Postcard from Germany

Postcard from Finland

Suomen Joutsen (Swan of Finland) museum ship in Turku in Finland.

Suomen Joutsen is a steel-hulled full rigged ship with three square rigged masts. Built in 1902 by Chantiers de Penhoët in St. Nazaire, France, as Laënnec, the ship served two French owners before she was sold to German interest in 1922 and renamed Oldenburg. In 1930, she was acquired by the Government of Finland, refitted to serve as a school ship for the Finnish Navy and given her current name. Suomen Joutsen made eight long international voyages before the Second World War and later served in various support and supply roles during the war. From 1961 on she served as a stationary seamen's school for the Finnish Merchant Navy. In 1991, Suomen Joutsen was donated to the city of Turku and became a museum ship moored next to Forum Marinum.

The Spring of life is a light and delicate stamp booklet, where the little birds trill in the shelter of thick bushes. Big flowers drawn with a light green line make the impression of the Asian art.
The designer Pietari Posti, born in Helsinki, works in Barcelona. His work has been utilized in advertising, merchandise and apparel such as T-shirts, wallets and furniture.

A strip of three different self adhesive stamps gives a coherent picture of rings on water.

'' Four Muskateers'' Postcard from Germany

The postcard sent me Yanik via Postcrossing .Thank you !

Postcard from Belarus

Postcard to capture the Battle of Grunwald by Jan Matejko (1878)

Full view on painting

The Battle of Grunwald or First Battle of Tannenberg or Battle of Žalgiris was fought on 15 July 1410, during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Władysław Jagiełło (Jogaila) and Grand Duke Vytautas (Witold; Vitaŭt), decisively defeated the German–Prussian Teutonic Knights, led by Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen. Most of the Teutonic Knights' leadership were killed or taken prisoner. While defeated, the Teutonic Knights withstood the siege on their fortress in Marienburg (Malbork) and suffered only minimal territorial losses at the Peace of Thorn (1411) (Toruń). Territorial disputes continued until the Peace of Melno was concluded in 1422. However, the Knights never recovered their former power and the financial burden of war reparations caused internal conflicts and an economic downturn in their lands. The battle shifted the balance of power in Eastern Europe and marked the rise of the Polish–Lithuanian union as the dominant political and military force in the region.

The battle was one of the largest battles in Medieval Europe and is regarded as the most important victory in the history of Poland, Belarus and Lithuania.It was surrounded by romantic legends and source of national pride, becoming a larger symbol of struggle against invaders. During the 20th century, the battle was used in Nazi and Soviet propaganda campaigns. Only in recent decades have historians made progress towards a dispassionate, scholarly assessment of the battle reconciling the previous narratives, which differed widely by nation.

Thank you Yuliya for this interesting and wonderful postcard:)

Happy postcrossing!

New Latvian stamp and FDC is coming

New postage stamp issued run of 100 000 copies, and a special first-day covers - 1,500 copies. Stamps nominal value of € 0.50, and corresponds to a standart letter, the cost of Latvian territory. Stamps designed by the TV telecast TE! author Lāsma Lagzdiņa signs depicting a stylized broadcast the name and identification symbols - rake. The old tool says that Latvia  impressed with its unique values​​, landscapes, people, their stories and actions.
Sorry dear Lasma ,but I don`t like this stamp design :( Its design is dark and dreary  not at all optimistic that the same TV telecast.When I saw for the first time this stamp, I thought that it is the memory of the Holocaust.

And one more postcard from the USA via postcrossing

Pottawatomie Lighthouse, also known as the Rock Island Light, is located in Rock Island State Park, on Rock Island in Door County, Wisconsin. Lit in 1836, it is the oldest light station in Wisconsin and on Lake Michigan. It was served by civilian light keepers from 1836 to the 1940s, at which point it was taken over by the US Coast Guard.

BUY THIS STAMP

The Harry Potter films brought J.K. Rowling’s magical world to the screen, giving physical shape to the characters, creatures, and places that had lived in readers’ imaginations since publication of the first book. The U.S. Postal Service celebrates that magic with a 20-stamp souvenir booklet featuring stills from the award-winning Warner Bros. movies.

The folded souvenir booklet has five pages. The front cover features the title Harry Potter, with an image of Harry playing Quidditch, the beloved wizarding sport. The back cover has a picture of a young Harry in class, taking notes with his quill; the title Harry Potter is centered under the picture. When the booklet is opened, an illustration of Hogwarts covers two pages on the back, and selvage text appears on the last page. Inside there are five groupings of four stamps, each grouping set on its own page. Each set of four stamps surrounds the red wax seal of Hogwarts.

With these stamps, the U.S. Postal Service proves that apples are not only good—and good for you—but they’re also delightful, cheery stamp subjects, just right for postcards!

Some of America’s favorite varieties of this popular fruit are shown in these four stamps, each depicting a different kind: the bright-red Baldwin, the green Granny Smith, the yellow Golden Delicious, and the multi-colored Northern Spy. The stamp art was illustrated with pen and ink and watercolor, with some additional detail added on the computer.

Thank you Laura for this beautiful postcard:)

Postcard / FDC / cover from USA

Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial was established to honor those who fought in the Battle of Lake Erie, during the War of 1812, and to celebrate the long-lasting peace between Britain, Canada and the U.S. The Memorial, a Doric column, rising 352 feet over Lake Erie is situated 5 miles from the longest undefended border in the world.

Did You Know?

The weight of Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial column is estimated at 36,800,000 pounds (16,692 metric tons). The foundation alone consists of a concrete ring 9½ feet thick (2.9m) and 12 feet deep (3.66m) with an outside diameter of 45 feet (13.7m).

The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, in Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of British Royal Navy. This ensured American control of the lake for the rest of the war, which in turn allowed the Americans to recover Detroit and win the Battle of the Thames to break the Indian confederation of Tecumseh. It was one of the biggest naval battles of the War of 1812.

FDC info:

Commemorate a crucial victory in America's naval history with this First Day Cover (#6 ¾ envelope) featuring an affixed The War of 1812: Battle of Lake Erie Forever® stamp with an official First Day of Issue postmark.

The stamp features William Henry Powell's famous oil painting, Battle of Lake Erie, which depicts Oliver H. Perry commanding his crew in a small boat with a waving American flag at the stern. The handsome black pictorial postmark incorporates a contour of Lake Erie with a star marking the battle site, as well as the date and location of issue.

In 2013, the U.S. Postal Service introduces Global Forever®, a new international rate stamp. The Global Forever® stamp offers a single price for any First-Class Mail International 1-ounce letter to any country in the world. For the January 27, 2013, price change, theGlobal Forever® stamp may also be used to mail a 2-ounce letter to Canada.

This stamp features a rendering of Earth composed of images created from satellite data and redesigned with 3D computer technology. The view of our planet shows the Atlantic Ocean flanked by the Americas, Africa, and part of northern Europe. In the stamp art, the globe is isolated on a white background. The shape of the stamp is round. The text, which surrounds the image of Earth, includes the words “Global Forever.”

Italian artist Leonello Calvetti used a variety of maps, primarily from NASA, to create his design. With 3D computer technology he was able to modify depth, vary color, and create subtle light and shadow details on terrain surfaces to achieve a high level of photorealism while also attaining something new. “I always have been fascinated by space and what astronauts could see from out there,” Calvetti says. “As an artist, an illustrator, I wanted to make my own representation of the Earth.”

Art director William J. Gicker selected this depiction of Earth by Calvetti. Greg Breeding designed the stamp.

Thank you Angela for this sending :)I learned a lot about the history of the USA.

Latvijas Pasts comes out with its 320th stamp release: Musical instruments stamps in joint Europa series

This year, Latvijas Pasts releases two new stamps in the joint Europa series. The new stamps feature traditional Latvian musical instruments: the Kokle (a type of zither) and theDūdas (a type of bagpipe). Musical instruments is the 320^th stamp release of Latvijas Pasts since 1991 when the issue of stamps was resumed in the independent Republic of Latvia. In 2014,the topic of the Europa stamp series is musical instruments, therefore a number of European countries are coming out with stamps featuring their national musical instruments this spring.

The denominations of the new stamps are EUR 0.78 and EUR 1.71, corresponding, respectively, to the cost of mailing a regular Class A letter and a registered Class A letter to any country within the European Union. The stamps Musical instruments have been designed by artist Lilija Dinere. The print run of Kokle is 54,000 copies and that of Dūdas is 30,000 copies.

The kokle is an ancient Baltic plucked string musical instrument which has also been adopted by the Finno-Ugric and Slavic tribes. It is in fact the most admired Latvian musical instrument. The ethnomusicologist Valdis Muktupāvels calls the kokle the singing soul of the wood, because this musical instrument symbolically is the most important one in Latvia.

The dūdas, which is a type of bagpipe, is described by V.Muktupāvels as one of the most popular musical instruments for dancing, which was widely used in festivals and celebrations, such as weddings and fairs, as well as in voluntary joint work activities and taphouse dances from the 16^th until the 19^th century.

Latvijas Pasts releases special envelope to mark 100th anniversary of Railway Bridge over Daugava

The print run of the new envelope is 1,000. The special envelope and the cancellation have been designed by artist Ģirts Grīva.

The Railway Bridge over the Daugava River is situated in Riga and is supported by 10 piers, of which eight are in the water. Construction of the bridge began in 1909 and lasted five years. The Railway Bridge over the Daugava River was one of the first double-track railway bridges in the Russian Empire. Today, the railway bridge in Riga is particularly noticeable at night time when it is lit up in blue. During the national holidays the lighting is blue and white, as these are the colors of the flag of Riga.

Postcard from Czech Republic

Ahoj from Czech republic! This beautiful postcard sent me postcrosser Eva. Thank you !

Postcard from London,UK

New Latvian stamp and FDC issue

The new stamp has been designed by the Georgian artist Georg Kartvelishvili and it depicts the significant symbols of independence of the two nations: the Freedom Monument in Riga, the capital of Latvia, and the Mother of Georgia Statue in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. The stamp dedicated to diplomatic relations between Latvia and Georgia will be issued in Latvia with a print run of 50,000 copies. The denomination of one stamp is EUR 0.85, which can be used for mailing a regular Class A letter outside the European Union.

The release of the stamp is accompanied by the issue of a special envelope with a print run of 1,500 copies and designed by the artist Ģirts Grīva.

New Latvia stamps and FDC issue

Postcard from The Netherland / Zeeland

Postage Stamp issue plan for 2014

No.	Subject	Number of Stamps	Face value (LVL)	Face value (EUR)	Release date
1.	Flowers (Standart)	1	0.02; 0.33; 0.40; 0.55; 0.60; 0.98	0.03; 0.47; 0.57;0.78; 0.85; 1.39	02.01.
2.	Free theme - Imants Ziedonis	1	0.35	0.50	06.01.
3.	Swedish-Latvian joint issue -Capital of Culture 2014	2	0.35; 0.55	0.50; 0.78	16.01.
4.	Skeleton	1	0.60	0.85	07.02.
5.	Reprinted issue of personalized stamps: Aviation - 3 stamps Objects of Culture(Museums) - 3 stamps	6	0.35x2; 0.55x2; 0.60x2	0.50x2; 0.78x2; 0.85x2	28.02.
6. 7.	Flowers - Tulip Flowers (Standart)	1 4	0.35	0.50 0.01; 0.04; 0.07; 0.50	07.03. 22.03.
8.	Latvian - Georgian joint edition	1	0.60	0.85	28.03.
9.	Europe - National music Instruments	2	0.55; 1.20	0.78; 1.71	11.04.
10.	Dedication to promotion of Latvian values and support to Te	1	0.35	0.50	17.04.
11.	The Birds	2	0.35; 0.98	0.50; 1.39	16.05.
12.	Turaida Castle - 800	1	0.35	0.50	06.06.
13.	Jānis Cimze - 200	1		0.57	03.07.
14.	The Baltic Way - 25 (Joint edition of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia)	1+block		0.50; 2.34	23.08.
15.	Gothard Friedrich Stender - 300	1		1.39	27.08.
16.	The Lighthouses	1		0.85	12.09.
17.	Modern Architecture - Latvian Academy of Art, the second educational building	1		1.42	17.10.
18.	100th Anniversary of Latvia Republic	3		0.50; 0.78; 1.39	07.11.
19.	Christmas	2		0.50; 0.85	27.11.
	Total:	34 Stamps; 1 block

* Reprints of personalised postage Stamps are released on demand
** Reprints of Coats of Arms of Cities and Regions are released on request
Dates and face values of postage Stamps can change

Special Cancellations 2014

No.	Subject	Release date
1.	Margarita Stāraste - 100	02.02.
2.	Kārlis Sebris - 100	18.02.
3.	Riga Railway Bridge over Daugava - 100	08.04.
4.	National Libary	To be confirmed

I return to my blog after a short break :)

A few days ago my daughter found my boxes of envelopes and stamps. She asked me what it is. I told her about philately and postcrossing. And she very interested in it. Then we decided to send some postcards via postcrossing website and reanimates my blog :)I hope that she will love it and we together will be able to enjoy the new postcards from all around the world.

2012 Latvian Post plans

2012 Latvian Post plans to spend at least 26 new stamps 17 million copy print run
2012 Latvian Post plans to issue at least 26 new stamps - the various Latvian state and people important topics and the different denominations. Postage stamps to be issued in the next few months may still be added, but this year's first postage stamps will be issued January 7, but the year has traditionally end with a new series of Christmas stamps in December 2012.

Total in 2012 Latvian post office stamps to be issued in circulation will reach at least 17 million copies, and taking into account the current significant demand for postage stamps, has about 10 million copies more than the average Latvian Post on an annual basis.

"Latvian Post, which issued postage stamps in the world recognizes it as a tasteful and artistically high-quality, and this year will delight both the stamp collector, and all of our customers with such a diverse and interesting stamps, so that everyone can choose their own taste and value of the items most relevant," said the Latvian Post postal and philatelic vērtszīmju Department Director Edmund Bebrišs.

Latvian Post 2012 of the first postage stamps will be issued in series Latvian county and city coat of arms, and will include three different stamps - Riga with the small coat of arms, coat of arms and Piltene Lielvardes county coat of arms.

Already in January at the end of daylight will see a unique stamp with the success of the Latvian people found themselves, first of all participating for the first time in Latvian history, organized by stamp design contest and sending it their stamp designs, but then the social networks to actively vote for the most interesting postage stamps. Place winner of a postage stamp, where it is stories, which depicted lions Vērmanes and nearby restaurant Library No.1 building surrounded by trees, will be issued and presented Jan. 27.

Popular flower series in February 2012 will be issued in the third stamp - Lily. Two new postage stamp in March will be the European single series of postage Europe, initiated by the European Union and the Postal stamps, unified the whole of Europe, with the same logo, is published since 1994.

In April, the stamp will be dedicated to the great Latvian bibliographer John Brass 150-year anniversary commemoration, but the three stamp series - Riga Zoo centenary. In May, the stamp will be issued a second series of the Latvian port, this time - the Free Port of Ventspils topic. But in June two new stamps will be included in the series of Latvian birds that are updated for the third consecutive year.

In July, a special postage stamp will be issued on the occasion of the 30th Summer Olympic Games in 2012 from 27 July to 12 August will take the UK capital of London. While the August issue will stamp block, consisting of two postage stamps - Kurland and Semigallia - 450. Also in Riga-born rocket scientist and Astronautics constructor Friedrich Zander 125-year anniversary commemorative postage stamp will be issued in August.

Third series of postage stamps Latvian contemporary architecture to be issued in September, but the Baltic States kopizdevumu - stamp block railroad bridges - in October. Of Riga Technical University, 150 years of existence will be celebrated with the issue of postage stamps in October.

In preparation for the centenary of the Latvian state in 2018, Latvian Post and in 2012, for the fourth consecutive year, will issue three new series of postage stamps Latvian Republic - 100. But in the end - December - Latvian Post, traditionally will issue two new series of Christmas stamps.

LatvijasPasts annually issued an average of 12-16 new postage costs, with a total print run is usually achieved up to 7 million copies of letters and other items of correspondence on traveling around the world. Stamp subjects each year, the dedicated Stamp issue commission.

On the VAS Latvian Post

Latvian Post provides the broadest access to postal services throughout Latvian territory, maintaining more than 600 postal service site. Company's main function is the universal postal service, the company also provides philatelic services, transportation and express delivery, financial intermediation, payment, press and retail services. Latvian Post is a state wholly-owned company, which employs around 4600 staff.

To learn more about the Latvian Post, visit the website www.pasts.lv.

Postcard from Germany

Postcard from Finland

Cover from Canada

Cover from China

Thank you Zhou Fan for this interesting cover.

FDC from China

Thanks Fan Ming for this nice FDC.

Cover from Croatia

Graceful surprise from Canada

Thank you very much Rod for nice Olympic FDC`s.Very nice surprise:)

FDC from Ukraine

Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (Ukrainian: Тарас Григорович Шевченко) (March 9 [ February 25] 1814 – March 10 [February 26] 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, artist and humanist. His literary heritage is regarded to be the foundation of modern Ukrainian literature and, to a large extent, the modern Ukrainian language. Shevchenko also wrote in Russian and left many masterpieces as a painter and an illustrator.

Thank you Igor for this First Day Cover.

FDC from India

Thanks Swarup Rath for nice first day cover.