COVER N. 235 - CROATIA

Postmark: ilegible 03.04.2023 

Posted on the 3rd April; Received on the 18th April 2023
_________________________________________________________________________________

Lately I've been adding quite a few names to the list of countries and Postal Administrations represented in this blog and so I couldn't be more pleased to notice that in the stash of mail I had received during my time off in the beginning of the month, there was also a nice cover from Nikola, in Croatia, the first one I ever got from this beautiful country.

Thank you so much, Nikola!

I have spent some fine days in Croatia  some years ago and one of them was passed walking around in Plitvitce Lakes National Park, slowly building one of those memories that will last forever, for the place is  outstandingly beautiful, with waterfalls and emerald  lakes that look like they came out of some fantasy novel, popping out of everywhere.

The beauty of memories is that they can be revived; the more so if you happen to be one of those fellows that won't go on a holiday trip without the cumbersome and inconvenient weight of a backpack  full of camera gear that 9,5 out of 10 times you just won't use, much to the joy of your travelling companion who won't let go an opportunity to mock the aspiring Ansel Adams in you, as she shoots picture after picture with the unbearable lightness of the  250 grams of her cellphone....

But then there's weather, season, time of day, people... all the variables that during the summer months at well known places, usually get together to make sure that your unforgettable visit to an unforgettable place will be recorded in sub-par photos, either because the sun will be to high, or the sky will be dull blue, the light will be too harsh, there will be people everywhere, (doing much the same as you...)....

But you carry on, and next time you go somewhere in the summer, you'll be sure to carry all the heavy gear on your back... hoping for the best, knowing that frustration can also be a motivator to  do better next time... I've caught good photo opportunities during summer storms, for instance,.. but then, it is the wind... the rain... the fact that the tripod won't hold steady... while your companion shoots picture after picture of perfectly good vacation photographs with the unbearable lightness of a 250 g cellphone...

When I looked at the stamps on Nikola's letter, I immediately jumped to the computer to take a look at the pictures I took at Plitvice in 2017.... How can a guy spend the best part of a day in such a lovely place and return home with all but crappy pictures....well, I promise I'll do better next time.

On 10JUN2019 Hrvatska pošta issued a minisheet with four stamps, denominated two each at 3.10 and 8.8 Kuna, illustrated with photos of Plitvice national Park, celebrating the beauty and the importance this amazing place has, both in ecological and economical terms. Two of these stamps were used on my cover and given the fact that the 3.10 Kuna stamp is in souvenir sheet form, I suspect that the other three might have been likewise issued, but I'm just speculating.

The postmark on the stamp is illegible, unfortunately.