Samstag, 27. September 2014

859 - Treasure of the Day: Post from Canada

Images of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

Cute Koala (?) sticker

The Berry Barn - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Crocodile sticker one...

... and crocodile sticker two :)

Swap
My dear friend Karli from Canada sent me an envelope full of surprises. She sent me two wonderful postcards from Saskatchewan along with some of the most beautiful stamps I've ever received!
The first card shows some views of Prince Albert, a city in the center of Saskatchewan. You can see from top left: the residence of former Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker; North Saskatchewan River overlooking downtown; the night skyline and Grey Owl Mural. The second card shows The Berry Barn in Saskatoon. Karli told me it's a must see for everyone who comes around Saskatoon. The card also gives some information on its back:

"The Berry Barn eatery and gift shop is one of Saskatoon's most popular tourist attractions, minutes from Saskatoon, and is flanked by 28-acre Saskatoon berry orchard. Enjoy homestyle cooking and scrumptious Saskatoon berry pie in our country style eatery, with breathtaking views of the South Saskatchewan River. The gift shop is filled with unique gifts and souvenirs including a full line of Saskatoon berry products. Located at 830 Valley Road Saskatoon, Saskatchewan."

Karli also put some amazing stamps on the envelope - have a look! A very special one it the Haunted Canada Stamp, it was issued to represent some of the local canadian ghost stories - this one shows the St. Louis Ghost Train. I tried to capture the fluorescence of the stamp in three different photos.
Many thanks Karli - you really made my day! :)


You probably all know that there are plenty of german standard flower stamps that are used as a supplementary value along with other stamps - well I think they're lacking in variety... but this canadian flower stamp is so beautiful! How does Canada manage issuing only the most beautiful stamps?

Royal Ontario Museum

Haunted Canada stamp - Ghost Train, St. Louis, SK - absolutely AMAZING! :D

Here you can see how it fluoresces

Isn't this fluorescing stamp gorgeous!?

From Canada
Received: 16.09.2014

Montag, 22. September 2014

858 - Viewcard from Turkey



TR-196638
Yay - I finally received a card from Turkey again - I absolutely love this view card. It shows Mount Nemrut - definitely worth visiting!






From Turkey
Received: 16.09.2014

857 - Berlin, Berlin

Fernsehturm Berlin

DE-3502307
Although I receive a lot of cards from Germany (like all the other postcrossing members), I only get cards from Berlin every once in a while. This time it shows Berlins television tower in the background and a traffic light in the foreground.



From Germany
Received: 16.09.2014

856 - My new Finnish Friend

European Eagle-Owl


Swap
Yeah! I finally have a postcard pal from Finland. Her name is Anna-Maria and last week I already received her first card. It is one of my postcrossing favorites and shows an European Eagle-Owl on the wing. Isn't it a beautiful bird? I just love owls! Many thanks for this gorgeous card! :)

Anna-Maria also put an amazing stamp on the card - it shows one of the new issued Tom of Finland stamps. Touko Laaksonen, who used "Tom of Finland" as a pseudonym, was a Finnish artist and was best known for his homoerotic art and therefore he was an early member of gay culture. I think it's wonderful, that the Finnish Post Office had issued these stamps. The Finnish have some of the most amazing stamps! Agree? Hmmm . . . this gives me the idea, that maybe we should take a look at my favorite received-stamps soon . . .  Shall we?



Tom of Finland stamp

From Finland
Received: 15.09.2014

Freitag, 19. September 2014

855 - Sporty Granny

Sporty Granny

DE-3506535
Hahaha! Hilarious! This card was one of my very first favorites in postcrossing. Now I finally received it.





From Germany
Received: 15.09.2014

Donnerstag, 18. September 2014

854 - Windsor Castle from Hong Kong

Windsor Castle


HK-271012
Two years ago Agnes from Hong Kong visited England, spent some time at Windsor Castle and took this photo herself. That kinda makes it a unique card. I like that very much! I hope one day I'll visit Windsor Castle, too. Thanks for the great card and stamp!





From Hong Kong
Received: 12.09.2014

853 - Hymy ei lihota


Dirty Mona Lisa

FI-2194294
Linnea from Finland sent me this Mona Lisa card, that obviously got a little smudged on its way. Linnea told me, that Hymy ei lihota means something like "A smile doesn't make you fat". Very wise. The card came along with this very appropriate Angry Birds stamp! Haha! Finland, you've got the most amazing stamps! :D


Oink oink!


From Finland
Received: 12.09.2014

852 - The Bastei Bridge

The Bastei Bridge


DE-3497807
Yay - another card from my list of favorites. The card shows the Bastei Bridge in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. What a wonderful view! The sandstone bridge was built in 1851 and replaced a wooden one. The Elbe Sandstone Mountains are located in the state of Saxony, in the eastern part of Germany.




From Germany
Received: 11.09.2014

Dienstag, 16. September 2014

851 - Orangerie Kassel


DE-3490517
Stien, who actually comes from Belgium but lives in Kassel, sent me this beautiful view card of the Orangerie Kassel. Although Kassel is also located in the state of Hesse, I've never been there... Seems like I have to plan a trip to Kassel soon!
From Germany
Received: 11.09.2014

Mittwoch, 10. September 2014

850 - Treasure of the Day: Empress Maria Feodorovna

Empress Maria Feodorovna
(wife of Emperor Alexander III)
Painting by Vladimir Makovsky, 1885


Empress Maria Feodorovna



Art postcard tag
My treasure of the day! Kseniya from Russia tagged me in the art postcard tag and surprised me with this beauty. The card is one of my favorites and I waited a long time to finally get it. It shows a gorgeous painting of Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia (née Princess Dagmar of Denmark). She was the wife of Emperor Alexander III of Russia and mother of  the last russian Tsar: Emperor Nicholas II. Maria Feodorovna was painted by Vladimir Makovsky, who did obviously a good job! I like her kokoshnik tiara, but unfortunately I don't know its name. Maybe you can find out more about her jewellery on Ella Kay's blog The Court Jeweller.
Anyway, this card definitely made my day! Many thanks Kseniya!
From Russia
Received: 10.09.2014

849 - From Poland


PL-947447
Karolina from Dolsk, Poland sent me this view card of Poznan (Posen in German). You can see its beautiful town hall which was built between 1550 and 1560.
From Poland
Received: 10.09.2014

848 - From Russia


RU-2947470
Hurray - this is my second ice hockey card - this time it came all the long way from Russia.
Can you identify the teams? Well, I can't... ^^
You can write down your suggestions in the comments below - thanks! :)
From Russia
Received: 10.09.2014

847 - From Russia



Art postcard tag
Anna from Russia sent me this art card, after tagging me in the art postcard tag group in the postcrossing forum. Unfortunately I can't read Russian, but I guess the painting is called "Visit"...
Anyway, I like the card and the great stamps!
From Russia
Received: 10.09.2014

846 - From the United States



US-2959310
Today I found this butterfly lady in my mailbox - sent to me by Annerose and Walter from the United States. They wrote that they always waited for someone who might like those stamps and indeed - I like them very much! Especially the Washington and Lincoln stamps!
From the United States
Received: 10.09.2014

Montag, 8. September 2014

845 - From the US

Peter Attie (Peter Charlie) Bochero (1899-1960)
Untitled, 1950-1955

You're not looking very happy Mr. Lincoln, what's the matter?

Lovely stamp!

I absolutely LOVE this Janis Joplin stamp!
Swap
Today I received another great card from my friend Ryan. This time an art card again. I still have to figure out the message of the painting! :D Maybe one of you can help me?
From the US
Received: 08.09.2014

844 - From the US


US-2957698
Yeah another great card from the United States! I love collecting those "state" cards with all their information about state flag, state bird, state flower and so on...
This time I got Missouri! Wonderful!
From the US
Received: 08.09.2014

843 - From Finland

Grey Seal

Marine Life and Sea Creatures Tag
As you all may or may not know, I'm a huge fan of all marine animals! Therefore I participate in the "marine life and sea creatures" tag from time to time. Always wonderful to receive cards like this one. It shows a grey seal. Actually they live on german coasts as well I guess... we call them "Kegelrobbe" in German, which means "cone-seal" literally translated (because of their conical snout).
The card also gives some information on its back:

"A seal-watcher's paradise. The Royal Air Force (RAF) bombing range at Donna Nook on the Lincolnshire coast is temporary home to over 3,000 grey seals that come ashore each winter to give birth to their snowy-white pups. At the same time, the males fight over the right to sire the next generation. At weekends - when the RAF has time off - thousands of people flock here to get close and personal with one of Europe's true wildlife spectacles."

Many thanks for the great card Päivi! :)
From Finland
Received: 06.09.2014