Postcard with a matching stamp from the Czech Republic

Sent on Monday 10 November 2008 from a post-office in a shopping centre near Olomouc (zip 77700 - Velký Týnec) is this view of the huge Holy Trinity Column situated in the centre of this 5th largest Czech city. The column was built in the 18th century in commemoration of the victory over a plague epidemic.

Well, and the stamp shows the same column, from a slightly different angle. It was issued on 11 September 2002 together with another stamp in a series dedicated to the Czech UNESCO monuments - the other monument being the Castle of Litomyšl in East Bohemia.

I could not resist, and it was me who sent the postcard;-)

Postcard from Norway

Received today after two days' travel from a small town 300 kms above the Artic Circle, that's what I call speed. Andenes is the northernmost settlement of the island Andøya and Nordland county.

The self-adhesive stamp issued in 2008 (tariff A EUROPA - 9 Norwegian krone) is part of a series presenting major tourist spots in Norway. It was cancelled by an automatic postmark with the text POSTEN NORGE 10.11.2008 X90. Thank you L.

Cover from Argentina

An airmail envelope received on 13 February 2008 after 9 days of travel from the Argentinian city of Bahía Blanca, post-office branch no. 2. (the postmark includes even the telephone number 4522376).

The single stamp of 4 pesos shows the 121-metre-long icebreaker A.R.A Almirante Irízar, currently out of service due to a large fire that broke on board in 2007. The Finnish-made ship usually operated on routes between Argentina and Antarctica.

Thank you R. for this letter!

Postcard from the Philippines

Today I received this lovely postcard from the Philippines, from the Puerto Princesa City in the island of Palawan (zipcode 5300 barely legible at the bottom of the postmark). It shows a view of the Boracay Island in the province of Aklan, one of the most important Philippine tourist destinations.

The 7 peso stamp, issued in 2008 in a series with 3 other stamps, presents the cordillera forest mouse (Apomys datae). The two definitives from 2007 feature the critically endangered writhed hornbill living in the rainforests of Negros and Panay of the Philippines.

The card reached me in 15 days. Thank you J.!

Postcard from Slovakia

On 25 July 2008 I received this nice postcard from Trenčín in western Slovakia (actually closer to my hometown that Prague, for example). Trenčín is the capital of the Trenčín Region with 56,000 inhabitants and is dominated by the Slovakia's third largest castle.

The stamps on the card present the "old" and "new" of the Slovak stamp production. The ship stamp was issued 30 December 1994 as part of a series dedicated to the ships made at the Slovak Shipyards in Komárno and shows the cargo vessel Rýn (Rhine) [print run 5,050,000, engraved]. The other stamp was issued this year on 25 May and is part of the ongoing series "For Children". It depicts a many-headed dragon and is dedicated to the memory of Pavol Dobšinský, Slovak fairy-tales collector living in the 19th century (print-run 10 million, engraved).

Actually, both stamps were bought in one day in a news stand in the centre of Trenčín. I think that the Slovak Post tries to get rid of the stamps with the Slovak koruna denominations before the country's transfer to euro in 2009 and therefore, such old stamps can be bought quite frequently these days. The Slovak koruna stamps will still be used and valid during 2009.

WWF cover from Russia

At the end of March 2008 I received this great letter from Ufa, the capital of Republic of Bashkortostan, in the western Urals area. It features the complete series of the Russian WWF stamps issued in 2007 with Bison bonasus (European bison), Uncia uncia (snow leopard) and Ciconia boyciana (Oriental stork), print-run 230,000 each. The set is complemented by two definitives: Pavlovsk from 2002 (4 rubles) and a coat-of-arms from 1998 (0.50 rubles). Thank you B. for this one!

Maxicard: Titian's The Flaying of Marsyas

Today at a local flea market I bought this nice maxicard of Titian's famous picture The Flaying of Marsyas (1575-6), which hangs in the Archbishop's Palace several hundred meters from where I live. The stamp shows the detail of King Midas' head, was engraved by the master of Czech engravers J. Herčík and issued in 1978 in ex-Czechoslovakia.

The card bears the postmark of the stamp exhibition Praga 1978 (12-9-1978).

Letter from the Gambia

Back in 1995, in my pen-pal heyday, I received this small envelope from Serrekunda, the Gambia in western Africa. I am not sure now how long the letter travelled, the postmark is not legible either. But it arrived and now represents this small nation in my collection.

The Gambia is one of those countries with massive stamp production covering every conceivable theme from Marylin Monroe, dinosaurs, space exploration, Elvis Presley and Rubens, which often ends up as CTOs. I am not a friend of those "stamps" and try to avoid them and not include them in my collections.

However, this Rubens - issued along with many others for Christmas 1989 - is genuine and travelled the world as it should have. I am not sure about the date of issue of the other stamp depicting the paintbrush plant, my guess is around 1992.

My thanks go to H.

Postcard from Guatemala

I received this postcard sometime in 1998, pity I can't remember when exactly any longer. It shows the Templo II, in Tikal, the largest of the ancient ruined cities of the Maya civilization, flourishing between 600-900 AD.

The stamp of 0,60 quetzal from 1997 is part of a series dedicated to the development gained by proper tax collection, sponsored by the Ministerio de Finanzas Públicas. Thank O. for this view of one of the Earth's lost civilizations.

Postcard from Hungary

When visiting Hungary last year, we sent ourselves this postcard from Pannonhalma in the north of the country (UNESCO World Heitage Site). This thousand-year-old archabbey stands on a hill above nicely undulating countryside and houses an impressive chapel (which reminded me much of the movies with Harry Potter) and an even more impressive library with massive globes and balustraded floors.

I bought the stamp with Lockheed Sirius 8A (1931) at a news stand in Gyor. It was issued on 16 March 2006 in 350,000 copies and is part of the series Hungarian Aviation.