Ukraine: 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro

Today is the last day of the Games of the XXXI. Olympiad. The games took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 5th August to 21st August. More than 11,000 athletes from 207 National Olympic Committees, including first time entrants Kosovo, South Sudan, and a Refugee Olympic Team, took part.  With 306 sets of medals, the games featured 28 Olympic sports, including rugby sevens and golf, which were added to the Olympic program in 2009.

Stamps:
right: Olympic Games - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Issued: 23-07-2016
left:  Flora - Definitive - Issued: 11-01-2013


Many thanks to Roman for this cover!

USA: Alma, CO (Highest Post Office in the USA)

Some days ago, I received this nice cover. It comes from Alma, Colorado, USA. At an elevation of approximately 10,578 feet (3,224 m), the town is the highest incorporated municipality in the United States with permanent residents. In 2010 the population was 270. The town is also quite interesting, because it is also home to the highest US Post Office.

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


Many thanks to Postmaster Connie for the great work!

UK: Return-to-Sender from Lerwick, Shetland Islands

This cover was also made by myself and I sent it to Shetland. Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands, is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies northeast of the island of Great Britain and forms part of the United Kingdom. The islands lie some 80 km (50 mi) to the northeast of Orkney and 280 km (170 mi) southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total area is 1,466 km2 (566 sq mi) and the population totalled 23,210 in 2012. The islands' administrative centre and largest settlement is Lerwick.

I sent it on April 29th and it arrived back after 96 days on August 3rd.

Stamp:
Tourism - Germany's Most Beautiful Panoramas 'Moselle' (from a set of two) - Issued: 07-04-2016

Germany: Lighthouses in Germany

Staberhuk Lighthouse is one of five Lighthouses of Fehmarn Island at the Baltic Sea in Germany. The tower was originally built with yellow bricks but it turned out that those were not suited for severe Baltic Sea winters. Therefore the north and west sides were later covered in red bricks which makes the lighthouse appear to have vertical red and yellow stripes. The Fresnel lens installed in the lantern was originally used in the Heligoland lighthouse while that North Sea island was under British administration in the 19th century. It was transferred to Staberhuk when the lighthouse in Heligoland was replaced in 1901.

Stamps:
Lighthouses "Staberhuk" - Issued: 07-07-2016 with special first day of Issue postmark


The Kampen lighthouse is located on the geestland core of the German island of Sylt, south of Kampen. It is a white conical stone tower with a broad black band. The Lighthouse was automated in 1997 and from 2004 to 2005 it was elaborately renovated and was therefore completely scaffolded for several months. On 4 June 2006 the 150th anniversary was celebrated with a Turmfest and the rare opportunity was provided to scale the newly renovated tower.

Stamp:
Lighthouses "Kampen" - Issued: 07-07-2016 with special first day of Issue postmark

Italy: The 90th Anniversary of the Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia

The Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana was founded in 1925 by the businessman and philanthropist Giovanni Treccani. His project was to publish the large Enciclopedia italiana di scienze, lettere ed arti (appearing in 35 volumes, 1929-1937, updated with appendices to the present day) and the Dizionario biografico degli italiani.  Both of these works were lacking in Italy at the time. From 1925 to 1943 the scholarly supervisor of the Istituto was philosopher Giovanni Gentile. Included among the rich list of publications are encyclopaedic-lexicographic works (from the Dizionario enciclopedico italiano, 1955-61 to La Piccola Treccani, 1995-97), a vast range of Italian dictionaries, works of historical-literary scope (Enciclopedia dantesca, Enciclopedia virgiliana, Enciclopedia oraziana, Federico II. Enciclopedia fridericiana). Since 1975 the Istituto has produced specialized encyclopaedias on various fields such as art, archaeology, the social sciences, law, cinema, fashion, sport, the human body, the life sciences and the history of cities (Storia di Milano, Storia di Venezia), in addition to art books (Pompeii, Venezia, Firenze).In keeping with the needs of contemporary society the Treccani’s editions are targeting an ever wider audience, branching out into different formats and channels of communication, from paper to multimedia support both on and offline (CD, DVD, Website).

Stamps:
Minisheet "The 90th Anniversary of the Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia" - Issued: 31-10-2015 with special postmark
Posta Italiana - Self Adhesive Stamp (0,25 €) - Issued: 13-02-2013


Many thanks to Ivan of this great Cover!

Austria: Mirabell Gardens

The Mirabell Gardens (German: Mirabellgarten) are part of the Mirabell Palace (German: Schloss Mirabell) a historical building in the city of Salzburg, Austria. The palace with its gardens is a listed cultural heritage monument and part of the Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg UNESCO World Heritage Site. The palace was built about 1606 on the shore of the Salzach river north of the medieval city walls, at the behest of Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich Raitenau. Mirabell Gardens was completely redesigned under archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun in 1690 and in 1854, Emperor Franz Joseph made Mirabell Gardens open to the public for the very first time.

Stamp:
EUROPA - "Think Green" - Issued: 14-05-2016


Many thanks to Dustin for this nice card!

Germany: Goslar

Goslar is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines of Rammelsberg are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. As the 2013 the Population of was 50,681.

Stamp:
Wild Germany - Saxon Switzerland National Park - Issued: 02-06-2016


Thanks to Michael, Sabrina and Niklas for this nice card!

Crimea: Sevastopol

Sevastopol (Ukrainian: Севасто́поль) is a city located in the southwestern region of the Crimean Peninsula on the Black Sea. As a result of the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia, the city is administered as a federal city of the Russian Federation, though Ukraine and most of the international community continue to regard Sevastopol as a city with special status within Ukraine.

Although Crimea is not a separate country, but because of the difficult political situation I listed it as an own country.

Stamps:
State Awards of the Russian Federation (from a set of 18) - Issued: 19-02-2016


Many thanks to David for this great card!

Canada: Return-to-Sender from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut

This cover arrived some days ago. I came back from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada. The town is located on Victoria Island in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut and got a population of about 1,477. It is named for Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, while the traditional Inuinnaqtun name for the area is Ikaluktuutiak (old orthography) or Iqaluktuttiaq (new orthography) meaning "good fishing place". Cambridge Bay is the largest stop for passenger and research vessels traversing the Arctic Ocean's Northwest Passage.

I sent it on 16th May and it arrived back after 74 days on 29th July 2016.

Stamps:
left: The 500th Anniversary of the German Beer Purity Law - Issued: 07-04-2016
right: The 100th German Catholic Day - Leipzig, Germany - Issued: 02-05-2016

Cambridge Bay: ♁ 69° 07' N 105°03 W