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!

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!

Sweden: Return-to-Sender from Kiruna

This one was an experiment I made, because I wanted to check if it works. I set up this cover myself and send it "Poste Restante" to Kiruna in northern Sweden. Kiruna is the northernmost town in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland. It had 18,148 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kiruna Municipality (population: 23,099 in 2008) in Norrbotten County. Due to Kiruna's position north of the Arctic Circle the city experiences both midnight sun and polar night throughout the year as well as a very cold climate by Scandinavian standards. I send the cover from Bielefeld, Germany on March, 23th and it came back on May, 28th 2016.

Stamps:
Comics "Asterix" (from a set of three) - Issued: 01-09-2015


Kiruna: ♁ 67°51′N 0 20°13′ E

Switzerland: EUROPA - "Think Green"

I'm happy to receive another cover with the EUROPA Stamp of 2016. This time it comes from Switzerland. Swiss Post issued also two different stamps. One shows the common design and on the other you can see a thinking head. The stamps are designed to increase awareness about environmental topics, bringing with them an underlying wake-up call.

Stamps:
EUROPA - "Think Green" (whole Set) - Issued: 12-05-2016


Many thanks to Hansjürg for this great FDC!

Greenland: Upernavik

Some days ago, I received another card from Greenland. This time from Upernavik. Upernavik (Kalaallisut: "Springtime Place") is a small town in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland, located on a small island of the same name. With 1,181 inhabitants as of 2013, it is the twelfth-largest town in Greenland. It is also the northern-most town in Greenland with a population of over 1,000.

Stamps:
Aviation (from a set of three) - Issued: 13-05-2015
2x Queen Margrethe II - Issued: 13-05-2015
Queen Margrethe II - Issued: 22-10-2012


♁ 72° 47′ N,  56° 9′ W

USA: Maryland Map-Card

Maryland is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east. The state's largest city is Baltimore, and its capital is Annapolis. Among its occasional nicknames are Old Line State, the Free State, and the Chesapeake Bay State. The state is named after Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I of England and mother of Charles II and James II. Maryland is one of the smallest states in terms of area, as well as one of the most densely populated, with around 6 million residents. With its close proximity to the nation's capital, and a highly diversified economy spanning manufacturing, services, and biotechnology, Maryland has the highest median household income of any state.

Stamps (from left to right):
Legends of Hollywood - James Cagney - Issued: 22-07-1999
Legends of Hollywood - Shirley Temple - Issued: 18-04-2016
Legends of Hollywood - Cary Grant - Issued: 15-10-2002


Many thanks to Eric for this nice card and the nice stamps!

Canada: Year of the Monkey International Rate Souvenir Sheet + Toronto Card

Some weeks ago I received this nice cover. On the cover you can see a nice Souvenir Sheet of the Year of the Monkey Issue. Besides the Domestic rate stamp I now have the international rate stamp, too. Inside the cover I also found a nice card of Toronto. On the card you can see the "CN Tower". It is a 553.33 m-high (1,815.4 ft) concrete communications and observation tower in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Built on the former Railway Lands, it was completed in 1976, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure and world's tallest tower at the time. It held both records for 34 years until the completion of Burj Khalifa and Canton Tower in 2010.

Too bad, there is no cancellation on the stamp.

Stamp:
Year of Monkey Souvenir Sheet International Rate - Issued: 01-02-2016


Many thanks to Karen for this nice cover!

Estonia: EUROPA - "Think Green"

Today I received another cover with the 2016 EUROPA Stamps of Estonia on it. As you can see, besides the common design, Estonian Post issued an own second stamp. You can see it on the left. I really like it, too.

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


Many thanks to Janne for this nice cover!