COVER N. 627 - NORWAY  

Postmark: Stathelle 1 3960 - 01.07.2025

Posted on the st July; Received on the 7th August 2025

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Another cover with quite a few stamps on it from up North, and a country not very much represented in my collection,  Tusen takk, Kai Arne!

Stamps;

Musk oxen (Ovibos moschatus) are synonimous with the arctic, so it is fitting that an issue dedicated to Norwegian fauna should include a photo of such a distinctive dweller of the arctic regions.

The fauna issue for 2011, dated of 03JAN2011, which concluded an annual series initiated in 2006, comprised two stamps (17 and 27 Krone). The animal depicted on the 27 Krone companion stamp in the set was the quintessential arctic dweller, the Polar bear (Ursus maritimus).

Sigrid Undset (1882 – 1949) was a Danish-born Norwegian writer who was the recipient of the 1928 Nobel Prize for Literature.

She is featured on a portrait painted by Norwegian painter Anders Castus Svarstad (1869 –1943), replicated on a 2 Krone stamp issued on 01OCT1982 as part of a two stamp set dedicated to writer's birth anniversaries. The companion stamp in the set features a painting of another Norwegian Nobel Literature Prize winner (1903) - Bjørnstjerne Martinus Bjørnson (1832 — 1910), painted by Erik Werenskiold (1855 – 1938).

The CEPT/EUROPA 1977 theme for the common issue was "Landscapes".

Norway's entry comprised two stamps (1.25 and 1.80 Krone), issued on 02MAY1977. The 1.80 Krone stamp on the cover, featured a photograph of Huldefossen waterfall, located in the. Sogn og Fjordane county

The Lion Rampant 40 Ore definitive stamp is probably the 31MAR1941 reprint of this stamp, which was first issued in 1927, bu I am not sure about this.

Postmark from Stathelle 1, a town in Telemar county, on the South of the coutry.

COVER N. 626 - MONTENEGRO  

Postmark: Lastva Grbaljska 85317 - 21.07.2025

Posted on the 21st July; Received on the 6th August 2025

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Hmmmm, Montenegro.... a country that ranks real high on my list of  most loved places, for all its unspoiled incredible natural beauty, and only the second cover I got from there... Un grand Merci, Roland.

We will begin with the two stamps on the upper right corner. These constitute a set issued on 21MAY2012, themed on nature protection, something that in the case of Montenegro is, if possible, even more vital than in a lot of the world places, given the yet pristine condition of a large area of the territory.

To illustrate the idea, the stamps feature two animals - a duck (0.30 €) andf a frog (0.95€) wearing a lifebuoy. 

Even if totally in favour of the message conveyed, I  am not particularly fond of the design and maybe it is just me, but I had some trouble identifying the duck on the stamp, for the image seemed quite confusing.

- A century of aviation in Montenegro, reads the red legend below the somewhat stylised biplane illustrating the 0,30 € stamp, issued on 05SEP2013, on the left upper corner of the envelope, with its wheels replaced by Montenegro's Air Force cockades.

In fact, it seems that the first heavier than air flight in Montenegro was made by a Donnet-Lévêque seaplane in 1913, in the port of Tivat, a place that is not that far from what is now Tivat Airport, a sight I quite remember, when I drove up the mountain from Kotor in a narrow road that had more than 20 hairpin bends before it reached the summit.

Tivat Airport

 - The 0,30 € stamp illustrated with a child's drawing of a child running away from a bee was issued on 31OCT2017. It carries the legend Radost Europe, what translates, I believe, into Joy of Europe, hence I believe it to have been issued on the occasion of the Radost Europe children's festival that annually takes place, since 1969, in  the City of Belgrade, Serbia.

The festival, aims to showcase the cultures and customs of children all across Europe, through their songs and dances.

The postmark was applied at Lastva Grbaljska, a town not very far from Budva, on the coast.

COVER N. 625 - INDIA  

Postmark: Illegible - 26.07.2025

Posted on the 26th July; Received on the 5th August 2025

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Sometimes I receive covers, like the one I'm posting here, all covered in stamps, something which is always motif for great enthusiasm and joy. Sadly, I cannot reciprocate in kind, since the days of small denomination stamps are gone and we now only have typically 4 stamps rates, that are combined in each new set that CTT, the Portuguese postal operator, issues: Domestic 20g; Europe 20 g; blue mail (next day, domestic, 20 g) and International 20g.

Further to that, CTT, always keen on emptying collector's pockets, very often includes in any new set a souvenir sheet with a face value equal to the tariff of a registered domestic 20g letter.

In the light of this, it is quite impossible to send fellow collectors envelopes all covered in stamps, although I do try to use 2 stamps most of the time, even it the face value of both stamps combined slightly exceeds the Europe or International tariff, because I know what a joy it is to see more than one stamp on  a cover. 

Another strategy I use to try to compensate is to send out covers with First Day postmarks (and in this case I may use a single stamp, of course), because of the element of added interest the pictorial First Day Postmark always imparts on the cover.

Anyway, all this said, I have to thank P.A. for  his very nice cover with no less than 7 stamps on it, all relating to themes that I fancy, and for which I am quite thankful. Many Thanks P.A.

Stamps, left to right; top to bottom:

- Preserve the Polar Regions and Glaciers, such is the message inscribed at the bottom of each of the two 5 Rupee stamps issued on 19DEC2009.

The two stamps, one illustrated with a polar bear and the other with penguins, constitute the contribution  of India's postal operator to a campaign led by the postal administrations of  Finland and Chile, initiated  in 2007, on the occasion of the International Polar Year 2007-2009. More than 30 countries would join the campaign whose logo  (a "protected" ice crystal) is also featured on the stamps.

- Wild orchids, some the most beautiful flowers that exist... and a theme that has been fairly covered in stamps.

The 5 Rupee Orchid stamp on the cover, is part of a six stamp (2 x 5; 2 x 25; 2 x 25 Rupees)  mini-sheet issued on 08JUN2016 dedicated to these beautiful flowers.

The orchid on the cover stamp is a Paphiopedilum villosum, native to Southeast Asia.

- In 2016, India Post with the aim of raising awareness amidst students to nature preservation, held a country wide stamp design competition, subject to this theme.

The beautiful painting of a tiger and a peacock in a forest, on the  5 Rupee stamp was one of the winning entries in the contest, which originated a 6 x 5 Rupee stamps included in a  mini-sheet issued on 17JAN2017.

- Protected natural areas of World Heritage Site status was the theme for a mini-sheet issued on 16MAR2020, which included  5 stamps (2 x 5; 3 x 12 Rupees).

Two of the 5 rupee stamps can be seen on the cover, one featuring what I believe is a snow leopard, a western Tragopan (a pheasant species) and probably an ibex, all characteristic of the Great Himalayan National park, and the other, dedicated to Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, featuring a Golden lagur (an endangered monkey species) up front, while on the background a rhino and a buffalo can also be seen.

- To complete postage P. A. used a  5 Rupee stamp issued on 13APR2017 as part of the Creators of India series, featuring Gopinath Bordoloi (1890 –1950) an Indian politician and independence activist and a follower of Gandhi’s non violence principle, who was the head of the Government of the State of Assam between 1946 and 1950.

The Postmark being illegible I cannot identify the place of posting.

COVER N. 624 - NETHERLANDS  

Postmark: Post NL - Voorschoten - 25.07.2025

Posted on the 25th July; Received on the 3rd August 2025

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We all know were babies come from, right? And Yes, it is high time someone should honour the relentless baby carriers that for ages have ensured the continuation of our species. 

Muito obrigado, Eric!... But... quintuplets... I am not sure I have the stamina to handle it.... after all my two girls were enough of a chore... ;-)

The 5 self-adhesive 0,39 €/85 ct stamp booklet on the cover was issued by PTT POST, now Post NL on  02JUL2021.

I do believe that these are stamps that several postal administrations every once in a while issue that are meant to be used in special occasions, like the birth of a new child, a wedding or any other social relevant occasion.

The 0.02 € postage make-up stamp was issued on 02-09-2002 while the 0.03 € was issued on 11DEC2006.

As so often unfortunately happens with Dutch postmarks, the place of posting is illegible.

Update:

Again Eric comes to the rescue: The place of posting was Voorschoten, a town in the province of West Holland, with a population of 25,650, close to the Hague, which Eric says  is very beautiful, somethng I totally believe.

POSTCARD N.187 - GREENLAND.

Postcard sent on the 04 August; received on the 19th August 2025.

Postcard image: The Schooner Activ

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The Flying Dutchman... the ship that will never dock again.... condemned to err across the mighty oceans forever...

No, it is not the Flying Dutchman caught on camera, but the image on the postcard could not be more  fitting, with all that backlit aura of mystery as the bow breaks the surface of the sea somewhere out there.... after all it was sent by none other than my friend the Flying Dutchman himself :-)

Hartelijk dank, Eric and please extend my thanks to Wolfgang, for his help dispatching the postcard from the cold shores of Greenland, the "land that's never green, where there's ice and snow and the whalefishes blow, and where day life seldom sins, brave boys, where daylight seldom sins...." as so masterfully sang  Judy Collins and Theodore Bikel  on an old vynil album I had bought a long, long time ago....

If the Photo on the card reminds me of the Flying Dutchman, well the stamps on its back made me think of Philip Glass... Quite a nice and pleasing minimal repetitive structure, isn't it :-)?

The 4+0.5 Krone charity stamp is part of a two stamp set (both stamps with the same facial value) issued on 17JUN1993.

The stamp on the postcard celebrates the 70th anniversary of the presence of the Red Cross in Greenland while its companion in the set, the 50th anniversary of the Greenland Scouts movement.

Not being able to confirm it, I'd think that  the 0.5 Krone charity tax would go to the Red Cross.

I quite like the layout of the stamp with the Greenland flag mimicking a sun on the horizon, framed by mountains, flown over by a procession of doves carrying the red cross in their beaks. Quite nice.

The Postmark is unfortunately illegible, so I cannot grasp wherefrom it was sent.

UPDATE: Eric came to the rescue and told me that the Potscard had been sent from 3950 Aasiaat, on the west coast of the Island.

COVER N. 623 - SLOVAKIA  

Postmark: Trnavá Hora 96611 - 29.07.2025

Posted on the 29th July; Received on the 5th August 2025

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Clearly, the weather interfered at some point along the way.... and somehow it is a fitting tribute, for 100 years ago, the pilots in open cockpit aircraft also had to withstand the rigours of weather and irrespective of rain or shine, what really mattered was to reach one's destination... same as it happened with the cover that Michal so kindly sent me.  Ďakujem, Michal.

The first commercial flight between Prague and Košice, via Bratislava, in what was then Czechoslovakia, took place on the  5th may 1924.

Surely, the feat bears no comparison with today's era of aircraft belching thousands upon thousands or passengers on ever crowded terminals, for the single-engine Aero A.14 biplane (a modified version of the WW1 vintage German Hansa Brandenburg CI) of  CSA-Československé Statni Aerolinie carried but one single passenger  sitting behind the pilot in the open cockpit, cruising at the fantastic maximum speed of 170 km/h.

By way of comparison, in 2023 Košice airport handled a total of 625,053 passengers, with solid growth prospects for this relevant regional hub.

To mark the centenary of  this important milestone in the history of Slovak civil aviation, Slovenská pošta issued on 03MAY2024  the 2,70 € stamp that Michal used on the cover, featuring an illustration of the Aero A.14 flying over a contemporary map of Czechoslovakia, with the flight route superimposed on it.

Incidentally, the photograph on which the aircraft image was based can be found on the internet, on Wikipedia, and I can't resist reproducing it here:

Source: Aero A.14 – Wikipédia

The postmark on the neatly addressed and laid out  envelope was applied at Trnavá Hora, a 1.2 thousand inhabitants town in central Slovakia.

COVER N. 622 - AUSTRIA 

Postmark: Feldkirchen Bei Graz 8073 date illegible

Posted on ?; Received on the 5th August 2025

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Austria. The first country that I got mail from when I started this blog (note to self: come to think of it, it's high time I should send some mail to Florian...) and yet not one that I often see in my mailbox...Vielen Dank, Kurt!

The common theme for the EUROPA stamps of 2024 was "Underwater fauna and flora". Austria's issue comprised one single 1,20 stamp, illustrated with a photograph of the Grüner See (the Green Lake), which began to circulate on 04MAY2024.

I was not familiar with the Green Lake, but my voyager papillae immediately started salivating  just from looking at some photos on the internet.

The lake which is quite shallow from July to May, (1to 2 meters deep at most) but come spring and the melting of the ice from the nearby mountains, its water rises exponentially, attaining depths up to about 12 metres.

As a consequence, all the man made infrastructures around the lake, like park benches and walkways, get underwater what makes for a rather strange sight given the transparency and clarity of the emerald green water.

This is particularly highlighted in  the stamp with a coat of UV varnish on the lower 4/5 of the stamp, which imparts a rather "watery" look to the photograph. I have no access to a UV light right now, but the effect should be even greater under such a light source.

The Postmark was applied at Feldkirchen Bei Graz, a town of 7.3 thousand inhabitants in the State of Styria