POSTCARD N.248 - U.S.A.

Postcrossing Postcard sent on 30 July; received on the  7th September 2026

Postcard image: Hoover Dam and Colorado River Bridge

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Thanks a lot Bobby, for this great card of the Hoover dam and the Colorado river bridge. Also thanks for the great selection of stamps.

Drones have given wings to photographers. Whereas in the past one had to enrol the service of an helicopter to shoot an image as the one on the postcard, today everyone can get it, provided, of course, they know how to handle the technicalities of the small devices that we all have seen buzzing around one's hears, particularly at tourist places. 

Now don't get me wrong. I have nothing against the conscientious use of drones (of the photo type) and  more than once I have given a thought about buying one. Still, there are so many restrictions to their use that my desire has lost momentum.... but who knows.... maybe Santa...? hear that, Mr Klaus?

The thing is that there is always an element of surprise in a drone photo, no matter how many we have already seen. Terrestrians that we are, we are used to looking at the world from the height of our eyes, so  we can't grasp a lot of what's going on above that plane. Drones don't have this limitation and as such they allow us to look at the world from a totally different perspective. Nice.

If only drones could only be used for photo and video and other peaceful applications....

Hoover Dam was built  between 1931 and 1936, on the Colorado River, about halfway on its course through Nevada and Arizona. The artificial lake it created is called Lake Mead, being the  largest reservoir in the USA. 

Besides being a famous tourist attraction, Hoover dam, at the time of construction, the largest concrete structure in the world, is also used for the production of hydroelectric power.

- In 1956, Adolph Ochs (1858 – 1935), bought, mostly with borrowed money, for the hefty sum of 75.000 USD, the New York Times newspaper, which had been established in 1851 as the New York Daily Times.

His only daughter,  Iphigene Ochs Sulzberger, would eventually marry Arthur Hays Sulzberger and, to this day, the prestigious Newspaper, has been in the hands of the descendants of the Ochs-Sulzberger family.

On 18SEP1976, USPS honoured the memory of Adolph Ochs by issuing the 13 cent stamp on the card.

- Lindbergh's solo flight over the Atlantic is one of those feats that will forever be remembered as a mark of human achievement and commitment.

To accomplish this feat, Charles Lindbergh flew on the Spirit of St. Louis, a custom built Ryan aircraft, with a fully enclosed cabin with two tiny side windows (forward vision provided by a periscope...) -  designated Ryan NYP (which stood for New York to Paris) .

On his transatlantic flight, Lucky Lindy, as he was also know, the moniker stemming from his air mail flying times, during which he survived two crashes by parachuting from the aircraft he was flying,  landed at le Bourget, Paris 33 hours and 30 minutes, after leaving Roosevelt Field in new York, on May 20-21 1937.

On 20MAY1977, celebrating the  50th anniversary of the flight, USPS issued the 13 cent stamp on the cover, illustrated with a beautiful image of the Spirit of Saint Louis, flying low above the waves  in the moonlight, a scene vividly described in Lindbergh’s book “The Spirit of Saint Louis” and also taken to a film of the same name, starred by James Stewart.

- Juan Ponce de Léon (1460-1521) was a 16th century Spanish explorer and conqueror, who accompanied Cristopher Collón in his second voyage to the Americas in 1493. He was also the first European explorer (and later governor)  of Puerto Rico... you lovely Island, Island of tropical breezes.... (I can't help it, I love West Side Story...), and the culprit for naming the peninsula that delimitates the Eastern Side of The Gulf of MEXICO, as Florida, a land that he would also be the first to map, on its Atlantic side.

On 12OCT1982, on the occasion of  ESPAMER '82, an international philatelic exhibition held in San Juan de Puerto Rico, USPS issued the 20 cent stamp on the postcard, illustrated with his portrait superimposed over the map with Florida and Puerto Rico in the background.

- The self-adhesive "Forever/USA" definitive stamp with the legend Freedom was issued on 10APR2023.

- The 7 cent air mail stamp illustrated with the top plane view of what looks like a Boeing 707 is the oldest vintage on this card, having been issued on 31JUL1958, what makes it older than myself.

- The 18-cent commemorative stamp highlighting the  Savings and Loans industry was issued on may 8, 1981. Ironically, I read that the 80's were fatal for the Savings and Loans Associations due to a sharp increase in interest rates that ruined their business model, given that the revenue from old long term  fixed rate loans could not offset the cost of the new deposit rates... 

- The Thunderbirds or The United States Air Force Demonstration Squadron, established in 1953, is one of the oldest air force aerobatic teams in the world, a title resting on its French counterpart, “La Patrouille de France”.

Based at Nellis Air Force Base, in the state of Nevada, the squadron currently flies the F-16 Fighting Falcon, a far cry from the original F-84G Thunderjets with which the squadron performed at  its inception.

The United States Department of the Air Force was established in 1947. To celebrate its 50th anniversary, USPS issued, on 18SEP1997, the  32 cent stamp on the postcard, illustrated with a photo of  a four  aircraft section of the usual six F-16s complement that the Thunderbirds use in their display routines.

Further to the clearly visible Mechanical  Freedom 250 Postmark, the stamps were cancelled with a red circular manual postmark also dated of 30.07.2026, the part of which that I can see reads "Last Las Vegas Station".

POSTCARD N.247 - U.S.A.

Postcrossing Postcard sent on 24 July; received on the  24th August 2026

Postcard image: The "Tridge" at Midland, Michigan

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Audrey sent me a postcard illustrated with a photo of quite an unusual concept: a three armed bridge, or as it seems to be locally known, a "Tridge". Many thanks Audrey, I quite liked it.

I was rather intrigued by the concept, although I remember having seen at least another three armed bridge before - Tromostovje or the Triple Bridge -  in Ljubljana, Slovenia,  so I turned to Google Earth to get a better notion of the emplacement of this curious infrastructure.

Turns out that the Tridge sits at the confluence of two rivers - the Tittabawassee and its tributary, the Chippewa - so that one of the arms links the "peninsula" delimitated by the two rivers running on each side of it to the other arm that crosses the already “unified” Tittabawassee.

The pedestrian wooden bridge opened to the public in 1981, each of its arms having a length of 55 metres.

To post the card, Audrey used a "Forever Global" self-adhesive stamp issued on 24Jan2025, illustrated with a 1794 Compass Rose that was drawn in 1794 by "...Lucia Wadsworth — the aunt of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow — in her school geography notebook...", according to Wikipedia.

The mechanical postmark was applied at USPS Michigan Metroplex Processing and Distribution Centre, in Pontiac, and it carries the logo of Freedom 250, the PPP established by the American Administration to run the celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States.

COVER N. 759 - CHINA

POSTCARD N.244
Postcard image: Longmen Ancient Town

Postmark: ? 23.07.2024

Posted on 23rd July;  Received on the 14th August 2026

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Another Postcrossing postcard received in a large envelope from China. 谢谢, mfx.

Mfx wrote that the village in the photo on the nice blue hour photo on the card was more than a 1000 years old. I did a bit of research and with the help of Google translator I managed to identify the town as the  Longmen Ancient Town, in the city of Hangzhou, province of Zhejiang.

The pre-stamped envelope features an illustration of an old lake side village  with a legend that Google translated as "18th letter writing contest for the youth". 

On the back, 2009 is also printed, so I presume that the envelope dates from that year. The pre-printed 2.40 Yuan stamp shows a child holding on to a carp.

Postage was competed with:

- a 1.20 Yuan stamp from a set of seven (0,80; 5 x1.20; 1.50 Yuan) issued on  21JUN2014, illustrated with images evoking "The Dream of the Red Chamber" a novel written in the 18th-century by Cao Xueqin, considered to be one of the great classics of Chinese literature.

- a 40 fen stamp from a set of four (40 fen; 1; 2; 4.20 Yuan), issued on 12MAY2016, from the series Beautiful China. It is illustrated with a photo of Mu Dan Jiang (Snow Town), in the province of Heilongjiang, famous for its mushroom shaped houses, which can be seen on the photograph, all covered in snow.

POSTCARD N.245 - SOUTH KOREA

Postcrossing postcard dated of 24 July; received on the 18th August 2026

Postcard image: Sea of Mukho

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A minimalist photo of a rather solitary off shore lighthouse in a calm sea, in Mukho, Donghae, South Korea. 감사합니다 ,Yerin!

I don't know why - maybe it's just the shape of the lighthouse - but I feel there is almost a Sci-Fi look in this simple yet effective shot, that I find quite attractive.

Yerin tells me that the stamp features a character from Princess Catch! Teenieping, a very popular 

South Korean animated children's television series. I tried to identify the character in the stamp, but there are so many of them (and to my untrained eye, some look so similar to one another) that I simply gave up...

The postmark hails from Nowon, one of the 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea's Capital.

COVER N. 758 - CANADA
POSTCARD N.243
Postcard image: Northern Ligfhts on Summit Peak Trail, Stone Mountain provincial Park

Postmark: None

Posted on ?;  Received on the 14th August 2026

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Daylin sends me a Postcrossing postcard inside a curious envelope made of pretty uncommon paper since it is obtained from Elephant poop fibbers, in Thailand...  quite singular,... Thanks Daylin.

Unfortunately, the envelope isn't postmarked, what if anything, only accentuates what I feel about Canada Post "From Far and Wide" definitive series stamps: outstanding places, beautiful photographs, but minuscule stamps, that should be viewed under a magnifier.... or, better yet, a microscope, for even though the stamp carries a legend indicating what is the place in the photograph, it just can't be read without that kid of device...

Anyway, the image on the stamp is that of Qarlinngua Sea Arch, Nunavut, a 50 meter tall natural rock formation located on the Brodeur Peninsula of Baffin Island, Canada's largest island, in the Canadian Territory of Nunavut. 

The stamp is part of a set of four issued on 13JAN2025 (1.44; 1.75; 2.61;3.65 Canadian Dollars). The four stamps are new and higher face value reprints of part of the "From Far and Wide" series issue of 2024, which comprised 9 values.

The postcard Daylin sent features a very nice photo of the northern lights, taken in Stone Mountain Provincial Park in British Columbia.

I was about to write that this is the sort of image that I have always aspired to capture but cannot, due to my being so down south, but as it turns out, in the last two years  northern lights were seen in the north of Portugal (redder and much dimmer than in the photo, but still...) so maybe I will be able to watch and shoot them one of these days 😂

Of course I can always go to Canada... 

 

POSTCARD N.240 - GERMANY

Postcrossing postcard dated of 23 July; received on the 7th August 2026

Postcard image: A Lufthansa Junkers W38 

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Another great postcard with a photo of one of the fabulous aircraft of the golden age of aviation. What's not to like? Vielen Dank, Karl-Heinz!

It was once the world's biggest aircraft. Serviced by a crew of 7, the Junkers W.38, which first  took to the air in 1929, could accommodate 34 passengers in its fuselage and wing cabins... just imagine the view from the nose cabin or from the wing leading edge with a propeller constantly cutting the air in front of you and the noise from one of the V-12 engines right on your side.....oh how I would love to have a ride in it.....

Only two were made by Junkers Flugzeug und Motorenwerke AG (D-AZUR and D-APIS) and they both served with Deutsche Lufthansa from 1930 till 1936, when the D-AZUR  crashed at Dessau, being irrecoverable.

D-APIS would fly on, only to be requisitioned by the Luftwaffe during World War II. Its history would come to a sad end during the invasion of Greece in May, 1941, when it was destroyed on the ground by an RAF bombing, 

Karl-Heinz used a 0,75 € self-adhesive stamp, illustrated with a photo of the Cathedral of Saint Peter, Regensburg, part of a set of two stamps (0,55 + 0,75 €) issued on 03MAR2011 as a joint issue with Japan dedicated to UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Postage was completed with a 0,50 €  stamp from the "flowers" definitive series initiated in 2005. The  stamp, illustrated with  an Autumn Aster (Aster novae), was initially issued on 02JUN2005, but has been reprinted in 2017.

The Postmark is illegible.

POSTCARD N.237 - UNITED KINGDOM

Postcard dated of the 22nd July; received on the 29th June 2026

Postcard image: London -  Trafalgar Square by night

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I don't get that many mail from the UK, so it is always a renewd pleasure when a letter or a postcard from the largest country in old Albion drops into my letterbox. Many Thanks, Martyn!

It has been ages since I last was in London, but I had no trouble identifying the place in the photograph of the postcard, for the church of  Saint Martin in the Fields, with its colonnade and spire is one of those images that will be forever kept on one's ROM, once you inscribe it.... even by night, as is the case.

- Joe Mercer (1914 –– 1990) was a British football player, who went on to manage first Aston Villa and then Manchester City, a club that he would lead to take the 1967–68 First Division championship,  the 1969 FA Cup, the 1970 League Cup, and the 1970 European Cup Winners' Cup.

He was also one of the ten distinguished Brits that were honoured by Royal Mail in its Remarkable Lives set issued on 25MAR2014 in the form of two strips of 5 se-tenant 1st class stamps.

- The second 1st class stamp on the card is a Data Matrix Barcoded Machin part of the set of 4 (1st; 2nd; 1st Large; 2nd large) issued on 01FEB2014.

Unfortunately, the Postcard evaded the postmarking machine....

POSTCARD N.229 -  CHINA

Postcard sent on the 9th April; received on the 22th May 2026

Postcard image:  Somewhere in Shangai, I presume....

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Postcrossing meet-ups are popular within the Postcrossing community and many times custom postcards are printed for the occasion. Still I guess minimum quantities apply whenever printing a custom postcard, and so some are always left over. 

Circular economy should also be popular, not only amongst the Postcrossing community, but in the Human Community at large, for by now everybody should have a clear notion that resources are scarce and we keep wasting them as if we did not know better....

So I am more than happy to get a Postcrossing meet-up postcard even though the meet-up it was printed for took place some three years ago. What was once a timely postcard is now an historic one, and this adds a whole new layer of significance to it.  非常感谢 Monica!

What I do regret is not having any information as to where the images on the card were taken, apart that they show a "Spring view of Shangai during floer blossom", so Monica tells me. My take would be a train or metro station, but I really have no idea.

Monica used a very nice single 5 Yuan stamp with an image of some bamboo plants, part of a set of six (20; 30; 40 fēn; 1; 5 yuan) issued on 15JUN1993, dedicated to this icon of Chinese flora.

Postmark quite nice, but my linguistic ignorance steps in....  ah wait... Google translate  Shenzen in the top of the circle and Han Da in the bottom... does it make sense? Well Schenzen is the third largest Chinese city and is located in the province of Guangdong  but Han Da is a mistery to me.... could anyone help?

POSTCARD N.227 - PHILIPPINES

Postcrossing postcard sent on ?; received on the 29th April 2026

Postcard image:  Cherry Blossoms 

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Heidi sends me some cherry blossoms from the Philippines. Maraming salamat po, Heidi.

Intrigued by the photograph on the postcard I investigated if there are native cherries in the Philippines and the answer was "Yes. There are several, distinct types of tropical, cherry-like fruits native to the Philippines, but they are not the same species as the temperate sweet cherries (like Bing cherries) commonly imported from North America or Europe".

The 1 Piso Postal Station Stamp illustrated with a mail distribution scooter is part of a three stamp set (1; 17; 100 P), issued on 09AUG2024.

The 12 Piso stamp dedicated to the Filipino Language is part of the second 20024 issue in the National Symbols definitive series, comprising 6 stamps (12; 14; 35; 45; 50; 55 P), which began to circulate on 15OCT2024.

The 1Piso stamp bearing the image of a South Sea Pearl inside a Pinctada Maxima oyster, the largest pearl oyster in the world, cultivated in Philippines, Indonesia, Tahiti and Australia, was also issued    on 09AUG2024, included in the first definitive set of three stamps (1; 5; 17 P) dedicated to National Symbols.

POSTCARD N.223 - NETHERLANDS

Postcrossing Postcard sent on the 14th April; received on the 24th April 2026

Postcard image:  Mehringdamm, Berlim.

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A nice ambient night shot of a street in Berlin, near  Mehringdamm U-Bahn station, with a quote on the back that reads "even if 5 mini spring rolls for 2.5 €uro isn't a bad offer, the gastronomic leader of the U-Bah station at Mehringdamm is still Mustafa's famous Vegetable kebabs"

This got me curious.... I'll be sure to check if it still holds if I ever return to Berlin again.

Danke sehr, Anna.

Anna also included a "quirky historical fact" on his postcard, this being Postcrossing's writing prompt  for March:

She writes:"Did you know that in the 18th century the Prussian state had its citizens checked to see if they were secretly roasting coffee to avoid paying taxes?

So-called "coffee sniffers" sneaked through the stair wells and sniffed to see if they could smell coffee roasting".

No I did not know that, but as far as stupid taxes go, I remember when you had to pay a tax (in order to protect the matchbox industry) if you wanted to use a cigarette lighter here in my own country, in plain 20th century. This tax was only abolished in 1970.

On to the stamps:

- 5 and 15 Euro  cents World of letters series stamps:

0,05€ - Letters as Lotus Flower - issued on 02DEC2021 

0.15 € - Letters Peacock - issued on 10AUG2024 

- 0,45 + 0,20 € welfare surtax stamps, part of a set of 5 (.45 + .20; 3 x .55+.25; 1.44 + 56 €) dedicated to climate types in the wonderful world series, issued on 07OCT2004.

The  Polar climate is the type illustrated by this particular stamp, which features a photograph of icebergs  in the ocean.

- 0,45 € self-adhesive stamp, issued on 09FEB2012, celebrating the  125th Anniversary of the Narrow Gauge Railways in Harz, illustrated with a photo of one of the company's steam powered trains. 

The first narrow gauge railroad in the Harz mountains, in Central Germany, opened to traffic in 1887, with a service between Gernrode and Mägdesprung.

Today the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways network extends over 140 km of narrow gauge railroad.

Mechanical postmark from Briefzentrum 10 - Central Berlim.

COVER N.702 / POSTCARD N. 223 - CANADA.

Postcrossing Postcard sent on the 7th April ; received on the 15th April 2026.

Postcard image: landmarks of Prince Edward Island

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What a lovely piece of mail I got from Sofi in Canada, through Postcrossing. Thank you so much Sofi. I really appreciated the care you have in sending the postcard in an envelope with so many outstanding stamps. I couldn't be happier about it!

There are no less than 9 stamps on this particular cover, so let's get down to them, left to right, top to bottom, as usual:

- 4 cent stamp, part of a definitive set of  8 stamps ( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9,  10; 25 cents) dedicated to  "Traditional Trades". The 4 cent stamp is illustrated with a photograph of an oyster and of the hands of someone shucking an oyster, with a very tiny legend on the frame reading: Ostréiculture / Oyster Farming

- Between 2007 and 2014, Canada Post issued a series of definitive stamps dedicated to "Beneficial Insects". There were 5 issues in this series (2007; 2009; 2010; 2012; 2014). The 3, 1, 10 and 5 cent stamps on the cover pertain to the  first issue of the series, dated of 12OCT2007, while the 2 cent stamp was the 2009 issue, dated of 22APR2022.

Although tiny, these stamps are absolutely wonderful and capture in great detail images of insects that we all are familiar with and which we sometimes forget about their importance in the sustainability of life on this planet, through their role as pest controllers, pollinators and part of the food chain of other species.

On the cover we have stamps with illustrations of the following insects:

- 3 cent - Chrysopa oculata

This green lacewing of the Chrisopidae family is used to control aphid populations in orchards.

- 1 cent - Convergent Lady Beetle (Hippodamia convergens)

Another insect used to control aphid populations, the convergent Lady Beetle is a coleopter, member of the Cocinellidae family.

- 10 cent - Canada Darner (Aeshna canadiensis)

A member of the Aeshnidae family, this dragonfly as other dragonflies is a voracious insect predator,  being, therefore, very beneficial.

- 5  cent - Common Arctic Bumblebee (Bombus polaris)

According to Wikipedia, the Common Arctic Bumblebee, a member of the Apidae family,  is  is one of three bumblebees that live above the Arctic Circle and is also one of the earliest pollinators of vegetation in the Arctic each year.

- 2 cent - Monarch Caterpillar (Danaus plexippus)

A member of the Nymphalidae family, this beautiful lepidopter is a stout pollinator of wildflowers on its amazing migrations in the American Continent.

- Eid, or more precisely Eid al-Fitr (The breaking of the fast) is the Festival that celebrates the end of Ramadan for the Islamic communities and therefore a very relevant event on the calendar.  

On 24APR2020, the first day of Ramadan that year, Canada Post, following a tradition it inaugurated in 2017,  issued a "P" stamp, celebrating this important festival. 

- "Between the 1830s and 1990s, more than 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children across Canada were taken from their families and sent to federally created Indian residential schools. They were stripped of their languages, cultures and traditions. Children endured unsafe conditions, disease, and physical, sexual and emotional abuse while at the church-run schools. Thousands of them never made it home. Residential school Survivors continue to experience trauma from their time at the institutions, and that has been passed down to successive generations"

The third edition of Canada Post’s annual Truth and Reconciliation Stamp series focused on artwork by Survivors of residential schools.

Issued on 27SEP2024, it comprised three "P" stamps. On the cover we have the stamp honouring the artwork of Helen Iguptak, and I can't resist transcribing some text from the stamp release notes:

"Helen Iguptak recalls the time she was taken away from her home in what is now Nunavut, at age 7, to live at Turquetil Hall residential school in Chesterfield Inlet. She was taken by boat and remembers the feeling of trading her warm caribou clothing for store-bought cotton clothes.

"I noticed it was kind of windy and the wind was going right through my clothes. I started thinking, how am I going to survive this winter,” Iguptak told CBC in an interview in 2018.

Iguptak today carries on Kivalliq dollmaking – a centuries-old Inuit tradition from the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut.

She took up the artform in the 1990s. But Iguptak learned to make her first doll at residential school. She befriended an older girl who taught her how to make the “little friends” that comforted her and helped protect her culture from being taken away.

“When I was in Chesterfield I had one friend who taught me how to make a doll, so I made one under her instruction. She taught me how to make basic clothing,” she told CBC. “I was only like 7. Just before I finished it – I think I was putting the hair on – I ran out of thread and I was too scared to ask for thread. I looked around the floor and saw something black, so I used that to finish the doll. It was a human hair.”

When she eventually left Chesterfield to go home, she says she was so excited she completely forgot about her doll.

Today, Iguptak is recognized as an artist helping to protect Inuit culture and continue the doll tradition. Her dolls are intricately stitched to capture the details of Inuit traditional dress. Details in her work typically include caribou-skin clothing, kamiks (sealskin boots) and colourful beadwork. They’ve been displayed in galleries and exhibitions across Canada."

- "The Canada Post Community Foundation is a registered charity distributing grants to Canadian schools, charities and community organizations that provide programming to children and youth (up to age 21)."

Annually, Canada Post issues a stamp with a10 cent charity surcharge to help fund its Community Foundation. On the cover we have the 2025 issue illustrated with some giraffes, issued on 28APR2025.

Prince Edward Island is the smallest Province of Canada, but is also the most populous. Located just in front of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, the island as an area of 5,660 square Kilometres and a population in excess of 182,000.

Its capital is Charlottetown, on the centre south of the island.

The postcard features photographs of

- the confederation bridge, built in 1997, that links Prince Edward Island and Canada's mainland; 

- Park Corner fields, park corner being a small rural community  for its picturesque landscapes and proximity to the island's beaches;

- Cap-Egmont lighthouse, dating from 1884.

 

POSTCARD N.222 - NETHERLANDS

Postcrossing Postcard sent on the 6th April; received on the 15th April 2026

Postcard image: Vintage photo of Amsterdam Central Station in 1906

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The first thing a more inspective view over the nice vintage photo on the postcard I got from Sascha, in the Netherlands - Hartelijk dank, Sascha! - is that.... there are no bicycles on view....

In fact, the "second coming" of bikes in the Netherlands took place in the 70s of last century, after popular pressure over the government to promote safer urban transportation, due to the rise in urban accidents with cars, in the booming years after the second world war.

And I say "second coming" because it seems that between the wars, the bicycle was also quite a widespread means of displacement for the Dutch and quite justifiably so, given the flat nature of most of its territory.

Today, an image like the one on the postcard would be unthinkable and it suffices to do a Google search on images of the bike parking right on the side of the still beautiful Central Station of Amsterdam to understand why. 

The fact is that Dutch got it right, and the humble bicycle, which was once frowned upon as the means of transportation of those that could not afford a car, is now spreading all over the world as a rational, non-polluting and quite fuel efficient means of transportation.

Of course, this change of attitude came together with a dramatic increase in the options so that those that like to herald their economic might over the rest of us can still pay tonnes of money for features that do nothing more special than making your bike more expensive... but for some that's really what matters most, right?

Amsterdam's Central Train Station was conceived by Architect Pierre Cuypers, who was also responsible for the conception of the  Rijskmuseum, started to be built in 1881 and was inaugurated in 1889.

Having undergone refurbishing works in 1997 it is now under a new development plan that started in 2022 and will take some years to complete.

Stamps (left to right; top to bottom):

- 0,39 € stamp from a mini-sheet comprising 12 x 0,39 € stamps, issued on 30AUG2002each one with a se-tenant stamp and vignette,  dedicated to the Dutch Provinces. Each stamp carries an artistic graphic illustration of a provincial flag while the vignette features a photograph of a landmark, person, artefact, etc,  characteristic of the province. 

This particular stamp on the card is illustrated with the flag of the Province of Overijseel and carries a photograph of the 16th century walls of the city of Zwolle, the Province's capital.

- 0,34 € stamp from a mini-sheet comprising 12 x 0,34 € stamps issued on 18NOV2008 with stamps dedicated to the December festive Season.

- 0,39 € stamp from a mini-sheet comprising 12 x 0,39 € stamps issued on 04JAN2006, themed on endangered animals. The highlighted animal on this particular stamp is the pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis), native to the forests and swamps of West Africa, primarily in Liberia, with small populations in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ivory Coast.

- 0,61 € self-adhesive stamp, issued on 02JAN2004, as part of a two stamp set (0,64 + 0,77 €) dedicated to Ancient Art. The stamp replicates the painting "Woman Reading Letter with Maid" by Dutch painter Gabriel Metsu (1629 - 1667)

- 0,39 € stamp from a mini-sheet comprising 10 x 0,39 € stamps issued on 10MAY2004, celebrating the enlargement of the European Union, which from the 1st of May of that year, registered 10 new member states: Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

The stamp is dedicated to teh Czech Republic, featuring a subdued flag of Czechia over a map and a stamp 

The mechanical postmark was applied at Amsterdam, the Capital. 

POSTCARD N.220 - AUSTRIA

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 01th April (?); received on the 14th April 2026

Postcard image: A view of unidentified  fields

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Not much to say about this postcard I got from Emilia with a nice photograph of  some calm fields on an unidentified location, other than it looks like a good place for a hike, one of my activities of choice. 

Unfortunately it mush have had a rough ride while in trasit since it arrived  with a pretty nasty crease....

Anyway, Danke sehr, Emilia!

Emilia used a small, yet atractive in its formal simplicity, 1,25€, self-adhesive, stamp, issued os 02HAN2026 as part of a 3 three stamp set (2 x 1,25; 2 €) in the "Three and bush" definitive series started in 2025.

The tree that illustrates the stamp is the Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), a member of the  Rosaceae family, which can grow up to 20 m high and which can be found all across Europe. The berries it produces are edible and can be made into jam.

Postmark from the Capital, Wien.

POSTCARD N.218 - UNITED KINGDOM

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 08th April; received on the 14th April 2026

Postcard image: The Red Arrows - reproduction of a stamp issued on 20JUN2024

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Oh the fumes.... the roar... the ballet like perfection of the 9 Hawks symmetrically aligned... Thanks a lot Hannah, I really like it!

The year was 1973. I was 13, then. The news on TV couldn't make me happier: The Red Arrows would be performing in Lisbon, over the Tagus near Belém.

I immediately put on a request with my father: Please, please daddy, please let’s go see them. Daddy said ok. we'll go.

Anticipation, anxiety.  I could hardly wait for it. 

Days later at school, during the break between two classes. Suddenly a glimpse of  red in the sky, getting bigger: the Red Arrows Gnats flying over my head, and then that  roar, I was bursting with enthusiasm. Tommorow as promised we'd go see the full performance.

Then the day came. I was ready to go. but then came lunch. and for some reason it took a lot of time for us four, my parents my sister and I, to leave home.

The day  was terribly hot, and even with the windows opened in our tiny Austin 850, I felt truly uncomfortable. The more so since everywhere I looked there were cars. all jammed up.  Everybody wanted to go the same direction but no one was moving an inch... the hour set for the performance was rapidily coming near, and still we did not move... and then it all went past and still we almost did not move... 

and then we returned home... 

and I cried a lot....

I would see the Red Arrows performing many years later at Montijo Air Base, already flying the Hawks, but I'll never forget the disappointment of that day when I spent most of  the afternoon sweating and crying, on the rear seat of that green Austin 850.

C. S. Lewis (1898 — 1963), was a prolific Irish author who is probably best remembered by his Chronicles of Narnia, comprising seven fantasy novels written between 1949 and 1954.

Celebrating the series,  British Mail issued on 22MAY2025 a set of 8 "1st Class" stamps each dedicated to one of the books in the saga (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was entitled to two stamps). 

The stamp on the left is illustrated with an image of "The Silver Chair", while the one on the right evokes "The Horse and His Boy"

POSTCARD N.217 - GERMANY

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 06th April; received on the 14th April 2026

Postcard image:The Ports of Dornumersiel/Westeraccumersiel

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Fishing trawlers  and the control tower of a port that was once two, so Ulla tells me. Vielen Dank, Ulla.

Dornumersiel and Westeraccumersiel are neighbouring communities separated by the waters of the Dornumersieler Tief, right on the western tip of the German North Sea coast.

These two towns used to have separate ports, but following storms that occurred in 1962,  and which I presume left behind a trail of destruction, both ports were merged, so Ulla tells me.

Judging by the image on the card, fishing boats (herring?) are probably the port's most important users.

The Waken Open Air Festival is the world's largest Heavy Metal Festival, which has been taking place since 1990, in the town of Waken, State of Schleswig-Holstein,in the north of the country.

The 2025 edition, which took place from 29 July till 2 August, was celebrated by Deutsche Post with a self-adhesive three stamp set (2 x 0.90 + 1.25 €) illustrated with what I presume to be the Festival's Logo, issued on 25JUL2025.

The mechanical postmark reads Briefzentrum 49, which locates the dispatch place  in the vicinity of  Osnabrück in the Sate of Lower Saxony.

POSTCARD N.214 - USA

Postcrossing Postcard sent on ?; received on the 10th March 2026

Postcard image: Ryan NYP "Spirit Of Saint Louis"

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A postcard issued by The Smithsonian Institution with a photograph of one of the most illustrious aircraft in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum: the Ryan NYP (New York to Paris) "Spirit of Saint Louis", in which Charles Lindbergh completed, in 1927, the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight, Between Roosevelt field, Long island, New York,  and Le Bourget, Paris, France. 

The flight took 33 hours and the pilot had to struggle to stay awake during much of it for he had not slept the previous night, so much so that at some point he  barely escaped crashing into the sea due to having fallen momentarily asleep and losing control of the aircraft..

I can't imagine what it would be like to fly in a noisy rattling aircraft without any forward vision other than that provided by a periscope, over the sea, in a cockpit probably not that impervious to exhaust fumes for 33.5 hours, in such animic conditions, but the truth is that Charles Lindbergh did it and with his feat won a irrevocable place in the history of aviation.

Incidentally, the Billy Wilder “Spirit of Saint Louis” film, featuring James Stewart as Lindbergh, gives quite a detailed  account of the flight and the challenges it raised for the pilot. 

Thanks a lot Kira! Unfortunately  the card got a bit wet inside my letterbox, and my attempt at drying it off with a clothes iron only did worse....

The "two ounce USA" stamp illustrated with  several flowers was issued on 22MAR2024 as part of a two stamp set ( the companion stamp is a "Forever USA ") themed on "Floral Greetings"

The blue Forever stamp is part of the two stamp set issued on 114AUG2025 in celebration of the Boston 2026 World Philatelic Exhibition. I wrote about these stamps a propos cover #646.

The card circulated without having been postmarked, so I have no clue as to its place of origin.

POSTCARD N.203 -  CZECH REPUBLIC

Postcard sent on the 5th December; received in December 2025.

Postcard image: Greetings from Křivoklát

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Křivoklát castle, whose origins date back to the 12th century, located in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech republic, is featured both in  the main image and also in the smaller detail image of a postcrossing postcard I got from Irada. děkuji mnohokrát!

Irada used a "E" (Europe) coded Stamp issued on 30NOV2021, featuring an image of the Infant Jesus of Prague, a famous and much venerated Infant Jesus image of probable Spanish origins that resides in the Discalced  Carmelite Church of Our Lady of Victories in, Prague.

The mechanical postmark was applied in Prague, the country's capital.

 armelite 

POSTCARD N.199 - GERMANY

Postcrossing Postcard sent on the 2nd November; received in November 2025.

Postcard image: Landmarks of Wismar

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Hansestadt Wismar, that is, the Hanseatic City of Wismar, is the subject of a multi-view postcrossing postcard I got from Christine. Danke sehr!

As usual with multi-view cards, the thumbnails highlight well known landmarks of the place they promote. Still, I have to say the photos do not do justice to what I could see on the internet regarding this old hanseatic city, for it has so much more lovely buildings and squares ... the port alone is worth the journey....

Left to right on the card we have the Tourist Information Centre, St. Nicholas church, the old Customs house, the City Hall and the Wasserkunst Wismar, the old city waterworks.

Stamps used:

 2 definitive stamps from the world of letters series:

0,20 € - wet bonding - issued on 02NOVE2024

0,10 € - message in a bottle - issued on 02NOV2022

The 0,95 € stamp was issued on 03JUL2025, in the Historical Buildings series. It displays the Speicherstadt, Hamburg, the Warehouse district in Hamburg, the largest warehouse district of a single city in the world.

The postmark is illegible.

 

COVER N.655 / POSTCARD N.198 - U.S.A.

Postcrossing Postcard sent on the 1st November; received in November 2025.

Postcard image: Grand Teton National Park

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A touch of colour lands on mailbox from  the United States of America. Thanks a lot Brianna, I loved the postcard and the stamps.

Brianna used almost the full 2024 self-adhesive floral definitive issue, dated of 18JUL2024 on this cover. The only stamp left out was the 10 c stamp which featured poppies and coneflowers. From left to right we have: 1 cent - Fringed Tulip: 2 cents - Daffodils; 3 cents - Peonies and 5 cents - Red tulips.

The two remaining stamps are part of the very interesting 20 Forever USA stamp pane issued on 23JUL2025 honouring the 250th anniversary of the United States Postal Service. as luck had it, the two stamps on the cover were part of the some row I had already in my collection thanks to A.W., who sent me a very nice FDC for this set in Cover #635.

Inside the envelope was this beautifully illustrated postcard of Grand Teton National Park, in Wyoming, with a herd of bisons quietly grazing under the watch of the Grand Teton itself.

I would love to visit this and other American parks someday, but for now it is out of question. I can understand that the effects of over tourism in protected areas can really be dramatic, but I can't help but feel that imposing a 100 Dollar surtax on top of the entry fee for a foreigner has nothing to do with protecting the area, and a lot to do with the type of isolationism that I still remember being fostered by the wretched dictators and their entourage which ruled my country 50 + years ago...."Proudly Alone", was their motto.... sad bunch they were....

The mechanical postmark hails from Orlando, Florida, and although is quite smeared, it is possible to again identify the special  sprayed add-on celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States Postal Service., featuring the legend 1775-2025, below a stylised eagle in flight.

POSTCARD N.197 - CANADA

Postcrossing Postcard sent on the 27th October; received in November 2025.

Postcard image: The wallflower fairy

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Cicely Mary Barker (1895-1973) was a British illustrator whose most celebrated work are the art noveau Flower Fairies which went on to populate several books for which I do believe she also wrote the accompanying poems.

One of those books is "A Flower Fairy Alphabet", first published in 1934, which, as the name suggests, contains illustrations for all the letters in the alphabet.

Wielinga, from Canada, sent me a postcard with the illustration pertaining to the letter.... well,  W, of course.  Thanks a lot, Wielinga!

Wielinga used a stamp from the 2025 issue of "From far and wide" self-adhesive definitive series initiated in 2018, which showcase many of Canada's scenic wonders. The  2025 edition re-issues four stamps of the 2024 edition (the ones firstly issued with nominal face values) which was the fourth in the series, albeit with new denominations. As such, the stamp on the postcard  with a face value of 3.65 Canadian dollars, featuring the Qarlinngua Sea Arch, in Arctic bay, in the Nunavut Territory, was firstly issues with a value of 2.92 Dollars.

As much as I understand the need to keep costs controlled, the decision to print stamps in a size that makes the images almost undecipherable, (the printed area measures 2 x 1.6 cm or 1.4 cm if we exclude the CANADA legend) when, furthermore, including a legend which is totally unreadable, is out of justification, in my humble opinion. I hope Canada Post would rethink this policy.

Unfortunately, there was no postmark on the stamp, what may be a consequence of the tribulations Canada Post has gone through recently.