China: Wuhou Memorial Temple at Nanyang

The Wuhou Memorial Temple in Nanyang City of Henan Province is an ancestral temple dedicated to Zhuge Liang, the most brilliant official and military strategist of the storied Three Kingdoms period (220-280) in ancient China. The memorial temple, first built during the Wei and Jin dynasties (220-420), lies on the Wolong Hill where Zhuge Liang once lived, farming by day and studying at night. It is a historical and cultural site protected at the national level and is a national AAAA scenic spot. There are more than 260 halls, pavilions and rooms in the memorial temple.

 Stamps:
 Network of Life (three of four) , issued on 2014-04-20
Enviromental protection: Mining resource utilisation and management, issued on 2002-02-01

Thank You very much Fengchun!

The 300th Anniversary of the Birth of Zheng Banqiao

We have received nice Chinese maximum card from Canada!

Maximum card  is from series The 300th Anniversary of the Birth of Zheng Banqiao, stamp is An Album of Cymbidium, issued on 1993-11-22.

Zheng Xie (1693–1765), commonly known as Zheng Banqiao was a Chinese painter from Jiangsu. He began life in poverty, but rose in the exam system to become a magistrate at Shandong. However, after 12 years, he became critical of the life of an official as he refused to ingratiate himself with senior officials. When he was reportedly criticized for building a shelter for the poor, he resigned. After that, he expressed himself in art and became one of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou.

Stamp on backside is Black History - Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013 , issued on 2015-01-30

Thank You Tina!

Belgium: Manneken Pis & Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula

Manneken Pis  is a landmark small bronze sculpture in Brussels, depicting a naked little boy urinating into a fountain's basin. It was designed by Hiëronymus Duquesnoy the Elder and put in place in 1618 or 1619.The figure has been repeatedly stolen: the current statue dates from 1965. The original restored version is kept at the Maison du Roi/Broodhuis on the Grand Place.

The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula is a Roman Catholic church in Brussels, Belgium. A chapel dedicated to St. Michael was probably built on the Treurenberg hill as early as the 9th century. In the 11th century it was replaced by a Romanesque church. In 1047, Lambert II, Count of Leuven founded a chapter in this church and organized the transportation of the relics of the martyr St. Gudula, housed before then in Saint Gaugericus Church on Saint-Géry Island. The patron saints of the church, St. Michael and St. Gudula, are also the patron saints of the city of Brussels.


Thank You Tajana!

Cover from USA

We have received another fine cover from USA, and it's mostly filled with adorable Minions stuff!

 Minion bookmark

stickers

Bandages! This is unusual.

And more Minions stickers

Awesome creepy 3D card!

Star Wars stickers! Can't wait to see newest movie :)

And this is complete set Charlie Brown Christmas

issue date 2015-10-01

Backside

Stamps on cover:

Wildlife Conservation: Alligator, issued on 1971-06-12
Vintage tulip, issued on 2015-02-14
Coastal Birds: Frigatebird, issued on 2015-06-01
Coastal Birds: Red Knot - coil, issued on 2015-06-01
Charlie Brown Christmas: Charlie Brown and Pigpen, issued on 2015-10-01
Charlie Brown Christmas: Charlie Brown and Linus by a wall, issued on 2015-10-01
Help Find Missing Children - Forget-Me-Not Flowers, issued on 1971-06-12
Hot Rods: Black "Deuce" coupe, issued on 2014-06-06
Pioneers of American Industrial Design - Gilbert Rohde: Electric Clock, issued on 2011-06-29
American Design: Silver Coffeepot, issued on 2007-03-16
Pomegranate (punica granatum), issued on 2008-04-25
Farmers Market: Herbs, issued on 2014-08-07

Thank you very much Charlotte!

Serbia: European water polo championship 2016

European water polo championship 2016 - surcharge stamp, issued on 2015-10-26.

The 2016 Men's European Water Polo Championship will be held in Belgrade, Serbia. For the first time, the tournament will be contested by 16 countries (12 previously):  Serbia, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Croatia, Greece, Spain, Romania, Georgia, France, Slovakia, Germany, Malta, Russia and Turkey.

Finland: Santa Claus Village - Rovaniemi, Lapland

This is home of Santa Claus! Rovaniemi is considered the official home town of Santa Claus, and is home to the Santa Claus Village at the Arctic Circle and Santa Park, which is located 8 km north of the centre.

Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated about 10 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the river Kemijoki and its tributary, the Ounasjoki.

What a beautiful postmark! And this very nice matching Christmas stamps are Santa Claus and Rudolph the Reindeer, both issued on 2010-11-05.


Thank You very much Nina!

Ukraine: Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks

Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks depicts a supposedly historical tableau, set in 1676, and based on the legend of Cossacks sending a reply to an ultimatum of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed IV. The original reply has not survived; however, in the 1870s an amateur ethnographer from Yekaterinoslav, Novitsky, found a copy made in the 18th century.

The Cossacks of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, inhabiting the lands around the lower Dnieper River in Ukraine, had defeated Ottoman Empire forces in battle. However, Mehmed demanded that the Cossacks submit to Turkish rule. The Cossacks, led by Ivan Sirko, replied in an uncharacteristic manner: they wrote a letter, replete with insults and profanities.

This awesome stamp is Postcrossing, issued on 2015-10-09. There is also first day of issue postmark.


Thank You very much Lisa!

Germany: Lichtenau

Lichtenau is a municipality in the district of Paderborn, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Lichtenau is situated on the western slope of the Eggegebirge, approx. 15 km south-east of Paderborn.

Stamps:

Tagetes, issued on 2005-07-07
Treasures of German Museums, issued on 2015-10-01

Thank You Matthias!

Germany: Frauenkirche in Nürnberg

The Frauenkirche is a church in Nuremberg, Germany. It stands on the eastern side of the main market. An example of brick Gothic architecture, it was built on the initiative of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor between 1352 and 1362. The church contains many sculptures, some of them heavily restored. Numerous works of art from the Middle Ages are kept in the church, such as the so-called Tucher Altar (c. 1440, originally the high altar of the Augustinian church of St. Vitus), and two monuments by Adam Kraft (c. 1498).

Stamps:

Elves Krokus, issued on 2005-08-11
Tulip, issued on 2005-09-08
UNESCO World Heritage Sites: The 1250th Anniversary of Lorsch Abbey, issued on 2014-01-02

Thank You Claudia!

Postcard from Netherlands

I always love to see good photography, and this is very nice example

 

 

Stamps:

Dutch Icons: Amsterdam House, issued on 2014-01-02
King Willem-Alexander, issued on 2015-01-05

Thank You Riet!