Via Airmail

Ameland, The Netherlands

A new map card to add to my small (but growing) collection of country maps.  This one is of Ameland, which is one of the West Frisian Islands off the north coast of The Netherlands.   There are a mere 3,400 (approx) residents of the island.  As someone who lives in a completely landlocked state, I'm curious and envious of people who live on islands.

The postcard is quite colorful, don't you think?

The stamp is another of the cool Postcrossing stamps.  This is my second and it has different views than the first. 

My first postcard (sent with my original five) is set to expire in just a few days.  I know that it can still be registered when it arrives (am thinking optimistically) later, and am looking forward to sending a new one out with a hopefully better chance at arriving to its destination in a timely manner.  I'm wondering if the link will fall off my list of 'sent cards' and whether it needs to be noted somewhere?  I've noticed that other Postcrossers make lists of their expired cards, but I'm not entirely sure why or whether this is necessary.

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Postcrossing card #19

Paris Bouquinistes & Passerelle des Arts

Serendipity.  The Postcrosser who sent this card to me also works (rather I think she is training to work) in a library.  I love these Paris street scenes.  In the background is the Passarelle des Arts, a pedestrian bridge that crosses the Seine.  Wouldn't you love to browse these bookstalls?  Look at the variety of postcards and magazines?  Sigh.  You can see another similar postcard here.

On the back is a Lettre Verte stamp.  This is a "green"/eco-friendly stamp that means less fuel used to deliver taking slightly longer to arrive than regular first class delivery.  Indeed this took eighteen days to arrive from Paris, but it was well worth the wait!

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Postcrossing card #18 

The Lady in Black

Earlier this week I found this lovely art card in my mailbox which arrived all the way from Finland after traveling nine days and more than 4,600 miles.  It's hard to tell from my scan, but her gloves and dress have glittery accents that shine when held up to the light.  She's very elegant.

The stamp is actually very nice, but the scan is pretty awful--too much contrast.  The symbol in the middle is really silver.  I love the shape.  I'm not sure if I've ever seen a round one before.  Finland is one of about 40 countries to issue stamps in 2009 concerning climate change.  You can see some of them here.  Sadly the US did not issue one (not all of us here like to ignore these problems, I assure you), though there are the Go Green series of stamps which are nice.  

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Postcrossing card #17

Isla de Tabarca

This is the Island of Tabarca off the southeastern coast of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea.   It's part of the Province of Alicante and is the smallest permanently inhabited island in Spain.  According to the most recent local census 68 people live on the island, but it is a popular tourist destination.  It takes only 30 minutes to reach it by catamaran.  I like this bit of history:

"Before 1700, the island was known as Illa de Sant Pau ('Saint Paul's Island') or Illa Plana ('Flat Island'). Believed to be the island that St. Paul disembarked on, the island was a refuge for Barbary pirates up to the end of the 18th century."

Living so far from any major body of water I am,  of course thrilled to have this view.  I think I could easily while away some time there.

The stamps on the flip side: "por el respeto en la RED" is one of a series of stamps about Civic Values--in this case the protection of copyright issues online.  The second stamp "Biodiversidad y Oceanografía" is from a series on Science and Technology.

Many thanks to Alhana for this wonderful card.

Don't Feed the Bears!

This is the first humorous postcard I've received and it brought a smile to my face when I found it amongst the other cards.  It's from a American Postcrosser who lives in Wisconsin and happens to be the Mayor of her town.  How's that for crossing paths with a political 'mover and shaker'.

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Postcrossing card #16

Two Views of Belarus

Yesterday I shared the stamps that brought this postcard to me, and here is the view on the other side.  It is from a Postcrossing Forum swap with a 'Bridges' theme.  This is the Vitebsk Bridge over the Western Dzviga.

I have to be honest and say I don't know  much about Belarus, but with each new postcard I receive I am learning little things about places I had never given much thought to before.  Belarus is a landlocked country that relies heavily on agriculture and is forested over 40% of the country.  Vitebsk looks quite pretty.

Serendipitously this postcard showed up on the same day as the one above.  It is from another swap on the Postcrossing Forum with a 'Capital City' theme.  Minsk is the capital of Belarus.  The postcard shows some very interesting views--going clockwise from top left: National Centre Exhibition <<BELEXPO>>, Konmunstcheskaya Street, Pobediteley Avenue, The National Library of Belarus (another view of the library here), and far left lower corner Nemiga Street. 

The stamp on the back is the same one I shared here.

Sunday Stamps: Spring

Just in time for this week's Sunday Stamps theme, I received a postcard from Belarus with these lovely stamps.

The stamps were all issued in 2008.  The hares are from a sheet of Wild Animals, and the flowers, Narcissus on the far left and lilies in the middle from a sheet of Garden Flowers.

If you're curious what the postcard looks like on the reverse, check back later this week!

You can see more spring or flower themed stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog, just click on the Sunday Stamps link below.

Black & White Postcards w/ Color Accents

Since I am new to Postcrossing and can only have a few cards traveling at once, and am generally impatient, I've been participating in a few swaps on the Postcrossing forum.  I tried my first 'round robin' recently where a group will send postcards to each person and end up with several of one theme.  In this case the theme was B&W photography with a color accent. 

I don't have scans of the cards I sent, but mine (the only ones I could find locally) had B&W images with a dash of tinting.  I had not seen images like this and the one below before--all B&W with one element colored in. 

This first card came from the Netherlands and shows a very sweet, pudgy little hand with a daisy.  No artist credit on this one I'm afraid.

This second card came from Austria though the sender is actually from the Netherlands.  The title: "Anne Valverde: Agathe's Flip Flop".  I love the hot pink color.

Although the first two cards are great images I confess I really love this third one and it is my favorite of the group.  I love photography and have a soft spot for art cards, and this is not only a wonderful idea but also a great composition.  It came from Belarus.  The artist is Sergey Kuranov and it's titled "Family Portrait".

Warsaw: Palace of Culture

This is a really stunning card and I'm afraid my scan doesn't do it justice.  This is the Palace of Culture And Science in Warsaw, which was built in 1955.  It's a controversial building as it was a gift from the USSR to the Polish people and was dedicated to Josef Stalin.  It dominates the city skyline (many think it ruins the aesthetic balance between old and new town in the city).

It looks like a massive structure and is the largest building in Poland and the eighth largest in the European Union.  It has an exhibition center, office complex, as well as theaters, cinemas, museums, offices, bookshops and a conference hall.  

The stamp on the left commemorates Sieradz Cathedral located in the city of the same name.  I'm afraid I've not found any information on the second stamp, only that it is a manor house, Dwor w Janowcu Pulaw.

My first card and stamps from Poland!

Durdle Door Beach

Many thanks to John (aka Scriptor Senex) for sending along this lovely postcard of Durdle Door Beach on the Dorset/East Devon Coast of England.  I love beaches, though sadly I live about as far from any real beach or large body of water as is possible since I am in the middle of the US.  According to John this part of the coastline is called the Jurassic Coast.  He tells me there is a remarkable range of geology and fossils as well as rock formations here.  The wikipedia tells me that "Durdle" is  "derived from an Old English word 'thirl' meaning bore or drill."  That would be the "door" cutting through the rock formation I'm guessing.

Very soon I'm going to be reading Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier with a few friends, and I know the setting is Lyme Regis--not sure how far or close that is to this location, but I will now have an image in mind as I'm reading. 

On the back is Daisy of Thomas the Tank Engine fame.  The books were written by the Reverand Wilbert Awdry.  This is one of six stamps to commemorate his birth--2011 was his centenary year.  I've seen the books but am not familiar with the TV series.  The stamps are quite colorful.  I love the panoramic (for a stamp that is) size of them.

Although my list is long, the southern coast of England is on my list of places I'd like to visit someday.