Castles and Towers

 

2017: Europa - Castles (Designer - Antonio Ciuffrido)

This tiny republic is known for its hill top castles and mountain views but the choice of the Towers of San Marino for the Europa theme of Castles probably did not need much thinking about because of their significance (they appear on the county's flag).  The stamp shows the first tower, named Guita, which is the major and most ancient of the three dating back to the 11th Century.  Apparently if one goes sightseeing to Guita then one takes the narrow passage Passo della Streghe (Passage of the Witches) to 

2017: Europa - Castles (Designer - Antonio Ciuffrida)

the Second Tower, Cesta, which is located on the highest summit of the three peaks of Monte Titano (Mount Titan) which overlooks the city of San Marino. Since 1956 it has housed the Museum of Ancient Arms but its selling point I think will be the view from the top of Adriatic Rimini, Ravenna and Ancona and of course the Apennine mountains.  The smallest tower, Montale, did not feature on the stamps.  I could not decide if these stamps are of summer or autumn but there is no doubt about the next stamp

its winter.  This is the only castle in Åland so an obvious, and rather beautiful, choice for  Åland Post.

2017: Europa - Castles (Photographer Niclas Nordlund)

This is Kastelholm which was built as a defensive fortress in the 1300s but its glory days were in the 1500s when it was developed into a castle.  Gustav I of Sweden liked it so much he spent several months there during the hunting season.  Following a fire in 1745 it fell into ruins for 120 years but went through an extensive restoration from 1982-2001 and is now a tourist attraction.

A full value FDC with a another wintry view on the back.

2009: 'Smilers': Castles of England

Back on home ground for me here.  The medieval Warwick Castle is situated on a meander of the River Avon and I have been here, but only to picnic on a grassy knoll outside on a very hot summer's day, breaking a journey back home from a holiday in Suffolk, which coincidentally is the location of Orford Castle on the other stamp.  I've been to Orford Castle (famous for its polygonal shape) at least on two occasions over the years, once inside and up to the top to enjoy the views and once while doing a circular walk of Orford Ness, my photo shows the polygon shape clearer I suggest.

I'll finish with a revisit to Kastelholm which I liked so much I also have a postcard, yes I binged on this winter view. The photographer says he had a "two hour wait at Slottsundet Bay - the clouds cleared and the currents subsided for a few seconds leaving the bay bright as a mirror, I succeeded shooting the photo I had planned."  Taken on 4 January 2016

Sunday Stamps II theme this week is - Towers/Castles/Fortresses - See It On A Postcard

Bridges

2018; Europa - Bridges (Design - Vitaliu Pogolsa)

A wooden bridge spanning the Raut River, a tributary of the more famous Dniester River. I liked the description of it as a 'wooden flying bridge' and it seems to be inviting us to take the first step and walk across. 

Just get out of the way on this bridge as the train thunders towards us. This is the Eiffel Bridge at Ungheni, a strategic railway bridge over the River Prut, on the border between Moldova and Romania.  The bridge was completed in 1877 just before the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-88 broke out in the region.  Gustave Eiffel's metal construction company built bridges all over the world but it is said his  favourite creations were railway bridges.  The stamp shows the bridge to dramatic effect but I must admit that the actual bridge looks rather more low key

unlike Ungheni Railway Station which is a beauty.  For the railway enthusiasts it is where narrow and broad gauge meet.

2018: Europa - Bridges (Design - Sergio Ruggeri)

Another railway bridge but the colours and the jaunty blue and white train puts me in a holiday mood. This is the Valdragone Railway Bridge with the towers of San Marino in the background. The electric train used to run from Rimini to San Marino city centre from 1933 to 1944 but today there is no operational railway.

1984: Europa

The 1984 Europa stamp was a return of the common design to celebrate 25 years of CEPT and this bridge design will be familiar to us all.  Happily for something different it is on a Maximum Card showing the Luxembourg Viaduct, known locally as simply The Paserelle or sometimes The Old Bridge and runs south of the city centre.  The viaduct was built between 1859-61 to link the city's railway station but located away from the centre so as not to detract from the defensive capabilities of the city's fortress.

2018: Europa - Bridges

Next we have a bridge in the mist, clouds and snow of Norway.  The Commemorative sheet shows Hardanger Bridge and the construction workers on the walkway of the bridge suspension cables. Faintly in the background of the sheet can be seen the construction drawings.  This photograph gave rise to an alternative name on social media of the Sky Bridge.   It is the largest suspension bridge in Norway (1,380m or 4527ft).  The towers are 200 meters above sea level and the main span is the longest suspension span in the world, longer than the Golden Gate Bridge.  From the middle of the bridge shown on the stamp I learn there are great photographs to be had of the fjord.   

1976: Australian Scenes (Design - O Borchert)

Lastly something I always enjoy, a bridge reflected in water. The Richmond Bridge in Tasmania is the oldest span bridge in Australia (1823) and is on their Nation Heritage listing and can be found on the B51 - the "Convict Trail", which as the name implies was built by convict labour.  Here it is featured at the blog 'On the Convict Trail'.

Cattawade Bridge, Suffolk

Sunday Stamps II theme this week is - Bridges - for more cross over to See It On A Postcard.  

Harvest

1999: Millennium - The Farmer's Tale

The sun shines down in this aerial view at harvest time and the stamp shows a combine harvester busily working the field.  The stamp tells another story which is of satellite agriculture

January 1967: Increase the Rice Harvest 1966 (Design - Muy Khánh)

something that was not dreamed of when this North Vietnamese stamp was issued.

1954: Fruit - National Agricultural Fair (Design - Z Nagy; Engraver - E Horvath)

As a lover of apples this is always a good time of year for me when the new season apples arrive in the shops.

1958: Fruits (Design - D Franzioni)

These grapes look ripe for harvest although for the wine one would have to travel to San Marino as they export a minuscule amount.

1993: The Four Seasons - Autumn (Design - Charlotte Knox)

Time to harvest some hazel nuts, well perhaps see if you can get there before the squirrels.

1974: Huxian Peasant Paintings (Design  - Wu Jiankun)

I think this harvest may be corn cobs with cotton drying in the background but the stamp gives no clue as it is called the 'Great Harvest' and I must admit that sure is a bumper harvest.

Time to take a break with the farmers of Huxian.

Wheat stooks in Suffolk

Sunday Stamps II theme this week is - Harvest - gather in on See It On A Postcard

Letter Post

West Berlin issued its own stamps from 1948 until German reunification and in 42 years they issued 800 stamps, this set was the last one issued in 1990 on the theme of Posts and Telecommunications.  Happily each stamp is marked with what it is so  first we have Railway Mail in 1900 with the distinctive green mail vans. The letters were sorted on board and had a special oval cancellation with train number, route and date. Next are telecommunications in 1900.  I wonder, are that man's arms out to catch the workers if they fall off as they precariously hang on the lines. 

The stamps of West Berlin could also be used in West Germany and the separation of the postal systems was only symbolic and indeed they used the same post code system. The stamp shows a mail van being loaded in 1930.

Another small stamp issuing entity is the 61 square kilometres of San Marino, possibly the world's oldest republic. They issued two stamps for the 2013 Europa Postman's Van theme designed by  the artist Stafano Morri, I love how the letters are stacked up in the car.  It is a vehicle from the beginning of the 20th Century parked in front of the city of Porta San Franceso

Next is a classic VW van of the 1950s in the colours of the San Marino flag loading its large letter in front of the Parva Domus, which is near where mail used to be sorted.

 

The large letter theme is continued in this Romanian issue of the winged par avion bi-plane zooming over the countryside and someone delivering a letter from his penny farthing with a horse and cart in the background. The sheet was designed by the artist Victor Telibassa

Our jolly postman waves an air mail letter from his van as imagined by Aleksandra Ubukala in this Polish issue for the 2013 Europa theme.  I like the little sketch on the sheet's margin.

2013: Europa Postman's Van

And lastly a happy postman makes his way up a Swiss mountain road on his Electric Trike Kyburz DXP as shown on this Maximum card, fully loaded and letters and postcards stacked for delivery.

An entry to Viridian Postcard's Sunday Stamps theme of - Letters, Postcards and The Post here