International Philatelic Exhibition STOCKHOLMIA86

Further to my post on 30th April 2013, here is another souvenir card from the International Philatelic Exhibition STOCKHOLMIA86 held in Stockholm Sweden, from August 28 to September 7, 1986.

The stamp on this card is dedicated to engravers of stamps, and is one of four issued in 1984 to popularise Stamp Collecting and as an advertisement for STOCKHOLMIA86.

Thank you Merja.

Heinrich Schliemann

Heinrich Schliemann (6 January 1822 – 26 December 1890) was a German businessman and a pioneer of field archaeology. He was an advocate of the historical reality of places mentioned in the works of Homer. Schliemann was an archaeological excavator of Hissarlik now presumed to be the site of Troy, along with the Mycenaean sites Mycenae and Tiryns. His work lent weight to the idea that Homer's Iliad’ and Virgil’s Aeneid reflect actual historical events. Schliemann's excavation of nine levels of archaeological remains with dynamite has been criticized as destructive of significant historical artifacts, including the level that is believed to be the historical Troy.

Along with Arthur Evans, Schliemann was a pioneer in the study of Aegean civilization in the Bronze Age. The two men knew of each other, Evans having visited Schliemann's sites. Schliemann had planned to excavate at Knossos, but died before fulfilling that dream. Evans bought the site and stepped in to take charge of the project, which was then still in its infancy.

Thank you Dear Merja for this nice maxicard.

South Downs National Park

Uniquely combining a biodiverse landscape with bustling towns and villages, the South Downs National Park covers an area of over 1,600 km2 and is home to more than 110,400 people. Recognised as an area of outstanding beauty, the South Downs is also home to a multitude of vibrant working communities steeped in history and traditional English culture, from the ancient cathedral city of Winchester in the west to the bustling market town of Lewes in the east. We all have a shared responsibility to care for the National Park and the South Downs. Fantastic opportunities exist for you to enjoy the areas special qualities through the rights of way network and areas of open access land, but please remember there is no ‘right to roam’ in the rest of the National Park as most of this area is private land, managed by farmers and foresters. Enjoy walking in the countryside and treat it with respect: Find out more about how you can care for the National Park while enjoying all it has to offer. Whatever you are looking to do, for residents and visitors alike, the South Downs National Park offers a multitude of things to see and enjoy.

The South Downs National Park is England’s newest National Park, having become fully operational on 1 April 2011. The park, covering an area of 1,627 square kilometres (628 sq mi) in southern England, stretches for 140 kilometres (87 mi) from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex. The national park covers not only the chalk ridge of the South Downs, with its celebrated chalk downland landscape that culminates in the iconic chalky white cliffs of Beachy Head, but also a substantial part of a separate physiographic region, the western Weald, with its heavily wooded sandstone and clay hills and vales. The South Downs Way spans the entire length of the park and is the only National Trail that lies wholly within a national park.

This lovely card sent to me by Sue shows the River Cuckmere, Halnaker Mill Near Uppark, The Seven Sisters and the Long Man of Wilmington.

Taverna's in Cyprus

Now here's a card I real like. Good food and even better drinks. And atmosphere must be a real WoW!
A taverna of course!

Where's this one. Its in Cyprus of course!. Cyprus has a large number of tavernas offering traditional dishes and apéritifs and many restaurants offering various cuisines. There are many entertainment centres in coastal summer resorts such as Agia Napa and in all the cities and districts. A lot of the tavernas and entertainment centres offer Greek music and dancing. There are also many clubs which provide entertainment with modern music until the early hours and have the latest DJs.

These two Greek looking gentlemen seem to be really enjoying themselves in one of the many tavernas in Cyprus. 

Thank youMerja forthis nice card from Limmasol.

Moomin's

As promissed by me here are the last three Moomin cards released on 6.5.2013 and given to me by my Dear friend Ella.

Moomin's

Finnish post issued a stampsheet commemorating the favorite Moomins, central characters in a series of books and a comic strip by Swedish-Finn illustrator and writer Tove Jansson. They are a family of fairy tale characters, who are white and roundish, with large snouts that make them resemble hippopotamuses. The carefree and adventurous family live in their house in Moominvalley, in the forests of Finland, though in the past their temporary residences have included a lighthouse and a theatre. They have had many adventures along with their various friends.

The Moomins are ever-popular favorites on Finnish stamps. This time Itella Posti Oy released a booklet of six stamps, called Moomin Favorites on 6.5.2013. 

Satu Lusa wants to portray the vitality of Tove Jansson's drawings and the Moomin characters' zest for life. All the drawings in the booklet come from Tove Jansson's comic strips published in The Evening News in the 1950s. The shape of the stamps follows that of the Moomin characters.

Thank you Dear Ella for these lovely maxi cards. The rest of the cards will be posted tomorrow.

 

Viersen Sculpture Collection

This nice card was sent to me by Esther. It is one of sculptures in Viersen in Germany. The Viersen Sculpture Collection belongs to the major sculpture parks in Germany and is located in the centre of Viersen (North Rhine-Westphalia).

The Viersen Sculpture Collection was built up during the last 25 years by the donation of the American businessman and former Viersen citizen William Pohl as well as by other donations and funds from the “Stiftung Kunst und Kultur” of North Rhine-Westfalia. So the park surrounding the City Art Gallery “Galerie im Park” developed into a fine sculpture collection contributed by well renowned artists.

When in 1992 the 12 meters high steel sculpture New Star consisting of five parts, which was already created in 1986/87 by the US-Artist Mark di Suvero, was first erected on loan on the Diergardt-Place, a storm of protest against it arose via letters to the editor of the local paper by Viersen citizens. This example of modern art was too alien to many of them. Meanwhile repeated information over the artists and their works, the international acceptance of the exhibition shown by numerous visitors from all over Germany, as well as other countries and extensive media coverage have led to a change of heart among the citizenry.

The sculpture shown on the card was the creation of Günter Haese, and very aptly named Optimus II. The sculpture is made of Brass and stainless steel and is Approx. 7 x 5 x 1.50 m. It was created in 2006-2007. And is located in the park next to the Städtische Galerie.

The town of Viersen is on the left Lower Rhine in the west of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and is a large district town of Viersen in the administrative district of Dusseldorf . The city is seat of the district Viersen. Contrary to popular belief, the town name derives not from "Four Lakes", but on the old name "Viers" today the so-called "Bach's villages" near the "Emperor mill".

Chinese Water Regions

Jevey from China sent me this card, which shows some boys having fun in the village river.

Sean Connery as James Bond 007, in From Russia With Love

This card portrays a photograph of Sean Connery in the Role of James Bond 007 in the popular ‘60s film “From Russia with Love”.  I saw this picture in Bombay (as it was called then) in 1962.

James Bond willingly falls into an assassination ploy involving a naive Russian beauty in order to retrieve a Soviet encryption device that was stolen by SPECTRE.

James Bond 007 is on the search for a Russian decoding machine, known as Lektor. Bond needs to find this machine, before the evil SPECTRE organization discovers it first. Whilst being romantically linked with Russian girl, Tatiana Romanova, Bond sneaks his way around Istanbul, whilst each SPECTRE agent tries to pick him off, including the over powering Donald 'Red' Grant and ex-KGB agent Rosa Klebb who knows all the tricks in the books and even possesses an incredible poison tipped shoe!

Leisa from Texas send me this nice card.

Moscow Water Transport

Inland water transport is one of the oldest types of transport serving Moscow citizens. The united city water transport system includes waterways, ports, shipping companies, as well as ship-repair and ship-building enterprises responsible for passenger transportation, navigation safety, and waterways operation. Waterways of the Moscow water area extend from Moscow along the Channel named after Moscow and the Volga river to Rybinsk, as well as from Moscow along the Moscow River and the Oka to Nizhny Novgorod and Kaluga.

Apart from cruising river buses that make tourist and entertaining trips along the Moscow River within the city there are cruising ships that depart from the Northern and Southern river stations and take their passengers along Russian rivers via many old Russian cities.

Main river navigation starts from the Northern river station situated at the bank of the Khimki Reservoir. It was built in 1937. The river station is an architecture memorial and one of the symbols of Moscow. From this station cruising ships depart that take their passengers on short weekend trips and on long trips to Saint Petersburg, the Solovetsky Islands, Perm, Ufa, Astrakhan, and Rostov-on-Don that take from two weeks up to a month.  

The building of the Northern river station is built in the form of a huge ship with a high spire and a broad central staircase. At the end of the spire there is the star that in 1935—1937 was at the Spasskaya tower of the Moscow Kremlin. The sickle and hammer are encrusted with semiprecious stone from the Urals. The verandas of the station are decorated by the fountains South and North that symbolize the connection between the southern and northern waterways of Moscow. A park is adjoining the station building. In the station there is a restaurant. The total length of the quays is 1.5 km.

This pretty card was sent to me by Zhenya.

Castle of Stolzenfels on the Rhine

Stefan sent me this card showing this imposing castle on the Rhine. Finished in 1259, Stolzenfels was used to protect the toll station at the Rhine, where the ships, back then were the main transport for goods, had to stop and pay toll. Over the years it was extended several times, occupied by French and Swedish troops in the Thirty Years' War and finally, in 1689, destroyed by the French during the Nine Years' War. For 150 years the ruins decayed, until in 1815 they were given as a present to Frederick William IV of Prussia by the city of Koblenz. Following the romantic traditions, the prince started to completely rebuild the castle after 1826 as a summer residence. Supported by famous neoclassic architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel, the castle was completely remodeled in the then fashionable neo-Gothic style, aiming to create a romantic place representing the idea of medieval knighthood - the architects even created a tournament site.

Fleet Street

London's Fleet Street, named after the river Fleet which flows at one end of the street, had many legal offices and courts surrounding it in the late 15th century. From 1500s onwards, several publishing and printing shops began locating themselves on Fleet Street to serve the legal offices in its neighbourhood. From 1702, when London's first daily newspaper The Daily Courant set up its office there, the street became the hub of the news industry of Britain. Almost all major news companies had their presence on Fleet Street. Though the news industry has moved away from Fleet Street, even today, the street is called the spiritual home of British journalism. There is a tradition that every British journalist gets married in the Christopher Wrens Church on Fleet Street.

This nice card sent to me by Violeta shows Fleet Street as it was in 1905. That’s 108 years ago. This busy scene shows the street of the press, leading down to Ludgate Circus. Beyond the bridge, St. Paul’s Cathedral dominates the city skyline.

The Masskara Festival

The Masskara Festival, is a festival held each year in Bacolod, Philippines, every third weekend of October nearest October 19, the city's Charter Inauguration Anniversary.

The word "Masskara" is a portmanteau, coined by the late artist Ely Santiago from mass (a multitude of people), and the Spanish word cara (face), thus forming MassKara(a multitude of faces). The word is also a pun on maskara (Filipino for "mask"), since a prominent feature of the festival are the masks worn by participants, which are always adorned with smiling faces.

The festival first began in 1980 during a period of crisis. The province relied on sugar cane as its primary agricultural crop, and the price of sugar was at an all-time low due to the introduction of sugar substitutes like high fructose corn syrup in the United States. It was also a time of tragedy; on April 22 of that year, the inter-island vesselDon Juan carrying many Negrenses, including those belonging to prominent families in Bacolod City, collided with the tanker Tacloban City and sank. An estimated 700 lives were lost in the tragedy.

In the midst of these tragic events, the city's artists, local government and civic groups decided to hold a festival of smiles, because the city at that time was also known as the City of Smiles. They reasoned that a festival was also a good opportunity to pull the residents out of the pervasive gloomy atmosphere. The initial festival was therefore, a declaration by the people of the city that no matter how tough and bad the times were, Bacolod City is going to pull through, survive, and in the end, triumph.

The Masks in the History of the festival is constantly changing from masks influenced by native Filipinos which was slowly influenced by Carnival of Venice and Rio Carnival motifs. Earlier Masks had feathers, native beads, and masks were hand painted while modern masks feature plastic beads, plastic.

The festival features a street dance competition where people from all walks of life troop to the streets to see colourfully masked dancers gyrating to the rhythm of Latin musical beats in a display of mastery, gaiety, coordination and stamina. Major activities include the MassKara Queen beauty pageant, carnivals, drum and bugle corps competitions, food festivals, sports events, musical concerts, agriculture-trade fairs, garden shows, and other special events organized ad-hoc every year.

Thank you Nathalie from the Philippines for this lovely card.

Cars

Masha sent me this cards portraying various cars in various states of repair and disrepair!!!

Viking ship

Viking ships were vessels used during the Viking Age in Northern Europe. Scandinavian tradition of shipbuilding during the Viking Age was characterized by slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. They might have had a dragon's head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern, for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources.

They ranged in the Baltic Sea and far from the Scandinavian home areas, to Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Newfoundland, the Mediterranean, and Africa.

The ships are normally divided into classes based on size and function. They were from 10 meters long (33 ft) to sometimes even 30 meters (99 ft).

Marlies send me this lovely card from Germany.

Munich

Munich is the capital and the largest city of the German state of Bavaria. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, behind Berlin and Hamburg. About 1.42 million people live within the city limits. Munich was the host city of the 1972 Summer Olympics. Its inhabitants are sometimes called Munichers in English.

The city's motto is "München mag dich" (Munich likes you). Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" (Cosmopolitan city with a heart). Its native name, München, is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat of arms. Black and gold—the colours of the Holy Roman Empire—have been the city's official colours since the time of Ludwig the Bavarian.

The two famous buildings shown on this card are the Frauenkirche and the Rathaus. Thank you my friend Wolfgang.

The Frauenkirche (full name Dom zu Unserer Lieben Frau, "Cathedral of Our Dear Lady") is a church in Munich that serves as the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising and seat of its Archbishop. It is a landmark prominent with its twin towers, and is considered a symbol of the Bavarian capital city.

The Rathaus-Glockenspiel of Munich is a tourist attraction in Marienplatz the heart of Munich.

Part of the second construction phase of the New Town Hall, it dates from 1908. Every day at 11 a.m. (as well as 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. in summer) it chimes and re-enacts two stories from the 16th century to the amusement of mass crowds of tourists and locals. It consists of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures. The top half of the Glockenspiel tells the story of the marriage of the local Duke Wilhelm V (who also founded the world famous Hofbräuhaus) to Renata of Lorraine. In honour of the happy couple there is a joust with life-sized knights on horseback representing Bavaria (in white and blue) and Lothringen (in red and white). The Bavarian knight wins every time of course.

This is then followed by the bottom half and second story: Schäfflertanz (the coopers' dance). According to myth, 1517 was a year of plague in Munich. The coopers are said to have danced through the streets to, "bring fresh vitality to fearful dispositions." The coopers remained loyal to the duke, and their dance came to symbolize perseverance and loyalty to authority through difficult times. By tradition, the dance is performed in Munich every seven years. This was described in 1700 as, "an age-old custom", but the current dance was defined only in 1871. The dance can be seen during Fasching (German Carnival): the next one is in 2019.

The whole show lasts somewhere between 12 and 15 minutes long depending on which tune it plays that day. At the very end of the show, a very small golden bird at the top of the Glockenspiel chirps three times, marking the end of the spectacle.

Winter in Finland

This card with the few winter scenes in Finland was sent to me by Susanna who lives in a small village on the edge of the beautiful Finnish archipelago.

The Cruiser Aurora

The cruiser Aurora is arguably the most famous Russian Navy vessel and one of the “must-see” attractions on a shore excursion or guided city tour in St. Petersburg. 

The Aurora was made famous for its participation in the 1917 October Revolution and is currently the oldest commissioned ship in the Russian Navy.

The October Revolution is what really made the Aurora famous. On October 25th, 1917, the Aurora was ordered out to sea but instead remained in the center of St. Petersburg. At approximately 9:45pm the Aurora fired a blank shot into the air, signaling the last chapter in the October Revolution, the assault on Winter Palace. The crew sided with the Bolshevik cause and took part in the attack and final piece of the October Revolution.

Olya sent me this pretty card which shows the daily evening routine of the Retreat ceremony on the Quarterdeck of the famous Aurora. This ceremony is popular among the tourists visiting Saint Petersburg.

Karlovy Vary

Karlovy Vary is a spa city situated in western Bohemia, Czech Republic, on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá, approximately 130 km (81 mi) west of Prague (Praha). It is named after King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who founded the city in 1370. It is historically famous for its hot springs (13 main springs, about 300 smaller springs, and the warm-water Teplá River).

In the 19th century, it became a popular tourist destination, especially known for international celebrities visiting for spa treatment. The city is also known for the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and the popular Czech liqueur Karlovarská Becherovka. The glass manufacturer Moser Glass is located in Karlovy Vary. The city has also given its name to the famous delicacy known as "Carlsbad plums". These plums (usually Quetsch) are candied in hot syrup, then halved and stuffed into dried damsons; this gives them a very intense flavour.

The city has been used as the location for a number of film-shoots, including the 2006 films Last Holiday and box-office hitCasino Royale, both of which used the city's Grandhotel Pupp in different guises.

My good friend Sebik from Hlinsko sent me this nice card.

Girl in Every Port

Yes, you're right Nikita - A Sailor Boy can't survive without a Girl in Every Port :-))

Stade in Lower Saxony

Stade is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany and part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region (Metropolregion Hamburg). It is the seat of the district named after it. The city was first mentioned in a document from 994. It includes the urban districts of Bützfleth, Hagen and Haddorf which have a district council ("Ortsrat") of their own with some autonomous decision making rights. Stade is located on the lower Elbe River and the German Timber-Frame Road. The city has about 45,000 inhabitants.

Thank you Renee for this nice card.

200th Birth Anniversary of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

This interesting maxicard given to me by Maria commemorates the 200^th Birth Anniversary of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm known as The Grimm Brothers were born at Hanau in Hasse-Kassel, Germany. Jacob Grimm the second son, was born on January 4, 1785 and Wilhelm Grimm the third son, was born on February 24, 1786. The Grimms were a large family of nine children, eight boys and one girl. Their father was a lawyer and after his death they set out to Kassel to attend law school and to follow in their father’s footsteps. 

The Grimms had been collecting fairy tales from the people of Hesse since the early 1800’s. They had a favourite local storyteller named Marie Muller.

In 1812, the Grimm Brothers published their first volume of eighty-six stories and tales. In 1814 the second volume contained seventy stories. The stories were a success and the brothers were recognized for their work in 1819 with honorary doctorates from Marburg University. 

The most beautiful fairytales of the Grimm Brothers as far as I can recollect, were Cinderella, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, Snow-white, Rumpelstiltskin, Tom Thumb, and the list goes on and on. But, the stories I have mentioned here are the really well known ones in the English speaking nations of the world. I was lucky to have a Dad who was a great story-teller and introduced us siblings to the fabulous fairy tale world of the Grimm Brothers. 

In 1838 they began the work on the thirty-two volumes of a German dictionary, which focuses on history. Within the next ten years the Grimms resigned from their teaching at the university of Berlin and devoted their time to the completion of the dictionary. The Grimms did not live to see the final edition of their German dictionary, which took almost a hundred years to complete.

Wilhelm Grimm died on December 16, 1859 and Jacob Grimm on September 20, 1863. 

STATE ART GALLERY in PERM

Now firmly recognized as the most remarkable Ural art museum the museum the STATE ART GALLERY in PERM - city houses the largest public collection of old and contemporary Russian art as well as European. Eastern and antique woks of art. It possesses 40,000 items including icons, Oil paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and objects of applied arts.

On the permanent display there are fascinating portraiture paintings, landscapes and pictures by distinguished 16-19c. Russian and foreign painters and the early 20 c. avangard paintings by the well-known Russian artists. The department of icon-painting offers visitors a superb collection of unique icons created by the outstanding masters of the well-known Stroganov's studios established in the Ural in the 16 c., the time of vigorous exploration, colonization and construction of numerous orthodox churches in the vast Ural areas in the Kama river region.

The centre piece of the collection is the permanent exhibition of invaluable wooden sculptures featuring the images of the Savior, Our Lady and saints of Russian orthodox church created by the locall professional and amateur craftsmen in the 17-18 centuries. The history and heritage of the Kama river region with Perm as the center come alive in the changing exhibition of classic and contemporary art which are complemented by the extensive archive materials of the scientific department. 

This nice card was sent to me by my friend Polina in Perm. Unfortunately, the ravages of postal transit have left their unmistakable marks on the card.

Prekmurje

Prekmurje is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region settled by Slovenes and lying between the Mur River in Slovenia and the Rába Valley (the watershed of the Rába) in the most western part of Hungary. It maintains certain specific linguistic, cultural and religious features that differentiate it from other Slovenian traditional regions.

Tanya who lives in Prekmurje sent me this nice card.