Cover from Poland

On the 20-th of April after 25 days of traveling i got another Olympic 2010 stamp. I was really glad to have it - my collection of Olympiad 2010 stamps is growing!

Thank you very much, Andrzej!

Cover from Italy

On the 15-th of April after 26 days of traveling I got some nice covers from Milan where my friend Lorenzo was visiting the philatelic exhibition. He was able to put the special cancellation on the stamps - you can see it lower. This cover features the XVI Mediterranean Games. It was the first time I've ever heard of them and I consider them to be a very important even.   All the sport competitions is a good way not only to show your force and achievements, but also a way to provide a great international communication and make the cross-countries relationships better.

The stamp shows the countries that face onto the Mediterranean Sea and a number of symbols representing the sports featured in the 16th Mediterranean Games; bottom left is the logo of the Games.

Thank you very much, Lorenzo! 

2 covers from Canada.

On the 20-th of April after 31 days of traveling I got 2 just amazing covers from Canada! I was really glad to get them since Olympiad in general is one of my favorite topic and Canadian Post made really beautiful souvenir sheets this year! Except for the s\s celebrating the Olympiad, there is one devoted to the great event for the Canadian team - first Olympic gold medal won on the Canadian soil.

Canada Strikes Gold! marks a momentous event in Canadian history-in a unique way. Issued to celebrate Canada's first-ever Olympic gold medal victory on Canadian soil, this stamp captures an unforgettable moment of honour and pride that will live on for years to come. The stamp, which was designed by Naomi Broudo and Violet Finvers of the Vancouver-based firm, Tandem Design, showcases a Vancouver 2010 Olympic gold medal. Canada Strikes Gold was issued within 24 hours of the gold-medal win, making it a truly hot-off-the-presses collectible and the perfect Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games keepsake.

This exciting set of commemorative stamps was issued to celebrate the exhilaration and binding power of the Olympic spirit. The backgrounds of the stamps capture the energy of the Games with photographs of three sports: four-man bobsleigh, women’s cross-country sprint, men’s short track relay speed skating. As well, Chandra Crawford is shown accepting her gold medal at the Torino 2006 Winter Games.

Thank you very much, Chris! 

Cover from Czech Republic

On the 7-th of April after 29 days of traveling I got this awesome cover from Czech Republic. There are so many long-awaited stamps! Especially first right stamp which is devoted to two very important dates in modern Czech history. They are 1) The beginning of  the German occupation (17.11.1939), which also symbolizes the period of the strong battles. 2) The date of the Velvet Revolution (17.11.1989) - when the communist party lost its power and it was the beginning of a new epoch in this country. The next stamp is devoted to the 50 anniversary of European Council which was in 1999. And the last stamp is devoted to a very important topic - struggle against cancer. That is a disgusting and very danger disease and humanity has been trying to find a solve of it for many years. I do hope that there will be a better solution! We really need to attract attention to this problem and I think issuing of stamps is a way.    

Thank you very much, Milan! 

 

Cover from Italy

On the 8-th of April after 20 days of traveling I got this nice cover from Italy. The top stamp features the St. Mark's Square (which makes up the word combination SMS that has nothing common with massages like I thought before) in Venice. The bottom stamp is  devoted to the 150-th anniversary of the first Sicilian stamp.

Here is some more information:

The first stamp features a silhouette of part of Venice’s monumental St. Marks Square, enveloped in the dark of night and illuminated only by the moonlight; on the right, one can see the logo of SMS Saint Mark’s Square Venice.
The word “ITALIA” and the denomination “€ 0,60” complete the stamp.

The second stamp features, on the left, the horseshoe-shaped postal marking used to cancel stamps in the Kingdom of Sicily, and on the right, the ½-grana stamp issued on 1 January 1859, with the effigy of King Ferdinand II, which bears the impressed cancellation. In the background is a section of the customs map of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
The words “150° FRANCOBOLLI DI SICILIA” (150th anniversary stamps of Sicily), “ITALIA”, and the denomination “€ 0,60” complete the stamp.

Thank you very much, Giovanni!

Cover from Hungary

On the 1-st of April after 51 days of traveling (just like from Brazil) I got this cover from Hungary. It celebrates the 100-th anniversary of the Louis Blériot's flight across the La Manche who did it for the first time ever! It was a great event in aviation and in the world  history for sure! The other stamp is devoted to the Hungarian aviation history, showing the Kisrákos aviation exhibition during which an aeroplane took off the Hungary land for the first time. 

More information about the stamp: 

100 years ago, on 25 July 1909, the French engineer and constructor Louis Blériot (1872–1936) flew the 37 km across the English Channel between Dover and Calais in 36 minutes. In the same year, on 17 October, he also held a display in Hungary. This was the first time that an aeroplane took off in Hungary.
The first reports of the work of Hungarian aeromodellers come from the time of the first engine-powered flight (1903). However, Blériot’s flight in 1909 was a real breakthrough, inspiring the foundation of the first aeromodel clubs in Hungary. So 1909 is considered as the start of organised Hungarian aeromodelling. (Source: http://hu.wikipedia.org, http://www.dvmk.hu/tortenelem.php?magy)

One of the denominations of the pair of stamps with a label shows the moment when Louis Blériot reached the English coast at Dover on the first flight across the Channel. The other stamp captures Blériot’s demonstration flight in a small Hungarian village, Kisrákos. The label between the stamps features a constructional drawing of Blériot’s aeroplane, which is intended to symbolise and document the 100 years of Hungarian aeromodelling. The first day cover depicts Blériot as a pilot, in the cockpit of his aeroplane, while on the special postmark there is a front view of his aeroplane’s constructional drawing. The preparation of the new pair of stamps was assisted by the Budapest Transport Museum.

Thank you very much, Antal! 

FDC from Poland

On the 30-th of March, after 32 days of traveling i got this FDC, celebrating the 200 anniversary of F. Chopin's birthday. I do hope that all we know and love the music of this outstanding composer. The main idea of the stamp creator - Marzanna Dąbrowska was to show him full of dynamic energy. So the prototype of the stamp is the Chopin's memorial which is located in Warsaw. I think that the author has achieved her goal.

Thank you very much, Andrzej!

Cover + card from Hungary

I should say that this year I do have good luck with postcrossing! Another great cover was received via this project just after 13 days (good job, comparing with 2 months!). And I really like the FDC envelope, devoted to the very right stamp. This stamp celebrates the 250-th anniversary of founding of the MÁRIABESNYŐ DEVOTIONAL STATUE. There is a very interesting history of it:

In the 1750’s the third wife of the region’s count, Antal Grassalkovich became fatally ill. At this time he made a resolution that if his wife recovers he wold build a church to the honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. When the work was started stonemason János Fidler saw a vision and heard the words: “If you dig among the ruins of the church where once the main altar stood you will find a beautiful object.” On the following day, on 19 April 1759 he started to search at the location spoken of, and at a depth of two spades he found the statue of the Virgin Mary, which was an 11 cm tall carved piece of ivory from the 11th-12th century.

From his family jewels Antal Grassalkovich had two crowns and a belt of precious stones, even today it is these and the gift of a gold ring from Franz Josef I that decorate the work. The statue was placed in a silver house behind crystal glass in the chapel, which was completed by 14 August 1761. Due to increasing demand the church was continuously extended and was consecrated on 17 March 1771. The news of the miraculous find of the country’s smallest devotional statue spread quickly and Máriabesnyő became a place of pilgrimage. Even today several hundred thousand people visit it every year, asking for the graces of the Holy Virgin mother. Starting from the very first times very many prayers were answered and miracles took place here. The small presents of thanks located in the area around the altar bear witness to this.

Count Grassalkovich entrusted the care of the shrine to the Capuchins in 1763. The church was renovated by the order in 1912 and then in 1942, but in 1950 when the orders were disbanded they were forced to abandon it. After the change of regime they returned to Máriabesnyő, which became the second most visited Virgin Mary shrine in Hungary in the 20th century.

Pope Benedict XVI with the decision of the Congregation for the Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments issued on 2 May 2008 raised the Máriabesnyő chapel to the rank of basilica minor, which was announced on 7 September 2008 at the festival of the Virgin Mary. Source: http://hu.wikipedia.org http://mariabesnyo.vaciegyhazmegye.hu http://uj.katolikus.hu http://ujember.katolikus.hu

The stamp includes the statue decorated with the jewellery and the basilica.

Thank you very much, Krisztina!