Chiang Mai Thailand

Next is again an Asian card, this time from Thailand.

I think that this is a kind of a view every postcard collector loves coming across when travelling. Not only because of the large choice of postcards, but just look at the way they have been arranged, so appealing to the eye!
This is a scene in the Wualai Walking Street in Chiang Mai. You know, I never heard of Chiang Mai until I met these two lovely ladies during my trip in Vientiane. French girls who actually lived in Chian Mai and while talking to them I realized what a lovely place this is, though maybe it has become way too touristy for my taste, but still.
Unfortunately, from what I could see, they had to leave Thailand for good few months ago, but I hope life is still good for them back in France. Big hug to Sandrine and Claire while we are at it.

again, a bunch of super-fantastic stamps! The mailboxes were issued in 2016 in a set of 10 for the National Children's Day and they feature AESAN mailboxes (the red one is from Thailand while the yellow one from Vietnam). The owls are from a set of 4 issued in 2013 (on the top is the collared owlet or Glaucidium brodiei, while underneath is the collared scops owl or the Otus lettia.)

The Ease of sending Postcards in Guangzhou

As i had previously mentioned, finding postcards here has been far from an easy task...they say you can find them in post offices, but from what Ive seen so far it is usually those sold in booklets (and with a terrrible choice) or more like greeting cards...and then I recalled I saw once a shop at the Shamian Island selling cards, so the other day I decided to go there and do my first postcards' spree...which went kinda successful...why kinda? Well ok, the postcards' choice may not be vast but is acceptable (it is still better than nothing), and they are at a quite reasonable price of 2 CNY, which equals something like 30 cents. For starters I got few copies of each of these three...sorry for the not the best images, but no scanner here...

and to my delight the lady working there also asked me if I needed stamps, and I was like, whoo, this solves a big problem, sparing me the trouble of making myself understood at the post office with my non-existent conversing in Chinese...so I ask for 15 stamps, for the 15 postcards I bought, she types numbers into her calculator and gives me a final sum that leaves a perplexed expression on my face....hm, sorry, how much is the postage??? - 8 yuan she replies (1.20 dollars) - I know postage in some countries is high but thanks to the hundreds and hundreds of cards I have received from China, I immediately knew something was fishy here (otherwise I would have probably believed her and fell in her trap - thank God I actually said NO when she previously said she was gonna stick the stamps on the cards for me...very crafty from her side - and the only reason I said NO was because I do want to arrange the layout on my own cards not because I actually suspected she would try to trick me..

Anyways, after I told her 8 CNY is too much and that I would take the cards only, she said - ok 6 yuan, good price! good price! - who the hell is bargaining for a postage rate??? it is either 6 or 8 or whatever other amount it may be but this was just an additional sign she wanted to rip me off (and she was disappointed her plan didnt work out - I wonder how many tourists have fell into this trap at this particular spot)

after this I asked the Chinese community at postcrossing about the postage rate and believe it or not it is either 3 CNY for surface mail or 4.5 CNY for airmail, but of course it is neither 6 nor 8. 

I know that with mail from China in the end it may make no difference whether it is airmail or not, but I decided to go with the airmail and see how it goes

so armoured with a dictionary, pieces of paper on which I have written the amount of stamps I need (simply as 15 x 4.5 CNY), i go to a small post office that is right in my street (how convenient) and ask for stamps (thankfully they did speak English in the amount necessary to get the stamps). So I buy 15 stamps, 4.5 CNY each, the lady at the counter types in the numbers on her calculator and shows me the final sum of 135 CNY - I already had a 100 CNY bill in my hands and again give the calculator a confused look (I really start wondering what the calculators have against me). The lady at the counter reluctantly takes my bill and says, but this is too little money...I know she may not be versed enough with the numbers in English, but I thought that maybe some common sense should have told her that 15 stamps of that rate could not possibly cost 135 CNY! So starting to get a bit pissed, since I dont know anymore if someone is trying to rip me off or if it was an unintentional mistake, I open the calculator on my phone and am about to show her the math, when she does her math again on her own calculator, and oh look. this time it showed 67.5...and she cant believe her eyes, she is all surprised..so she does the calculation again - 67.5....and then again, just to make sure - yeah 67.5...so I finally manage to buy stamps at the ACTUAL price  and go back home 

for my 'experimental' postcards' sending from China, I decided to go with the official cards, mainly cos I haven't sent any since I left Macedonia, so I do want to work on it a bit and get it back to shape...so i get the addresses (nothing exciting there) and write my first 5 cards out of the 15 addresses, and just in case add EUROPE after the country's name to the cards going to EUROPE - and the next day excitedly go to the post office (a different one since it was on my way to where I was going...I see a counter with stamps so I ask the lady where could I mail my cards - she takes them, inspects the stamps and if the postage is sufficient - passed the test. And then she says 'but you also need to write the country;s name in Chinese'. Ok..wait, what?????!!!  (honestly, this thing did cross my mind but just crossed it since I remember most of the cards I had received from China, had something in Chinese near or below the name of the country) - I thought it may not be a real need to write them in Chinese but turns out I was wrong - first she couldnt read the names of the countries in English, I had to tell her that one was for Taiwan, and she was kind enough to write it down for me in Chinese, and that the rest were for Europe (which she had to look up on the phone for how to write it in Chinese) - yeah, she was helpful indeed, but I certainly cannot always go to the PO and ask for the people there to write the names in Chinese...so here is my clumsy attempt to do so...I still havent finished nor sent these, but makes me wonder if they are ever gonna reach their real destination - and before you ask me, no I absolutely do not know the names of the countries in Chinese - just relying on google here ....

so that's not really how I expected my first attempt of postcards sending to be :D  let's see what the outcome of this story is going to be...

Anyways, if you like one of these cards let me know and Ill try to mail one to you...if I manage to get your country's name right in Chinese that is :P 

Bangladesh

Before i get down to the rambling, I would like to wish a very Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating it (at this time of the year). Not being the Christmassy-type of person, I don't really have much of a habit to send Christmas regards - moreover, Christmas is here in January, so everything related to it feels like something distant....it is just all those Facebook updates there to remind me about it  =)

Well I thought you wouldn't mind another update for the year...I thought this blog deserved one more post....and ok, the other day I received another brand new country (there one or two more also waiting to be posted), so I thought I shouldnt let all this linger so much....like for whatever reason I had done with this Bangladesh card...it is my first one written and stamped from there and I received it LAST year...yeah, you read it right, last year...but for some inexplicable reason to me, I have not posted it yet...so here we go people, my first written and stamped card from Bangladesh! Yay!! :D

and the problem with this card is that I don't really know what it represents...is it maybe a house...or a trailer...or even a train wagon maybe? beats me! =/ I definitely like it...it is all so nice and colourful and kinda hippie...but except for "greetings from" no other words from the sender....can anyone help me out here and solve my dilemma...or trilemma...or...

so, down to the stamps then....I hope I won't get stuck with them too...the bird one is from a set of 3 issued in 2012 for the International Stamp Exhibition INDONESIA 2012....the other one...the other one is a 'local motives' stamp issued in 2003...and from what I can see it is some kind of port with a ship....

Nevis

It's a gloomy, rainy Monday...although it didn't really start this way, it turned into quite a sh***y day...so I could use it as an excuse why I've spent my entire day in the pajamas, like literally doing nothing....so to make at least something productive out of today (I know we can debate on the word "productive" here :P), here comes an update...to make at least two throughout January...but let's see how much I manage to do in the end coz I really feel lazy on the overall =)

So I think that by now most of you are familiar with my 'I have new countries! I have new countries' bragging...so here comes one of those from that famous list...directly from Nevis!! Oh yeah baby, Nevis! :D
May sound confusing to some of you (as it did to me at the beginning, I admit), cos usually to me it is St.Kitts and Nevis as a whole, but Nevis does have its own stamps indeed...so the fact that I had received a card from St. Kitts, didn't actually mean I had one from Nevis too (well, until this beauty dropped into my mailbox!). So I guess I should go and change that label, cos it seems to be misleading...

Wanna take a guess which of my postcard fairies is guilty for this one? :P I have like 6 or 7 of them
 at the moment and the lucky one to have visited Nevis is dear Herbert!  Whom I actually had the chance to meet last year cos he also took a small trip around the Balkans which included Skopje as well...but I won't be speaking on his behalf regarding his impressions, I'll let him do so...actually just right now this idea crossed my mind of people who have visited Macedonia and whom I've actually met, write some kind of guest post with their impressions and all...hmm, what do you think? I really don't know why I haven't thought of this before, but now that it simply flashed in front of my eyes, I really love the idea!! What do you think? Instead of me rambling about it, someone else can give a different insight (ok, I can pop in with Macedonian posts as well from time to time regarding the places I've been too and share some anecdotes), but my heart really goes with the idea about guest posts. And in case you read this and plan on visiting Skopje as well, leave a note so we can meet, have some coffee and later have your post up here...yeah, the only "condition" for you to be eligible to write a guest post is that we have actually met....so you can later write in your post "oh Ana is sooo awesome and fantastic and such lovely company and so on and on :D :D :D :D"

But back to Nevis for now...or the Queen of the Caribbean as they call it - which it earned in the 18th century, when its sugar plantations created much wealth for the British, (or the little stamp paradise, as Herbert called it), is separated from St.Kitts by a shallow 3.22 km channel known as "The Narrows".
The name, Nevis, is derived from the Spanish, Nuestra Señora de las Nieves (which means Our Lady of the Snows); the name first appears on maps in the 16th century

and yeah...Nevis is one of those countries with absolutely cool stamps that have nothing to do with the country itself...and it was quite shocking to see the overall number of Elivis stamps Nevis has issued....this one is from 2007 from a set of 6 stamps, commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Death of Elvis Presley (1935-1977).

Muchas gracias a Herbert for always finding a new country to visit and surprise my mailbox along the way too ;-)

Bjelovar, Croatia

a lovely surprise card I received from Hrvoje and Ekaterina!

I have the impression that when it comes to Croatia, I'm more inclined to post something related to the coastline places or islands, and unintentionally ignoring the rest, which is neither fair neither I have some reason for it...so to make up for it, here is a card from the Croatian town of Bjelovar where you can see some images from a festival called Terezijana, organized each June in the memory of Maria Theresa (not Mother Theresa) who was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg and had been the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma.
She is said to have laid the foundations of the town of Bjelovar in 1756, thus this festival is being organized each year.

the two stamps are from set of four Ehtnographic heritage stamps  issued in 2010, where the regions of Primorje and Međumirje are represented.

thanks a lot to Hrvoje and Ekaterina for thinking of me and sending me this card :)

Casa de la Vall, Andorra

next is another surprise card sent by my friend Goran who, well, decided to make us all jealous and during his trip to Spain last summer, take a short tour to Andorra as well :)

May seem just like some another ordinary house/building, but turns out that this Casa de la Vall is an important place in Andorra, where the headquarters of the General Council of Andorra are
It was built in 1580 as a manor and tower defense by the Busquets family.

Goran used a a EUROPA stamp from the 2014 theme of instruments.

Фалааа Гораааан! :)

Cape Eluanbi, Taiwan

Two cards from Taiwan, which, if I figured out correctly, show the same lighthouse...I'm saying this, cos the second card doesn't bear a name of the lighthouse, but according to the structure and layout and all, it must be the same one :)

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The first one arrived as an official and is really cool cos that small square in the right up corner is actually a small window, which turned out to be showing the image perfectly when scanned! 

The Cape Eluanbi lies at the it is the southernmost point of mainland Taiwan and nowadays it is called "The Light of East Asia", because its intensity is the most powerful among Taiwan lighthouses.

Btw, I realized that this is some kind of series of Taiwanese postcards called "Love Taiwan" and that Glenn has received a fantastic one representing the Alishan Railway! 

the stamp on this one is from a set of four stamps showing lakes, issued in 2014.



The other lighthouse card arrived for the FB surprise group from Elva. Btw, I was somewhat convinced I had another card showing this lighthouse...but then again it might be I've seen it too frequently on postcrossing...but frankly, I really have NO idea and I feel like my mind is playing tricks on me =/

The lighthouse was built during the Qing Dynasty in 1888 and according to Wikipedia, is the only armed lighthouse in the world, with a trench surrounding it and many gun holes on the wall. The extra fortifications were required at the time it was built because of frequent raids by local aboriginal tribes

the stamps are definitives issued in 2013, representing different kind of berries - the one on the left (in two copies), shows us a Ribes formosanum, while the other one shows a Hylocereus undatus (or White-fleshed Pitahaya)

Berat, Albania

well, lets put one more card for today...from the neighbouring Albania

Funny thing I learned about the name of this town is that it was derived from the older Bel(i)grad (or Belgrade, if it feels more familiar to you, which means "white city" in the South Slavic languages), under which name it was known in Greek, Latin and Slavic documents during the High and Late Middle Age.

The old town of Berat has been inscribed on the UNESCO whs list (along with the Albanian town of Gjirokastra), since they bear outstanding testimony to the diversity of urban societies in the Balkans, and to longstanding ways of life which have today almost vanished.

the stamp is from a set of two issued in 2013, commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the International Red Cross

one weird thing, if I may call it so, is the airmail label...I mean, why???! :D

well, one more thing to add...Dritan, the guy who sent me the card, seems to appreciate the Macedonian music, from what can be seen on the card as well..he likes Toše...and he also likes Leb i Sol...another great Macedonian band that I recommend you give it a try...

well, so much of cards and stamps and recommendations for now...wishing you a great week ahead and see you around :)

British Antarctic Territory

Happy New Year people!! OK, I know it's been five days already since it passed, but being that it is my first post this year, I do want to use this opportunity to wish you all a superb 2015, being happy and cheerful, doing the things you like, spending time with the people you love, travelling as much as you can and of course, enjoy full mailboxes as often as possible :)

2015 started pretty fine for me...esp. postcard-wise...this post is a proof of it ;-)
Even though my initial plans for New Year's eve didn't really get to be realized, my last minute option turned out to be a really good choice and it was just great...esp. when you get to bribe the DJ with chocolate to play Depeche Mode for the second time :P

Anyways, the downside of all this is that I've been ill ever since...I saw it coming even before NY, but I guess it didn't want to ruin my NY plans more than it already did, so it waited till it was all over to knock me down to bed...and it's been driving me crazy, being stuck inside and lying in bed most of the time...the worst thing is that I don't feel I'm gonna recover for at least a few more days, and I really better be cos in like ten days I'm going back to my working tasks and I can't possibly be doing my job in such a condition =/
Well, at least it is a good opportunity while doing nothing productive, to squeeze in one or two updates before things get hectic again and I neglect this nice, little cosy place of mine.

Now, is there a better way to start the year than with a new country? I know I told you already that a few new countries have been waiting in line to be posted, but JP ruined my plans (gees, seems like a lot of my plans have been ruined lately, but probably for a good reason :D)
So I'm really sorry that I'll keep you in dark for a while more about those special places, but today the special first post in 2015 goes to this written and stamped card from the...well, you've already read it in the title above so it's no longer that much of a surprise, but yep, it is indeed a w/s card from the British Antarctica! :D  I just don't know if im more excited to have received this card or envious of JP for having been there :)

The card shows a wreck of an old whaler ship, while in the background you can see the Deception Island, which is part of the South Shetland Islands, which have been claimed by the United Kingdom since 1908 and to be part of the British Antarctic Territory since 1962. They are also claimed by the governments of Chile (since 1940, as part of the Antártica Chilena province) and by Argentina (since 1943, as part of Argentine Antarctica, Tierra del Fuego Province).

Awesome cancellation of Port Lockroy, which is a natural harbour on the north-western shore of Wiencke Island in Palmer Archipelago of the British Antarctic Territory.
As for the stamps....there are two and both were issued in 2013. The one with the penguin is from a set of 8, penguin stamps, of course, and this little fella here is an Adélie penguin. The other stamp is from a set of 16 stamps commemorating the 50th Anniversary of British Antarctic Territory Stamps - Antarctic Research. No, that's not the Queen there lurking...or is it?!!

Thanks sooo much JP for the fantastic surprise...and for the perfect timing, starting the new year with a brand new country!! Thank you!!! Ana happy!!

Lake Michigan, USA

Well, next comes another surprise card that I received this year...and since I don't feel like opening yet another box to be storing my 2015 cards, why not clear them away immediately? :P
Thing is, if it wasn't for this card, I wouldn't have realized that my Illinois posts so far were actually labeled as IlliOnois...even in the title! Yeah, me, who can be a real nit-picker sometimes, makes such clumsy mistakes...that laaast and laaast and laaast..for years! Just terrible...but I guess either no one has noticed so far, so it is not THAT embarrassing, or people didn't feel comfortable of pointing it out :)

The guilty guy for making me notice this mistake of mine, is, well, of course...Bryon! :D
Well, you know, I realized that both of the card I received since the beginning of the year are somewhat related, since they both show some icy, cold place...and eventually, really spontaneously, this whole updated turned out to be veiled in ice and snow...just as our weather here...snow, ice and extremely cold temperatures, which were like the main reason why my initial NY plans didn't work out...but as they say, everything happens for a reason and Im not complaining :)

The card here shows a view of the Chicago skyline from the frozen Lake Michigan...doesn't seem suitable for ice-skating though

if im not mistaken, this is my first Christmas USPS stamp of 2014...and I really love it!

Thank you Bryon! Hope that Argentine wine was nice ;-)

Helsinki, Finland

a dreamy kind of an image..at least for me...

I received this card back in 2012 from Minna as RAS. This is how the main railway station in Helsinki looks like during the snowy winter days...I don't know if it is always so deserted and empty, but sure feels tranquil and if it wasn't (probably) freezing cold, it would be really nice to sit here for hours and find your peace of mind.....

a very, very cute Christmas stamp issued in 1996 in a set of 3 stamps. Love those auroras!!

Winter in Yukon, Canada

well, just one more icy, freezing post for today...which, hmm, also happened to arrive as a surprise (i just realized this honestly...a definitely themed update today :))

I hope my bicycle doesn't get to experience this though :)

The back of the card says: At -40 °C summer seems a long way off...well, even here, even though it is not as extremely cold as -40, summer does seem a long way off..
Alvin is to blame for this lovely card, who visited Canada last September

the stamp is from a set of 5 Baby Wildlife stamps issued in 2014...really cute!

Thanks Alvin for yet another lovely surprise...and thank you all for dropping by!

Until next time, stay well!

Druk Wangyal Lhakhang, Bhutan

Wohooo!! =) Surprise surprise :D I can't believe it myself either honestly after...hmmm, how long has it been...3 months?!! Way way too long this time, I know...and I'm sorry...it just happened without a notice...but frankly, life in the past months has been...hmm, not that easy...a lot of working tasks to deal with...as usual, personal issues to deal with as well that leave you with no time/desire to do anything...and on top of that, my grandmother passed away =/ Even though not unexpected but it still hits you when it happens...and it is still hard to believe that she is actually gone...one of the kindest and most generous and timid and modest persons I've ever known and I ever will...I never had the chance to meet my other grandma, cos she had passed away even before I was born..so this one was the only grandma I had, but she did her grandma-role in the most perfect way possible...unfortunately, due to a number of events, she was bed-bound for the past ten years or so and that was not really some kind of life to lead...esp since things were just getting worse and worse and life was more of a torture to her than something nice...so I hope that now all her pains have gone and she is at some nice and peaceful place to finally rest...cos she deserves it! So that would be briefly on what kept me away from posting here...and postcrossing in general...haven't really been able to dedicate myself to it properly (well, ok due to financial reasons as well), so in case I have some pending swap with you or i owe you something and you get to read this...I'll try to fix that as soon as I can...though I don't think it will be by the end of the year...but hey...new year, new beginnings :)

Speaking of that...I have to mention that there is a new postman....AGAIN...in my area...that moron that did all the chaos and trouble...I don't know what happened with him...but I know for certain that he has caused headaches and frustrations to hundreds of people with his ignorant behaviour....frankly it also somewhat killed my desire about postcards cos there is no pleasure of receiving bunch of cards like once a month...and then having to deal with all of them at once...yeah, i do love having a full mailbox, but when it happens in, how do I say this..a natural way...not cos someone out there is incapable of doing his job properly...

Anyways, despite all that, I still received some lovely mail during these past months...and well, a number of new countries too :D  And it was quite difficult to actually choose which one to post today, so in the end, totally randomly, I chose this one that arrived as a total surprise from dear Sissel (to make you a bit more jealous, she actually sent me a few cards, not just this one :P)

So here it comes...a written and stamped card from the Kingdom of Bhutan!!

A gorgeous card as well! Though I still can't decide what I love better...the card or the stamp below :D
Here you can see the Druk Wangyal Lhakhang temple, built in honor of His Majesty the fourth Druk Gyalpo, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. The past and future appears to merge in the details of the lhakhang and its structure tells the story of a supreme warrior figure, whose vision pierces the distant future in a fine blend of history and mythology.
It is located in the Dochula pass, the most well-known pass in Bhutan that is very popular among tourists, as it offers a stunning 360 degree panoramic view of Himalayan mountain range!


And here comes the stamp!! Come on, how can you just NOT love it? :D

I just can't stop wondering how come *I* always find just the crappiest and most boring stamps when I travel, and I never find something so splendid?
Issued in 1984 as part of eight stamps and four souvenir sheets dedicated to locomotives...this one here shows the Sondermann Freight built in 1896.

Nice way to start my comeback, no? ;-)

Thanks again so much Sissel! Your surprises are always so fantastic!

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 :)