Trains, Hungary

For my last post for today...and for this year actually, I reserved a bunch of train cards from Hungary...and when it comes to train cards, Hungary ranks pretty high on my list, along with Germany, The Netherlands and USA...

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The first one is an official, showing the 100th anniversary of the Börgönd (now part of the Székesfehérvár) Tapolca railway line. The picture side of the postcard shows the railway line skirting the northern shore of Lake Balaton together with miniaturised pictures of postcards of the station buildings of the period. In the stamp design of the postcard (featured below) a steam locomotive and Lake Balaton can be seen.
This is a commemorative postcard, issued by the Magyar post, so it i pretty special :)

as I already said before, that is a stamp design on the postcard (at the very right)...as for the other two stamps - the middle one is from a set of two Fruits stamps issued in 2012 (under the theme 'Cultivated flora of Hungary), and this one here shows us a Pándy sour cherry (among the varieties of sour cherry cultivated in the Carpathian Basin). The other stamp is from a set of 6 furniture stamps issued in 2000 (showing antique chairs).

Among all these cards I have a number that are blank...and of course, have no idea now how they have ended up in my mailbox....this is why I dislike blank cards...I know that when I once visited Budapest, I bought a few...but after all these years, and this hundreds and thousdands of train cards I have, I cant recall exactly which ones are those...anyways, the card above shows a Steam Engine No. 424 287 of MÁV (Hungarian State Railways) in Lajosmizse on Sept. 1st 1988.
Even though I'm a train fanatic, I am NOT an expert....so I cant really go into some further elaboration here besides what's written on the back :)

another blank one....it shows the Talent Electric railcar No. 5342 001-4 of MÁV, and diesel locomotive No. 4062 016-0 of MÁV at Hajdu Co. Ltd on May 20th 2007.

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Official card with a cool ID :) 

It shows the Children's Railway (Gyermekvasút or Line 7), a narrow gauge railway line in Budapest, which connects Széchényi-hegy and Hűvösvölgy and is 11.2 km long. The former name of the line was Úttörővasút (Pioneer Railway, in reference to the communist scouts).Except the train driver, all of the posts are operated by children aged 10–14, under adult supervision. and it is the world's largest Children's Railway.
Ok, now I definitely need to go back to Budapest...this is just way too cool!! 

The stamp on the left was issued in 2009 and it is from a set of two Christmas stamps...the other one was issued in 2006, featuring Illona Sasvarine who won the bronze medal in 1992 in Table Tennis at the Summer Paralymics in Barcelona, Spain. She had unfortunately passed away in 1999, at the age of just 45.

Again a card with the Steam engine no. 424 287, this time with a special train in the summer of 2002.

A card that arrived from a swap with Veronika, featuring the Budapest Cog-wheel Railway, officially called Tram line number 60 (BKV No. 61+51), on 24th of February 1997. 

the stamp was issued in 2012 in a set of two "Health Tourism" stamps, featuring spas. (This one shows the Rudas Baths - thermal baths in Budapest).

from a swap with Frank - problem is the text is covered with stamps so I cannot decipher much...except that the image dates from December 22nd 2003 - so just a bit over 12 years old...so sorry....

it is a 2010 stamp from a set of two from a Joint issue with Iran.

blankie......Joseph Haydn named Siemens Taurus electric locomotive no. 1047 504-4 of ROeEE AG at Győr station on August 18th 2009. P-6400 kW, Vmax = 230km/h 

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One more card from the Children's Railway, an official from Katalin (a DM fan! :D - she is my FB friend as well).
This one here shows the narrow-gauge steam engine no. 490 056 in 2007 in Szépjuhászné. 

and look at that stamp on the top!! an F1 one!!! It was issued in 2010, featuring the 25th Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix!! Thanks sooo much Katalin!!!

Steam Engine no. 22.034 (ex. 275 034) of Hungarian State Railways exhibited in the Hungarian Railway Museum on October 20th 2002.

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and juuuust one more...an official one....showing the Stadler electric railcar No. 5341 001-5 near Komarom on September 4th 2008.

Ok, is it just me, or the Hungarians are like fascinated with dates??!!! I havent noticed such a thing in train cards from other countries, stating exact dates! Or this dates-fascination is when it comes to trains only? I find it odd, but also amusing..

and this last stamp was also issued in 2010, commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Frederic Chopin, 1810-1849.

So people, that would be it...thank you for reading, thank you for dropping by, thank you for sending me postcards...thank you for everything! I hope that 2016 will be more fruitful blog-wise and that I will have the chance to proudly present my small little gems :)

Enjoy your New Year's Eve, wherever you are and whatever you do, and I'll see you next year! A big big big hug to you all!!!!  

Doors of Pécs, Hungary

one of those very cool door-cards!

this are some of doors in the houses/buildings of Pécs in Hungary...if you take a closer look, you will see that under each door, its address is given..not just the street name, but the number as well.
I dont know if this can be called as intrusion of privacy....i dont even know even the people living or maybe working here have any idea that their doors and addresses are freely circulating around the world...one thing for sure is that i wouldnt like MY address to be going around like that...thank God the door of my house is not at all attractive and has cat scratches all over it...:)
Btw, did you know that Pécs was the European Capital of Culture in 2010? (along with Istanbul and Essen). This year, the honour lies within Marseille in France, and Košice in Slovakia. Well, Macedonia is not an EU country, so we cant even hope to enter such a list...not that im gonna lose sleep over it...

that is a very nice colourful stamp on the right. It was issued in 2011 and shows St. Martin of Torus (a bishop), while the other stamp is from a set of 4 chairs' definitives issued in 2001.

Pilisvörösvár, Hungary

next card was sent by Peter , showing his hometown of Pilisvörösvár.

Pilisvörösvár is a small city in the Pest County, and here you can see several sites in the city, but unfortunately, i dont know what they are, nor i can give you more info about the place in general....google is really mean sometimes =[

but there are plenty of amazing stamps on the back! the stamp on the very right is from a set of four stamps issued in 2006 commemorating the Centenary of the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts. The one next to it is from a set of 4 definitives issued in 2001, representing chairs (Hungary seems to have a lot of chairs on the definitives). The big stamp next to it is from a set of 7, representing Dutch paintings, with this one showing Antonis van Dyck. The last stamp is from a set of 3 Poets' stamps issued in 1955, with this one representing Mihály Csokonai Vitéz. wow, such a variety of stamps!! I wish I could buy such old stamps here too!! though, on the other hand, Macedonia has been issuing its own stamps for like 20 years, so it is not like i can go back in time that much. thanks a lot Peter!!

Debrecen, Hungary

A fantastic card that came with a bunch of other train cards as a surprise from dear Kriszti!

well, from what I was able to understand from the back of the card, it shows Diesel-hydraulic locomotives No. M41 2325 and 2326 of MAV ZRt (Hungarian State Railways) in Debrecen on May 13th 2007.

videos always seem to go best with such cards....even though they are maybe not of the best quality, it is nice to see these locomotives in action...





thank you sooo much again for this amazing surprise Kriszti!!! <3 

Pécs, Hungary

Card showing Pécs in Hungary...and nice to have it in the collection since my variety of cards from this country aint big...so it is good to meet Pécs for a change :)

It is considered as the fifth largest city in Hungary, located on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the south-west of the country, close to its border with Croatia.
The name Pécs is of Slavic origin and means "furnace"(there is a town in Serbia with similar name – Peć).

hmmm....this is interesting...coz 'furnace' in Macedonian would be 'печка' (or transcribed in Latin alphabet, pechka)...funny...didnt really occur to me...even though when i tried to pronounce the name of this city, it did sound like that...but who would have thought that there could be a connection! Ahh, i just love these language stuff :)

Btw...ive been thinking something...and this past year i had mostly posted cards received during this year...but if you take a look at all my non-posted cards, you'll see that they date back from 2008 and 2009 as well, and a number of not sorted out cards received or bought before i started postcrossing. So now, in 2011, i will try to take those cards into consideration too and finally give them the chance to see the light of the day...plus, during the first month at least, i wont really receive that many different countries so that i post them according to my self-imposed rule...so dont take this as a new year resolution...but just as something i think it is about time to be done...and let you know i love all the cards you had sent me, and that if i hadnt posted them so far is not coz i dont like them :)

Szeged, Hungary

For  change something different from the usual Budapest views coming from Hungary.

The card even has a small map with the colours of the Hungarian flag...but I dont really think I could label this as a map...uhmm...it's just too small :)

Szeged is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the capital of Csongrád county.
The name Szeged might come from an old Hungarian word for corner (szeg) because of the turn of the river Tisza there. Others say it derives from the Hungarian word sziget which means "island". Others still contend that szeg means "dark blond" (sötétszőkés) - a reference to the colour of the water where the rivers Tisza and Maros merge.

I didnt really know you could refer to the colour of the water as 'dark blond'...

Unfortunately, the card has no stamp, but this machine generated sticker...well, must admit that this one look better compared to the red-coloured machine cancellations....

Hungary

Yaaay! A train card :))))

these are the Steam Locomotives Nr. 424 283 and Nr. 424 361 of the Hungarian State railway in Bw.Győr in 1979.
I dont exactly know what the locomotive numbers represent...my dad had probably explained this to me...but my mind tends to be forgetful as you know

However, the card is just great and I get more and more thrilled each time I receive a new train/railway related card.
Thanks to Milan for this treat :)

Budapest, Hungary

Been a while since Ive posted something Hungarian here...

I know Ive spoken of Budapest before and I know that I will speak of it again since I have too many Budapest cards....so instead of talking about it, this time ill show you just two links Ive overtaken from Kriszti...the first one is a really beautiful video about Hungary...and I love the music as well!



on the second link you can read loads of info and facts about Budapest and Hungary too, and as well browse lots of beautiful pictures

http://www.earth-photography.com/Countries/Hungary

and here come two nice stamps....the one on the left is from 2001 from a set of 6 definitives showing chairs, while the other one is from 2003 and is called European car-free day....respect!

Esztergom, Hungary

I have a BUNCH of Hungarian cards....but the vast majority from them are showing Budapest...and its cards i had bought myself...so receiving one in my mailbox, written and stamped, is a REAL refreshment!!

The card shows the city of Esztergom which is about 50km north-west of Budapest...lying on the right bank of the Danube river, which forms the border with Slovakia there.
It was Hungary's capital from the 10th till the mid 13th century...it is still the seat of the prímás of the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary.
One of the newest sights in Esztergom is the Maria Valeria bridge, connecting the city with the city of Šturovo in Slovakia.
Some think the name comes from Isztergam (Iszter meaning Danube and Gam referring to the nearby river Garam.

the stamp on the left was issued in 2004 with its Primary Theme "Politics and Government - National Symbols"...the other stamp was issued in 1999...has to do something with NATO...but i didnt manage to find much info about this one..

Budapest, Hungary

Hopefully ill manage to write this before midnight, as this post would count for Friday and for the PFF...which stands short for Postcard Friendship Day and is hosted over at Marie Reed's really cool blog...its not just postcards there, but a number of various themes you may really be interested in...so just go and have a look...and me, hopefully, will be a regular Friday poster....thing is, Friday being my day off, i just get carried away with stuff and all and need to do all those things im unable to do during the week, so by the time you say 'pancake' the day has gone...speaking of pancakes, i had a delicious one today...i know i shouldnt have eaten it and i know that its not gonna do any good to my complaints that my pants just feel too tight, but oh, i just couldnt resist it...if only i didnt have that huge sandwich before that...

This card was given to me by my friend Marija who spent her New Year holidays in Budapest. She is one of those people who prefer to give you cards in person instead send them from the actual place...i never understood this...i guess not everyone gets the thrill of buying postcards and stamps, addressing them, writing something on them, and then wait for the surprise the other person will have when they find their card in the mailbox...its a pity most people here simply are not used to this...i wonder if its due to the fact that they dont really get mail so they just dont know the feeling...but i would never stop sending cards...even though i go bankrupt afterwards, coz i just send waaay too many :D :D :D :D But i love it, and i rather cut down on food or not by myself some souvenir i know ill never have a use for and that will just catch dust, instead deprive someone of a card....yaaay, hooray for the Postcard Friendship Day and long live postcards!!!!

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I really wanted to go out of the country/town for New Years....call it running away but i just dont like celebrating it here...its more of an annoyance than something pleasurable, and every year its just the same (or worse) and i just dont fit into that vast category of people who just look forward to it, in order to eat, get drunk, eat, get drunk, eat, get drunk...party till early hours and in general, waste a huge some of money on one night only...thats just not my cup of tea...i may be sounding as an old granny, but i really prefer quiet, calmer things..last year i had a "celebration" like that at home and frankly, i felt great about it....we'll see what happens this year

Anyway, my friends' choice eventually fell on Budapest...and even though at first i was really excited to go somewhere, very soon i grew out of it...first, coz it takes a long travel...second, im saving for a new lap-top so blowing money on this aint really in my favour...third, even though Budapest is beautiful, its just cold to go there at this time of the year, and i dont really like to go there and either freeze or stay in the hotel room coz the conditions outside arent that good...so i think that it would have been a mistake if i went...and from all the enthusiasm at the beginning, only two friends are going...so its nothing to feel sorry for

Békéscsaba, Hungary

By most logical conclusion, i got this card from one of my former penpals...problem is, i dont know from whom exactly....I have had one or two pen-pals from Hungary...but i have no idea who sent me this card...and i know its from one of them, coz on the back, he or she had drawn a small map, saying where his/her village is compared to Békéscsaba...

Békéscsaba is a city and urban county in Southeast Hungary.

A large number of archaeological finds, unearthed where present-day Békéscsaba lies, all attest to the fact that the place was already inhabited in the late Bronze Age. The proximity of rivers must have been a key consideration for early settlers, as they were a source of food, offered protection and served as a means of transport for prehistoric man. So what is today’s Békéscsaba has been inhabited from time immemorial and was the scene of successive waves of migrations.

In the 4th century the Great Plain was conquered by the Huns. After the death of Attila, king of the Huns, the Gepids, an East Germanic Gothic tribe took over as occupiers of the land. In 565 they were in turn defeated by the Avars, who conquered, among others, the entire Great Plain.
The Avars were themselves defeated and subsequently driven out from Transdanubia by the Franks. For a while Avar khagans continued to rule the Great Plain, then in 804 Bulgarian tribes subdued the areas east of the River Danube. Historians seem to be divided over the issue of the peoples inhabiting the area at that time. Some assert that the Great Plain was inhabited by the Slavs; others do not rule out a large Avar population either, claiming that they were still inhabiting the area around the time of the Magyar conquest.

Today, making the most of its potential, Békéscsaba is one of the most dynamically developing cities in Békés County. Due to its status, compared to other places in the county, Békéscsaba offers the best of everything in terms of industry, education, culture and services

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Here is, again, another one of my, way too many Budapest cards...

I dont even know anymore what to write about when it comes to Budapest :)
Oh yeah...believe it or not, I went to Budapest during the Hungaro Ring...BUT i didnt attend the race...why? I wasnt interested in it...I just went there coz thats what the travel agent's offered, and for me it was a way to see Budapest, nothing else...i wasnt watching F1 then (though i did support Mika Hakkinen) i actually started watching it the following year, and either way, when  I went to Budapest, Raikkonen was driving for Sauber Petronas, so to me he was completely unknown...i became aware of him the following year when he transferred to McLaren Mercedes and have been a fan ever since....so i dont really regret i didnt attend the race...actually, on the day of the race, Budapest was empty as hell..and I went with 3 other people walking around the malls and to this amusement park, and i have to say i had a really really great time...oh and its Michael Schumacher who won back then....of course, that was a cliche :)

hmmm, there are some other stories related to Budapest that i have just recalled...but next time...there are PLENTY of Budapest cards awaiting, so no worries ;-)

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One of my numerous Budapest cards bought in 2001 when i went there....

So its not a newly received card, but an older one...as i said a few days ago, ill try and include an older card in each day i post, so apart from it contributing to the variety, i will also be able to make a balance between the old and new cards, and as well, manage to show those older cards as well instead leave them until there are no new cards at all (which is highly unlikely to happen...sometimes there may be less, sometimes more, but there will always be some new cards...i hope)

One thing that inevitably comes to my mind when thinking of Budapest is the following video...sorry, but i cant help it :)

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Hungary

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Lake Balaton, Hungary

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