Hamburg, Germany

As I had previously mentioned, the last post of today would be a bit overwhelming with cards (but not with text, I promise! 😎)

The reason behind this Hamburg post is my cancelled trip to Hamburg, which was supposed to happen at the end of April, but of course, for well-known reasons, didn't happen.
So, just wanna take a glimpse on postcards of things I could have seen in real life, and well prepare myself for some Hamburg trip in the future 💓
Funny, all, except for one of these cards have been sent as officials...

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How can you not love this view above? It shows the Binnenalster Lake, which is one of the two artificial lakes within the city, formed by the river Alster (the other being the Außenalster). In the background you can see some important sites like the Rathaus, several churches, the Alsterpavillon....

comes with a cute Peanuts stamp issued in a set of two in 2018

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A view of the centre of the city, again with the Binnenalster, and the Rathaus as well as the Lombardsbrücke, or the Lombard Bridge, named after the Lombard pawn shop situated here in 1651.   

well, not the Lombard bridge, but another bridge is featured here on the stamp from 2013, commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Fehmarnsund Bridge, which connects the German island of Fehmarn in the Baltic Sea with the German mainland near Großenbrode  

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A multiview of the city, which I guess covers all the essentials :)

The stamp is from a joint issue with Japan from 2011, showing UNESCO world Heritage sites and this stamp features the old town of Regensburg.

Here is that famous Rathaus I had already mentioned above (and the only card which is not an official one). Oh yeah, that's the town hall for those wondering...but when it comes to Germany, im just so used to their Rathaus word, that I never use any other....

the stamp was issued in 2014 showing the Stolzenfels am Rhein Castle.

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aaaand, guess what.... the Rathaus again! 😆

and again we have the Fehmarnsund Bridge from 2013





From what I could find while looking through my collection, these seem to be all the Hamburg cards I have - I must admit it would be more but then that would have made my job tonight more difficult here, so Im perfectly fine with these 6 cards, and I can simply enrich my collection once I go there (and yours of course 😊

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Well, it is just an aerial view of the city, with the port, no other particular information about this one. 

On the left is one of the famous flower definitives (this one is from the set of 3 issued in 2005). The other one is a machine stamp, which I was just told has some kind of rare fault, since the holes at the bottom (which i dont think you can see), usually are like half-holes, but the ones here are like three/quarters of a full circle... so haha, I have some kind of rare specimen in my collection... who would have thought, esp. with a machine stamp, which I must admit, I dont really like at all :)

So folks, that would be all for today! Hope you are still surviving your lock-down wherever you are!

And yeah, I know this aint a priority, but I hope borders and airports would open soon so I could give my itchy feet a nice trip  - this is not just about the borders but also the possibility of having to go into quarantine in case you wanna travel - I mean what is the point of going on a few days trip if you first need to spend two weeks in quarantine there? Where's the sense in that???

Have a nice weekend ahead... till next time! 

Santon Station, Isle of Man

Well, one more card in this update since, a post about Chris wouldnt be a post about Chris without an Isle of Man card.

I can say that like 90% of my IoM cards are thanks to Chris. And magically he often manages to find ones with trains too :)


This one shows the Santon railway station which is a request stop near Newtown in the parish of Santon; it forms part of the sole remaining line of the Isle of Man Railway which once encompassed over 46 miles of network and retains its original station building.
The halt sometimes plays host to Santa's Grotto each December as part of the railway's Santa Trains service although between 2010 and 2013 it was not utilised for this purpose.

and look at these stamps!!
Gonna require some work to cover them all but that's the purpose of this blog, isn't it? :)

Starting from top left first is a ship from a set of 6 issued in 1980, commemorating the 150th Anniversary of "Isle of Man Steam Packet Company". Next to it is one from a set of 4 issued in 1974, commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Sir Winston Churchill. The third one in the row is from a set of four issued in 1981 for The Royal British lLegion Diamond Jubilee, 1921-1981.

The bottom row starts with a stamp issued in 1978 in a set of 5 representing buildings and this one shows the Tower of Refuge. Next to it is one from a set of two issued in 1975, under the title New Values and the last one is from 1978 from a set of four stamps commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Royal Air Force.

So, I believe that would be all for today. What a productive day, my oh my :D

A huge huge thank you to Chris for all these cards, and the bunch of others still not uploaded, and a huge thank you also to his wife Julie, who always participates in the sending of cards and signing them as well!

To all who celebrated Easter yesterday, Happy Easter! To all who will celebrate it next weekend, Happy Easter as well!

Till next time...

Cats

And for the end of today, I left these four super cool cat cards sent by Bryon, cos I don't know if you know, but for a while now, a new adorable cat has been part of our family... again. And life just makes more sense.. again.

Cos what else could you do when you see this little terrified kitten in your backyard, abandoned by its mother, yet, she protects and feeds the rest of the three kittens from the litter. It gets you both angry and overprotective, and that's how yet another story had started and the Little Bullet took a special place in my heart in an instant (She is not so little anymore. In fact, quite big and heavy for a cat that hasn't even celebrated its first birthday, but that's what makes her more adorable too)

several months later:

I think it is obvious she has been well fed :D

This cat story has an additional recent kitten story, but about that, in a future cat-post :)

Now back to the cards - all these are from a set of illustrations titled Kliban's Cats

B. ‘Hap’ Kliban was born on January 1, 1935, in Norwalk, Connecticut. He began painting and drawing while he was in elementary school. As a teenager, he joked about wanting to join the Air Force to strafe civilians, something that epitomized the bizarre sense of humor that later characterized his cartoons and drawings

Three stamps from the set of 20 issued in 2001, representing American Illustrators. Here featured are: Robert Fawcett. N.C. Wyeth, and Edwin Austin Abbey.

In 1962, Kliban became a Playboy cartoonist, contributing cartoons until his death. He is best known for the book Cat, a collection of cartoons about cats drawn in Kliban's distinctive style. The cat cartoons were discovered by Playboy editor Michelle Urry and the 1975 book Cat was born. This led to several other books of cartoons ending with Advanced Cartooning in 1993.

Along with the Navajo Jewelry. some dinasourish stamps too coming from The World of Dinasours sheetlet issued in 1997. Shown here are Edmontonia, Camptosaurus and Corythosaurus.

Judith Kamman Kliban trained in fine arts where her main interests were landscape painting and photography.  In 1975, she moved west to San Francisco where she radically changed her lifestyle, and continued to pursue her ambitions as an artist and designer. Living in San Francisco she worked as an advertising agency art director and as a freelance designer. She also continued her painting and photography.
During the crazy mid 1970's, Judith met artist and cartoonist B. Kliban and began a deep and lasting friendship. They later married and enjoyed a wonderful creative and spiritual alliance. While Hap continued to create and publish other humor books and Playboy Cartoons, Judith ran the business and became the Art Director/ Designer and facilitator of all B. Kliban®Cats Licensing and Design.

The very well-known Tiffany Lamp and George Washington stamp, side by side with two Christmas stamps from 2004.

The husband and wife team ran the business as a "cottage industry," preferring to keep things simple, under control, and small.
Since B. Kliban's untimely death in 1990, Judith has continued to expand and strengthen B. Kliban®Cats. The positive changes have promoted growth and added more polish to the classic license, Cat. Judith works on creation of new Kliban concepts and calls upon the huge residual of work from B. Kliban's prolific artistic life. As a designer, Judith's wide experience in design and with Cat enables her, in a way, to continue even today her collaboration with her husband.

and more prehistoric animals on stamps here, these coming from 1989, featuring the Tyrannosaurus, the Pteranodon, the Stegosaurus, and the Brontosaurus - Correct name is Apatosaurus.

Big thank you to Bryon for these beauties, and to all of you as well for dropping by.

Be sure to drop by soon for another fairy-day post. Who is it gonna be this time? Well, you have to wait and see :)

Now I am off into some big shadow... like the basement maybe.

Trains, Alaska

A bit north now, where we have not one, not two, but three train cards from Alaska! I actually have quite some more train cards from here, but will leave those for another post.

First is the McKinley Express, which as like all Alaskan trains, takes you through stunning landscapes and sceneries. (Blogger keeps underlining my 'sceneries' with red. For a while I thought that I must have been dreaming that scenery has its plural, but it probably is blogger in the middle of some kind of nightmare.

as for the stamps, we have 3 copies of the Toleware stamp from 2007 and the se-tenat stamp from 2012, commemorating the 2012 the 100th Anniversary of the Cherry Blossom Festilval, Washington D.C.

The other two cards show trains in Skagway, and on this one the Thunderbird Diesel crosses the  Glacier Bridge.

More toleware stamps here, as well as one from 2012 commemorating the 200th Anniversary of Louisiana Statehood

Skagway is said to be one of the busies, exciting stops along the Inside Passage but it seems that these train lines mainly serve people who are on some kind of a cruise already and if a free seat remains, a regular mortal passenger may as well enjoy the ride.

and here we have an Inverted Jenny stamp (of course, not the very original one, but the one reissued by USPS in 2013 as a commemoration of the 1918 24¢ Jenny Invert airmail stamp error that shows the blue Curtiss “Jenny” airplane flying upside down within the red stamp frame.

Finding Nemo

And I decided to throw in one more card for today.

As many of you know, in 2012 the USPS issued a set of a Pixar stamps, with the motto, Mail a Smile. And besides the stamps, they also issued matching postcards. Bryon of course, sent those to me, and here I choose my favourite cartoon from that series, and one of my all time favourite cartoons as well, Finding Nemo.

I'm pretty sure there is no need for any special introduction or explanation who Nemo is.

However, my favourite character ain't Nemo but actually Dory, and probably it has been the favourite character of many, since in 2016 they released the Finding Dory cartoon. Super cute as well.

Anyways, from the Finding Nemo one, I have many favourite scenes and surprisingly enough, they all have Dory in it. So here is just one of them :))

A matching stamp of course, and also a stamp from 1982, featuring the Barrymores

Well Bryon, what else could I say except a millions of thank yous for all these beautiful things and the many many more that are still to be featured. It's really been a pleasure!!!

And to the rest of you, thanks for dropping by and...see you next time :)

Aurora Borealis, Norway

And here comes the beloved Norway!

It was a tough choice. I have literally hundreds of Norwegian cards and a good deal of them feature the Northern Lights. However, I chose this one due to the stamp on the back, the kind of you don't get to see frequently on postcards. On letters, might be, but on postcards, I don't think so.

no, this is not a stamp, it is a MEGA stamp ❤. Yep, the entire mini-sheet is here!
Issued in 1980, for the International Norwex Stamp Exhibition Jubilee, featuring different means of transport. Recently due to unpredicted circumstances I also had to stick a sheet of this size on a postcard, with the difference it was a regular size of a postcard and I had already written on it, so what's beneath the stamp will now remain a mystery to the recipients...
There are two other stamps on this card. The blue one with the lighthouse is from a set of 3 issued in 1977 in a buildings' series, while the other one was issued in 1989 in a set of two, for the 250th anniversary of the public schools.
A whole lot of oldies here - lovely!

San Marino

Here comes another *hello*! Yeah, I know this one may seem like too soon after the previous post, but this blog as you know serves as a great way to keep my mind off things and well I don't really have much else to do anyway...plus if you remember the China-talk, it would be nice to post more cards while I still can cos if that China thing does get realized in reality, I highly doubt I will have much time for posting cards...if any....

I'll start today with two cards from San Marino...I don't really have many cards from there but it seems to me that more or less most of them share the same views...at least these two...

The one above was sent by Rita from her visit there in 2012, where on the big picture you can see the Fortress of Guaita as part of the three peaks which overlook the city of San Marino.

what amazes me about these two cards today are the stamps....I don't think Ive seen so beautiful San Marino stamps on a card before.
First we have a whole set of 3 stamps issued in 1967, for the 300th Anniversary of the Death of Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman).
Next to it is a fantastic, absolutely fantastic stamp from a set of 2 stamps issued in 1983 for the San Marino Grand Prix. The last stamp is from a set of four stamps issued in 1988, commemorating the 900th Anniversary of the University of Bolognia.

On this second card you can also see the Towers...well, all three of them, Guaita, Cesta and Montale.
This second card came as a surprise from Tolya from Russia

the stamps on the second card are from 1997 from an issue named 'cities', where they supposedly show how some cities have changed over the years. These two stamps show how Hong Kong has changed from 1897 to 1997.

It is funny how all of these are rather older stamps actually...

Gratulerer med dagen Norge! / Happy Birthday Norway!

17 May is like probably the most important day in Norway since it is the country's Constitution Day, which is the National Day of Norway.

The Constitution of Norway was signed at Eidsvoll on May 17 in the year 1814. The constitution declared Norway to be an independent kingdom in an attempt to avoid being ceded to Sweden after Denmark–Norway's devastating defeat in the Napoleonic Wars.

So for the birthday of my most beloved country in the world, here are a few Norwegian cards which I thought that thematically would be appropriate for today =)
In case you wanna read a bit more about the Norwegian's most important day of the year, take a look here - Understanding 17 May

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First comes an official card which even though shows the Norwegian flag, was actually sent from Poland, but don't get me started on that now, let me tell you a few words about the flag instead :)

It was adopted on 13 July 1821, by a resolution by the Norwegian parliament, the Storting.

The idea for this flag belongs to Frederik Meltzer, Member of Parliament from Bergen. He got the idea of adding a blue cross to the Danish flag during a meeting in the parliament. The discussion on the flag circled around considerations about reflecting the past, that is the Danish colours, which enjoyed great popularity, and considerations that the union with Sweden should also be reflected in the flag. So we can say that the red and white came from the Danish flag, the blue from the Swedish. At the same time, the colour combination red, white, blue was also attractive to the Parliament because it reflected the colours of liberty, as in the flags of France, the USA, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

here is that Polish stamp issued in 2009 for the World Post Day.



I have no idea how I obtained the following two cards (most probably a swap) - all I know is that I found them in the 2010 pile.

On both of the cards you can see a map of the country along with some beautiful nature scenes located in different parts of it (the one above actually shows views from the north of the country only).

The next map card - I received it twice....and funny thing is that both senders sent it like just a few days apart...what a telepathy!! :D
One was sent by Sissel and one by Cathrine - I can freely say my two most regular Norwegian contributors :))

Both Sissel and Cathrine have said on the cards that the map is a bit inaccurate - I don't know if it's cos its maybe an older edition or something...but still makes it a really nice map-card.

Among else it says that
- the country is a Constitutional Monarchy with a Parliamentary system of Government
- monetary unit is the Norwegian krone
- religion: Protestant
- main export: oil and gas, ships and offshore platforms, fish, paper
- capital: Oslo
- largest lake: Mjøsa
- highest mountain: Galdhøpiggen, 2469m
- average life expectancy: women - 80 years, men - 73 years  (what the hell are you doing to your men Norway?? or should I ask that the Norwegian women maybe? :P)
- national anthem: Ja, vi elsker dette landet

speaking of mountains, it reminded me of this thing I read yesterday - it is not the latest news, actually it is like more than a year old, but I still thought it may be worth sharing this article about the Future Library Project that is taking place in Norway :)

here are the two stamps that came along with these cards - the above one featuring the Revtangen, Klepp, Rogaland was issued in 2009 in a set of 6 Tourism stamps, while the one below was issued in 2011 in a set of three stamps for the Year of the Architecture.

For the end of this post I will share with you a small anecdote from my recent Spanish trip that is related to Norway :)

See, we were visiting Benidorm one day, and just as we parked the car, another car parked in front of us, and I don't know why I took a look, but something just got my attention and I realized the car was Norwegian! I couldn't really believe it and I just stood there waiting for the people to get out of the car in order to talk to them, in my terrible basic Norwegian! To make it worse, I was so excited that I couldn't even think of the simplest of words at the moment!! And I don't know who was more shocked, me, that I came across Norwegians at a random place in Spain, or them, that they came across someone at a random place in Spain who actually spoke Norwegian (or better said, had her attempts to do so :D) It was hilarious cos as I've probably mentioned before, spoken Norwegian is a nightmare to me, so not only they talked to me in Norwegian, they often had to translate in English what they had actually said cos my brain was duh? huh? what??!! Yeah, the joke's on me, I know, but frankly I am also proud of myself cos I didn't run away as I usually do when I have to talk in a language I am not fluent in (like Spanish or German), but on the whole contrary, I was waiting for them to get out of the car in order to exchange a few words.
They were an older and really lovely couple, so a big hug to them in case they ever come across this post and remember that clumsy girl in Benidorm who tried to talk to them in Norwegian :D

Hunza, Pakistan

Hello from the sunny/cloudy/sunny/cloudy/oh-i-so-much-wanna-rain-but-i-think-i-may-spare-you-the-trouble Skopje. Well, I rather it rains now than later when I wanna go to this music event and among else, see Psychic TV live.

Well, I have some hours to spare till then, so why not post a few cards? :)


First comes this amazing card from  Pakistan that Vera sent me few years ago when we swapped, and this card is just sooo beautiful! I love love love the colours of this, as they call it, amazing spring of Aliabad in the Hunza Valley.

Hunza is located in the northern part of Pakistan, not far from the borders with China and Afghanistan. It's well known for its picturesque beauty and culture, and traditions of the mountain people.

In March, April and May, the Hunza valley is full of flowers and blossoming trees (as you can see here on the card), and in contrast to the distant snowy peaks, it looks amazing, though as Vera points it out, the view from Aliabad remains spectacular throughout the year, even when it's cold and raining. 

The blossom starts with the almond trees, then apricot trees, cherries, apples, peaches and pears. Apricot is a famous legend fruit of the valley and in ancient times used to be the main source of food. 

Hunza is also famous for its gem stones, which are considered to be one of the most valuable in the world.

Hunzakuts (the local people of Hunza) tell a legend of 3 soldiers from the Army of Alexander the Great, which passed through the valley  with their Persian wives and founding the first villages of Altit, Baltit and Ganesh - a nice story but not confirmed. And the old Mir (King) of Hunza had an even better tale, claiming to be a descendant from Alexander's Union with a fairy of the Hindu Kush.

Oh, I love legends and fairy tales! Don't you? :))

Now along with the stamps, I have to again show Vera's amazing work of art and effort she puts on postcards (you can check out the previous one here) I often wish I had at least half the talent and creativity when it comes to the cards I send...

As for the stamps - the one on the left was issued in 2012, showing Muhammad Ali Jinnah who gained independence for Pakistan. He is a founder of Pakistan and beloved national hero. The other stamp is also from 2012, commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Visit of King Bhumibol Adulyadej & Queen Sirikit of Thailand to Pakistan.

Vera, thank you very much again for this fantastic card, stamps and design!!

Cats, cats, cats....and a Poem

As for my last post today comes one of my longish, annoying ones, with a bunch of cards, and today's subject is Cats.

Now, I know that time ago I said no more cat cards and I didn't really plan on posting some, until recently I received this card which kinda changed my mind and inspired me to do a cat-post.
The card itself is not a cat card at all, but had a reference to a poem which is the main 'offender' of why this post was born. And here it is...

Stray Cat

by Francis Witham

“Oh, what unhappy twist of fate Has brought you homeless to my gate? The gate where once another stood To beg for shelter, warmth, and food For from that day I ceased to be The master of my destiny. While he, with purr and velvet paw Became within my house the law. He scratched the furniture and shed And claimed the middle of my bed. He ruled in arrogance and pride And broke my heart the day he died. So if you really think, oh Cat, I’d willingly relive all that Because you come forlorn and thin Well…don’t just stand there…Come on in!”

It is both so heartwarming and heartbreaking and I'm sure that anyone who has ever kept a cat would be kinda touched by it and find it all so true.

So for the love of all adorable cats out there, here come a few on cards (I tried to make a variety of the countries where these came from so at least in case you are not into cat-cards, you may enjoy the stamps =)


I have no idea now who sent me this first one, but I'm glad to have it cos it is adorable beyond words.

If this cute little fella came to your door, how can you not bring it in?? Look at that adorable face and eyes!! Gosh, I'm such a sucker when it comes to cats. If I could I'd rescue all the stray cats out there (and unfortunately there are way too many here =/)


Next comes a great Nouvelles Images card sent by Bryon, showing different breeds of felines.

I have to admit that in general I prefer stray cats to the famous breeds' ones, and I'd never really go for a cat (or dog) for which I'd have to pay money - I'd always rescue some poor little fella from the streets and I really encourage other people to do so, since those little creatures are the ones that truly NEED your help.
Among else, this card reminded me that it's been really a while since I've posted something from the NI series here...

And what makes a cat card perfect?? Well, cat-stamps of course! :D These are from the amazing 2010 Adopt a Shelter Pet - series (just what I was saying above).

Thank you soooo much Bryon!!



Next is a card I received from Larisa in 2012...

....showing this photographer-wanna-be. However I think that (s)he is easily distracted so I wouldn't expect some booming career here :P

On the back we have one of the 2008 definitives, the Moscow Kremlin from the Kremlins' set of 2009, and one from the set of 4 stamps issued in 2010, showing Head Dresses of the Republic of Tatarstan.



Another one from the NI series received as an official in 2013.

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The expression on both the girl's and the cat's face are just priceless, for different reasons. The little girl is so delighted and there is something evil in her smile, while the cat has this 'oh my God, here comes my torturer, the fun days are over' kinda look.

The card came with a number of stamps, which I rarely get to see on the official ones from the Netherlands :)
First is a 5c definitive issued in 2003, then we have the blue 10c stamp which is from a set of 5 Numeral stamps issued in 1976. The top-right corner stamp was issued in 1992 commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Dutch Pediatrist Union. The one below featuring Wilem Jansz Blaeu is a Charity stamp issued in 1983, while the very last one is from 1991 from a set of 3 Summer stamps.

Thanks a bunch to Anne for this one!!


This one with the surreal green eyes came as an official from Great Britain and is actually a resent card since the first one went, who knows where..

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This one reminds me a lot of Kimi...even though his eyes weren't green as this, but that face and that look are just the same...and cannot believe that it's been almost a year without him =/

The stamp is a Christmas stamp from a mini-sheet of 7 stamps issued in 2012.



So besides a photographer wanna-be, today we also have a reader wanna-be.

The looks on this one's face is just heart-melting...and look at those lovely paws!! I don't know why but there is just something particularly adorable about little kittens' paws ❤

A number of nice stamps on the backside of this one. At the very bottom is a stamp from the Polish Farmhouses set issued in 2001. The top row starts with a stamp issued in 2004, showing Sandomierz, from the Polish Towns series. In the middle is a stamp issued in 2006 as part of the Polish Alphabet issue (so one stamp for each letter - so 26 in total. The last stamp was issued in 2009, from the Tytus, Romek and Atomek set (a Polish comic-book series).

Thanks a lot to Patycja for this one!




This double-cuteness arrived in 2009, for the Winner of the Month lottery at the PC forum.

Being a WOTM is a really great experience! Unfortunately I don't take much part in the forum activities now, and this also includes the lottery in question. However, I still have a number of cards received as part of it, that haven't been shown yet (and I was a winner twice actually during my PC career :)))

This card arrived from Steffi who attached two stamps - a lighthouse one from the set of 2 issued in 2009 and one definitive from the flowers' set issued in 2005.



Looks like a pretty vain cat this next one with a killers' look! :)

It arrived as a surprise from dear Essie in 2010 - yeah, another one of those 'shame on me it took me so long to post it'. But better late than never, no?

a very very cute stamp issued in 2009, representing Multi-cultural Finland.

Essi dear, kiitos!!!



I decided to close this post  with another card from Bryon cos this one is like one of the most unique cards I have received!

The card is an Edward Gorey's illustration that is part of the Cats & Dogs boxed postcard set.
And I think it makes a perfect postcard here when it comes to address, space for writing and additional stuff - therefore had to scan both sides, but deleted (most of) the text, cos otherwise one just cannot get the idea about the coolness of the card :)

It came with three different stamps, starting with the Polar Bear one issued in 2009. Next is a great tiger stamp issued in 2011, trying to raise awareness about the endangered species, while the last one showing two Love Birds was issued in 2006.

Big thank you again to Bryon! :)

Well, I guess you have had more than enough of your daily cat dose :)

Thank you for dropping by! Till next time...