Happy Birthday to Hippy Happy! And some Dutch bicycles....=)

Well, probably my greatest motivation to move my ass and do something productive here was that today is Hippy Happie's first birthday! Exactly one year ago I fell in love at first sight and ride and have spent a lot of fantastic moments hanging around with it...I have to say that it did change my life in a way, though i can't properly explain how...but certainly it deserves a post here to blow that candle, and wish both of us a lot of new great adventures and times spent together! ❤

My precious! (I still need to get him a basket though...)

Well now, this is also like an excuse to bother you with a bunch of bicycle cards....that unintentionally all ended up to be Dutch...so be prepared to be bored...or enjoy yourself...depending on how much of a bike lover you are :)

received in the fast favourites tag....I know that Hippy Happy is already colourful enough...but I've been thinking of decorating it with some Christmas lights actually...at least for the season...and enjoy some night rides :)

From a set of two "Green Initiatives" stamps.

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Beautiful Holland indeed!  Something Macedonia will never be bike-wise...at least not in my lifetime

so cool to have a bike card with a bike stamp! (the lighthouse one is just a bonus!) The bicycle stamp is from a set of 5 Dutch Icons' stamps issued this year, while the lighthouse one I believe is also from 2014...but for some reason I got a bit stuck with the info on it...

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This is the kind of woven basket I'd like to buy or my bike....though if possible in black...to suit it better

a number of nice and colourful stamps! the one on the right is from a set of three Child care stamps issued in 1992. The middle one is from a set of three Child welfare stamps issued in 1987 while the one on the left is also from a set of three Child welfare stamps from 1990. I like it how they are all thematically related...

Peggy was so kind to send me this card after I have had it in my favourites for ages! I just love it! The colours, the scenery...everything! So typically Amsterdamish :)

nice colourful stamps again! the one on the left is from a set of three stamps issued in 1992, simply called Summer stamps. The middle one is also from 1992 issued for the  Expo '92 in Sevilla (comes in a set of two). While the third stamp on the right was issued in 1983 commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the ANWB (or the Dutch touring club if im not mistaken?)

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Love the colour of this bike! One of the many thoughtful official cards when people are so kind and try to find something they know I will like :)

the first two from the left are definitives issued in 2012. The third stamp was issued in 2009 in a set of two stamps simply called Beautiful Netherlands, while the last one is from 2008 from a set of ten mushroom stamps commemorating The 100th Anniversary of the Netherlands' Mycological Society

Surprise card from Alvin showing a scene from the tiny village of Straphorst, where inhabitants like to get stuck on old traditions and religion and where still many people wear traditional costumes in their daily lives.

Part from a beautiful sheet of the Beautiful Netherlands theme, issued in 2013

One more strike from Peggy with a lovely Amsterdamish card! She says that most bicycle cards of Amsterdam show bikes neatly lined up but this is a more accurate picture and that every bridge and every railing has at least one bike attached to it upside down, most of the time missing at least one part. She says that  you should consider yourself lucky if you find your bike at all as 50000 to 80000 bikes are stolen in Amsterdam only, every year.
Hmm, ok, now im having some second thoughts about wanting to live in Amsterdam...

Beautiful stamps again. I already mentioned the one on the very right that is a part of the 1990 Child Welfare stamps. The middle one is from a set of three Summer stamps issued in 1983 representing the Zoo, while the stamp on the left is also from 1983 from the EUROPA issue on Communications.

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another bike with a lovely colour! and the atmosphere is relaxing indeed...it would be great if I had the chance to ride mine near a lake or a sea or something on a lovely spring day.

God help me on this one! Either Im repeatedly blind or this one doesn't exist in the stamp catalogs online?!!

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Probably the most typical scene in a Dutch countryside ...Drente is shown on this postcard in particular...at the bottom right picture you can see those two guys in a partially lying position on their bicycles...ive seen those here as well...but for some reason I think that riding on such a bike aint as comfy as riding a normal one...mainly cos you have to keep your head straight all the time...there is no such thing as a cushion or something to lean back on....so ill still stick to the regular type...until I maybe try this one for real and happen to like it :)

From a set of two personal stamps titled Europe and the World, issued in 2012

The last Dutch card is not just about bicycles but also about another Dutch icon, and that is Anne Frank...I think the combination of the wall and the bikes is just great and really fitting...love it!!

that butterfly stamp is one of the first Dutch stamps Ive known since I often used to see it on the letters my penfriends used to send me..issued in 1993 in a set of three stamps. the other one is another oldie, dating back to 1986, issued in a set of four charity stamps.

well, I think I may have exhausted all my Dutch bike cards..and I believe you won't want to see another bike card for a while now :)