Switzerland

A FANTASTIC Maxi Card I got from Sara!

I am not exactly sure which railway line is shown here, but however, it was Manfred Luckmann who had kindly provided this lithography to be used for the Maxi Card. As for the stamp on it, it was issued this year in a set of two railway stamps. Cancelled with a special cancellation in Bern, on 6th May 2010.
In case you understand German, here is the link provided on the back, where you can get lots of additional information, enjoy the pictures and whatever not...of course, that is in the case you love trains :)

www.schmalspurbahn.ch

Here are the two stamps which helped this Maxi Card arrive to me.
The one on the left was issued in 2008 in a set of 4 Cereals' stamps, this one representing Wheat, while the other one is from a set of 4 special stamps issued this year regarding the Centenary of Aviation in Switzerland. This particular stamp represents Geo Chavez who was a Franco-Peruvian aviator. At a young age, he achieved fame for his aeronautical feats. He died in 1910 while attempting the first air crossing of the Alps.

Castle of Vaduz, Liechtenstein

Remember the Heidi card i posted not so long ago? And how I said that i was actually offered Liechtenstein and that i went for it but when I saw the Heidi card, i changed my mind?
Well, Daniela, who sent me the Heidi card, completely unexpectedly, sent me a card of Liechtenstein as well....I guess she had read that my initial choice was Liechtenstein, so she decided to surprise me and send it to me, as a thank you for trading with her.....I must say i was literary caught of guard and extremely pleasantly surprised! Thank You Daniela for your thoughtfulness, a lot!!
My first card from Liechtenstein....adding one more country to my collection :D

Liechtenstein is a tiny (fourth smallest in Europe), doubly landlocked alpine country in western Europe bordered by Switzerland to its west and by Austria to its east, best known as a tax haven! It is one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world being a landlocked country wholly surrounded by other landlocked countries—the other is Uzbekistan.
As a country its not heavily urbanized. Many cultivated fields and small farms characterise its landscape both in the north (Unterland) and in the south (Oberland).
Most people speak Alemannic, a dialect of German, that is highly divergent from standard German. It is the smallest German speaking country in the world and the only country with a predominantly German-speaking population that does not share a border with Germany.

What can you see in the card is the Castle of Vaduz, which is the official residence of the prince of Liechtenstein (it has been the primary residence for the Royal Family since 1938). The Palace is named after the town Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein. Unfortunately, it can not be visited by tourists.