Germany

Christmas is coming.

This cover brings 2 "Christmas" stamps edited by German Post (2008).

The stamp on the left side reproduces an Albrecht Dürer painting and a Raffaello's one on the right side.

Thank you very much, Igor!

Turkey

This envelope came from Turkey, decorated on "EUROPE 2008 series - Writen letters. "

This lonely girl seems to be really sad, waiting for news, that could arrive today, tomorrow, or never... Oh, solitude!!!

Thanks Ahmet!

Ukraine

New nice and expressive cover from Ukraine.

A dove brings a letter. Peace is possible. Yes, we believe!

Courtesy of Igor!

Велике спасибі!

Malta

New cover from Malta.

Again 2 commemorative stamps from the series "Olympic Games Beijing 2008".

Thank you, Albert!

Russia

Beautiful "R" cover from Russia with with 2 mini-sheets on themes "Churches" and "Nature".

Both 2008 issues.

Thank you, Nikolai!

Благодарю Вас, Николай!

Estonia

"Faster, faster, the Snowman shouts, not angrily at all, and waves his splendid hat(...)".

FDC dated 20.11.2008, on Christmas theme.

Thank you very much, Pirjo! And Merry Christmas!

Belgium

Nice cover double stamped on "hollidays" theme.

This issues is untitled "Vacances 2008"

Thank you, C.J.! Merci!

Mongolia

I'm glad for receiving my first cover from Mongolia... Really nice!

This envelope is allusive to the 750th Anniversary of The Mongolian Secret History.

As the stamps are concerned, once again the nature alive:

- An otter - Lutra lutra

- Two ducks - Anas Platyrchynchos

- A Woodpecker - Dryobates Leucotos (Bechst)

Thanks a lot, Baasan!

Austria

This commemorative FDC (dated 11.11.2008) is dedicated to Austrian ski legend: Karl Schranz.

"Karl Schranz was one of the best alpine ski racers ever. In his long and illustrious career (1958-72) he won twenty major downhills, many major GS races and a few major slaloms. Late in his career he was the successor to Killy as Overall World Cup champion (1969,1970). He was also World Cup Downhill(1969,1970) and GS(1969) champion (...)

He must be considered one of the giants of the sport". - Wikipedia

Thank you very much, Andreas! Danke!

Turkey

Seven colored stamps give this envelope a real garden impression, where we feel the fragrance of red roses, carnations and tulips ...

One stamp shows us a view of the port of Zonguldak in the Black Sea.

Finally, in the upper left corner, the stamp Europa 2008.

Courtesy of Ahmet!

Algeria

Beautiful cover just received, with a commemorative mini-sheet on. Its name is "Works of Art from The National Museums (Baya)"

"Baya Mahieddine was born on Dec. 12th, 1931 at Bordj el Kiffan in Algiers. Orphan when she was five, Baya of her true name Fatma Haddad, had never gone to school and was brought up by her grand mother in the biggest misery. When baya was 10 years old, she was spotted by a French young lady name Elisabeth Benhoura. Baya considered this young lady as her adoptive mother and went to live with her in Algiers. There, Elisabeth provided her with paper, pencils and gouache (...)

Baya passed away on November 9th, 1998 after she had left more than 50 years of artistic selected works."

Courtesy of Zine!

Estonia

Commemorative FDC "Estonian Post 90 Years 1918 - 2008"

Congratulations for this anniversary!

Thank you, Pirjo!

Turkey

Nice cover decorated and stamped with Aviation theme (a 2008 series).

On the stamps we can review 3 ancient models: B24 D, Curtiss Hawk and P.Z.L. XXIV.

Thank you, Ahmet!

Chile

Suggestive envelope from Chile, a country of contrasts and of rare beauty. These 4 stamps confirm such diversity.

From the left to the right:

1- Photographer

2- Chile, Country of tourism - Torres del Paine Region XII

3- New Area of Los Rios, Salto Huila Huila

4- Christ the Redeemer 100 Years

"Christ the Redeemer of the Andes (Spanish: Cristo Redentor de los Andes) is a monument high in the Andes at 3,832 metres (12,572 ft) above mean sea level on the border between Argentina and Chile. It was unveiled on 13 March 1904 as a celebration of the peaceful resolution of the border dispute between the two countries". - Wikipedia

Muchas gracias, Carlos!

Italy

Nice cover about theme EUROPA 2008 - "Writen Letters".

I would like to emphasize the clear and expressive cancellation about trains:

"1908 - 2008 Historical event of the 100 years of inauguration of the railway section Coggiola - Grignasco".

Grazie, Alfredo!

The Netherlands

This nice cover came from The Netherlands (Honselersdijk).

Honselersdijk is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Westland, and lies about 8 km southwest of The Hague.
The village of Honselersdijk has a population about 6.500 people.

On the left of this envelope we can see some beautiful architectural Honselersdijk icons.

Thank you very much, Piet!

Romania

Diversified (8!) stamps composed this original envelope.

6 of them are releated to a "Expo'92 Sevilla".

Almost there is no space for the address...

Really original.

Thank you very much, Dan! Mulţumesc!

Japan

Beautiful cover received from Japan.

ありがとうございました！Shoji!

Romania

Nice cover received from Romania (Brasov)

Courtesy of Stefan! Mulţumesc!

Canada

Four stamps decorate this very nice cover:

From the left to the right:

1- A beautiful stamp (joint issues Canada-France), commemoration the Foundation of Québec city on 1608 by Samuel Champlain;

2- Lifesaving Society;

3- Jasper National Park , and

4-Oyster farming.

Three original ancellations "Philatelic Canada Philatélique Nov o3 2008". Bravo!

Thank you very much, Ferdinand!

Algeria

Envelope originally cancelled on 1st day 19.09.2008 and with a double cancellation dated 07.10.2008.

It'a a tribute to Ferhat Abbas, firts President of Argelia (born 24 October 1899, Taher, Jijel – 23 December 1985).

Thanks to Ouari!

Italy

Beautiful cover.

On the cover we have 2 stamps (full set - Italy 1996) about Italian wine production. Curiousily, the stamps have not been cancelled...

I appreciated this cover, because wine/grapes is one of my favorite topics.

Thank you very much, Lorenzo, for your kind contribution!

Poland

Interesting view card, with a nice picture from Tarnobrzeg, Kazimierz home town..

Kazimierz wanted to share with us the Bartosza Glowackiego Square (Plac Bartosza Glowackiego).

Thanks a lot! Dziękuję!

Poland

Again a nice cover about Pope John Paul II, with double stamps (1,35zl) and a beautiful cancellation.

Courtesy of Kazimierz!

Poland

Beautiful cover.

The image on this series corresponds to Our Lady of Fátima. We can read on all stamps "10-lecie Radia Maryja 8 XII 1991 - 8 XII 2001".

I don't know Polish idiom. Certainly 10 years (1991 - 2001) dedicated to Lady Mary...

Thank you, Kazimierz!

Ukraine

Expressive envelope from Ukraine.

It is indeed an invitation to travel. At least for now and through the stamps - "stampstraveler". Two colored locomotives are waiting for us. What are we waiting for? Maybe just a little bit of courage to make the bags and leave...

From the latin sentence on the left side of the cover: "Fortes fortuna adiuvat", i.e.: "Success helps daring".

Thank you very much, Igor, for inspiring us!

Ukraine

New nice cover from Ukraine.

Thanks a lot, Sergey!

Estonia

Nice FDC, from Estonia, dated Tallinn 16.10.2008

with a beautiful Church.

"AUDRU PÜHA RISTI KIRIK

Orel, Mille Valmistas Carl Georg Thal 1843"

Courtesy of Pirjo!

Cuba

First cover received from Cuba.

It's really great.

On the stamp we see Che Guevara - "El Comandante" - an icon of the Cuban Revolution.

A very special thanks to Ziga. He spent few days there, in vacations, and he wanted to share with me this beautiful air of "La Habana".

Thank you very much, Ziga!

Belgium

Nice cover just received from Belgium, dated 18.10.2008

Special issues related with National Shoe Museum - Nationaal Schoeiselmuseum.

Courtesy of Thomas!

New Zealand

Nice cover received from New Zealand.

Three beautiful stamps with the theme "Christmas 2008" with different facial values: $ 1,00, 50c and 50c. Two clear cancellations.

Thank you very much, Rosemary!

The Netherlands

New letter from The Netherlands, courtesy of Piet.

Among the stamps on the cover, I ellect the stamp on the left (Europa Cept 2008). Not specially beacuse of the theme, but mainly because of the smile :).

In this extremely sad time for Piet and his family, here we express our solidarity and wishes for courage, hopping they could regain their smile, soon...

Turkey

Wow! My first cover received from Turkey... , thanks to Tanas (Istanbul).

Both stamps on up right side belong to a series about local and traditional potery.

Thank you, again, Tanas, for this nice gift!

Germany

New cover from Germany.

As far as I can understand (my poorest knowledge about German language is the true responsible), this nice and clear cancellation dated 03.10.2008 commemorates the 109th German Philatelic Day.

"Ankunft des ersten Eilwagens in Ohrdruff den 2ten Octbr. 1834".

Courtey of Igor!

Austria

Interesting cover from Austria.

The stamp concerns the winner of "European Football Championship 2008 - Spain - Congatulations!".

We can see on the picture the Spanish captain IKER CASILLAS lifting the coveted trophy.

Thanks a lot, Andreas!

Czech Republic

New nice cover from Czech Republic.

We have a commemorative mini-sheet evoquing JOACHIM BARRANDE (August 11, 1799 Sauges, France - October 5, 1883 Vienna, Austria). French geologist and paleontologist. He was attracted to the fossils from the Lower Palaeozoic rocks of Bohemia.

For ten years (1840 - 1850) he made a detailed study of the rocks of Bohemia collectinf fossils and obtaining upwords of 3.500 species.

He was a fervent advocate of the theory of the catastrophes, thus opposing Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The district of Prag, Barrandov, was named in honnor of the Scieentist on Bebruary 24, 1928.

Thank you very much, Vladimir!

The Philippines

Wonderful FDC "In Memoriam" of Pope John Paul II (May 18, 1920 Wadowice, Poland - April 2, 2005 Apostolic Palace, Vatican City).

The main picture on the cover remembers Pope's visit to Davao City on February 20, 1981.

Thank you very much, Myron!

Australia

Nice cover decorated with "Working Dogs"

Five stamps (50 c each) with beautiful smart dogs, i.e:

- Border Collie, Australian Cattle Dog, Labrador, Beagle and German Shepherd.

Courtesy of Kresimir!

Estonia,

Beautiful FDC on Olympic Games Beijing 2008.

GERD KANTER, (born May 6, 1979 in Tallin Estonia) Olympic Gold Medallist (Discus)

"From the discus final taking place in front of the full house of the Beijing Olympic Stadium on August 19, 2008 Gerd Kanter didn't desapoint Estonian sports fans, sending his discus one meter farther in the fourth round than his main rivals ..."

Thank you very much, Pirjo!

Estonia

Nice commemorative FDC. It concers Kalvi, a city located in Nordern East of Estonia.

Thank you, Pirjo!

Macedonia

Nice FDC from Macedonia.

Stamps with flowers. Pulsatilla halleri (All) on the left and Stachys iva Griseb, on the right.

Courtesy of Goran!

Italy

The stamp in right side reproduces a painting of the eighteenth century Portuguese painter Vieira Lusitano (1699 - 1783), Royal Painter to King John V of Portugal.

This issue celebrates the centennial 8 of the birth of St. Anthony of Lisbon or St. Anthony of Padua (Lisbon, Portugal, 1195 - Padova, Italy, 1231). He is the patron saint of Lisbon and is venerated with equal devotion, both in Italy as in Portugal.

Thank you very much, Lorenzo!

Brazil

Another nice cover from Brazil, country of football, samba and carnival...

And much more: Land of fantastic musicians, beautiful people and the largest Portuguese speaking country.

Three interesting stamps (aviation, nature and football) and two clear round cancellations.

Obrigado, Luiz Alberto!

Luiz Alberto is interested mint stamps with the following topics: Lighthouses, Medicine, Blind, Cosmos (Space). You can have a look at his just new web site http://kalifecollection.blogspot.com

Canada

Nice commemorative First Day Cover just received about Mc. Laughlin Carriage Co. (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada).

Robert Samuel McLaughlin (1871 - 1972) was an importantant businessman, philantropist and founder, in 1907, of the McLaughlin Motor Car Co., one of the first automobile manufactures in Canada.

Courtesy of Leung!

France

Beautiful cover received from France.

Three Masters of Universal Painting show to us 3 magnificent panels:

- Raffaelo Sanzio(1483 - 1520)

- Johannes Vermeer (1632 - 1675)

- Paolo Veronese (1528 - 1588) "Les Noces de Cana" (detail)

Thanks a lot, Bruno!

Ukraine

Nice cover from Ukraine.

This cover remembers 120 years of Esperanto, a constructed language created by L.L. Zamenhof in 1887 to facilitate communication between peoples.

Curiously, any country has adopted this language officially, until now.

Two butterflies (Catocala sponsa L. and Staurophora celcia L.)and a pot lend beauty this envelope.

Thank you, Igor!

Indonesia

Beautiful FDC.

Gastronomy is the main theme of this cover composed by 4 stamps, I suppose corresponding to 4 different traditional dishes.

Thank you, Irene and "good appetite"!

Lithuania

Beautiful FDC just received from Lithuania.

It's a commemorative FDC - August 30, 2008 - to celebrate 400 years from the Appearence of The Virgin Mary in Siluva.

Siluva (known as Samogitia) is a small village, w. about 1,000 inh., located in Western Lithuania.

The devotion to Our Lady of Siluva was surppressed hundreds of years.

Throughout its turbulent history, Siluva has remained the spiritual center of catholic faithful from the whole Lithuania.

Pope John Paul II made a special pilgrimage while visiting Lithuania in 1993.

Thank you very much, Einius!

The Netherlands

Nice DFC received from The Netherlands.

It's dated February 10, 1987. It commemorates 100 Years of Salvation Army (100 Jaar Leger des Heils) and the Year of the Homeless (Jaar van de Daklozen).

Thank you very much, Eric!

The Netherlands

New cover from The Nederlands with a beautiful mini-sheet with 5 different stamps.

It's a recent series issued on June 12, 2008 entittled "MooiNederland".

Really nice!

Thank you, Piet!