Montenegro - Maritime Museum of Kotor Montenegro

The rich maritime history of the Boka Kotorska and Montenegro is best seen in the buildings and among the collections of the well-known Maritime Museum of Kotor. Along with numerous historic manuscripts and exhibits, of great interest to visitors are the scale models of old ships and boats. Brave seamen sailed over the world in such ships. This is well illustrated on this card sent to me by Karoly Bunyik. Their portraits, picture of ships, a multitude of photographs, parts and instruments of old ships bear witness to the development of maritime navigation and make this collection unique in the world. In this museum the curious visitor may familiarise himself with the history of the many centuries of tradition of the famous Boka Navy.

Cyprus – Vintage Cars

For car lovers, these two maxicards may be of interest. The car on top is the famous Ford Model T, a 1917 American car. It is one of 15 million cars made during the period 1908 to 1927. The car shown below  was imported from England to Cyprus in 1932. It is a Baby Ford Y 8HP. The cards were issued in 20.3.2003 and were sent to me by my Dear Friend Merja.

Denmark – Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix

Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix is a vintage motor sports car race held annually on the grounds of Fælledparken in Copenhagen, Denmark. It has been arranged since 2001 and takes place in the first weekend of August. HRH Prince Joachim of Denmark is a regular participator along with numerous Danish and International professional racing drivers. Cars compete separately in various classes, including a large number of vehicles in the pre-WW II class. Around 200 vintage cars participate, such as Bentley's from the 20s, Bugatti's from the 30s, Jaguar's and Porsche's from the 50s and Lotus Cortina's, Alfa Romeo's and Jaguar E's from the 60s. The Royal Pro-Am Class is the class where Prince Joachim and other amateurs share their cars with professional drivers. In 2008, 25 Le Mans drivers attended the race, including the eight time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen. Apart from the multiple races, various other demonstrations, presentations and car shows take place as well as the marking of historic car models. The cars shown on these Maxi cards issued on 5.8.2006 are, Car at the Left Top is the versatile Renault Alpine A 110 I; the one at the Left Bottom is the well known Jaguar E – type hybrid Volvo P 1800; the racer at the Right Top is the Alfa Dana Midget; and Right Bottom is the Austin Mini Cooper 5. These delightful cards were sent to me by my Dear Friend Ella.

Japan – Garden of Kinkakuji Temple

This was designed as a paradise garden in which to stroll and meditate, remembering that Buddha had lived and preached in a grove. The garden has symbolic buildings and features, including a flying crane lake and a tortoise island which divides the lake into two sections. The shore of the lake is dotted with rocks. The garden was formerly the North Hill Villa. It became a Deer Park (named after Buddha's Deer Park of Isipatana, but without deer) when acquired by Shogun Yoshimitsu. The gilded temple is Chinese in style but has an un-Zen-like gaudiness. This wonderful card was sent to me by Reiko.

Portugal – Sailing

Cátia sent me this nice card showing people enjoying sailing in the seas of Azores.

UK - Sailing as a Sport

Merja sent me this pretty maxi card about the Racing Keel boats. This stamp was designed by Andrew Restall and issued by British Post on 11 June 1975 to commemorate sailing as a sport.

Italy – Italian Monarchs

Merja sent me this maxicard, that feature Italian monarchs who reigned between 1861 and 1946. The fairly large stamp in deep white has pictures of four stamps issued during the Reigns of Italian monarchs. Three of the four stamps are arranged as per the colors of the Italian flag. The picture of the stamp on the left of green color, value of five cent depicts the reign of Umberto I; In the center of the fifteen value cent of 1863 represents Vittorio Emanuele II; - to right the stamp in red color of the value of 10 cent emitted in 1901 represents Vittorio Emanuele III. Below to the center is the fourth stamp of the value of 20 cent in 1930 on occasion of the wedding of Prince Umberto with Prince Maria Josè of Belgium and, on the left and to right, in stilizzata design are the coat of arms sabaudo. The legend “EXTENSION - the REIGN D' ITALY - MONTECITORIO”, written “ITALY” and value “€ 0,60” complete the stamp.