Philippines: Fort Santiago

Fort Santiago (Spanish: Fuerte de Santiago; Filipino: Moóg ng Santiago) is a citadel first built by Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi for the new established city of Manila in the Philippines. The defense fortress is part of the structures of the walled city of Manila referred to as Intramuros.The fort is one of the most important historical sites in Manila. Several lives were lost in its prisons during the Spanish Colonial Period and World War II. José Rizal, the Philippine national hero, was imprisoned here before his execution in 1896. The Rizal Shrine museum displays memorabilia of the hero in their collection and the fort features, embedded onto the ground in bronze, his footsteps representing his final walk from his cell to the location of the actual execution.

Stamp:
Miss Universe 2015: Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach - Issued: 17-04-2016

Germany: UEFA Euro 2016 Opening Game

The UEFA Euro 2016 is currently being held in France from 10 June to 10 July 2016. To commemorate the Opening Gamet, the german post issued a special cancellation. The host France played against Romania. France won 2-1 and later also advanced to Knockout phase.

Stamp:
Sports - Balls (from a set of three) - Issued: 02-05-2016 with special cancellation

Italy: EUROPA - "Think Green"

Once again a nice cover with the 2016 EUROPA Stamp for my collection. Italy also issued two stamps. One with the common design and a second one, designed by Anna Maria Maresca, shows a Globe protected by a tree.

Stamps:
EUROPA - "Think Green" (whole Set) - Issued: 09-05-2016


Many thanks to Gabriele for this nice cover!

Canada: Star Trek 50th Anniversary - Souvenir Sheet (U.S.S. Enterprise and Klingon battle cruiser)

Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) and its crew. The first series, now referred to as The Original Series, debuted in 1966 and ran for three seasons on NBC. Star Trek has been a cult phenomenon for decades. Fans of the franchise are called Trekkies or Trekkers. The franchise spans a wide range of spin-offs including games, figurines, novels, toys, and comics. For it 50th Anniversary Canadian Post issued several stamps and collectibles showing the main characters of the series.

Stamps:
left: The 50th Anniversary of Star Trek "James T. Kirk" - Issued: 05-05-2016
right: The 50th Anniversary of Star Trek - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 & Klingon Battle Cruiser (Mini Sheet) - Issued: 05-05-2016


Many thanks to Tristan for this great cover!

France: Saint-Nazaire Bridge

The Saint-Nazaire Bridge (French: Le pont de Saint-Nazaire) is a cable-stayed bridge spanning the Loire river and linking Saint-Nazaire on the north bank and Saint-Brevin-les-Pins on the south bank, in the department of Loire-Atlantique, Brittany, France. The Saint-Nazaire Bridge was commissioned on October 18, 1975 after three years of construction. With its 404-meter central span, the 720-meter metal structure held, at the time of its construction, the world record length for a cable-stayed metallic bridge.

Stamp:
EUROPA - "Think Green" - Issued: 09-05-2016


Many thanks to Stephane for this great card!

Belgium: Shrimp Fishing on Horseback (De Belgische Kust)

On the north-west Belgian coast, there is a little-known tradition: shrimp fishing on horseback. To do it, the fishermen drag the fishing nets behind them, picking up the shrimp from the sands while on horseback. The fishermen train Belgian draft horses, with an average weight of 1000kg, and use special materials to capture the shrimp. Listed, since December 2013, on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity because of the activity’s respect for the marine environment and the cultural heritage and promotion it provides to the local community among other reasons, shrimp fishing on horseback is currently only practiced by 15 fishermen who work as a community and are fully involved in keeping this tradition alive.

Stamp:
Shrimp Fishermen on Horseback - Issued: 27-06-2015


Many thanks to Lara for this nice card with matching stamp!

Russia: 2016 IIHF World Championship Russia FDC

The 2016 IIHF World Championship was the 80th such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), being held in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, from 6 May to 22 May 2016. Canada won their 26th gold medal, defeating Finland 2–0 in the gold medal game. For this event Russian Post issued a special FDC and stamp. The stamp features the official mascot of the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship: Laika the Dog in a hockey sweater.

Stamp:
IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship - Russia - Issued: 06-05-2016 with special first day of issue postmark


Thanks to Ivan for sending me this FDC in an envelope!

Spain: Paguera, Mallorca (Balearic Islands)

Peguera is a tourist town in the municipality of Calvià on the island of Majorca (also spelled as Mallorca in Spanish), part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It has three large beaches and hundreds of hotels, hostels and apartments. The population is approximately 3,988 inhabitants. The town's name refers to the oven tar produced in this area from the pitch of pine tree resin.

Stamp:
Tourism (from a set of two) - Issued: 02-01-2016


Many thanks to Gabi and "Kalle" for this nice card!

Andorra: EUROPA - "Think Green" (French Post)

Again a nice cover for my EUROPA Stamps of 2016 collection. This time it comes from Andorra. Andorra is the sixth-smallest nation in Europe, having an area of 468 km2 (181 sq mi) and a population of approximately 85,000. Its capital Andorra la Vella is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres (3,356 ft) above sea level. The official language is Catalan, although Spanish, Portuguese, and French are also commonly spoken.

Stamps:
EUROPA - "Think Green" - Issued: 20-05-2016 with special first day of Issue postmark


Thanks to Roland for this great Cover! 

Germany: Bielefeld, SchücoArena

On the card you can see our local football stadium. The stadium, which has a capacity of 27 300, is owned by the football club DSC Arminia Bielefeld and mostly used for the club's matches. Formerly named Stadion Alm, it is currently known as SchücoArena due to a sponsorship deal with the Bielefeld-based window and solar panel manufacturers.

Stamp:
Sports - Balls (from a set of three) - Issued: 02-05-2016 with special first day of Issue postmark

Luxembourg: EUROPA - "Think Green"

Great to have this one in my collection. Luxembourg also issued two stamps for this year's EUROPA Stamps series. Did you know that Luxembourg is the least populated country in the European Union, with only 465,000 inhabitants. It is also the 20th smallest of the 194 independent countries in the world.

Stamps:
EUROPA - "Think Green" (whole set) - Issued: 10-05-2016


Thanks again to Jean-Marc for this great cover!

Hong Kong: Greetings from...

This nice card arrived some weeks ago. It's a great addition to my "Greetings from" Collection. Hong Kong - officially Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China -, is an autonomous territory on the southern coast of China at the Pearl River Estuary of the South China Sea. It has a total land and sea area of 2,754 km2 and an estimated population of 7,234,800 making it the world's fourth most densely populated sovereign state or territory.

Stamp:
Scientists in Ancient China (from a set of four) - Issued: 08-12-2015 with special postmark of The Grand Canal 


Thanks to Hazel for this great card!

Germany: EUROPA - "Think Green"

Finally my cover with the german Europa 2016 stamp arrived. German Post just issued the stamp with the common design and not a second like many other countries did. But ok, at least I got it with special first day cancellation.

Stamp:
EUROPA - "Think Green" - Issued: 02-05-2016 with special first day of Issued postmark

Switzerland: Gotthard Base Tunnel

The Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT) (German: Gotthard-Basistunnel) is a railway base tunnel through the Alps in Switzerland, which opened on 1 June 2016 with full service to begin in December 2016. With a route length of 57.09 km (35.5 mi) and a total of 151.84 km (94.3 mi) of tunnels, shafts and passages, it is the world's longest and deepest traffic tunnel and the first flat, low-level route through the Alps. The project consists of two single-track tunnels connecting Erstfeld (Canton of Uri) with Bodio (Canton of Ticino) and passing below Sedrun (Canton Graubünden). This is a card from a set of two, it shows the starting point in Erstfeld with a matching stamp and a matching cancellation of the town.

Stamps:
left: Swiss Census - Issued: 20-11-1990
right: Opening of the Gotthard Railway Tunnel (from a set of three) - Issued: 12-05-2016


UPDATE 09-06-2016:

Today the second card of this series arrived. The card shows the endpoint of the Gotthard-Base-Tunnel in Bodio (Canton of Ticino).

Stamps:
left: The 700th Anniversary of the Confederation (from a set of four) - Issued: 22-02-1991
right: Opening of the Gotthard Railway Tunnel (from a set of three) - Issued: 12-05-2016

Many thanks again to Hansjürg for these great cards!

Spain: EUROPA - "Think Green"

Another great cover for my EUROPA Stamps of 2016 Collection. This time the cover comes from Spain. Not enough, the sender posted it with several great postmark of the A Coruña Post Office. On the postmark you can see the Torre de Hercules or Tower of Hercules. Its an ancient Roman lighthouse on a peninsula about 2.4 kilometers (1.5 mi) from the centre of A Coruña, Galicia, in north-western Spans and also an UNESCO WHS.

Stamps:
3x EUROPA - "Think Green" - Issued: 22-04-2016


Many thanks to Ricardo for this great Cover!