Going here and there by snail mail

I am really behind on posting all the wonderful

postcards I received, so here is a selection.

 Belgium

A view on the Vismarkt and

the St. Rumbold's Cathedral

Sri Lanka

Gal Vihara, shown on the card are 

the standing and reclining images of Buddha.

And last but not least, 

some beautiful illustrations from Seattle, USA

Cityscape

The Space Needle

Stamps, what else?

These are all Belgian stamps! 

"De Groote Oorlog" 

(The Great War)

set of 5, 2018

Celebration of the reopening 

of the AfricaMuseum

set of 4, 2018

From left to right:

 "sixty roses for a Queen by Pierre-Joseph_Redouté"

1989

"Transport and Communications" Europa

1988

"American Revolution Bicentennial 1776-1976"

1976

"100 anniversary of the Belgian Labor Party"

1985

"150 years Rekenhof"

1981

I usually write separate posts for 

Christmas stamps, but I decided 

to combine them this time to create
an "all Belgian" post. 

For standard sized mail within Europe

2018

For national mail

top left: 2005

top right: Jubilaeum AD 2000

(bottom left: Eurasian Teal, 2007)

bottom right: 1999

Religious buildings and a surprise!

This post is a religious one, enjoy! 

Chartres, France

Chartres Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres, is a Roman Catholic church. Mostly constructed between 1194 and 1220, it stands at the site of at least five cathedrals that have occupied the site since Chartres became a bishopric in the 4th century. It is in the Gothic and Romanesque styles.

The cathedral has been well preserved. The majority of the original stained glass windows survive intact, while the architecture has seen only minor changes since the early 13th century. 

Since at least the 12th century the cathedral has been an important destination for a large number of Christian pilgrims, many of whom come to venerate its famous relic, the Sancta Camisa, said to be the tunic worn by the Virgin Mary at Christ's birth.

Vilnius, Lithuania

St. Anne's Church is a Roman Catholic church in Vilnius' Old Town, on the right bank of the Vilnia River established circa 1495-1500. It is an important example of both Flamboyant Gothic and Brick Gothic styles. As a prominent landmark in the Old Town of Vilnius, it enabled the district to be included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. 

The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul is a Roman Catholic church located in the Antakalnis neighbourhood of Vilnius, Lithuania. It is the centerpiece of a former monastery complex of the Canons Regular of the Lateran. Its interior has masterful compositions of some 2,000 stucco figures by Giovanni Pietro Perti and ornamentation by Giovanni Maria Galli and is unique in Europe. The church is considered a masterpiece of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Baroque.

Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Waver, Belgium

From the "Wintertuin" website: 

We have no idea what prompted the Ursuline nuns in Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Waver to make the rather bold decision to build this truly magnificent Art Nouveau building. After all, this style was considered hyper-modern in 1900. And yet, this enchanting Winter Garden with its colourful stained glass cupola was considered the most stunning feature of their boarding school, for young girls from good families. What’s even more intriguing is that nobody knows who designed the Winter Garden. And yet the architect’s design skills are unparalleled.

The Winter Garden is part of a magnificent listed complex, which is a stunning mix of architectural styles including Art Nouveau with neo-Gothic elements, neo-Empire style and Art Deco. It’s as if you have stepped into a different world. Names like the Empire Corridor, the Alpine Room, the La Fontaine refectory, the Piano Gallery and the Grand Staircase will spark your imagination.

Postcrossing meeting cards

Just a bunch of meeting cards I want to share. 

Some you probably saw on my blog already, 

but I just got these, all in one envelope, 

from the same person. (Except for the last one,

that one came on its own.)

Some members of the Royal family from Belgium

A new post already! But then again,

I don't receive four cards with 

Belgian royals every day. 

King Boudewijn and queen Fabiola. 

They had no children, so when king Boudewijn

passed away unexpectedly, the king's brother,

King Albert II

and his wife, queen Paola took the throne.

 This is their only daughter (they have two sons)

Princess Astrid 

and her husband, archduke Lorenz.

With three of their children, 

prince Amedeo, prince Joachim and princess Maria Laura.

They have five children, the youngest born in 2003.

King Albert II gave up the throne in favor of his son,

king Filip in 2013.

Swaps and meeting cards

I am more into swapping postcards than sending them

through the official Postcrossing system lately, 

and I seem to have a bit of a theme going on. 

Can you guess what it is? 

Isn't this a cutie? 

 Beautiful, traditional Chinese themes

I love these stamps, but I am having some trouble

finding more information about them. 

Help is always welcomed. 

 I got a lot of meeting postcards lately! 

Two more to add to my growing collection, 

the first from Charleroi, Belgium

Left:

Eurasian hoopoe

Right:

Eurasian oystercatcher

And the second from Lisbon, Portugal

The thing that excited me the most about this card

was the cancellation mark. A special Postcrossing

mark for the meeting! 

Battle of the Lys (1918)

2018

This nice postcard from Prague, Czech Republic was 

sent to me through a project 

to write and receive a postcard from a child.

I love this type of projects, where children

are learning about and through the mail. 

 Franz Kafka

2013

This postcard was sent to me by a friend from her 

vacation in Uelsen, Germany

Stamps, what else?

These are all stamps I received on my mail. 

Belgium

Right:

Youth philately 

1999

Left:

Claude Lévi-Strauss

And middle:

"Alternative energy"

2001

China

More information on these stamps is very welcome!

Germany

The ancient oak, Quercus robur, known as the chimney oak because it is hollow, grows in the Reinhardswald in Hessen. It is honored on a stamp as part of the set of two for the series "Wilderness Germany".

2017

I love the flower stamps Germany issues, 

but I don't know much about them. 

Information is always welcome. 

Right:

Falkenlust Palaces

2018

I usually do separate posts for my Christmas stamps, 

but these beauties arrived out of season.

And I just have to show them.

 From Italy

2017

Malaysia

2016

Romania

George Constantinescu

2016

I got two Postcrossing stamps for you in this blog, 

the first one comes from Austria (2016)! 

  

The second comes from the Netherlands (2011)!

 I think this one probably already made it to my blog, 

but it doesn't hurt to show it again.

Top:

Hoge Veluwe National Park

set of 4, 2004

Bottom:

"occasion stamps"

2015

USA

Right:

Main Quad (Stanford University)

1990

Top:

With this new U.S. Flag stamp, the Postal Service continues its tradition of celebrating patriotism with one of the most recognizable symbols of the United States. The flag, in various forms has been pictured on U.S. stamps going as far back as the 30 cents 1869 Pictorial issue. In the modern era, the U.S. Postal Service makes sure that a Flag stamp is always available to mailers, and in a variety of formats. This stamp's design features a detail from a photograph of the billowing Stars and Stripes.

2017

Bottom:

Originally issued in 2016 in a coil format, Pears, a 10-cent definitive stamp featuring two red pears on a white background, is being offered in 2017, in panes of 20. The two most common red pears grown in the United States are the red Anjou, similar to green Anjous in all respects other than color; and red Bartlett pears, referred to as "Summer Pears" for the time of year in which they are harvested.

Originally issued in 2016 in a coil format, Grapes, a 5-cent definitive stamp featuring two clusters of deep-purple Pinot noir grapes growing on vines among several green leaves, is being offered in 2017, in panes of 20.

Identified as a French wine grape, it is now grown in other regions including Oregon and California in the United States. Translated from the French, "pinot" is "pine", for the pine-cone shaped clusters in which the grapes grow, and "noir" is "black".

The stamp art is an existing illustration by John Burgoyne, who created the original artwork with pen and ink and watercolor.