Germany: Büsum

Büsum is a fishing and tourist town in the district of Dithmarschen, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the North Sea coast, approx. 18 km southwest of Heide. One of the landmarks of the town is Büsum Lighthouse. Built in 1912/13 from 55 tons of cast iron plates, it was originally painted black until it received its characteristic red and white daymark in 1952. It has been operated automatically since 1976 and is managed by the Water and Shipping Authority Tönning. From the harbor of Büsum, tourists can take trips to sea, either for pleasure or fishing, as nature trips along the Wadden Sea National Parks, or to the island Helgoland. During the first weekend in August, Büsum's fishermen race their boats in the annual Kutterregatta to determine the fastest fishing vessel. The first regatta was held in 1894. It is traditionally the highlight of summer events in Büsum.

Stamp:
Lighthouses "Buk" (from a set of two) - Issued: 03-07-2016

Stamp:
Flowers "Convallaria majalis" - Issued: 0-05-2010

Both stamp got a special ship cancellation from the "MS OL Büsum". Many thanks to my wife for these great cards!

Germany: Research Vessel Polarstern on The Expedition PS 99 from Bremerhaven to Tromsø

Yesterday I got this great cover. It comes from the Research Vessel and Icebreaker Polarstern. It is the most important resource for German polar research and the flagship of the Alfred Wegener Institute. Commissioned on 9 December 1982, the Polarstern has since logged more than 1.5 million nautical miles, or roughly 2.7 million kilometres (as of 2014). Today she’s one of the world’s most advanced and versatile polar research ships in the world.

The RV Polarstern expedition PS99 to the Arctic started on 13 June 2016 in Bremerhaven and led to study areas northwest of Bear Island, south of Spitsbergen and in the central and eastern Fram Strait. The cruise ended on 16 July 2016 in Tromsø (Norway).

Stamp:
The 100th Anniversary of the Awarding of the Title of Professor tio Rachel Hirsch (1870-1953) - Issued: 02-11-2013


Thanks to the Crew of RV Polarstern for this great cover!

USA: Return-to-Sender from Death Valley, CA

This cover came back to me some days ago. It was sent to the Death Valley Post Office in California, USA. Death Valley is a desert valley located in Eastern California. It is the lowest, driest, and hottest area in North America. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the point of the lowest elevation in North America, at 282 feet (86 m) below sea level. The hottest air temperature ever recorded in Death Valley was 134 °F (56.7 °C) on July 10, 1913, at Furnace Creek, which is the hottest atmospheric temperature ever recorded on earth. The greatest number of consecutive days with a maximum temperature of 100 °F (38 °C) or above was 154 days in the summer of 2001. The summer of 1996 had 40 days over 120 °F (49 °C), and 105 days over 110 °F (43 °C).

The cover was sent on 22.04.2016 and arrived back with a nice postmark after 81 days on 12th July 2016.

Stamp:
Classic Cars (from a set of two) - Issued: 02-04-2015

USA: Ochopee, Florida - Smallest US Post Office Building

Yesterday I received this nice cover. It comes from the Post Office at Ochopee in Florida, USA. It claims to be the smallest in the United States. It is located about 3 miles (5 km) east of the intersection of US 41 and State Road 29. The building used to be a storage facility for irrigation pipes of an adjacent tomato farm. It was converted into a post office in 1953, after a fire which destroyed Ochopee's previous post office and general store.

It also got the famous Ochopee post mark:

Stamps:
3x Go Green (from a set of 16) - Issued: 14-04-2011

Switzerland: Lake Constance

Lake Constance (German: Bodensee) is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee ("upper lake"), the Untersee ("lower lake"), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein. The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps. Specifically, its shorelines lie in the German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, and the Swiss cantons of Thurgau, St Gallen and Schaffhausen. The river Rhine flows into the lake from the south, with its original course forming the Austro-Swiss border, and has its outflow of the "Lower Lake" where it to some extent forms the German-Swiss border until the city Basel.

Stamps:
Lake Constance (whole Set) - Issued: 12-05-2016


Many thanks to Hansjürg for this great Cover!