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!

Alaska, USA

A lovely Alaskan surprise from my Seattleite enemy...and moreover, it is the Northern Lights!! Or as the back of the card says 'Curtains of purple, red and green Northern Lights dance above the forest'.

I think I've rambled before here about my fascination with Alaska....and it is still on my dream list of 'places to visit'....but sometimes I just fear it is gonna be left as a dream only because of all that bureaucracy crap called 'visas'...and to get a tourist visa for the USA is a serious challenge (same goes for the UK/Ireland)...they just think that everyone who asks for a visa has plans on permanently remaining there...while all I want is just to visit Alaska..but for that I need to go through a plethora of documents and procedures and guarantees...and what I've always found most ironic..in order to apply for such a visa, you need to show plane ticket reservations...but that is not guarantee they will grant you the visa...so a waste of like thousand of dollars...for nothing...I am really really frustrated with this limitation of my freedom to move around the world...It was way worse until like 6 years ago, when we needed a visa for like every single EU country...so yeah, it can always be worse..but then again, it can always be better...

And Bryon wouldnt be Bryon, if he didnt take good care of the stamps...and here we have a whole lovely set of four Coastal Birds postcard stamps -   the roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja), the red knot (Calidris canutus), the magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens), king eider (Somateria spectabilis).

I am pretty sure this card has more stamps than required...I am being spoiled sometimes :)

Bryon, my mailbox is thankful for this Alaskan missile..just like its host, it loves Alaska a lot1 :)

Dog-sledging under the Northern Lights, Norway

Well, Ill close today's update with another view to enjoy..

i know it is Norway Im talking about, but im not being biased...I think that wherever in the world this was, I would have loved this card just equally. The northern lights just know how to charm a postcard. I dont know where exactly in Norway this is, but it is not as if it matters after all...

And thanks a lot to Sissel for always enriching my precious Norwegian collection...and for always finding such fantastic cards to send me. Shall I mention how stunned and excited I was to receive an official card from her not so long ago? Yup, postcrossing is fantastic, in case you hadnt known that.....:)

the stamp is from a set of two EUROPA stamps from the Children's books issue of last year, presenting "Grandma and the eight children", books by Anne-Cath. Vestly.

till next time...