Favourite stamps & covers

FDC from Portugal

2010-11-23T12:59:00.000-08:00

On the 20-th of October after 10 days of traveling I got this nice FDC from Luis (Portugal). Unfortunately, the English version of the Portuguese post page is under construction, so I couldn't find any information about the stamp which I can understand. As far as I can guess, it's devoted to the 100-th anniversary of the republican form of government.

Thank you very much, Luis!

Cover from Poland

2010-11-23T11:03:00.000-08:00

On the 20-th of November after 8 days of traveling I got this nice cover from Poland, Nowy Sącz. It's devoted to the 100-th anniversary of the creating of the sport club Widzew Łódź.

Thank you very much, Andrzej!

Cover from Croatia

2010-11-23T10:43:00.000-08:00

On the 17-th of November after just 9 days of traveling I got another cover from Croatia. This time there is a series devoted to the light houses. Here is the description:

Zagreb, September 7, 2010 – Croatian Post has released today three new commemorative postage stamps from the “Lighthouses” series – Tajer, Vir and Veli rat. The face value of the stamps is HRK 3, 10. The authors of the stamps are Orsat Franković and Ivana Vučić, designers from Zagreb, while the author of the photographs is Andrija Carli, a photographer from Split. The stamps are printed in 100 000 copies per motif, in 10-stamp sheets.

One could say that lighthouses are buildings situated on the coast which aid ships in navigation. But, lighthouses are much more than that. Very few buildings have managed to capture the attention of people from all over the world by their beauty and charm as lighthouses have. Today, lighthouses still serve their purpose, but have at the same time become a favored tourist destination, while many took up photographing lighthouses as a hobby. One of them is Andrija Carli and three of his photographs served as the motif for new postage stamps from the very successful and popular series „Lighthouses“. This year Croatian Post’s stamps depict the lighthouses Tajer, Vir and Veli rat.

The tower of the lighthouse Tajer is connected to the main building by a unique stone bridge, and owing to its distinguishable red and white stripes it has become a tourist symbol of the surrounding archipelago.

The legend of a hidden treasure somewhere near the lighthouse Vir captured the imagination of many treasure seekers. During the 20th century, children of the lighthouse keepers, while playing on the beach, sometimes found gold coins and even a valuable necklace once.

Veli rat is considered to be one of the most beautiful lighthouses in the whole Mediterranean. Besides its beauty, it is also very interesting to tourists because they can rent it out and spend their vacation there, as in many other lighthouses on the Adriatic coast, and enjoy the unique peace and atmosphere a lighthouse has to offer.

Croatian Post has to date issued twelve stamps altogether in the “Lighthouses” series, started in 2007, and the interest for them has been growing ever since.

Another stamp with the beautiful ethnic tracery represents CROATIAN ETHNOGRAPHIC HERITAGE - Međimurje.

Thank you very much, Josip!

Cover from Bosnia and Hercegovina

2010-11-23T09:49:00.000-08:00

On the 8-th of November I got my first cover from the ex-Yugoslavian republic - Bosnia and Herzegovina. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any information about the stamps, because at first I'm not sure if they are Bosnian since it's written on Cyrillic and says that it's Republica Serpska and the Serbian Post web page is unavailable. But as far as I understood, the first stamp on the lefet is devoted to the contemporary Serbian art, it's a picture "Zebil'eeva street" by B. Shoshra. the other stamp represents the Grachanitsa monastery in Serbia.

Thank you very much, Nebojsa!

FDS from Slovenia

2010-10-27T07:07:00.000-07:00

At the same time I got the previous cover, I got this amazing FDC. This time it's Euro cept 2010. I'm a huge fun of this series so it was a very special FDC for me!

Thank you very much, Kristijan!

Cover from Slovenia

2010-10-27T06:59:00.000-07:00

On the 10-th of October just after 3(!!!) days of traveling (still can't believe it!) I got this nice package from Slovenia.

There are 2 sets of stamps: first is devoted to the World Football Championship which took place in the South Africa this summer and the second one is devoted to the World Basketball Championship. I'm not a big fun of these kinds of sports, so I can't tell a lot about them but I still think that they were very important worldwide events which with no doubt deserve to be devoted to!

And the other stamp is from Euro cept series 2009. I lost this stamp, so Kristjan kindly sent me another one.

Thank you very much, Kristijan!

Cover from Brazil

2010-10-27T06:46:00.000-07:00

Now let me tell you about this nice cover from Brazil which I got this spring.

There are 2 nice stamps which I wanted to get. First is devoted to Louis Braille - the inventor of the graphics for blind people. I've already written about this kind of stamps and have them in my collection, but I'm still glad to receive such stamps! The other stamps celebrate the first flight of a Brazilian man (Cel. Marcos Pontes) to space in a Soyuz rocket with the Spacial Russian Agency.

Thank you very much, Ricardo!

Cover from Poland

2010-10-17T02:49:00.000-07:00

On the 14-th of August after 20 days of traveling I got this amazing FDC from Poland. It was devoted to the 600-th anniversary of the Grünewald Battle. This historic events took place on the 14-th of July 1410 in Germany and was a fight between the Order of crusaders under the leadership of Ulrich von Jungingen and the united troops of several East European peoples: Polish, Lithuanians, Russians and Czech under the leadership of Władysław II Jagiełła.

On the stamp you can see the picture of J. Matejko "Bitwa pod Grunwaldem" (The Grünewald Battle) painted in 1878 and which is located in the Polish National Museum - Warsaw.

Thank you very much, Andrzej!\

Cover from Poland

2010-10-17T02:33:00.000-07:00

On the 1-st of June after 10 days of traveling I got this beautiful cover with souvenir sheet from Poland. It celebrates the International Philatelic Exhibition "Portugal 2010". I myself have never taken part in such events, but I do hope I will one time since I consider them a very important event which help people, which are interested in philately to get to know each other, to communicate and to find out new interesting things!

Thank you, Andrzej!

Cover from Croatia

2010-10-17T02:21:00.000-07:00

On the 18-th of May after 31 days of traveling I got this long-awaited cover from Croatia. As you can see, it's another one from Europa series. I;m always glad to get new Europa stamps!

Thank you very much, Dragan!!!!

FDC from Hong Kong

2010-10-11T06:38:00.000-07:00

On the 21-st of May after 24 days of traveling I got this FDC from Hong Kong. It''s devoted to the Hong Kong''s participation in Expo 2010 which took place in Shaghai China. The stamp shows us the Hong Kong''s unlimited potential in development.

Thank you, Brian!

Cover from Croatia

2010-10-11T06:27:00.000-07:00

On the 10-th of June after 34 days of traveling I got this cover from Croatia. The stamps are devoted to the anniversaries of several things such as: 1) Franciscan church 2)FRANCISCAN ORDER 3) St. MARTIN’S HERMIT CHAPEL.

You can find more information about this events on the official page of the Croatian post. The page is just amazing - it provides us a lot information on the tamps! Here it is:

350 YEARS OF FRANCISCAN PRESENCE IN ČAKOVEC

800TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FRANCISCAN ORDER

800TH ANNIVERSARY OF St. MARTIN’S HERMIT CHAPEL IN PODSUSED

Thank you very much, Josip!

Cover from Poland

2010-09-29T08:39:00.001-07:00

Katyn crime.

This souvenir sheet was issued in memory of the soldiers which were killed in 1940 in Katyn (Western Russia) by the order of Stalin. The crime was disgusting by itself, but even worse the truth about it was being hidden for many years! The Soviet government invented the other version of this event: the soldiers were killed by the German fascists and it was even adopted by the Polish communism authorities. Fortunately this year the situation has changed - the Russian govern

ment presented the original Stalin's order, admitted it and denounced. I do hope this acts will improve our relationships.

On the s\s you can see the buttons of the soldiers' war uniform.

Thank you very much, Andrzej!

Cover from Poland

2010-09-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

History of Polish photography.

This cover represents the works of the "father of Polish photography" - Jan Bulhak. They were made in 1920s and show us some views of Warsaw and Krakow. The photos are located at the Muzeum Narodowy (Warsaw).

Thank you very much, Andrzej!

I'm back!

2010-09-28T21:26:00.000-07:00

I'm back again after 4 months - the period of my being in the USA. Now I continue to post my covers. I'm going to upload the letters which I got during the summer shortly.

Thank you, all my exchange-friends for patiently waiting for my return!

Alexandr

Cover from Poland

2010-04-22T02:23:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-22T02:09:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-04-22T01:49:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-12T12:28:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-03T06:36:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-03T06:24:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-03T05:27:00.000-07:00

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!

Cover from Poland

2010-03-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

On the 23-rd of March after a month of traveling I got this cover from Poland. This time it was devoted to the lost works of art. It's well-known that during many wars some works of art could be stolen or lost. And that also happened during the WWII. On the souvenir sheet you can see the pictures of A. Durer, P. P. Rubens, Rembrandt which were lost from Polish museums and libraries during WWII. Of course, it's not all of them, but still it's a way to attract attention to this important problems for national heritage of every country!

Cover + card from USA

2010-03-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

Another nice and unexpected cover I got via postcrossing. This time it was the stamp, devoted to the Olympiad in Vancouver! My second one! And take a look at the card! It's a reproduction of the pictures of the painter! Now I have this signed! It really will be a special one! Thank you very much, Lindy!

Cover from Slovenia

2010-03-13T10:18:00.000-08:00

On the 9-th of March after 32 days of traveling I got my next just awesome cover from Slovenia. There are exactly the stamps I do like!

First there is a souvenir sheet, devoted to the Saving of Polar regions. This year many countries have such stamps and, as I collect ecology stamps, I'm looking forward to get them, unfortunately, in many cases they are rather expensive! :(( So I'm really glad to get the Slovenian issue!

Then there is the second stamp from 2009 Europa issue! No need to say that it was also the stamps I was looking for!

And the last issue - 2010 Olympic Games! My first one! I'll be trying to collect much more than 1!

Thank you so much, Kristijan!

FDC from Austria

2010-03-13T10:10:00.000-08:00

On the 3-rd of March after 34 days of traveling I got this nice FDC, showing the old town of Saltzburg. Thank you very much, Florian!

Cover from Canada.

2010-02-28T12:52:00.001-08:00

On the 27-th of February after 33 days (no comment!) of traveling I got this nice cover.

This time there is a stamp, devoted to a very serious topic - mental health. It helps The Canadian Post Found for mental health to collect money for its needs. Every time when a person byus this stamp, he donates 10c to this found. It helps the ordinary people of the Canadian society to support the persons which are really in need by coming true civil initiations without applying to the government. In my opinion it's the most efficient way!

The other stamp is devoted to the 100-th anniversary of Montreal Canadiens sport club.

Thank you very much, Chris!

Card from China

2010-02-20T06:06:00.000-08:00

On the 19-th of February after 30 days (the whole month! *(( ) of traveling I got this card via postcrossing project. I rarely got nice stamps using this project, but that was this case! Unfortunately, the Chinese philatelic page was unavailable, so I can just assume that these are the creations of Chinese cultural heritage. Just look at this amazing flower decorated, playing background! Unfortunately, the card wasn't signed, so just thank you a person from China!

Cover from Spain

2010-02-20T05:57:00.000-08:00

On the 19-th of February, after 27 days of traveling I got this amazing cover from Spain which I was looking forward to! There are the stamps from my favorite topics: Europa and science. Europa stamps was issued in 2007 when the topic was scout movement. The science stamps are devoted to botanics and genetics. These fields of natural science are very important for our everyday life, even though we have been already used to their achievements and don't pay attention to them. I found a very good description of it on the Spanish post service page:

Botany or Phytology, is the study of plant life and their development. For a long time it has been used for the description, classification and use of vegetable species. It was Theophrastus (300 B.C.) who wrote the first two botanical treaties which constitute the most important contribution to botanical science during Antiquity and on into the Middle Ages. In the XVI century, the great explorers brought to Europe many species which were gathered in treaties and catalogues by Andrea Célaspin and Gaspar Bauhin who classified 6.000 plant species in natural groups. Years later, new discoveries on the anatomy and physiology of plants and the complex phenomenon of photosynthesis were made. Botany is divided into different subdisciplines such as anatomy, physiology, cytology and phytopathology. Botany is also applied to the pharmaceutical industry since many medical drugs come directly from the plant kingdom, for example aspirin is based on the pain killer salicylic acid which originally came from the bark of willow trees. Many natural materials, such as cotton, wood, paper, linen, rope, and rubber also come from the plant kingdom.

Genetics, a discipline of biology, is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms and the way human inherit traits from their parents. Genes correspond to regions within DNA, a molecule composed of a chain of four different types of nucleotides. The sequence of these nucleotides is the genetic information organisms inherit. The first investigations in Genetics were made by Gregor Mendel in 1865 (The Mendel Laws) . In 1990 the Human Genome Project was set up to study the sequence of the human genome which was essentially completed in 2003. Scientists have discovered a large number of genes that play important roles in human diseases, thus leading the way to the manufacture of medical drugs to fight them. Research on human genetics will enable scientists to develop an individual approach to preventive medicine.

Thank you very much, David!

Cover from Ukraine

2010-02-20T05:45:00.000-08:00

On the 8-th of February after 14 days of traveling I got my first cover from the Ukraine. It was the stamps devoted to the Ukrainian folklore songs. Thank you very much, Valeriy!

Сover from Italy.

2010-02-20T05:25:00.000-08:00

On the 9-th of February after 15 days of traveling I got this cover from Italy. It's devoted to a very serious topic - fire preventing. Much forest ares disappear every year because of that reason every year. It's necessary to take appropriate measures to save our "Earth lungs"! This stamp will be a good edition to my ecology topic! Thank you very much, Lorenzo!

At the top is a lush, green natural landscape with a deer peeking out from it; at the bottom is the same landscape after the fire.
The words “PREVENZIONE E LOTTA CONTRO GLI INCENDI” (preventing and fighting fires), “ITALIA”, and the denomination “€ 0,60” complete the stamp

Cover from Poland

2010-02-07T12:10:00.000-08:00

On the 6-th of February, after 18 days of traveling I got this nice cover. It celebrates the 150-th anniversary of the first Polish stamp issue.

There is yet no information about the stamp on the official page, so I'll try to translate by myself. On the stamp you can see a fragment of the letter which was sent from Kalwaria to Warsaw on the 28-th of May 1860. On the top of the stamp you can see the addressee's building, e.g. The Bank of Warsaw in 1860.

Our post also issued a stamp, devoted to the 150-th anniversary of the Russian first stamp, so the cover will be a good edition of my collection.

Thank you very much, Andrzej!

Cover from Hungary

2010-02-07T12:02:00.000-08:00

On the 6-th of February i got my first cover from Hungary. Even though the cover is canceled on the 20-th of January, the person who sent me told that he had posted it at the beginning of January. I was really glad to get it, since I've been waiting forward to it and it enlarges my Europa cept collection! Thank you very much, Antal!

Cover from Malaysia

2010-02-07T11:55:00.000-08:00

On the 30-th of January I got my first cover from Malaysia. The post was working really disgusting during the whole January, so it took 35 days for the letter to be delivered (( There were some nice stamps inside it. They all are devoted to one of my favorite and a very important topic - ecology - you can see by yourself. Thank you, Kow Siew!

Cover from Poland

2010-01-20T06:56:00.000-08:00

On the 10-th of January after 8 days of travelling I got the next excellent cover from Andrzej! This time it was the stamps devoted to the outstanding Polish people. It's one of my favourite topic for it helps me to know more about science and technology developing.

Here is some information about the figures of the stamps:

Monocrystals and metal B
Jan Czochralski (1885-1953) - a specialist in metallurgy and inventor of the presently universal method of obtaining silicon monocrystals known as the Czochralski method (or the Czochralski process), and a method of metal recrystallisation. Having graduated from a Teacher's College he left to Berlin in 1904 where he worked on determining the quality and purity of metals and copper refining. He attended lectures on specialised chemistry in Charlottenburg at the local technical university, following which he started his own academic career. Among others, he studied the properties of light metals and in 1924 he patented what is known as metal B, a bearing alloy used in Europe and in the United States in the railway industry. Following his return to the country in 1929 he became a professor at the Institute of Chemistry at Warsaw University of Technology. The silicon monocrystals, obtained with the Czochralski method, are presently used in the production of microchips.

Blood types and the serologic conflict
Ludwik Hirszfeld (1884-1954), a doctor, microbiologist and serologist, creator of the Polish school of immunology and a novel branch of science called seroanthropology. Following his medical studies in Germany he worked as assistant in the Cancer Studies Institute in Heidelberg. He also worked in the Institute of Hygiene in Zurich ( Switzerland). He studied the problems of human immunology and blood coagulability. He returned to Poland in 1918 where he carried on his research. His most outstanding achievements are his works on blood types, including the law of blood type succession and their marking (developed in cooperation with Emil von Dungern) as 0, A, B, and AB, which is in use to date, and also the marking of the Rh factor and the discovery of the reasons for the occurrence of the serological conflict. Additionally, he co-founded the National Institute of Hygiene (Państwowy Zakład Higieny) in Warsaw and the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin (UMCS) and also established the Polish Academy of Sciences Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy (Instytut Immunologii i Terapii Doświadczalnej PAN) in Wrocław and the Research Centre for Pregnancy Pathology (Ośrodek Badań Patologii Ciąży). He was a university professor in Warsaw and in Wrocław.

The best watches in the world
The Polish watchmaker that gained the highest renown in the world was Antoni Norbert Patek (1812-1877). He was awarded the Golden Cross of the Virtuti Militari Order for his participation in the November uprising. Following the defeat of the insurgency, he emigrated to Prussia, and from there he went to France. After long journeys he settled in Geneva, Switzerland, where in 1839 he set up a small factory of watches in stylish casing together with Franciszek Czapek. In 1844 he met the famous French watchmaker Adrienne Philippe, inventor of the "remontoire" spring drive. A year after, the two friends together established the company Patek-Philippe, which exists to date, and launched the mass manufacture of pocket watches, followed by wrist watches later on, known for their excellent quality. Presently the company's watches are a paragon of quality and artistic design.

The secret of the Enigma

The outstanding Polish mathematicians and cryptologists Marian Rejewski (1905-1980), Henryk Zygalski (1907-1978) and Jerzy Różycki (1909-1942), working in the Decrypting Centre at the Main Staff Sheriffs' Office of the Polish Army in Pyry near Warsaw, succeeded in creating a replica of Enigma, the German encrypting machine used to ensure full secrecy of wartime messages. The Polish Army then delivered copies of the machine to similar centres in Great Britain and France, where the researchers were evacuated following the outbreak of World War II. The breaking of the Enigma's code and the resulting possibility of mechanical decrypting of hundreds of German messages containing precise operational plans and military orders contributed to the allied victory in the war. Sadly the British, who the Polish cryptologists cooperated with, took all the credit for the success. For many years Poles fought for their due recognition.

Dziękuję, Andrzej!

Cover from czech Republic

2010-01-20T06:49:00.000-08:00

On the 11-th of January after 24 days of travelling (post has defenitely gone mad! everybody is recieving the letters with huge delay!) I got this cover! I was really looking forward to it since it's the continuation of my series evoted to L. Braille! There is also one more stamp devoted to the 200-th anniversary of C. Darvin's birth.

diekuju, Milan!

Cover from Italy

2010-01-12T07:47:00.001-08:00

On the 8-th of January after I don't know how many days of travelling (the stamps weren't cancelled, but still I think after a long time of travelling for the letter was dated by the 13-th of Dec) I got the next cover from Italy, devoted to the series "made in Italy" Isn't it beautiful?

A yellow gold and platinum necklace with amethysts, turquoise stones, emeralds and diamonds, created by BVLGARI in 1965 and belonging to the BVLGARI Vintage Collection; at the top in the middle is the firm’s trademark.
The words “MADE IN ITALY“, “125 ANNI” (125 years), “ITALIA”, and the denomination “€ 0,60” complete the stamp.

Thank you, Lorenzo!

Big cover from Slovenia

2010-01-12T06:42:00.000-08:00

On the 8-th of December after 16 days of travelling (well it's not 23 like it was last time) I got this amazing cover from Slovenia. I was waiting for the English version of the Slovenian Post page to appear but it's still only on Slovenian, so I'll try to descibe them using the similarity of slavic languages.

Ok, the first stamp is devoted to the 10-th anniversary of using Euro as the currency of many countries in the EU. The number of them is growing every year. It's very difficult to estimate this event unambiguously for it should have negative and positive aspects, but I belive that the positive aspects are prevailed for at least it makes people life easy in the way of having the same currency in many countries. So you don't have to exchange your money everytime you are in another country, waisting your time and money!

The stamp with the man and a horse is from the series "means of conveyance". In 2008 it was devoted to a sleigh. The stamp is called "A sleigh for goods transportation" and is oriented to show us the tradion of a sleigh use in Slovenia.

I didn't find any concrete information about these low value (0.12 € and 0.13 €) stamps for it wasn't possible to allocate the year of issue (it's not 2008 neither 2009). As I understood, all of them are from the "Red cross" series; the 0.12 € stamp is devoted to the week of solidarity - 1-7 of November 2008 and the 0.13€ is devoted to the idea of Red cross organization's creation which was occured in the 1859.

And of course, there is the other addition to my Euro cept collection! There are 2 stamps devoted to this series. This one is devoted to the 50-th anniversary of the "Golovec" observatorium opemimg.

Thank you very much, Kristijan for that cover!

2 сovers from Poland

2009-12-30T06:40:00.000-08:00

On the 28-th and 30-th I got these nice covers fro Poland. The first registered one represents many stamps concluding 2 devoted to the European Woman Volleyball championship and European Man Basketball Championship. I've not fot sport stamps from the Beijing Olympiad, so I was really glad to supplement my sport topic! The other stamp on this cover is devoted to the 20 anniversary of the forming of the first goverment in non-communistic Poland. It was a very imporstant event for that country since it gave rise of a new democratic Poland.

The other cover's mini sheet is also devoted to a very important event in Polish history - the Outbreak of the Warsaw uprising, which took place in 1944 and was directed against fasсism occupation in order to show the world and themself that "Poland has not yet perished" (a line from the Polish hymn).

Historic events is one of my favourite topics, so I was looking forward to these stamp and was really glad to get them!

Thank you, Andrzej!

POLAND 2009 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP IN WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL

Poczta Polska accompanies all of the numerous major sporting events in Poland, an example of which is the postage stamp issued on account of the 26th European Championship in Women's Volleyball. Between 25 September and 4 October matches took place in Łódź, Katowice, Bydgoszcz and Wrocław with the participation of 16 among the best European national teams. Like 2 years ago, the Italian team won the gold medal beating Holland 3:0. Polish volleyball fans also had reasons for joy as the Polish team took 3rd place.

EuroBasket 2009

European Championships in men's basketball are held every two years. Poland hosted the competitions once in 1963 (in the city of Wrocław), and again this year between 7 and 20 September, with matches in several cities throughout the country ( Katowice, Łódź, Bydgoszcz, Wrocław, Warsaw, Poznań and Gdańsk). In the final match the Spanish team beat the representation of Serbia. This year's championships were assessed very well by both the participants and FIBA Europe (the International Basketball Federation).

New postage stamp and First Day Cover

On account of the EuroBasket 2009 championships Poczta Polska issued a stamp with a First Day Cover featuring a motif of a ball tossed into the basket. The stamps were printed on sheets of 12 pieces, each sheet containing the title of the issue and an inscription reading "BASKETFIL International Philatelic Exhibition Poznań 2009". The issue is accompanied by an occasional date stamp, in use in the Poznań 1 Post Office.

12 SEPTEMBER 1989. THE TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF FORMING THE GOVERNMENT AFTER THE JUNE ELECTIONS

12 September 2009 celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the forming of the first non-communist government brought into being as a consequence of the June Elections in 1989. The events, which made that happen, were initiated by the strikes of the shipyard workers which ended up establishing "Solidarity" and signing the August Agreement with the communistic authorities. They were followed by the martial law and the Round Table deciding to hold first free elections to the Sejm and Senate.

THE 65th ANNIVERSARY OF THE OUTBREAK OF THE WARSAW UPRISING

This year witnesses the 65th anniversary of the great patriotic spurt of Polish people, mainly dwellers of Warsaw, which was aimed at the German occupant. This liberating fight initiated and managed by the Home Army (Armia Krajowa, AK) and joined also by other underground organizations was widely supported by the civil population of the capital city and intended to remind the world that the heart of our homeland still beats, that "Poland has not yet perished". The important role in this national outbreak was played by children and youth along with their older colleagues to which people of Warsaw pay homage every year in the insurgent quarter at the Powązki Cemetery

Cover from Spain

2009-12-17T11:21:00.000-08:00

On the 10 of December after 13 days of travelling I got this cover from Spain. It's devoted to the civil values such as fight against climate change, the idea "Plant for the planet', reconcillation of work and family life. I consider them to be rather important topic for our everyday life! Following them will really help to make our life easy and comfortable and our Earth - better place to live. I also should notice the original ideas of the stamps! They are really amazing! Thank you very much, David!

"¿Tú no?"

The idea for the Plant for the Planet was inspired by Professor Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize laureate for 2004 and organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The objective is to plant at least one thousand million trees worldwide each year. In Spain, the campaign has had a very positive reception and 25 million trees have already been planted in one year and 100 million more are to be planted in the following years. Many big companies collaborate in this campaign amongst which is Correos, who gives part of the sales from the eco-friendly packing boxes to the foundation “Forests of the Earth”.

"DESCO2NECTA"

The fight against climate change is one of the challenges that faces mankind and the United Nations has made an appeal to us all to change our consumer habits and reduce the CO2 footprint. The European Union is one of the international organizations committed with the environment and has implemented obligations to the member states to control green house emissions and reach the following objectives: use less polluting energy sources, use alternative means of transport, make companies responsible for an efficient use of energy and their CO2 emission without jeopardizing their competitiveness, place town planning and agriculture at the service of the environment and create favourable conditions for research and innovation.

"Conciliación Vida Laboral"

To make possible reconciliation of work and family life, fighting discrimination between working men and women and help both partners fulfil their household obligations is a main objective. The new legislation acknowledges a flexible working schedule as well as maternity, paternity leaves and time off to look after one’s family. Equal opportunities for parents and the co-participation in childcare from the moment of childbirth is now becoming a reality.

Cover from Italy

2009-12-17T11:09:00.000-08:00

On the 10-th of December after 17 days of travelling I got this letter from Italy. this time it's devoted to the outstanding scientist - Charles Darwin. I believe there is no need to write about his genious - all of us know his theory of evolution. There is some exact information about the stamp:

In the foreground is a portrait of the scientist Charles Darwin, while in the background is a detail of the title page of the first edition of his work ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES, published in 1859. At the bottom on the left are a number of outlines representing the evolution of the human race, from the first hominids to homo sapiens.

Thank you very much, Lorenzo!

Cover from Brazil

2009-12-17T10:44:00.000-08:00

On the 16-th of December after 23 (! one more anti-record) I got my first cover from Brazil! There are the exactly stamps I wanted! The first is devoted to Russian-Brazil cooperation in space investigation. The other 2 are devoted to the International Polar Year - also the topic I collect the stamps from! As you can see, the stamps have special cancellation! Thank you very much Ricardo for the amazing cover!

Cover from Spain

2009-12-17T10:16:00.000-08:00

On the 16-th of December after 13 days of travelling I got this letter from Spain. There were 2 Europa 2006 Spanish stamps, devoted to the topic "Integration". Of course I was really glad to get it for my europa collection is enlarging and the stamp on the cover is very interesting for me as well. It celebrates the 60 anniversary of The Counsil of Europe. Thank you very much, Jose Luis!

On occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Council of Europe, Correos issues a commemorative stamp depicting the logo of this public institution with the inscription 60 years 2009.

In 1949, ten countries signed the Treaty of London establishing the Council of Europe. In article 1 of its Statute it states its aim to “achieve a greater unity between its members and to promote awareness and encourage the development of Europe's cultural identity and diversity and to favour its economic and social progress.”

60 years after its foundation, The Council of Europe has a genuine pan-European dimension with 47 members, representing 800 million citizens and 5 observer countries: the Holy See, the United States, Canada, Japan, and Mexico. Its headquarters are in Strasbourg and its aims are to protect human rights, pluralist democracy and the rule of law, to promote awareness and encourage the development of Europe's cultural identity and diversity, to find common solutions to the challenges facing European society: such as discrimination against minorities, xenophobia, intolerance, terrorism, trafficking in human beings, organised crime and to consolidate democratic stability in Europe by backing political, legislative and constitutional reform.

The logo is the Council of Europe's own distinctive sign and was adopted in May 1999. The Council shares the flag, twelve golden stars on a blue background, with the European Union and the prelude to the Ode to Joy from Beethoven's 9th Symphony as the European anthem.

2009-12-09T12:04:00.000-08:00

On the 8-th of December after 14 days of travelling I got these 2 nice covers, sent from Poland. There are 2 stamps which continue the series of “The capitals of EU countries”. Now it’s complete! The other stamp represents "Polish traces in Europe". This time Polish Post issued the stamp, devoted to Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki - the interpreter of Russian-Ukrainian origin which took part in one of Polish-Turkian war and awarded a sum of money and some packs of coffee. That's how he became the first European coffee house owner.

Thank you very much, Andrzej!

Bratislava - the Castle

Bratislava, in the past also known as Pressburg, Pozsóny or Posonium, is a formerly Hungarian city located on the Danube river. It became the capital city of Slovakia in 1918 following the breakdown of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, it wasnt until 1993, following the hardships of war and the communist regime, that political changes occurred allowing the city to become the capital of the autonomous Slovakian state.
Fortified outposts have been built on the Castle Hill since as early as 9th century as the city was on numerous occasions a target for raids (among others by the Tartars). The construction of the castle begun in the 12th century and the present shape of the building comes from the 18th century, when it was added with baroque features during the reign of Maria Theresa of Austria. The castle suffered serious damage during a fire in 1811 and wasnt rebuilt again until the 1950s. Presently it houses, among others, the Museum of History.

Warsaw - the Castle Square

Although Warsaw was founded as early as in the 13th century, the significance of the city grew considerably when it became the capital of Poland and the home of the royal court (which had until then been located in Krakow) in 1596. King Sigismund III Vasa settled in the royal palace (which had formerly served as a castle and was rebuilt for that purpose) in the year 1611. The reign of Sigismund III Vasa and later on his son, Władysław IV Vasa, was a golden age for Warsaw, a time when the city flourished with rapid growth and development.
The Castle Square depicted on the stamp opens the way to the Old Town. The column crowned with a sculpture of Sigismund III, whose construction was ordered by Władysław IV, was erected between 1643 and 1644. The Royal Palace, destroyed in World War II, wasnt rebuilt until the 1970s. Both the palace and the entire Old Town are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Cover from Canada

2009-11-26T10:12:00.000-08:00

On the 23-rd of November after 11 days of travelling I got this letter from Canada. It shows the sports of upcoming Olympiad 2010 in Vancouver. Olympiad is one of my favourite topic, so I'm very glad to get these stamps from the hosting country! Thank you, Patrick!

Canada's Stamp Details (Vol. XVIII No 1; January to March 2009)

Though the torch has not yet been lit, the Olympic Spirit is already spreading across Canada as fans, athletes and officials from around the world await the start of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. To mark Canada’s role as Host Country of the world’s most celebrated sporting event, Canada Post will issue five PERMANENT™ domestic rate stamps showcasing 2010 Winter Games sports. This vibrant stamp set features curling, snowboarding, freestyle skiing, bobsleigh and ice sledge hockey.

The 2010 Winter Games provide Canadians with an opportunity to continue a tradition that began with the first Olympic Winter Games in 1924 in Chamonix, France. What began as a 16-event competition with 16 countries participating has grown to 86 medal events and more than 80 countries (in the case of the Olympic Winter Games), and 64 medal events and more than 40 countries (in the case of the Paralympic Winter Games).

The stamps issued to mark this upcoming event feature athletes in action, with a strong emphasis on movement. “We were inspired by Olympic imagery of the 1940s and 1950s, particularly the highly romanticized silk-screened posters of the era,” explains John Belisle, Creative Director of Signals Design Group in Vancouver. “We started with basic sketches of athletes in action and, to give the design a contemporary spin, we layered the images.” These layers of transparencies capture the movement of the athletes. Belisle adds, “We’ve carried this sense of motion onto the souvenir sheet, where we’ve created movement by winding the pattern of the Vancouver 2010 colour scheme.” Blues and whites worked into the stamp designs convey the feeling of snow and ice.

According to Liz Wong, Manager of Stamp Design and Production at Canada Post, this stamp issue really speaks to the dynamism of the upcoming Games. “Its energy reflects Canada’s excitement to be hosting this world-class event,” she explains. “As these stamps make their way from coast to coast, they’ll help spread the Olympic and Paralympic Spirit and build anticipation for the arrival of the world’s athletes, officials and sports enthusiasts.”

Here’s a glimpse at the sports highlighted in this issue:

Ice sledge hockey—Ice sledge hockey was invented at a rehabilitation centre in Stockholm, Sweden, in the 1960s. The sport made its Paralympic debut at the Lillehammer 1994 Paralympic Winter Games.

Snowboard—Inspired by skiing, surfing and skateboarding, snowboard is an exciting addition to the Olympic winter sports family. The sport made its Olympic debut at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.

Freestyle skiing—Freestyle skiing involves aerial manoeuvres performed while skiing downhill. Moguls were added to the official program of the Albertville Olympic Winter Games in 1992, and aerials made their first appearance at the Olympic Winter Games in 1994 in Lillehammer.

Bobsleigh—Though sleds have been used for centuries as a mode of transportation, bobsledding was not born until the late 19th century, when the Swiss attached a steering mechanism to a toboggan. In 1924, a four-man bobsleigh race took place at the first Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix, France.

Cover from Poland

2009-11-26T10:04:00.000-08:00

On the 11-th of November after 7 days of travelling I got this awesome cover from Poland. It continues the series of the EU capitals. I do like the stamps devoted to the cities, so these stamps will find their own place in my collection. Thank you very much, Andrzej!

Here is some information about the stamps:

Brussels - Grand Place

Brussels is more than the capital city of Belgium. It is the capital city of the entire European Union and also the home of numerous important international institutions, including the headquarters of NATO. Founded in the 9th century, during the Middle Ages Brussels grew to become the most significant city in the Duchy of Brabant, a centre of trade and craftsmanship. Its present inhabitants fall into two linguistic groups - the Flemish and the French group. Other than in the rest of the country, which is divided into Flanders and Wallonia, in Brussels both languages are used democratically.
The Grand Place compound is the centre of the city from the point of view of history, geography and trade. It contains a city hall erected in gothic style (Hôtel de Ville), the Royal House (16th century palace presently housing the City Museum) and historical tenements dating back to the 17th and the 18th century. It is widely considered that the only competitor for Grand Place as the most beautiful place of its kind in Europe is St. Marks Square in Venice.

Helsinki - the National Museum

The city of Helsinki was established in 1550 as a centre of trade. At that time it was a Swedish city, located at the mouth of the river Vantaa. In 1640 it was moved to its present location at the Gulf of Finland. The city suffered on numerous occasions due to Russian raids and natural disasters. Following a fire in 1808 it was rebuilt to resemble Petersburg, and it became the capital city of Finland in 1917. The city, with its picturesque location, is famous for a unique harmony between architecture and landscape. Among its countless monuments, most of which date back to the 19th century, are the St. Nicolass Cathedral, the city hall and the presidential palace. The National Museum edifice featured on the postage stamp was constructed in 1910 and is crowned with a slender tower, making it resemble a cathedral.

Nicosia - the Famagusta Gate

Although formally an EU Member State, Cyprus is part of Asian territory. Its capital city, Nicosia (Gr. Lefkosia), was in 1974 divided into a Turkish zone occupying the northern part and a Greek zone in the south of the city. The division reflects a centuries old conflict between the local inhabitants. The ancient name of the city was Ledra, and later on Leukosia. It had been the bishops residence since the 4th century, and in the 12th century it became the capital city of the island which then changed in 1489 when it was conquered by the Venicians. Since 1570 it had been ruled by the Ottoman Turks and in 1878 Nicosia became the capital city of Cyprus, a British colony. Finally, in 1960 it was renamed the capital of the Republic of Cyprus. The traces of Nicosia passing from under one rule to another are visible in the citys monuments.
The Famagusta Gate, dating back to the second half of the 16th century, is one of the three gates constituting a system of Venician fortifications surrounding the city (the wall is 4.5 kilometres long). It was designed by Giulio Savorgano to resemble a similar Venician gate located in Iraklion on the island of Crete. Presently the interiors of the gate serve as a venue for concerts and exhibitions.

Cover from Czech Republic

2009-11-08T09:59:00.001-08:00

On the 31-st of October I got this cover from Czech Republic. Unfortunately i didn't find the English version on the Czech post site, so I cann't add any information about the stamps. Hope it will appear soon or I just will find it.

Thank you very much, Milan!

Euro cover from Spain

2009-11-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

On the 29-th of October after 9 days of travelling I got this letter with mint Europa 2008 stamp inside. Spain had defenitely amazing europa stamp last year!

Thank you very much, Jose!

Euro covers from Italy

2009-11-08T09:27:00.000-08:00

On the 26-th of October and 6-th of November after 13 days travelling I got these letters. There are 2 Europa 2009 Italian stamps. On the 0.65 € stamp you can see the AGILE astronomy satellite in orbit, with a detail of Planet Earth on the right. And on the 0.60 € stamp - the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) telescope, situated on La Palma, in the Canary Islands archipelago, with a detail of the universe as observed through the telescope in the background.

I'm so glad that my Euro cept collection is growing!

Thank you very much, Lorenzo!

Cover from Slovakia

2009-11-08T08:50:00.000-08:00

On the 20-th of October after 8 days of travelling I got this cover from Slovakia and these beautyful mint stampsinside. As you can see the stamps represent Olympiad and Parolympiad in Beijing 2008 - one of my favourite topic. And, of course, I cann't avoid the Europa 2008 Slovak stamp - writing letters. On the cover you can see present Slovakian president - Ivan Gasparovic. Thank you so much, Milos!

Cover from Portugal

2009-10-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

On the 21-st of October after 19 days of travellimg I got this amazing cover, devoted to the birth bicentenary of Louis Braille (1809-1852), the inventor of a system that combines embossed dots and which is applied to reading, writing, calculation and music for the blind.

Some words about the stamps on cover which are 2 from 4 in complete set:

On the block, produced in cooperation with the Portuguese Association for the Blind and Partially Sighted (Associação de Cegos e Amblíopes de Portugal – ACAPO), all the information appears repeated in Braille characters and on the limited space of the stamp, the word Braille can also be read in both types of characters. The remaining stamps of this issue are dedicated to each of the five senses, allowing for experiencing real physical interaction: the touch feels the embossed ink coming out of the tube; the smell receives the aroma of the cup of coffee; the sight detects holographic images on the spectacle lenses that change according to the position of the stamp; the taste identifies the flavour of vanilla on the glue of the stamp that shows an ice-cream; the ear is sensitive to the noise made by the file when you rub its rough surface.

And there was a souvenir sheet inside (see upper) devoted to 200th anniversary of the birthday of Louis Braille. I've already got one stamp with him and hope to get more since this topic seems to be very important, because this man made life of blind people better.

Thank you very much, Luis!

FDC from Poland

2009-10-21T07:22:00.000-07:00

On the 19-th of October after 16 days of travelling I got these 2 letters with FDC devoted to the Defensive War in Poland which was a part of WW II. That was one of the most terrible event in the human history and it should never happens again. We should remember about all the horrors it brought to the world and I hope the stamps will help it.

1 September 2009 marks the seventieth anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, the greatest military conflict of the 20 th century not only in relation to utilized forces and means but also suffered material and human losses. This cruel war lasted for six years and came to an end on 2 September 1945 with the capitulation of Japan. In Europe, Germany signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender on 8 May 1945.

The first day of September of the year to remember.

It is commonly believed that the war broke out with gunfire shot from the battleship Schleswig-Holstein at the Polish military transit depot in the Westerplatte peninsula at the Gulf of Gdańsk, which was fiercely defended by a handful of soldiers led by major Henryk Sucharski. The German gunfire was backed up by a torpedo-boat, planes, SS battalion and front-line troops. Westerplatte surrendered on 7 September and its heroic defense took on the symbolic meaning. The September Campaign, also known as the Defensive War ended on 5 October 1939. Poland became shrouded by a dark night of occupation.

Wieluń - first casualty of war

Wieluń became the first target of attack by the Germans during World War II. It was bombarded at daybreak at 4.40. As a result of bombardment, 75 percentage of the town infrastructure was devastated. The city centre was almost razed to the ground. Two thousand people died. The hospital was first to be hit and destroyed in spite of the red cross on its roof. For two days did the soldiers of 28. Division of Infantry of Army "Łódź" heroically and ferociously defend the town.

Westerplatte of the South

This name was given to Węgierska Górka - a village in Żywiec County located at the foot of Barania Góra mountain - due to unyielding, fearless defense of fronts. Węgierska Górka was attacked by German 7. Division of Infantry that earlier seized Czadca, Koniaków, Skalite, Zwardoń, Szare, Kamiesznica and Milówek. The enemy encountered ferocious defense on the part of the Border Protection Corps units (Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza KOP) and troops of Army "Kraków". On 2 September the German soldiers took control of Babia Góra mountain and after numerous unsuccessful attempts, under cover of night, they broke through to the Polish positions. The brave defense of the region of Węgierska Górka taking place on 1-3 September slowed down the advancement of the enemy and put paid to the disintegration of the southern wing of Army "Kraków".

...enemy attacked Poland from a neighbouring country...

When Poles wrestled with one enemy coming from the west border, they were attacked by their eastern neighbor. On 17 September 1939 it was invaded by the Red Army which numbered over 800 thousand soldiers, pulverizing and plundering the country. In this situation Polish Army did not stand chance of winning: heroically defended Warsaw surrendered on 28 September, the Modlin Fortress surrendered on 29 September, the Hel Peninsula capitulated on 2 October. The last battle of the September Campaign was fought by the Independent Operational Group "Polesie" under command of general Franciszek Kleeberg, which opposed Germans in the battle of Kock from 2 to 5 October, earlier the Border Protection Corps fighting Russians in the battle of Szack on 29-30 September and 1 October the battle of Wytyczno.

New postage stamps and First Day Covers

In tribute to the participants of the September Campaign, Poczta Polska introduced two stamps. The first one presents a German archival photograph of the bombarded Wieluń. The town is seen from the cabin of a bomber, the perspective of the aggressor. The bottom of the photograph shows the zero hour. The cover includes a map of the destructed districts of the town. The issue is accompanied by an occasional date stamp with the view of a saved church standing surrounded by the ruins, in use in Wieluń 1 Post Office. The second stamp is devoted to Węgierska Górka. This time the fighting is presented from the defenders' perspective, from the bunker, as seen with a Polish soldier's eyes. The First Day Cover shows a plan of location of fortifications along with the direction of attacks of the German Army. An occasional date stamp with a military eagle has been displayed by the Węgierska Górka Post Office.

Thank you, Anrzej!

Also you can see additions stamps - Euro cept collection (yay!) - now I have Europa 2009 stamp from Poland!

Cover from Canada

2009-10-15T12:06:00.000-07:00

On the 13-th of October after 17 days of travelling I got these beautyful stamps on a cover via postcrossing project.

One of them is devoted to the International Astronomy Year. I was especially glad to get t since it's connected with the theme of 2009 Europa stamps.

The stamp features fascinating images from space with a renowned Canadian observatory in the foreground to represent Canada’s important role in astronomy, which includes the co-discovery of the first black hole in outer space. Envelope seals show other haunting space photographs. All of this against a background showing a magnificent picture of the planet Jupiter.

Unfortunately I got nice stamps via postcrossing rather rarely, so this time it was a nice surprice!

Thank you, Weedgenie!

Cover from Poland

2009-10-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

On the 26-th of September after just 7 days of travelling I recieved this register cover from Poland. It shows the mammals of the Baltic Sea. You can lear more here:

Mammals of the Baltic Sea

All the animals inhabiting the Baltic Sea are under protection. These are three species of seals and the porpoise - the only Baltic cetacean. Until the beginning of the 20 th century the sea was abundant in these animals, yet since they feed chiefly on fish they were found harmful. There were awards granted to those who killed them. It soon led to almost total extermination of the Baltic seals and cetaceans. The attempts at restoring the population of those animals have been taking place for nearly 20 years. Presently, the main threat they may face is the fishing net they may entangle in. Once entangled, the animals suffocate as they fail to resurface for oxygen. Another threat is posed by environmental pollution which brings on diseases and problems related to reproduction. A third, very important factor, is the development of tourism and fishery. Lack of peace as well as noise scare the animals away from their habitat giving them with no chance to rest, which usually leads to exhaustion. This is the reason why it is forbidden to interfere with a resting seal. However, it is worth informing the Marine Mammal Centre about such encounter.

The Seal Centre of the Hel Marine Station - it is a field station of the Marine Station belonging to the Institute of Oceanography at the University of Gdańsk. The main aim of the station is to restore a colony of the grey seal in the region of the southern Baltic Sea. Those seals, which require care or have been bred in the Centre, return to their natural environment remaining valuable source of information about the species, its migrations or health condition. The Centre performs also educational work and popularizes the mammals living in the Baltic Sea.

New stamps and First Day Cover (FDC)

For the summer time, when plenty of fellow countrymen loosen up at the sea or just recall the stroll on the sands, Poczta Polska prepared a set of stamps presenting inhabitants of the Baltic Sea, the inhabitants whose existence is often forgotten or not known of. Four stamps in the scenery of a sea shore show: a porpoise, a grey seal, a harbour seal and a ringed seal.
The stamps are accompanied by the First Day Cover and an occasional date stamp in use in Hel 1 Post Office. Inauguration of the stamps was held in the Hel Marine Mammals Centre.

Thank you, Andrzej!

2009-09-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

On the 11-th of June I got my first cover from Slovakia. I really liked the envelope - they always are nice when they are decorated and since I'm interested in politic, the topic of the envelope and stamp is just foor me! I also got Europa 2009 stamp inside. Thank you so much, Milos!

The independent and sovereign Slovak Republic is one of the youngest countries in the world, although Slovaks are among the oldest European peoples. Due to unfavourable geopolitical and historical circumstances, Slovaks achieved their sovereign and independent statehood only 15 years ago, on 1 January 1993. The territory of the present Slovakia was compactly and continuously populated by the ancestors of the present Slovaks, most probably since the end of the 5th century. In the 9th century, they created a powerful early-feudal state, in which the foundations of the statehood of several Central European nations were laid along with the foundations of Slavonic culture and literature. This state ceased to exist at the beginning of the 10th century, but generations of Slovaks have acknowledged it as the fundamental element and origin of the national state-forming history. For a further near-millennium Slovaks lived in the Kingdom of Hungary, where, at the end of the 18th century, after the origination of modern nationalism, they strived for autonomy and self-government. As the central government of the Kingdom of Hungary rejected such claims and, on the contrary, aimed to create an ethnic Hungarian state, at the end of the World War I in 1918, Slovaks created a common state with the Czechs – the Czechoslovak Republic. As the Czech and Slovak Republic was not able to resolve all issues concerning their mutual relations, in 1992 Czech and Slovak politicians decided to separate the state peacefully and calmly, creating two independent states. The previous common state ceased to exist on 31 December 1992, and the independent Slovak Republic was declared on 1 January 1993.
The stamp depicts the map of the Slovak Republic highlighted by the Slovak national tricolour. Inside the borders are the symbols of eight central towns of the self-governing regions into which the Slovak Republic is subdivided. In the background of the stamp is a stylised emblem of the European Union, which the Slovak Republic joined in 2004. The first day cover shows the location of the Slovak Republic in Europe. The motif on the FDC stamp is the Mount Kriváň, which is the unofficial symbol of Slovakia.

2009-09-19T14:15:00.000-07:00

On the 27-th of May after 23 (!!! yeah, letters from Slovenia go really fast :( ) days of travelling I got this letter with the stamp devoted to the Olympiad in Bejing. I'm always glad to get such stamps! Thank you Kristijan!

2009-09-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

On the 4-th of June after 12 days of travelling I got just amazing letter with nice stamps on the cover - 10 anniversaire of Euro and 2009 Europa Astronomy stamp and the complete set of Portugal 2009 Euro cept stamps. Huge thnks to Luis!

Cover from Poland

2009-09-19T14:02:00.000-07:00

On the 29-th of May after 8 days of travelling I got this awesome cover from Poland which I was looking forward to. I can't say that I really collect art stamps, but I really like modern unordinary art. You can learn more about these great works here:

The work

Władysław Hasior was an outstandingly original artist who never copied any trends. In his work he utilised various kinds of material, including some finished objects (such as dolls, pitchforks, mirrors) and fragments of others. That was because he claimed that the traditional sculptor's medium is not capable of conveying the message he wanted to send. He used to say "I'm using materials which have some meaning. Each and every object has its sense, and if you put them together, you get an aphorism. [...] I believe the artist's work consists in provocation, both in the intellectual and the creative aspect."
In his outdoor creations the artist utilised fire, water, wind, sound and glass. One of his original creative inventions was using holes made in the ground in order to cast cement figures. Critics saw the influences of Dadaism, surrealism and pop art in Hasior's work. He was also inspired by folk arts, and was a careful observer of everyday reality, in particular that of the countryside. The artist liked to watch and document the cheap aesthetics of something he called "county arts"(sztuka powiatowa), which he then referred to in his work. He also reached into the mythology and conjured up memories of the war, invariably presenting the subjects in an unconventional manner and attaching new meaning to trite symbols, mixing macabre and cruelty with grotesque, irony and jest. His exhibitions were full of controversy, but at the same time prompted the viewers to reflection.

Banners

Hasior's assemblages, inspired by religious procession banners, started to appear in the mid 1960s. Although they were constructed with the use of fabric, plastic objects, wood, metal or glass, the artist called them "paintings." They are very large, reaching between 1,5 and 4 metres in height and around 1 metre in width, and they are a mixture of both solemn symbols and the everyday aspects of life, which is seen from their titles such as: The Banner of St. Pensioner (Sztandar Św. Emeryta), The Banner of the Bird Spider (Sztandar Ptasznika), The Banner of Mona Lisa (Sztandar Mony Lisy), The Banner of Poland (Sztandar Polski), The Banner of the Black Angel (Sztandar Czarnego Anioła), The Flinging Blaze Banner (Sztandar Blaskomiotny), The Banner of Ecstasy (Sztandar Ekstazy). The artist used those banners in his outdoor performances such as the procession called The Feast of the Blooming Apple Tree (Święto Kwitnącej Jabłoni) in Łąck.

New Stamps and First Day Covers

On 14 July 2009 ten years will have passed since the death of Władysław Hasior. Poczta Polska has prepared a series of four stamps featuring photographs of the artist's works - his assemblages: The Herald (Zwiastowanie) and The Fly (Mucha), and the Banner of the Green Poet (Sztandar Zielonej Poetki) and The Night Undressing Banner (Sztandar - Rozbieranie do snu). The first day covers feature the works entitled The Locust (Szarańcza) and The Sacrificial Banner (Sztandar Ofiarny). The issue is accompanied by an occasional date stamp, in use in Warsaw 1 Post Office.

Thank you very much, Andrzej!

2009-09-19T13:57:00.000-07:00

On the 25-th of May after 11 days of travelling I got this fauna cover from Poland. thank you, Andrzej!

The World through the Lens

Tomasz Gudzowaty (born in 1971) is one of the best and most prominent Polish photographers in the world. Although Gudzowaty is a trained lawyer, it is the photographer's passion that earns him recognition. His works have been repeatedly awarded in the world's most prestigious contests such as World Press Photo, Pictures of the Year International, NPPA Best of Photojournalism. How do such unforgettable photographs come into being? Their author explains: "When I take a picture I aim at making it impress itself upon the (viewer's) memory, I want it to be touching and do justice to the ambience of place in which it is taken...". Tomasz Gudzowaty starts out as a photographer of nature. The period of the interest in nature results in creation of such photo cycles as, among others, "Paradise Crossing", a photo essay showing the migration of huge herds of antelopes, gnus, zebras, which as every year, have to ford the Mara river snaking across the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. This is the moment crocodiles wait for. Their teeth and the river's current contribute to the death of thousands of the animals. Nonetheless, there is nothing that can stop this annual ritual from taking place. The white-and-black photographs present a resplendent but brutal world of African fauna. The struggle for survival, reliance between predators and their prey become everyday illustration of this world.
After years, Gudzowaty's main focus shifts to sport. Yet, it is not typical sport but exotic one that attracts his interest. The photographer creates outstanding cycles presenting Shaolin monks performing exercises, training Hindu yogis, classes in a Chinese acrobatic school, Indian female boxers or Mongolian children taking part in traditional equestrian competitions Naadam. Co-author of several of the cycles is Hungarian photographer Judit Berekai with whom Gudzowaty has been working since 2004.

New stamps and envelopes on First Day Cover (FDC)

Poczta Polska by publishing a four stamp series entitled "Animals of Africa" makes use of Tomasz Gudzowaty's ingenious photographs that represent cheetahs, zebras, antelopes, gnus and elephants. The photographs that appear on the stamps and FDC envelopes were taken in Kenya, Tanzania and Botswana during 1998-1999. Two of them "First Lesson of Killing" (stamp's nominal value PLN 1.55) and "Paradise Crossing" (stamp's nominal value PLN 2.40) have been awarded in the World Press Photo contest. The publication is accompanied by an occasional date stamp, to be used in Warsaw 1 Post Office.

Cover from Poland

2009-09-19T13:52:00.000-07:00

On the 16-th of August after 8 days of travelling I got this nice cover from Poland. Thank you, Andrzej!

Who knows what fate human race would have faced if it had not been for navigation. Navigation was appreciated by the ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Vikings... But for ships, there would not have been any trade development, new lands would not have been discovered, the wars would have been different. A Romans' maxim "Navigare necesse est" ("To sail is necessary") reflected perfectly the necessity of navigation. Through centuries, the sailing ships prevailed on the seas. Even though they were majestic and gorgeous and driven by the power of the wind, working there was not easy. Not until the 19th century were they ousted by ships propelled by steam power. In this day and age, sailing is, above all, sport and hobby. The training vessels are used to train future sailors.
The races of the tallest and prettiest ships attracts masses of admirers of sea and all those who have dreamt of remote, adventurous sea journeys. During such events as the one in Gdynia, everybody has a chance to set their foot on board of a real sailing ship.

Regatta "The Tall Ships' Races"

The idea of the races dates back to the 30's of the 20th century. First regatta took place in 1956. Since the 70's the races have been ran annually. Aside from sizeable sailing ships, the competition is also open to smaller racing yachts. Gdynia received the races three times in 1974, 1992, and 2003. There are over a hundred of units, mainly training ones, participating in this year's regatta on the Baltic Sea. The races lead from Gdynia to St. Petersburg. The next port hosting the flotilla is Turku in Finland, and the last one Lithuanian Klaipeda. The races take place during the first and third phase whereas the second phase is devoted to cooperation, exchange and mutual meetings of the crews. Each port receiving the regatta has multitude of attractions - exhibitions, concerts, fairs, crew parades and first of all, the final Grand Parade of Sail.

New Stamp and envelope on FDC

On the occasion of the Tall Ships' Races, Poczta Polska issued a stamp in block. The stamp presents a silhouette of "Dar Mlodzieży" against the panorama of the port of Gdańsk. "Dar Młodzieży" is a frigate built in 1982 that belongs to the Naval Academy of Gdynia. The FDC envelope presents the ships as though they were observed through field glasses - equipment worth having during such an event as the races in Gdynia. The issue is accompanied by an occasional date stamp in use in Gdynia 1 Post Office.

Cover from Poland

2009-09-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

On the 23-rd of May after 15 days of travalling I got this cover devoted to the World Filatelistic Exhibition which took place in China. Thank you, Andrzej!

Between 10 and 16 April 2009 the World Philatelic Exhibition took place in Luoyang, in the Chinese province of Henan. The exhibition was organised under the auspices of FIP (Fédération Internationale de Philatélie). China had previously hosted exhibitors from all over the world during a show in Beijing in 1999, and between 1999 and 2003 held similar events for Asian countries. This year's exhibition in Louyang gathered philatelists from over 110 countries worldwide. More than three thousand collections were presented. Such events are an opportunity not only to display valuable resources, but also to learn about philately in the world as well as exchange experiences and network new trade relationships.

The city of the peony

Located in the central part of the country on the river Luo He (since the origin of its name), Luoyang is one of the oldest Chinese cities that represents an important centre of trade. During the reign of most of the Chinese dynasties, Luoyang was the nation's capital. The city, as well as its surroundings, abound with tourist attractions such as the famous Longmen caves featuring statues of the Buddha carved in rock or the White Horse Temple dating back to the 1st century AD, which is the oldest Buddhist monastery in China. The symbol of Louyang is the Peony flower which has thus been adopted as the graphic logo of the exhibition and was presented on numerous postage stamps designed especially for this event.

Cover and Europa 2009 stamp from Spain

2009-09-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

On the 19-th of May after 14 days of travelling I got this letter with the mint Europa 2009 stamp of Spain. Thank you very much, Jose!

Back from USA

2009-09-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

I'm finally back from my summer US trip and now continue blogging!

Description to the polish stamps

2009-06-19T22:06:00.000-07:00

I'm finally able to post the description to all 2008 polish stamps! That's what I'm doing. Hope all of you are having nice summer!
Alexandr

New Russian stamp

2009-05-29T20:53:00.000-07:00

So this is my first post from the US.

Our post issued 2 stamps devoted to the 175th anniversary of installation Hydrometeorogical service in Russia . I myself really like stamps devoted to geography and I remember the Geography classes in schlool when we studied some parts of Hydrometeorology, it was rather interesting. Nobody can overvalue this service even if doesn't work so well ;) I was lucky to get these stamps in Russia. So here is the description:

The Federal Agency on Hydrometeorology and Environmental of Russia (ROSGYDROMET) is enforcement authority of the Russian Federation. The Federal Agency on Hydrometeorology and Environmental renders the state services in field of environment monitoring, its pollution, gives the forecast of environmental conditions on all territory of the Russian Federation. In 1834, at the initiative of Adolf Jakovlevich Kupfer, Nikolay I put basis of constant geophysical network with law «About establishment of magnetic and meteorological supervision». Stamp represents portrait of A.J. Kupfer, the academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the first head of Hydrometeorological service of Russia, and also meteorological station МК-14.

Meteorological polarly-orbital satellite Meteor-3M N1 is prepared by Russian aerospace agency together with Federal Hydrometereology and Environmental Monitoring Service under Federal Space Program of Russia. It is intended for such aims as reception of images of cloud cover, data about ocean temperature and height of the top border of cloud cover, supervision over moving of atmospheric whirlwinds, receiving data about ice conditions on water cover of planet, borders of snow cover, temperature-wind sounding of atmosphere, etc. Stamp represents satellite "Meteor-3М" and map of ground temperature forecast.

Actual news

2009-05-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

This summer I'm working in the USA. For that reason I won't be able to upload any images (exept for Russian new stamps) and I have to stop all my exchange till September 20 (you can still send me letters certainly ^) but I can answer them only after my return).
So I wish all my visitors a great summer. Hope that all of you will have excellent vacations!
See you in September!
Alexandr

Cover from Poland

2009-05-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

Today, on the 11-th of May fter 13 days of travelling I got this nice cover from Poland. It's a common Polish'Israel issue devoted to the Year of Poland in Israel. I really like common issies, so this one will be a very valuable one! Dziekuje, Andrzej!

The Polish Year in Israel

Since 9 April 2008 a major event of culture and science - The Polish Year, has been celebrated in Israel in order to demonstrate the legacy of Poland, a country which is dear to many Jewish people. The rich agenda of the scheme, including film presentations, performance of well known Polish and Israeli artists, seminars, workshops and science conferences, is coordinated by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Tel Aviv and the Polish Institute in Tel Aviv. The crowning of the celebrations is a joint postage stamp issue, commemorating the person of Berek Joselewicz - a hero of the Polish bids for independence.

Berek Joselewicz and his successors

Berek Joselewicz was born in 1764 in Kretynga, Lithuania. He earned a living as a horse trader. Upon the outbreak of the Tadeusz Kościuszko uprising in 1794, with the help of Józef Aronowicz he wrote an appeal in the Yiddish language calling the Polish Jews to arms. With around five hundred volunteers who responded to his call, he built a cavalry regiment. He persuaded Kościuszko to allow that the Jewish freedom fighters observe their religious customs, including wearing beards, eating kosher meals and celebrating Sabbath whenever it's possible in the circumstances. Berek Joselewicz's squadron was beaten during the battle to defend the Praga district of Warsaw, with only a few survivors remaining, including the captain. After the fall of the uprising, Berek Joselewicz emigrated to Italy, where he joined the Polish Legions of general Jan Henryk Dąbrowski as "colonel, Captain of the Polish Cavalry." He took part in numerous battles of the Napoleonic campaign, including the ones of Hohenlinden and Austerlitz. Following the constitution of the Duchy of Warsaw (Księstwo Warszawskie) in 1807, he remained in the army as squadron leader in the 5 Mounted Riflemen Regiment. In 1808 he was awarded with the Virtuti Militari Knight's Cross, and he also received the National Order of the Legion of Honour prior to that. He died during the battles of Kock in 1809. The patriotic traditions of fighting for the freedom of Poland were passed on to Berek Joselewicz's son, Józef Berkowicz (1789-1846), and his grandson Leon. Józef Berkowicz began to fight side by side with his father in the armed forces of the Duchy of Warsaw. He struggled against the Austrians near Kock, and after his father died, he fought in Napoleon Bonaparte's Russian campaign in 1812. He received multiple wounds, but his bravery in battle never withered away. Similarly to his father, his accomplishments on the battlefield earned him the National Order of the Legion of Honour (with a Golden Cross). After that, he and his son Leon fought in the November uprising, and after its failure he emigrated to France, and then to Great Britain, where he lived until his death.

Poczta Polska (the Polish Post), in cooperation with Israel Post, issued a postage stamp block in order to commemorate the Polish Year in Israel and to stress the amiable nature of the relations between both states. The stamp features a portrait of Berek Joselewicz sitting on a horse, wearing a captain's uniform, and heading a regiment formed during the battle of Kock. The image on the postage stamp is a copy of a painting made in 1893 by an outstanding Polish painter, Juliusz Kossak. The FDC features a bibliographical note on Berek Joselewicz. The issue is accompanied by an occasional date stamp, in use in Warsaw 1 Post Office.
It's worth noting that it's the second joint issue of the above postal operators. In 1993 a postage stamp with an adjoining field and a commemorative postcard were issued on account of the 50th anniversary of the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto.

Covers from the Czech Republic

2009-05-11T11:18:00.000-07:00

On the 4-th and 5-th of May I got 2 letters with the nice stamps on them. They are devoted exactly to the topics I love: politics and the Olympiad. Let's speak about the first one.
The first stamp is devoted to the Czech entering the Shengen zone. It's a very important event to any countries since it takes away all the barriers on the free travelling which really makes people's life better. Hopefully one day Russia also will get the visa free regime with the EU and it will be the same easy to travell all around the European contenent.
The second stamp is devoted to the Czech presidency in the EU Council. Well, it wasn't that unequivocal, but still it's a very important period for the Czech Republic and I do hope that it has led to some useful consequences for that country! Undobtedly this event deserves to be signed by a stamp and it's a very valuable one for me! Dekuji, Milan!

Czech Republic will become a part of the Schengen area on 21st December 2007, when the custom controls on terrestrial borders will be abolished, and at the end of March 2008 also on international airports on flights in Schengen area.
The stamp shows the logo of Czech Republic entry to the Schengen area created by the traffic lights with three green signal lights and the Czech text “THROUGH EUROPE BY FREE WAY” placed on the background of the sky. The stamp is completed by the text “THE SCHENGEN AREA” in the Czech language.

Presidency of the Council of the European Union is held for a 6 months' term, always by one of the member countries, in a set order. The Czech Republic will hold this office from January to June 2009. The presidency has a great importance for organisation of the Council's work, especially in legislative and political decisions. The task of the presidency is to organise and chair all meetings including those of work groups, and to mediate compromises.
The Council of the European Union is the legislative body of the Union and defines political directions of the EU. Its members are heads or prime ministers of individual countries and the president of the European Commission. It exercises its legislative power on the co-decision basis together with the European Parliament. The EU Council usually meets in Brussels, at the Justus Lipsius building.
The EU Council consists of one representative of each member country at the level of ministers for different areas - finances, social affairs, agriculture, transport, etc. It meets in 9 different formations depending on the transacted agenda. E.g. the formation for foreign affairs and external relations consists of foreign ministers; the formation for justice and internal affairs of ministers of justice and home ministers. Members of the Council are politically responsible to their national parliaments. The Council holds regular public debates on significant matters affecting the interests of the EU and its citizens as well as political debates on their work programmes.

New Russian Europa stamps.

2009-05-05T03:20:00.000-07:00

On the 5-th of May our posy issued a new Europa stamp, devoted to Astronomy. I've got no Europa 2009 stamps yet, so this will be my first one. It should reach Astrakhan in a week, so I'm looking forward to it!

In 2009 "astronomy" became a theme of traditional annual issue, organized by Association of the state post operators of Europe (PostEurope). The principal reason was that this year has been declared as the International year of astronomy (IYA2009) by the Association for the United Nations. In 1609 Italian astronomer Galileo Galiley for the first time looked in telescope, having begun modern astronomy. Nowadays the primary goals of astronomy are studying and explanation of apparent motions of heavenly bodies, finding of laws and reasons of these movements, studying of heavenly bodies structure, their physical and chemical properties, construction of models of their internal structure, solving problems of origin and development of heavenly bodies and their systems, studying of the most general properties of the Universe, construction of theory of observable part of the Universe ? Metagalaxies. Stamp represents Terskolsk observatory of the Institute of astronomy of Russian academy of science and on armillary sphere against the background with Big Dipper concellation.

Cover from Poland

2009-05-05T03:06:00.000-07:00

On the 15-th of April after just 7 (unimaginely quickly for Russian post!) days of travelling I got these 2 letters with beautiful stamps on them. All of them devoted to the capitals of the EU countries. You can see one of the most popular sight on each stamp. I know that poczta polska is going to issue one more seria this year. I'll be looking forward to it!
dziekuje, Andrzej!

Amsterdam - Rijksmuseum
The Netherlands' capital city is a harbour town founded in the 13th century. Its name means a dam on the Amstel river. The most extensive development of the town (as well as the whole Holland) was in the 17th century during the so called Golden Age i.e. when a network of canals creating the unique atmosphere of Amsterdam was dug.The building depicted on the postage stamp is the famous Dutch national museum - Rijksmuseum, built at the end of the 19th century in a mix of Gothic and Renaissance styles. It exhibits rich collections of art of the 15th - 19th century and the greatest collection of Dutch paintings of the 17th century. The museum is especially proud of its collection of the Rembrandt masterpieces with the famous "Night Watch" of 1642 among the best ones.

Athens - the Acropolis
The origin of Athens was the Mykines fortress of the 13th century BC erected on a limestone hill, further called Acropolis (Greek: akropolis - upper city). Later a city-state (polis) developed around Acropolis which transformed into a religious centre. After being destroyed by the Persians in the 5th century BC, Athens was reborn magnificently under the rule of Pericles. As a result of conquests, under the rule of Macedonia, Rome, and since the 15th century - Turkey, the city had fallen into decay. It became the capital city of the new Greece only in 1834. The Acropolis of Athens is today a popular destination for tourists and a symbol of the Ancient Greek civilization. The Parthenon depicted on the stamp was built in 447-432 BC, in honour of Athena Parthenos, patron of the city. Phidias, the most distinguished architect of the Ancient Greece was the designer of decorative elements of this Doric temple. Inside there was a gold and ivory huge Athena's statue presumably also sculpted by Phidias.

Copenhagen - the Royal Library
A fishing village Havn (Harbour) by the Oresund strait, founded at the beginning of the 11th century developed thanks to a castle built nearby and already in the 15th century it became the Danish capital - Kobenhavn (Harbour of Merchants), important commercial centre for the northern Europe.The stamp presents a photo of the newest part of the Royal Library - one of the biggest in Europe. It contains, among others, manuscripts of Karen Blixen, Hans Christian Andersen and Soren Kierkegaard. A new building called the Black Diamond (because of a black granite and dark glass used for its construction) was open for the public in 1999.

Prague - the Charles Bridge
Famous for the beautiful architecture Czech capital was established upon the joining of two cities of the early Middle Ages: Hradčany and Vyšehrad. The representative for ages seat of the Czech rulers was handed over in the 16th century to the house of Habsburg, and at the same time to be dominated by Vienna. Only the so called Czech National Revival in the 19th century restored the city's previous character. Prague was again the capital city in 1918 upon the creation of Czechoslovakia. In 1993 after the split of Czechoslovakia, the city became the capital city of the Czech Republic.The Charles Bridge (by 2nd half of the 19 century called the Stone Bridge or the Prague Bridge) connects two districts: Malá Strana and Staré Mesto. It is 515 meters long and approximately 9.5 meters wide. It was built in the 14th century (replaced the 12th century Judith Bridge destroyed by flood), by 1741 was the only bridge on the Vltava river. Its Gothic character has been emphasised by the towers protecting the bridge. The famous 30 statues of saints were added only in the times of baroque.

Vienna - the Parliament
Founded around 500 BC Vienna was originally a Celtic settlement, and later a Roman Vindobona. It constituted a northern edge of the Empire. In the Middle Ages Vienna was a capital city of the Habsburg dynasties. In the 16th and 17th century the city stopped attacks of the Ottoman armies. In the 18th century Vienna flourished and transformed into a cultural capital of Europe. A new European era was created here during the Congress of Vienna. Vienna has been the capital city of Austria since 1918.The building of the Parliament presented on the postage stamp is a place where both houses of the Austrian Federal Assembly have their sessions. It was created in 1874-1883 based on the design of a Danish architect Theophil von Hansen. The Pallas Athena fountain highlights its Neo-classical character.

Cover from Croatia.

2009-05-05T02:58:00.000-07:00

My first cover from Croatia! really useful one! Exactly the stamps I like: Europa 2008 - one more stamp from this seria! And the Olympic 2008 - one of my favourite topic! Thank you, Dragan!

Cover from Poland

2009-05-05T02:42:00.000-07:00

On the 16-th of April after 12 days of travalling I got this cover, devoted to the 200 anniversary of bith of a person who really made life of people better - Louis Braille. It's hard to overvalue his contribution for humanity - the possible of communication, of reading for blind people - the important things which he brought to them. I know that a stamp in his honour was issued in many countries, but unfortunately, not in Russia.

*I'm also happy because of the fact that I'm finally able to get the description to Polish sttamps*

200th anniversary of the birthday of Louis Braille

In January 2009 two hundred years had passed since the birth of one of the greatest benefactors of mankind, Louis Braille - father of the system used by blind people to read and write, commonly referred to as the "Braille". Braille's system opened up a whole spectrum of new opportunities for the visually impaired, such as the possibility to independently communicate with the world through, among others, reading press and literature, the possibility to receive education and to find employment. In appreciation of this memorable invention, the European Blind Union (EBU) announced 2009 the year of Louis Braille. The Polish Post is one of numerous European institutions that are participating in these celebrations.

Reading the world with touch

The writing system taught at school, devised by Valentin Haüy - the founder of the institution, was inconvenient (it comprised Latin characters inscribed with convex ribbon lines). Between 1824 and 1840 Louis Braille worked on his own system of writing for the blind. Pursuing this task, he followed the model of the twelve dot system of convex symbols (translated into appropriate sounds) used in the French army to communicate orders in darkness. Braille's writing was simpler - it was based on a six dot convex mark, known as the cell, arranged symmetrically in three rows and two columns. The dots in the left column have been numbered from 1 to 3, and in the right one - from 4 to 6. The cell is constructed in such a way that it might be felt with a single touch of the finger tip. As a result of numerous combinations, Braille's alphabet consists of 63 marks, including also digits, as well as punctuation marks and mathematical, musical and chemical notation. Braille may be used to inscribe anything.

New stamp and First Day Cover (FDC)

In order to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Louis Braille's birthday, on 4 January the Polish Post introduced a postage stamp with an adjoining field. The stamp itself features a portrait of Louis Braille, and the field includes his full name inscribed in Braille. A First Day Cover was introduced on the day of the stamp's release, featuring an illustration presenting Braille's alphabet. The FDC is accompanied by an occasional date stamp, in use in Warsaw 1 Post Office.

Dziekuje, Andrzej!

Cover from Portugal

2009-04-27T10:32:00.000-07:00

There is another europa cover for my collection! For this time it has come from Portugal. The cover has an interesting cancellation, devoted to the 2009 Forum of stamp collectors. Thank you, Nuno for growing my Europa collection!

Urban Public Transport - 2nd Group
Tecnical Data
Urban Transport in the inter-war years
The Paris Universal Exhibition opened on Saturday 14th April 1900. It covered a vast area between Champ-de-Mars, Invalides, Trocadero and the Champs-Elysées. In July of the same year, the first Metro line, 10 km long between Porte de Vincennes and Porte Maillot, was opened by President Emile Loubet, its cast-iron entrances celebrating the undulating lines of Art Nouveau; it was a century which began under the sign of illusions, a century in which everything was dreamlike(1).
1900 in Lisbon was “the time when shop windows and streets were lit by Auer gaslights, when shop assistants left work at eleven at night, only to return, still half asleep, at eight the next morning. If you were in a hurry, you would hire a cabor walk up the Avenida de Liberdade, overtaking the americanos (mule drawn street cars). The more democratic vehicles (the choras and bocetas) appeared to be about to pour their crammed in passengers onto the pavement whenever they crossed the rails” (2).
Until the mid-nineteenth century, Lisbon expanded along the Tagus, developing in a radial-concentric pattern from its nucleus in the Baixa around the end of the century. Until the mid-20th century the road system comprised the former Estrada da Circunvalação or ring road (Morais Soares, Maria Pia) and the radial roads of Lumiar, Benfica, Poço do Bispo and Algés-Dafundo. Urban development along the major arteries (Avenida da Liberdade and the Avenidas Novas or New Avenues) was followed by expansion in zones. Until the end of the 40s the city’s main means of transport was the tram, with a network covering 145 km.
In the first few years of the 20th century, there were several companies operating the Lisbon ferry routes to the “other side” of the Tagus. From its headquarters in Cais do Sodré, the Parceria dos Vapores Lisbonenses ran two ferries daily to Aldeia Galega (Montijo); the fares were 160 réis in the stern and 120 in the bow. On the Cacilhas route, fares varied between 60 réis in the stern and 40 in the bow during the week, with ferries leaving every 40 minutes. (3) In 1948, the number of passengers crossing the Tagus on public transport was 10,486,722. Lisbon was growing, in particular on the north bank; the south bank, meanwhile, was waiting for a bridge.
The Cascais railway section opened to the public in 1889. From the start it was dogged by poor operating profits, further aggravated in 1901 by competition from Carris and its electrically driven vehicles. With tram tickets a third of the price of train tickets, the tram was highly competitive, especially on the Algés route, with its beach, bullring and entertainments. In the light of these low profits, steam traction ultimately gave way to electric traction (1926).

Covers from Poland

2009-04-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

On the 16-th of April after 12 days of travelling I got these covers from Polish town Nowy Sacz. They celebrate the anniwersary of the Polish Custom service and the Conference whci was devoted to the climate change and took place in Poznan in 2008. I do believe that we must pay more attention to the climate now. I'm sure many people have heard vabput the fact that climate is changing rather quickly now. It's really dangerous! These conference attract much attention and I thibk that this stamp helps it. Thank you, Andrzej!

United Nations Conference on Climate Change - Poznan 2008
Between 1 and 12 December 2008 a conference took place in Poznan, organised by the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The event was hosted by the Government of the Republic of Poland, and the Polish Ministry of Environment was responsible for coordinating the arrangements. The aim of the meeting, to which over 190 countries had sent their delegations, was among others to agree on a scheme of cooperation in the area of climate protection for the next year, to discuss the joint framework for the reduction of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere by individual countries, and to settle some financial issues related to the exchange of technologies allowing for the reduction of the emissions of greenhouse gasses. The conference was accompanied by seminars, happenings and exhibitions. A similar meeting was held a year ago on Bali, and the next one is scheduled for 2009 in Copenhagen. Such international gatherings are crucial due to, among others, the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, which remains in force until 2012 and which constitutes an agreement between industrialised countries on the reduction of emissions of greenhouse gasses at home and supporting environmentally friendly technologies in less advanced states.
Changes to the climate and its preservationClimate change is a natural phenomenon which has occurred on our planet since its very beginnings. We know now that on the present territory of Poland there were once glaciers, and lush forests grew on the Sahara. However, the changes that accompanied the industrial revolution and the technological leap are presently a cause of great concern, even though it's still difficult to precisely evaluate their actual effect. Research into global climate change has only been conducted for about 20 - 30 years, the problem of the hole in the ozone layer was discovered as late as in the 70s of the last century. Also in the 20th century the Earth's population multiplied by four, and will probably further double in the 21st century. The occurrence of changes resulting from human activity gains in speed, and presently the main threat appears to be the increase in global temperature caused by the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere (35 billion tones per year). This may result in the meltdown of polar ice caps and flooding some of the planet's continents with oceanic waters. The above would lead to mass migration of people, extinction of numerous animal and plant species, the formation of deserts, and consequently - famine. Should it prove possible that certain actions in the economy of each country, its industry and even its households, could possibly change the situation, or at least put off some of the threats, then it's indeed worth trying. The preservation of the Earth's climate and its natural resources is not just a matter for the governments, but for each of us as well. The conference in Poznan contributed to launching the education campaign organised by the Ministry of Environment under the slogan "Change your habits for good ones, change the climate for a better one" (pol. Zmień nawyki na dobre, zmień klimat na lepszy"), whose aim is to make us aware that by using alternative energy sources, planting forests, saving water and electricity, segregating waste and reducing the consumption of petrol in our cars we can actually have a positive impact on out planet and the stability of its climate.

Some simple hints (and really useful in my opinion) :
- use energy-efficient light bulbs;
- buy home equipment which is fitted with facilities for saving energy and use it economically (e.g. do not leave the fridge doors open);
- deactivate the stand-by function which gorges energy all year round;
- turn off the tap when you wash your teeth;
- do not cook more water than you actually need - that way you'll save energy;
- recycled paper saves trees which convert CO2 into pure oxygen;
- decreasing the temperature in the home heating system by 1 degree reduces CO2 emissions by 300 kilograms a year;
- steady driving without unnecessary load, closing the windows and limiting the use of air conditioning mean smaller petrol consumption.

A great cover from Slovenia

2009-04-20T05:10:00.000-07:00

On the 11-th of April after just 8 days of travelling I recieved this package with a big amounf of just amazing stamps! Unfortunately it was damaged enough during the travelling and was cover with rape, but I managed to safety come off it. Well, moving to the stamps, I really like these gastronomy ones. Don't the dishes look like tasty? Another Europa stamp for my collection! And The Olympiad stamps! The things which I really like! And the last stamp to mention - a dark one in the left coner, devoted to the 1-st WW. Nowaday we pay a great attention to the SWW which is justified, but we can't forget the first tragedy which results were really unfair and was one of the cause of the next greatest tragedy in the human history. That's a really useful stamp! Thank you so so much, Kristijan!

The term First World War indicates the military battle in the years 1914 until 1918. Although the majority of battles was conducted on the European ground, the conflict gained the label of a world war, since countries from all over the world were involved. The main players on the side of the entente were France, Russia, Serbia and United Kingdom, since 1915 also Italy, and since 1917 the Unites States of America. Germany, Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Turkey (Ottoman Empire) and Bulgaria fought on the side of the central forces. The reason for the war was a very fragile balance between the forces in Europe. Especially Germany demanded a new division of colonies; France wanted a revenge for the previous wars, while Italy wanted to expand its territory. Since 1882, Italy had been a member of the central forces; however, it changed its mind later due to a better offer of the entente.
The cause for the war was the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy heir to the throne, Franz Ferdinand, who was executed on 28 June 1914 in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, member of the organisation Mlada Bosna. A month later, Austro-Hungarian monarchy declared war to the Kingdom of Serbia and tsarist Russia, which represents the beginning of the First World War.
The European battleground was divided to various fronts. The front line of Soča, between Italy and Austro-Hungarian monarchy, spread across the Slovenian national territory from Rombon to the Bay of Trieste, in the total length of 90 km. It was the stage of the biggest battle in mountain areas in the entire history of mankind, and due to an extremely rough terrain, one of the hardest battles in the world war. More than 300.000 soldiers of various nationalities fell from June 1915 to October 1917, among them also high numbers of Slovenes.
A characteristic of the First World War was the so-called position war, where the soldiers stayed a long time in the area along the front lines. They lived in trenches, pits and caverns enclosed with wire fence, which the designer used for a motive on the stamp. Although battles in some fronts finished already in an earlier stage, and truces between individual countries were signed, the First World War finished with the Truce Agreement between Germany and entente on the 11 November 1918 in Rethondes, around 65 km north-east from Paris.

Gastronomic characteristics of Zgornja Savinjska dolina Zgornjesavinjski želodec, ubrnjenik, solčavski sirnek

Zgornja Savinjska dolina is a gastronomically distinguishable with a variety of dishes, which co-shape the cultural heritage and modern nutrition in this part of Slovenia. The first place among these dishes is occupied by the zgornjesavinjski želodec, a remarkable dry-meat product with an extremely long tradition. It had a strong ceremonial importance during the time of Eastern, when the maturity of this product was at the level, which enabled the determination whether the procedure of production, ripening and drying had been correct. Even on weddings the guests waited with anticipation to receive slices of »želodec«. The circle of lovers of this extremely high quality meat product has spread through the development of tourism in this part of Slovenia since the second half of the 19th century. Even the English king George VI. was among the enthusiasts of zgornjesavinjski želodec; namely, he tried it in Plesnik in Logarska dolina. Nowadays, the »želodec« is a protected food with a »recognized geographical mark«, while its quality is to an important extent co-shaped by the annual competition in Rečica ob Savinji.
An important specialty of the culinary heritage of Zgornja Savinjska dolina is also ubrnjenik (also referred to as »ubrnjenk, obrnek, obrnenk«), which is a filling warm or cold mealy dish in the form of a dumpling, made of roasted wheat, buckwheat or corn flour, poured over by salted boiling milk, in which they stir whipped cream and butter or buttermilk. A special local preparation of ubrnjenik is known in Luče. The dish is appropriate for breakfast or as a snack, while in the past the dumplings of ubrnjenik were wrapped in fresh horse radish leaves, in order to be taken as a snack to the work in the woods, pastures or fields.
Solčavski sirnek is one of the preserved dishes, connected to a century-long tradition of shepherd and cheese maker's tradition. In the modern nutrition, this spicy cheese serves perfectly as a spread on black bread, while being used also for the preparation of cream soups or »sirnice«; primarily, it presents an obligatory supplement to the slices of zgornjesavinjski želodec, meat and salami. Modern production of sirnek deviates a little from the old methods. Cheese or curd ripens from three to four months, while some producers also add cumin, walnuts, spices and herbs.

XXIX. Summer Olympic Games Peking 2008

Top sports athletes will again gather this year at the most prestigious sporting event, which has been organized every four years since 1896 with the exception of the period between the two world wars. Olympic Games of the modern age were prepared on the initiative of Pierre de Coubertin, based on the model of the Olympic Games which were organized in the antique Greece from 776 B.C. to 394 A.D. In 1924, the winter sports were included among the Olympic sports and the first special winter Olympic Games were arranged.
Slovenian athletes participated on the Olympic Games the first time in Stockholm in 1912. Since then, Slovenian athletes have participated in all summer games with the exception of the 10th Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1932. This also further confirms the long-lasting tradition of Slovenian top-level sport. Slovenian athletes first took part within the frame of Yugoslavia, while after 1992, when the 16th Winter Olympic Games in Albertville and the 25th Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona were held, Slovenian athletes have been competing under the Slovenian flag.
Many Slovenian athletes will compete in this year's XXIX Olympic Games, which will be held in China for the first time. During the preparation of this publication their number was not final yet, since many athletes still had a chance to qualify until the 30th June 2008; however, they had to fulfil certain conditions, set by the international and Slovenian Olympic Committee. For the appearance on the Olympic Games there were 59 candidates in 12 disciplines: athletics, badminton, sailing, judo, kayak and canoe on still and wild waters, road and mountain cycling, swimming, shooting, and rowing.
The designer symbolically depicted on the stamps the combat sports and sailing; two disciplines, in which the Slovenian athletes won medals in the previous Olympic games. The stamps contain an inscription in Chinese: OLYMPIC (red stamp) SPIRIT (blue stamp); the vignettes include beside the Olympic circles and the OKS sign also the official symbol of the Olympic Games in Peking.

Rococo (the green stamp in the right corner)

Rococo was the last historical-art style to develop in 18th century Europe. In part, it signifies the continuation and conclusion of the Baroque period, although in many places Rococo appears simultaneously with Baroque. The word Rococo is seen as a combination of the French word rocaille, or a shell, and the expression “barocco”. Some critics used this term to imply that the style was frivolous or unserious. It is interested that the term was first used in English in about 1836; it was a colloquialism meaning “old-fashioned”. However, since the mid 19th century, the term has been accepted by art historians.
While it was still some debate about the historical significance of Rococo, it is now recognized as a major period in the development of European art.
Rococo developed at first in a decorative art. Lighter elements and graceful nature motifs with many shell forms and natural patterns are characteristic of Rococo. It expressed itself at most in the interior equipment of residences and apartments with bathrooms and small salons that have a lot of furniture with intarsia, decorated with stuccowork, tapestry, porcelain vessels, with small sculptures and mirrors with ornaments. Painting and sculpture became lighter content without a subordination of religious motifs, which is why Rococo was more popular than Baroque in some parts of Europe.
The stamp's motif is from the Gruber Palace, which is of the Late Baroque style. It was began in 1773, by the Jesuit and architect Gabriel Gruber; the palace was subsequently named after him. Sinewy pendants, wreaths on the windows and a portal, show signs of Rococo. The Palace currently houses the National Archive of Slovenia.

Thanks the Slovenian post page for nice descriptions!

Europa cover from Czech Republic

2009-04-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

On the 10-th of April after 10 days of travelling I recieved this looking forward cover with Czech Europa stamp of previous year. It wll occupy its place in my collection and enlarge it! Thank you, Milan!

The Association of European Public Postal Operators PostEurop declared "Writing Letters" as this year's common theme for the postage stamp issue EUROPA in order to promote written correspondence. In the past writing letters significantly cultivated the language and contributed to a better and more precise formulation of ideas. In today's world of mobile phones and e-mails hardly anyone will find the time for a handwritten letter. Despite the present massive spread of computers, a handwritten news still remains an expression of a special attention. Correspondence of leading authors is published as an organic part of their work, e.g. the correspondence of B. Němcová. These days waiting for a letter from a friend is rather a curiosity. We get an occasional card with Christmas or Easter greetings or from a holiday trip. The spoken word dies out, but a letter remains.

FDC from Austria

2009-04-11T08:12:00.000-07:00

On the 9-th of April I got this nice FDC from Austria. It'd devoted to the saving of Polar regions. Some countries have issued the same years in order to attract attention to this important problem. This region suffers a lot because of global warming, so it needs stronger efforts to change the situation. Hope it will. Viellen Danke, Florian!

Preserving the glaciers and polar regions
The new commemorative raises one of the most serious problems of our age, the preservation of the glaciers and Polar regions. Alongside the vital efforts aimed at saving the rain forests from further logging activities, the research of the glaciologists is no doubt one of the most important in the global race against time to secure the ecologically balanced survival of our planet.

Cover from Canada

2009-04-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

On the 4-th of April after 11 days of travelling I got this letter with nice stamps on it via postcrossing tag. You can see the stamps which celebrate forthcoming Winter Olympiad in Vancouver. I do collect all the Olympiad stamps, so I'm glad to get this one!

This stamp was issued to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first controlled powered flight in Canada and the British Empire. The stamp features an image of the aircraft that made that historic first flight: the Silver Dart. Use them to mail a letter that weighs up to 30 grams to any address in Canada. Queen design.

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games has introduced a vibrant set of emblems and mascots. As an Official Supplier to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Canada Post will issue five definitive stamps showcasing these dynamic symbols.

cover from Spain

2009-04-04T12:15:00.000-07:00

On the 4-th of April after 12 days of travelling I got this letter with 2 nice stamps. I've found nice description on the Spanish phylatelistic page. Here it is:

This newspaper, the second oldest in the press of Asturias (a northern region of Spain), was first published on the 26th January 1908. The newspaper was founded by a group of followers of MP José Manuel Pedregal. In order to bring about this project and build up the newspaper, the work of the following two people was decisive: Isidro Pruneda, son of the first printer and publisher in Avilés who contributed with his experience in the publishing business and also Manuel González Wes, Bachelor of Theology and Law and a renowned local journalist who purchased the newspaper a decade after its foundation. Between 1923 and 1927 , La Voz de Avilés suffered the censorship during primo de Rivera’s dictatorship but this did no prevent the paper from being printed. Not even the tragic death during the Civil War of González Wes and the confiscation of the paper throughout the war and post war period, stopped the newspaper from reaching the public. His son, Juan Wes, with the help of his wife, Jesusa López Marqués, was able to struggle through the obstacles of ink and paper shortage and deficient equipment, and managed to relaunch the paper. In 1963, the early death of Wes, pushed his widow to take over the newspaper, a task she achieved with great courage leading La Voz de Avilés through a process of modernisation. Years after, the paper passed on to her son and daughter Juan Manuel and Maria Jesús Wes until 1966 when it merged with El Correo and became part of the Correo Group, nowadays Vocento. Its integration in this media group has favoured not only the modernisation of all its structures but also its consolidation in the media market.

The stamp depicts the masthead and the logo of its hundredth anniversary and the characteristic arches of the La Ferrería and Galiana streets.

The Palacio de Longoria was built in 1903 by architect José Grases Riera following the art nouveau style in one of the few modernist style buildings in Madrid. The vegetation decoration covers all its façade built around two rectangular bodies joined at the corners by a circular tower with no dome.

New Russian stamps. 200 years of birth of N.V. Gogol

2009-04-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

On the 1-st of April - in exactly date of the N.V. Gogol's birth our post issued 2 new stamps, devoted to this outstanding event.

Nikolay Vasilevich Gogol (1809-1852) is the great Russian prose writer, playwright, critic who opened new epoch in Russian literature in due time. He opened new literary epoch in Russia. Everything in creativity of writer distinguished him from predecessors: singularity of the maintenance, brightness of types, lambent humour and, of course, his amazing language – laconic and well-aimed. "Auditor", «Dead souls», "Viy", «Evenings on a farm near Dikanka» and Gogol's other products are deeply poetical and original. «Lie in art, lie in science and lie in life, - wrote Nikolay Vasilevich in declining years, - were always both my enemies, and my torturers: everywhere I pursued them, and everywhere they pursued me». Souvenir sheet represents N.V.Gogol's portrait of F.A.Moller's brush (1840th) and a still-life, symbolizing creative nature of writer.

N.V. Gogol is my favourite Russian classic writer. I really like his very own style of writing when he combinates russian words with ukrainians, also his great sense of humor and just amazing nature descriptions! This writer is well known in the Ukraine because he was born there, lived there for a long time and wrote about this country. I hope that this celebration will comtinue to be one from many cultural bridges between our countries for a long time!

Cover from Poland

2009-03-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

On the 17-th of March after 8 days of travelling I got this nice cover. As always, detailed description is coming. I just tell that this EuroSai stamp is devoted to the Congress of European Organization of Supreme Audit Institution.
Dziekuje, Andrzej!

Cover from Spain

2009-03-18T11:08:00.000-07:00

On the 18-th of March after 9 days of travelling I got this cover via stamps trag from postcrossing forum.
The stamp with a region outline and a flag on it is one from the seria of Autonomous Communities (regional governments) of Spain. The region is called Andalucia

Andalucía was also one of the first to be granted the Statute of Autonomy in 1981. The colours of its banner, white and green evoke the colours of the Andalusian landscape and symbolise the hope in the future and peace. The coat of arms depicts the figure of Hercules holding two lions between columns.

Thank you, Anna!

Cover from Czech Republic

2009-03-18T10:57:00.001-07:00

On the 16-th of March after 11 days of travelling I got this letter with just amazing souvenir sheet on it. You can learn more about it here:

The common Czech and Austrian issue commemorates two significant philatelic events - the World Stamp Exhibition PRAGA 2008 which will be held on September 12-14, 2008 under the auspices of the International Philatelic Federation FIP and the subsequent International Stamp Exhibition WIPA 2008 which will be held on September 18-21, 2008 in Vienna. The theme of the common issue is the 1750 Vienna-Brno Express Mail. The miniature sheet features a free motif of a picture card published by the Association of Postal Officers in Vienna in the early 20th century; the card was used and mailed from Vienna to Prague on 23.12.1914. Presently it is part of the collections of the Postal Museum in Prague. The picture on the card features a reproduction of a painting signed by K. Schnorpfeil with an express mail carriage drawn by a team of four horses. In 1750 the ordinary mail carriages, or diligences, travelled between Vienna and Brno according to regular time schedules. The first test journey on this route was made in 1749 by the author of the project, Baron Lillien. If necessary, the travellers could pay also for an extraordinary express journey of the mail carriage according to their own demand. The price for the journey was set according to the distance, number of horses, relay stations, etc.; the service was therefore very expensive and used only in extraordinary events by rich travellers. In most cases the carriages were drawn by a team of four, but if necessary also six or eight, horses. The prescribed postilion uniform consisted of a red coat with blue facing, horn and top boots.

Thank you so much, Milan!

Cover from Austria

2009-03-15T06:28:00.000-07:00

Josef Hoffmann was born on 15.12.1870 in Brtnice, in what is today the Czech Republic, and attended the Higher State Craft School in Brno. After one year working in the building industry he began his studies at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts under Carl Freiherr von Hasenauer and Otto Wagner. In 1897 Hoffmann and a number of like-minded artists formed the Sezession, an association of artists.
On the 13-th of March after 7 days of travelling (so fast! it really surprised me a lot!) I got this amazing cover from Austria. The sheet is covered with real gold! Viellen Danke, Florian!

US cover

2009-03-15T05:55:00.000-07:00

description is coming

On the 11-th of March after 11 days of travelling I recieved this nice cover from the USA, representing modern art. I'll post the description later as soon as I get it. Thank you, Tom!

New Russian mini-sheet

2009-03-15T05:31:00.000-07:00

Alexander Stepanovich Popov (1859-1906) is the Great Russian physicist and electrical engineer, inventor of electric communication without wires. The well-known device of Popov has resulted from educational demonstration of experiences of Hertz where the device for reception of electromagnetic fluctuations of Hertz served as the transmitter. Then the scientist improved mechanism of reception-transfer of electromagnetic waves on distance, applied in the receiver as an element sensitive to waves known as coherer. Having found out that the receiver reacts to lightning discharges on considerable distances, Popov created storm indicator which was also the first-ever reception radio station. During further tests on Baltiyskoe and Black seas has been revealed possibility to accept signals not only on telegraph, but also on hearing. So telephone receiver with a tube came to life. A.S. Popov's merits were awarded by Russian technical society in 1898 with money bonus, and also with honorable diploma and gold medal on 4th World electrotechnical congress in Paris in 1900. Souvenir sheet represents A.S. Popov's portrait, telephone receiver, for which inventor was awarded with a gold medal in Paris, and also its scheme. Illustrative material is given by the St.-Petersburg state electrotechnical university "LETI" and the Russian scientific and technical society of radio engineering, electronics and communication n.a. A.S. Popov

On the March 16-th Russian post is issueing this nice souvenir sheet devoted to the 150th anniversary of birth A.S.Popov (1859-1906), physicist and electrical engineer, inventor of electric communication without wires. The history of radio creation is rather complicated. In some countries Italian engineer Gulelmo Marconi was considered as the founder of the first successful system of information interchange. However Marconi, as well as at the majority of authors of large inventions, had predecessors. In Russia A.S. Popov who created the practical radioreceiver in 1885 is considered as the inventor of radio. In the USA it is considered that N. Tesla is the inventor, who patented the radio transmitter and the receiver in 1895.

New Russian stamp

2009-03-15T05:18:00.000-07:00

Gagarin Yury Alekseevich (1934 - 1968) is the Soviet space pilot. Gagarin became the first-ever person who made flight into space on the space ship-companion "East" on April, 12th, 1961. Gagarin flew around globe during 1 hour and 48 minutes and safely returned on the earth. Y.A.Gagarin's name carries Gagarin city (former Gzhatsk), crater on the Moon underside, asteroid № 1772, gold medal FAI (it is awarded since 1968), square in Moscow. In many cities there are streets, prospectuses, squares, parkways, parks, clubs and schools n.a. Gagarin. Stamp represents earlier not published photo of Jury Alekseevich made on April, 12th, 1961 right after landing of the ship “East”. The photographer is V. Smirnov.

On the 6-th of March Russian post issued a new stamp devoted to the 75-th anniversary of Yury Gagarin's birth. I don't think that there is a need to introduce him. He ws a grwat man, unfortunately died so young! Hopefuly next time I'm visiting the stamp shop, I'll buy this one.

2009-03-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

Description is coming

On the 9-th of March after 10 days of travelling I recieved this nice cover from Nowy Sacz - Poland. It's devoted to the 100-th anniversary of the Lodz Sport Club foundation. It wll take its very own place in my collection as I'm fond of sport stamps! Dziekuje, Andrzej!

Cover from Estonia

2009-03-06T05:08:00.000-08:00

The stamp represents the Gold Breast Star of the Order of the National Coat of Arms. The order was instituted in 1936 in commemoration of the proclamation Estonian independence, 24 February 1918. The Order of the National Coat of Arms is awarded only to citizens of Estonia as the highest award for services to the country.

Like the Republic of Estonia, also Eesti Post (Estonian Post) marks its 90th anniversary this year. On 13 November 1918 Col. Johan Unt, Commander of the Defence League, issued an order to appoint Hindrek Rikand as commandant of the Tallinn Post and Telegraph Office. The Estonian postal authority regards that date as the day of its founding, The first postage stamps in the so-called flower design and with a face value of 5 kopecks were put on sale on 22 November 1918. They were printed at the Bölau printing house in Nõmme, today a borough of Tallinn. Dissolved by the Soviets in 1940, Eesti Post was re-established on 1 June 1991. The main operation of AS Eesti Post, a fully state-owned company, is provision of universal postal services. Since 1994 AS Eesti Post is a member of PostEurop and the Baltic Postal Union. Eesti Post became member in the Universal Postal Union in 1922, and its membership status was restored in 1992. Through time, Eesti Post has had seven leaders – two before World War II and five after the country restored its independence. Eesti Post has about 4,000 employees.

On the 5-th of March after 10 days of travelling I got this nice cover from Tallinn - the capital of Estonia. I esp like the stamp with the highest state award! It's wonderful, isn't it? Thank you, Hannes!

Some Russian europa stamps

2009-03-04T01:42:00.000-08:00

These are some Russian europa cept stamps I bought in Moscow last autumn.

1) 2002. Circus.
The stamp features various amusements in the circus, such as jugglery, animal training, air acrobatics and clownery.

2) 2003. Poster art. "A first step for a cookie"
People know poster art from time immemorial. It was widely used in Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome for information about performances and commercial transactions. Illustrative posters appeared in 1830 and were black-and-white at first. Posters turned over a new leaf only in the late 19th century. Actually, it was in this period that the word "poster" occured. The Russian word "плакат (plakat)" is the analog of the German "das plakat". In France the word "affish" word has become naturalized, in England and the USA the word "poster" is used, which is derived from the word "post". They say that in these countries such sheets were posted up near populous post stations. The stamp features a poster by an unknown painter created in Russia in the early 20th century.

3) 2005. Gastronomy
“Bread and salt!” – guests are welcomed in Russia with these words for centuries. Both in old times and nowadays various delicious are put on the table and pancakes with caviar have been commonly served to feasts for many centuries.

Card from Latvia

2009-03-04T01:23:00.000-08:00

On the 24-th of February after 8 days of travelling I recieved this card via postcrossing. It shows a minibus Zimgale which was famoused during the soviet time. You can still meet some of them here in Russia.
Unfortunately I didn't find any discription of the stamps. So I try to do it by myself.
Well there is one of Europa stamps (yay! another one). As I can remember in 1995 the topic was "famous women", so she is one of them.
On another stamp you can see the Latvian national symbils: the countour of the country, the colours of its flag and the arms.
Thank you very much Guntra for that selection!

Cover from Czech Republic

2009-03-03T02:12:00.000-08:00

Still life with grape, glass of red wine and flowers, decorated in the right-hand border with drawing of the twig with three ripe peaches

On the 2-nd of March after 11 days of travelling I got this nice cover sent from Kromeriz, Czech Republic. With the Olympic stamp I'll continue to grow my Olympic collection. And this vine stamp is just amazing, celebrating the nice drink - red vine. Thank you, Milan!

Cover from Italy

2009-03-03T02:01:00.000-08:00

I got this cover on the 22-nd of February after 13 days of travelling. It's devoted to the World Stamp Exhibition which took place in Rome in 1985. You can also see nice barocco style buildings on it. Thank you, Lamberto!

Сover from Romania

2009-03-03T01:45:00.000-08:00

Nuclearelectrica is an active member of the specialized international organizations, as WANO-Atlanta Center (World Association of Nuclear Operators), COG (The CANDU Owners Group), World Nuclear Association (WNA) as well as Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).
The Company has developed efficient long time partnerships inside the AIEAEuropean programs of regional cooperation and it is also a member of FORATOM Group.
Today the science people and the economic and industrial agents from all over the world are concerned to contribute to solving – in the best interest of each nation and also of the entire humanity – the problem of safety guarantee in power supplying, with a minimum impact on the environment and with a low cost.
Considering this world context, the nuclear energy prefigures to be an essential element of the energetic mix which will guarantee the present and future demands of the humanity for power.

The art of pottery is one of the oldest in the world.
Even since ancient times, it has epitomized all the things related to the spiritual life.
Along the years, the art of pottery has developed itself in the societies which had a sacred image of the world and has been transmitted from generation to generation for thousands of years.
In Romania, the art of pottery dates from around VI millenium B.C.
Through their shape, size, decorative designs and chromatics, the pitchers express the potter´s technical resourcefulness and their inspiration, as they have adjusted the Greek-Roman influences and, later on, those of the migratory populations, maintaining nevertheless the specific features of the Romanian cultural space.
The used symbols are the solar ones, as the head of the ram or the winged horse, while the snake is portrayed as a spiral, this shape being the symbol of cosmical positive evolution.
The pots have accompanied the human communities along the milleniums and they have always been part of all the spiritual manifestations specific to the Romanian people.
Pottery represents, on the whole, through its shapes and symbols, an openning and a spiritual invitation towards the mystical spheres of the ancestral culture.
The stamp with face value of RON 0.30 represents ceramics items from Leheceni, Bihor.

On the 27-th of February after 9 days of travelling I recieved this cover on the envelope with a card via postcrossing project. I found very informative and nice descriptions of the stamps on romanian philatelic site.

A short break

2009-03-03T01:31:00.000-08:00

I was visiting my grandfather for his 80-th jubillee, so there was a short break in my posts. From now I'm in Astrakhan again and new posts are coming.

Cover from Slovenia. Euro cept - letter

2009-02-19T06:45:00.000-08:00

On the 19-th of February after 25 (!!! Unbelieveable :( ) days of travelling I got this nice decorated letter with another euro cept stamp. I found the interesting description of the last year seria on the Slovenian post page :

The letter

Although the word letter has multiple meanings, most of us think of a written piece of paper, put into an envelope, submitted at the postal office to be sent to an addressee; in case of letters, we are dealing with a special communication between the sender and the addressee.
Communication between individuals is one of the most basic factors of human cultural development. Already centuries ago a need of the communication with the help of mediators has appeared next to the direct communication, since it presented the only way for individuals to connect in a larger area. The long distance communication was accelerated by the invention of writing; the transfer of written messages was already close to our conception of a letter. The first letters were naturally different than the present form. The oldest found letters were clay plates, written with cuneiform and inserted into special wrappers from clay. In the period between 3000 and 1500 B.C., merchants and other accidental carriers transported the letters from the royal court in Mesopotamia to Capadocia (present Turkey). The letters in the following years had the form of plates, coated with wax, papyrus and parchment scrolls, and other objects, which were used to put down and transfer messages.
The development of postal services and the mass manufacturing and use of paper after 1500 brought changes also in the area of letters. The confidentiality of the letter content dictated their form. The initial letters, written on the sheet of paper, were simply sheets of papers, folded in various ways, while the final edges were glued together. In other cases, the folded piece of paper was tied together with a string or band, which had to be torn apart while opening the letter. Various ways of sealing the letters finally brought the conception of the envelope, which presents in most cases a secure way of protecting the message, submitted for the transfer in the public postal organization or private carrier. According to some researchers of postal history, the transition to the use of letter envelopes can be seen in the case of the Mulready's envelopes, which entered the circulation simultaneously with the black penny. This is also the form of the letter, as we know it today.
For centuries the letters presented the most basic long distance communication; however, in the years of the strong development of electronics and the use of the World Wide Web, the letters have been slowly losing its value. However, there is no fear that they would be lost entirely, since for a long time all modern means of communication won't be available to all inhabitants; and above all, the most modern media will never be able to replace the warmth of a hand-written message on a letter paper.

Bojan Bračič

Thank you, Christiaan!

Cover from Poland. World philatelic exhibition

2009-02-17T09:19:00.000-08:00

Description is coming.

On the 15-th of February I recieved this nice cover from Poland devoted to the world philatelistic exhibition that took place in Bucharest, Romania last year. I consider the stamp exhibition a great ivent (even though I've never been to it) where collectors meet each others, share opinions and information, so it defenitely merits to be celebrated with a stamp! Thank you, Andrzej! Dziękuję, Andrzej

Cover from Polad. Bridges in Poland

2009-02-10T01:53:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately the discription has suddenly disappeared from the Polish post site and I myself don't know much about that stamp. I'll add it as it appears again.

I've got this letter today. It was posted on the 31-st of January from the Polish town Nowy Sącz. This year our post also issued a seria of bridges http://www.marka-art.ru/catalogs/StampSeries.jsp?id=10540439 so I decided to collect the other countries bridge stamps. This is my first abroad searia. Thank you, Andrzej! Dziękuję, Andrzej!

New Russian stamp. The 175th anniversary of birth D.I. Mendeleev (1834-1907), the scientist – chemist.

2009-02-09T11:43:00.000-08:00

Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleyev (1834-1907) is the Russian scientist and public figure, encyclopedist. It is known as the chemist, physicist, economist, technologist, geologist, meteorologist, teacher, aeronaut. In 1869, working over «Chemistry Bases», he has opened one of fundamental laws of nature ? the periodic law of chemical elements. Dmitry Ivanovich also made a big contribution to metrology development. Since 1892 he headed the first scientific metrological establishment of Russia - the Main Board of Weights and Measures (nowadays – VNIIM n.a. D.I.Mendeleyev). Souvenir sheet represents: reference scales of firm “Nemets” of 1895, on which D.I.Mendeleev conducted exact weighings at renewal of standard of mass - pound (1895 - 1898) and nodule rock crystal from collection of minerals of Dmitry Ivanovich. D.I.Mendeleev's photo is given by Metrological museum of Gosstandart of Russia attached to VNIIM of D.I.Mendeleev. Photographer is F.I.Blumbah.

This stamp was issued on the 6-th of February and yet isn't available in my city. I'm looking forward for it since D. Mendeleev is one of our great world known scientist. I will be glad to have this stamp in my collection.