1158 -1169 - A new selection

1158 -  A picture of the Minsk railway station sent to me by Inna from Belarus (BY-1099562). 

I don’t make a habit of sharing what is on the reverse of the cards but I would like to say that Inna has just gone through what I consider to be one of the worst experiences possible and I’d like you to think of her this Christmas and send her your thoughts.

  

1159 /1162 – From my Bulgarian friend Irina –

The wonderful stamps on the package from Irina.

 

1163 – From Lili in Slovenia (SI-87156)

More miniature works of art on stamps.

1164 – Tulips from – not Amsterdam but - Vladikavkaz courtesy of Dzantemir (RU-2206743)

This card had a whole collection of the 2009 Russian kremlin stamps –

Pskov Kremlin and Moscow Kremlin

Rostov Kremlin and Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin

Kolomna Kremlin, Kazan Kremlin and Zaraysk Kremlin

1165 – From Carin, a postcrosser in The Netherlands (NL-2226015).

1166 – Christmas greetings thanks to a home-made card from Eva in Morocco.  (The star and tree open out).

 1167 – And more Christmas greetings from Renate in Austria.

A very artistic stamp of the St. Georgenberg Abbey, a Benedictine monastery at one time situated in Fiecht in Tyrol; a pilgrimage church still stands on the site of the original 1708 abbey.

1168 – A Neapolitan sunset photographed by Pasquale and turned into a postcard.

The stamps.

1169 – The beautiful Audrey Hepburn from Susanne, my German friend.

The stamps, one of which is suitably festive.

Fairy tales and cheese.

1115 - Veronika from Russia sent me this postcrossing card (RU-2166217) which arrived on 26^th November. It looks like the sort of picture found in old fairy tales books.

 I'm not sure who the artist is - perhaps some Russian speaker could enlighten me?

1116 – A wonderful selection of cheeses on this postcrossing card from Johanna in Germany (DE-2667852). If you want to see the individual cheeses you can click on the picture to enlarge it.

 

The Marigold is quite a common card on German cards and I’ve seen the Tulip before but this is the first time I’ve seen the lovely Lily-of-the-Valley stamp.

533 – Tongariro National Park

Card no 533 - GB 

North Island, New Zealand 

Country Card Sent From: New Zealand 

Place that Card Sender Lives: Napier 

Date Received: 3rd May 2013 

Distance Travelled: 11,493 miles 

Time Taken: 6 days 

A World Heritage Site to add to my collection. Many thanks, GB.

In 1993 Tongariro became the first property to be inscribed on the World Heritage List under the revised criteria describing cultural landscapes. The mountains at the heart of the park have cultural and religious significance for the Maori people and symbolize the spiritual links between this community and its environment. The park has active and extinct volcanoes, a diverse range of ecosystems and some spectacular landscapes.

Tongariro lies at the south-western terminus of a Pacific chain of volcanoes aligned along a major tectonic plate boundary. The park's volcanoes, which are outstanding scenic features of the island, contain a complete range of volcanic features. The related ecological succession of plant communities is of special scientific interest. The site is directly associated with the living traditions, beliefs and artistic works of the Maori people, which are of outstanding universal significance.

532 – Aoraki Mt Cook

Card no 532 - GB 

The Southern Alps, New Zealand 

Country Card Sent From: New Zealand 

Place that Card Sender Lives: Napier 

Date Received: 3rd May 2013 

Distance Travelled: 11,493 miles 

Time Taken: 6 days 

Is this not a brilliant photo? I love it.

 And what a super stamp.

It is part of this set - 

468 – Yushan Rhododendron - Taiwan

Card no 468 - Xiao-Yuan 

Yushan Rhododendron - Taiwan 

Country Card Sent From: Taiwan 

Place that Card Sender Lives: Taipei 

Date Received: 4th April 2013 

Distance Travelled: 6,101 miles 

Time Taken: 13 days 

Postcrossing TW-850760 

Such a beautiful landscape featuring the elegant Yushan rhododendron (Rhododendeon pseudo-chrysanthum). Yushan rhododendron is one of the three main Rohodendron species on the island – the others being the Formosan and Nasnhu Rhododendrons. It grows at a higher altitude than other Rhododendrons and flowers from mid-May.

This was the stamp -