5 April 2010 from Villa Nueva, Province of Córdoba, Argentina, with the set of stamps from this year's UPAEP series dedicated to the national symbols. The two Argentinian stamps, issued on 27 March 2010, feature the national coat of arms and the flag. I really love these stamps!

Thank you, Germán!!

If there anyone in other UPAEP countries willing to send me a cover with this year's issue, please contact me. I 'll be happy to send you a nice cover from the Czech Republic in return.

Cover from Russia no. 11

A lovely colourful cover received from Yuri, in St. Petersburg, sent on 6 April 2010.

The se-tenant sheet with three 7-ruble stamps and a coupon with verses by Nikolai Gumilev (1886 - 1921) is dedicated to the beauties and importance of forests, and was issued on 12 September 2008.

There also two interesting definitives, a 0.10 ruble hare from the fifth issue of definitive stamps of the Russian Federation (29 August 2008, 15 values) and the self-adhesive Kazan kremlin (from the sixth issue of definitive stamps of the Russian Federation (1 October 2009, 12 values).

Thank you, Yuri!

Postcard from Croatia

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A great postcard sent on 6 April 2010, showing an aerial view of Vukovar in eastern Croatia, in Vukovar-Syrmia County (županija). Vukovar has approximately 30,000 inhabitants and is the largest Croatian river port (on the Danube).

The 3.10 kuna stamp was issued on 15 March. together with 3 other stamps, in a series dedicated to the Croatian etnographical heritage (for the previous stamps in this series from 2009 please see my earlier Croatia post). The stamp was issued in 3 million copies and shows a traditional pattern from Međimurje, northern Croatia.

Thank you, Goran!

Cover from Cyprus

Received in January 2010. A nice airmail cover with a 51 eurocent stamp from a series dedicated to neoclassical buildings in Cyprus (issued on 2 October 2007), with the 2 eurocent contribution to the Refugee Fund. Thank you, Nasia!

Cover from Argentina no. 2

A spectacular cover received a few months ago from Óscar, San Luis, Argentina! The six stamps and two black and white complements are dedicated to sheep, presenting six various ovine races typical for the Argentinian production. They are: Merino, Romney Marsh, Corriedale, Hampshire Down, Lincoln and Frisian. The minisheet was issued on 22 August 2009 in 80,000 copies, and it was accompanied by a first day cover which Óscar sent me as well, complete with the corresponding postmarks. The letter itself was sent on 14 December 2009 from San Luis. The rest of the postage for the 23 gram registered letter is marked by a 23-pesos sticker.

Gracias!!!

New Czech stamps - February 2010

Issued on 10 February 2010, a single stamp dedicated to the Winter Olympic Games held in Vancouver. For the image the author chose a figure of a speedskater, abstractly representing the phenomenal Martina Sablikova (no living personalities can be depicted on Czech stamps with the exception of the president). The 18 CZK rate is designated for sending mail up to 20 grams outside Europe. Print-run 600,000.

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10 February 2010 also saw the issue of the stamp commemorating the Vancouver Paralympics, here the event is guided skiing. Print-run 500,000.

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And another international event commemorated on the stamps of the Czech post is the Shanghai Expo which will be held from 1 May to 31 October 2010. The stamp inside this distinctive, offset-printed sheet shows the Czech pavilion. Print-run 70,000.