Via Airmail

Dutch Open Air Museum

These farmhouses are only a few that make up the nearly one hundred historic buildings found at the Dutch Open Air Museum in Arnhem.  This is a living musuem where people can  see the actual buildings and how they were used.  Many of the structures were built hundreds of years ago.  In 1912 the museum was founded as a way to preserve the architecture and cultural heritage surrounding a fading way of life.  Unfortunately the card does not give details of the buildings.  I would love to know what they were used for, but I am pleased to be introduced to this sort of museum.  Who knows, maybe someday I'll get to visit it.

The card was mailed with a Postcrossing stamp as shown here.

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Postcrossing card #93

Many Views of Holland

I do love these viewcards.  To be honest, when I first started Postcrossing I was hoping to get more artsy postcards than the typical tourist cards, but I've changed  my mind about them.  The more I get the more I like them.  It's a glimpse into another place, another culture.  And while these tourist cards definitely show off just one aspect (the prettiest surely) of any country, you can still learn an amazing lot about the place. 

I'm getting quite a collection from The Netherlands.  There is not a description of the photos, but I think I recognize what's more significant in them (top left to bottom right): cheese, tulip field, lovely and very recognizable architecture along the canal, beaches (am not all that familiar with Dutch beaches), dairy cows (!), ice skating on the canal, windmills, bicycles (isn't The Netherlands known for the number of people who ride bikes?), and traditional Dutch costumes. 

Very cool, and very pretty indeed!

And a new (well, new to me) stamp--a 2011 Penguin stamp.

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Postcrossing card #85

Verhalen Kaart

This unusual card from The Netherlands is a little unusual, though very bookish in its own way.  Google translate tells me that "Verhalen Kaart" means "stories map" though I have a feeling that is a very literal translation.  I think the story is a parable.  The postcrosser who sent it shared this translation of the story with me:

"The frog and the cock.  The pupil asked his teacher: Sir, it is all right to talk much?  The teacher answers: listen to the frogs and the rooster.  Frogs croak day and night.  Nobody is listening to them.  The rooster crows only three times in the morning.  Then everybody knows it is morning again, so it is important to say the right thing at the right time.  The pupil nodded and kept silent."

Very clever, I think.

The stamp is another "Green Stamp".

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Postcrossing card #80

Adventures from History: Florence Nightingale

I'm not sure if this card is from the Postcards from Penguin series but it shows the cover illustration from Florence Nightingale, 1959 (series 561 - Adventures from History) by. L. du Garde Peach, illustrated by John Kenney.  The book is now out of print.  Had I been given a copy of this as a child I suspect it's something I would have enjoyed very much.

The card had another Postcrossing stamp to add to my collection.  You can see another stamp in the series here.

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Postcrossing card #77

A Row of Dutch Clogs

I love this image (two cards of art photography in a row).  Not only is it cool since it seems like such a typical Dutch image, but I love the bright colors.  We don't have anything quite like these clogs here in the US.  They are made of wood and they must be comfortable considering how many different cultures have some variation on them.  These are pretty plain, but look at these prettily decorated clogs! 

On the back is the same stamp as shown here.

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Postcrossing card #70

Traditional Dutch Costumes

This charming postcard came from a Dutch Postcrosser who tells me these are typical, old fashion clothes worn in her country.  It's a sweet little image and the first postcard of this sort that I've received so far.

I like the stamps, which are both new to me.   The stamp on the left celebrates Dutch country houses and is part of the Amstenrade Country House sheet.

"Some 600 of these Dutch country houses are still standing today, a mere 10% of the more than 6,000 that used to exist. Issuing Beautiful Netherlands stamp sheetlets on the theme of country houses is an initiative of PostNL in close collaboration with the Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency and the Country House Theme Year 2012 Foundation. The Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency aims to protect and preserve heritage, archaeological and cultural landscape sites of national or international significance."

I believe the stamp on the right is one of a series on Dutch pop music, in particular a band called Golden Earring.  The stamp can be read with a smartphone where you can actually listen to a song from the album.  This album is “Groeten uit Grollo” (Somebody will know someday).  Very cool.

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Postcrossing card #60

Flowers from Holland

This is the first time I've received a folded card in an envelope from a Postcrosser.  It's very pretty, however, so I wanted to share it still.  The lady who sent it is a new mom and lives in Holland.  The envelope had the same "think green for a green world" stamp as one of my previous cards.  I love flowers, and I think this is the first time I've received a flower card of any sort.  I wonder if it is very usual to get folded cards rather than postcards?

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Postcrossing card #57

Two by Alphonse Mucha

I mentioned that I have been participating in some art postcard swaps on Swap-Bot, and two of the recent cards that were delivered (both from The Netherlands) recently are of artwork by Czech Art Nouveau artist Alphonse Mucha, whose work I love.  This particular image is "Laurier", 1901.

The stamp on the back is a "Green" stamp: "think green for a green world".

This image is a detail from one in the series of studies of "The Moon and the Stars" from 1902. 

I've gotten quite a few stamps from The Netherlands and I'm surprised at how varied they are.  Three more that are new to me.  I especially like the stamp on the far right (sorry if it's hard to see details) as it show many more stamps!

An Historic View of Rotterdam

I love historic images.  This postcard shows the Coolsingelziekenhuis in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.  Unfortunately I couldn't find a link in English to read more about it, but I have figured out it is the "Great Hospital" or "Coolsingel Hospital", which was built by Willem Nicolaas Rose  between 1839-1848.  I have a feeling it might not have survived WWII. 

I seem to be collecting Postcrossing stamps!

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Postcrossing card #44

Woudagemaal in Lemmer, Friesland

Another UNESCO WHS postcard showed up in my mailbox last week.  This is the Wouda Pumping Station in Lemmer in the Friesland province of The Netherlands. 

"The Wouda Pumping Station at Lemmer in the province of Friesland opened in 1920. It is the largest steam-pumping station ever built and is still in operation. It represents the high point of the contribution made by Netherlands engineers and architects in protecting their people and land against the natural forces of water."

It's so interesting the different sites that are on the WHS list of important world properties that must be protected and preserved.  This is the largest steam-powered pumping station in the world, though I have read it is only used in cases of emergency in Friesland. 

The stamp used is the same Rembrandt House Museum that I shared here.

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Postcrossing card #39