Yuri Gagarin, Russia

well, apart from the Italian maxi card, some Russian cards of course...well a bunch of them actually....though I still have this feeling that I must have overlooked some :)

if you are not such a Gagarin fan, maybe you love Russian stamps....and this post has plenty of beautiful ones to show...
But before I get down to that, just wanted to show a picture of Yuri's night here in Skopje (it is an event organized throughout the world), and this time it was organized by the Russian Embassy here which I thought would be something spectacular, but was utterly boring but at least I got to meet some of my astronomy buddies and other friends....and at least pose for the picture with Gagarin....thanks to Iskra for the picture :)

and after the introduction lets get down to the cards....where for some I have NO idea how I have obtained them....yeah, blank cards....and the very first one is of such kind....

Found it in the 2010 pile, and it says it was issued by the State Institution of culture of Moscow, "The Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics".....other than that, it says "Yuri Gagarin - the first cosmonaut of the planet fulfilled the age-old dream of the Mankind about flight to space. On April 12th, 1961 spacecraft 'Vostok' with Yuri Gagarin on the board, made one Earth orbit and successfully landed. The era of manned space flight has begun.

well, as I said, it is blank, so no stamps nor any idea who sent it to me....


Now, when it comes to the next one, I have two copies of it, one received for the WOTM in 2012 from Alexandra, and the other one as part of a swap from Ekaterina in...unfortunately I cannot read the cancellation...

but both are written and stamped, so a few words about the stamps now...

on the first one we have one of the Russian Kremlins' stamps from 2009 (the Moscow Kremlin) and the other one is from a set of 4 stamps issued in 2011, for the Olympic Games in Sochi, showing Krasnaya Polyana, the only ski-resort at the Black Coast.

on the other card we have another of the Russian Kremlins' stamps  (the Rostov one) and three more - there are two stamps from the set of 5 issued in 2005, commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of A.I.Mikoyan...and the one on the right, issued in 2008 in a set of 4 stamps showing the Decorative-Aplied Arts of Dagestan.



next we have another blank card from 2010...with a smiling Yuri! ♥

now this one is not a maxi-card, even though at first glance it may seem so...

the sender, Natalia, had designed it herself, and she says this was her first designer's experience with a retro photo....well done Natalia!! And thank you for sending it to me! :

and she used nice stamps too....two more of the Russian Kremlins (haha, maybe by the end of the post I will have them all :P) - here you can see the Zarask Kremlin and the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, and also a fantastic stamp issued in 2010, showing the Curonian spit...and if you actually touch it, you can feel the rough sandy-surface!


Next is probably one of the most iconic Gagarin pictures, where he is holding a dove...but in general there is a trend of famous people being photographed with doves, promoting peace and all...

blank card unfortunately...



another one with this super-charming Gagarin smile :D

RU-2939434

received this one as an official from Elena in 2014 (I also have a blank copy, so if anyone is interested, let me know).

and among the three stamps here, we also have a matching one with Gagarin!!! Issued in 2009, for the 75th anniversary since his birth...we also have one of the 2008 definitives, and one from one of my favourite Russian cartoons with Karlson - it comes from a set of 4 cartoons' stamps issued in 2012.


Ok, i think we are like half-way through, and next comes a card dear Maria sent me in 2010

It was indeed issued to commemorate April 12th, and the world's first spaceman!



Next is probably one of my favourite Gagarin cards where you can see him in the company of Gina Lollobrigida at the Second Moscow International Movie Festival in 1961

RU-631158

Received it from Polina in 2011, when Russia still had 6-digit IDs :)

On the stamp you can see another one of the Kremlins - the Ryazan Kremlin.


A card I received in 2012 from Anna for the wishlist-tag...

The English translation on the back of the card says "Long Live the Son of the Communist Party"!
I don't know how come the translation has the word 'communist' in it...or maybe it is understandable it refers to the communist party...but I do somewhat disagree with such wilful addition/omission of words..

anyways, the card comes with a nice stamp issued in 2011, showing the Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve.


this next card is from the same series as the one above...an official received last year, sent by Larisa and Anastasia...sisters I guess :)

RU-3394987

the English translation says, "We are creative and friendly and clever, we're making space to be peaceful forever"! 

which word means 'clever' in Russian here? 

one more Kremlin stamp :D it shows the Astrakhan Kremlin. There is also one from the 2008 defintivies and one Sochi stamp from the set of 15 issued in 2014, showing all the different disciplines.


The next-to-last....

...received from Irina for the (no-more-existing) Favourites RR.
I wonder what's going through Gagarin's pensive head here....

A gorgeous stamp with Orcinus Orca from the set of two whales' stamps issued in 2012....and another 2008 definitive.


And this last card for this post, and today came as a surprise from dear Katya in 2013

another pensive Gagarin-look....probably before take-off :)

Here you can again see the Moscow Kremlin and another beautiful stamp issued in 2013 in a set of 3 Contemporary Russian Art stamps.


Sorry Yuri for the delay in this post....but I hope it still counts :)

and wishing you all a nice weekend....yeah sorry, that would be all for today, but I just wanted to make one update dedicated to Gagarin...I will try to come back soon with a new regular kind of update...promise! :)

Bicycles, Spain

Next are two super cool bicycle cards from Spain!

The first one comes from the Balearic Islands, sent by dear Agi...I absolutely love the retro-look of this one and the color too...it is like a super best-friend for your every day errands ...it just looks like one very happy bike :)

and I think that a mushroom stamp collector would be quite envious on such a card:D These come from a set issued in 2013, and I'm far from a mushroom expert, but for the curious one, here you have, from left to right: Agaricus xanthoderma, Amanita pantherina and Marasmius oreades.

I received this other bicycle card just recently, for the favourites tag...not sure where this one is exactly...I can just hope that it is in Spain at least :)

the stamp is a rather glowing and shiny one and is from the set of two Christmas stamps issued in 2015.

Bicycles, Ukraine

So, one more card for today...ok, that is actually one more post, with two card :)

...and it is bicycles again, sorry :)))
These come from Ukraine, and on the first one we can see a number of people on old bicycles...I really really wish I could at least once take a ride on such a bike...they are real classic!

This card came as part of the Choose a Country RR, two years ago, thanks to Kristine

She also used a number of nice stamps on it...first we have a cool monkey stamp from a set of 12 stamps issued in 2013, representing the Lunar Calendar, and each stamp represents one of the animals...as if Kristine knew why she should send me the monkey one :) and on each stamp you can also see the actual years for that particular sign.
Next to it is another stamp issued in 2013, representing the History of National Communication, while the one below it is a flora stamp, issued in 2012, showing the Fraxinus excelsior.

UA-1408113

This other bicycle card arrived as an official recently and it says "I love Ukraine very very much"...

I dont know why the bicycle in the picture...I never would have related Ukraine to bicycles, but I certainly don't mind...it makes one beautiful postcard! 

the stamp is a definitive issued in 2013.

So, that would be all for today...hope you didn't mind the bicycle over-dose :)

stay well and enjoy your week ahead!!

Portland, USA

Next is a cool bikish card from Bryon..

The back of the card says that 'bicycling and rain are two things that Portland is known for'...and well,  as long as you have the right clothing, there is no problem when riding your bike in the rain...the only problem here is the lack of the cycling paths..and the streets and pavements are either in terrible condition or not cycling-appropriate...so by the time you get to your destination you are all wet, despite your rain coat...water is just splashing from all the cracks and holes.... =/

Just recently I realized that I should find a seat cover for my bike, so that when it rains, the seat won't get ruined...since mine is not made of plastic but it is kinda soft, and not so rain-friendly...and looking at this card keeps reminding me of it...so I guess I should be looking at it like more often until I finally get it done :)
Anyways, it's been a nice weather here recently...a while ago I came back from the Cycling Critical Mass - it was a nice ride...esp. now that the weather has gotten warmer but it ain't too hot yet...winter rides are always in the dark and there are not many people...but I think that today there were around like 300 cyclists maybe...yep, we are fighting for our rights...it has been a slow process but there have been some improvements after like almost four years that this event has been regularly taking place.

well, here are a few pictures from today's edition, photo credits go to my neighbour Dimitar.

me and my friend Sašo while waiting for the event to begin

somewhere down the road - the last Wednesday of the month,when the patience of the car drivers, bus drivers, pedestrians is being tested...and they seriously have failed on a number of occasions :)

and a number of nice stamps...and two different cancellations, a red and a black one...cant figure out the date on the black one though...I wonder if both cancellations bear the same date or just wondering whatever has happened here :)
As for the stamps, the bottom one is more or less familiar, the Navajo Jewelry from 2007...as for the rest...first we have one from 1974 from a set of 8 stamps that are part of the Universal Postal Union Issue - the set consists of paintings by different artists, this one is by Liotard. The one next to it shows Chief Josef, and I believe this painting can be found at the National Portrait Gallery - issued in 1968. The last two stamps are from the Vintage Circus Posters' set of 16 issued in 2014.

Thank you Bryon =)

Fort Collins Brewery, USA

Next is an official I received in 2014, and a very very cool card, even though I don't drink beer...

US-2638068

This card is like an ad for the Fort Collins Brewery in Colorado and as can be seen from this card, they even have beer with bicycles on it....now even though I don't like beer, I may actually give this one a try....just cos of the bike :)

from the back of the card:

Saddle Up. Fat Tire Amber Ale delivers a happy balance of distinctive nutty malt flavours and fresh hoppiness. As a consumer once wrote, "this beer just makes you smile."

and at first I thought 'hoppiness' was some spelling mistake, since it got underlined with red as well, but turns out that is something about the level of the bitterness of the beer or something...

Well if you are ever nearby, you can visit it, they seem to have a nice taverna as well...and later, well just let me know how it was :)

a few stamps here, mostly well-known ones...starting from the bottom with the American Toleware from 2007, then above it, the American Clock from 2003..and then the Navajo Jewelry from 2004 - the other two I dont see that frequently - first is a Christmas stamp from 2007, and then a flower one issued in 2013, showing a Poinsettia.

thanks a bunch to Louise for this super-cool card!

Morocco

Two great map cards from Morocco received from two great people...

The first one is from dear Susanne from her Morocco tour in 2012....been a while since I've heard from her, I hope she is doing fine!

Speaking of Morocco, you know, recently it came up as a part of a travelling discussion....just to make me realize I actually need a visa for there...gosh! What an annoyance!! And the embassy is not even in Macedonia, but in Bulgaria (Sofia). Ok, one could probably apply for one through a travel agent's here and they do the job, but that is not the point...the point is the overall bureaucracy crap and the fact that one just cant set off on a trip like that, but has to deal with all those visa procedures first =/
The only reason I envy the EU people is that they can get to travel to so many places without a visa...

The stamp is from a set of 3 Kind Muhammed VI stamps issued in 2011

the other map-card arrived from Patrik whose job I so much envy cos he gets to travel to so many places because of it! :)

the stamp is from a set of 10 Cobber Art stamps issued in 2012.

Thanks a lot lot to both Susanne and Patrik for the lovely surprises and for enriching my map-postcards' collection with these :)

Reykjavik, Iceland

Next beauty comes from Iceland (I don't think there can be something else but beauty if it comes from Iceland btw :)), sent by Alvin two years ago (yeah, today I'm kinda into older cards - cos of all my procrastination throughout the years of course...and frankly speaking I don't think I will ever be able to catch up...)

Speaking of Alvin, today, I realized that Heleen knows him too! It is such a small world! Ok, they are both Dutch, so nothing strange about it, but it is just one of those nice surprise feelings you get that when you don't expect it, you come across a familiar name :)

And the beauty here shows Winter's soft light over Reykjavik....it just hurts how beautiful it is! It hurts!!
Alvin says that on the card you can see the house where the Icelandic president lives, right next to the church...yeah, those buildings in the front...Reykjavik is in the background...and another funny fact added by Alvin is that Iceland is very safe, and there is almost no security at the president's house...heh, I don't think many presidents in the world can brag with that....

the stamp is from the 2013 EUROPA issue from a set of two stamps showing postal vehicles.

Another huge thank you Alvin!! And yeah, I envy your last trip too :)

Belgrade Meetings, Serbia

My last post was supposed to be about the Postcrossing Meeting in Belgrade last year...but I realized I had not posted the cards from the previous years, so I thought I'd include them as well...therefore it will be all cards, no pictures (plus I haven't asked for the consent from the others if I could post them here, since I am not alone on any of those :))

So this last meeting was a really good one, since we were quite a few...it was Ana, Renato, Aleksa (Renato's son), Jelena...and for the first time we got the chance to meet Milan - a great guy, and also Liza from Latvia joined us since she was in Belgrade those days (I had met her before here in Skopje, so it was great to see her again :)) I just really missed Judit this time....

The postcard was written at a place called Caruso - on the 8th floor :)

You know it has become a challenge to find some new view-cards of Belgrade, but I always manage...and from what I realized, there are different stamps on each of these cards (for this I would have to thank my dear partner in crime :))

Also after over two years, I got to see my dearest cousin Aleksandra...she actually made me company at the Book Fair, and later Liza joined us as well....speaking of the Book Fair, I finally got my copy of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams...and also this book by the Serbian author Svetislav Basara, "The Cyclist Conspiracy"....whichever of these two you lay your hands on, give it a read!
Well, I also got back with these most awesome pairs of earrings ❤ 

I got the Little Prince ones from my dear partner in crime...and she actually showed me this place which is like heaven for this kind of jewelry!

the stamp here was issued in 2013, in a set of four Orchid stamps - this one is called Cymbidium Fort George



Next is a card from the 2014 meeting...

...and it shows one of the first petrol stations in Belgrade, around 1934.

It was just Judit, Ana and me at this meeting...but that doesn't mean we didn't have a great time :))

I think I finally bought Brave New World this time, by Huxley...and dont know what else I stocked myself up with - this is what happens when I dont do my updates in time...I think it might be "Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage" by Murakami......I think...

two beautiful stamps!!! Issued in 2007 in a set of 8 stamps representing Flora, Landscapes and Tourist Attractions - on these two you can see the Zapadna Morava river (left) and Kopaonik (right)




Next is the 2013 meeting...and actually two cards from this one...

according to the signatures, it is me, Ana, Renato Judit, Jelena who attended...and for the first time Snježana from Bosnia joined us...and seems we have overdosed ourselves with cakes here...since what I have on the back of the card says 'crunch cake', 'mini plazma-almond cookie' 'mini-hazelnut cookie'...but I think that a good deal of this was smudged on some postcards....:P

If I'm not mistaken, this was the year when I got "Kafka on the Shore" by Murakami - probably like my all time favourite by him until now...I must have bought something else too...but have no idea...maybe it was "You and Me" by Ammaniti...or that was the year before...well either way, both of the books are way too awesome!

a cute stamp from set of two "Joy of Europe" stamps issue in 2013

and a card that Renato designed...with a funny slip...since the English version says it is the 3rd PC meeting, but the Serbian translation says 2nd....yeah, trying to make you think something's wrong with you and you are seeing things :)))

To make it clear, it is the third one...and btw, if you are into Haiku...or even if you are not into Haiku, you can check Renato's book here - Haiku by Renato

issued in a set of two stamps in 2013, under the name European Nature Protection


and back to 2012

                   


meeting attended by me, Ana, Judit and Renato....the card shows the Memorial  Centre of Josip Broz Tito....but I won't go nostalgic now...
Which books I got this time...I of course have NO bloody idea....

                                             



the stamp was issued in 2008 in a set of two Nature stamps, with this one representing the Devil's City (or Đavolja Varoš in Serbian)




Now this last card is not from one of those regular Postcrossing meetings, but an extra one that happened on April 27th 2012, when dear Nastya was in Belgrade, so I went there to see her and Ana...and I must admit it I also used this meeting as a chance to get my Mexican Visa (that I would use later that summer), since the Mexican Embassy is in Belgrade...nobody knew about it, so this meeting kinda covered as a perfect excuse...but that is one of those times when stars align and the times overlapped....sometimes things really happen for a reason...

the card shows the Main Railway Station in Belgrade, and the photo dates back to 1958

and a matching stamp! :) Issued in 2009 in a set of two stamps commemorating the 125th Anniversary of the Railroad in Serbia.


Phewwww! I think I am finally done here!! Boy that was soo much babbling, my keyboard hurts :)

I hope it wasn't too annoying...I understand if you dont feel like reading through it all...but I hope you at least enjoyed the cards, stamps and the pictures :)

Now I seriously think I need a break!!