Youth and Entrepreneurship in Algeria

This stamp was issued at the end of 2023. Algeria is encouraging young people to engage in the field of business leadership and entrepreneurship by providing things like financial and legal assistance. This stamp was issued to raise awareness of that initiative.

Brazil: Diplomatic Relations with Argentina

A cover with Brazilian stamps featuring Argentinian comic strip character Mafalda; a middle-class progressive six year old who continuously expresses concern about humanity and world peace. The comic strip was published between 1964 and 1973.

The Fashion Industry in Brazil

A set of 2020 stamps from Brazil highlighting the fashion industry. From left to right: Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen, designs by Brazilian fashion artist Filipe Jardim and a camera owned by Brazilian photographer Bob Wolfenson.

Hong Kong Post Headquarters

This stamp sheet from Hong Kong is from a 2023 set that shows images of the post office headquarters in Hong Kong over the years. The stamp on this sheet shows the most recent building opened in 2023 at Kowloon Bay.

Åland, Year of the Dragon

Posted from Åland's capital Mariehamn. On the front of this cover is a colourful Year of the Dragon sheet issued 2023. Additional postage is on the back: Year of the Rat stamps from 2019 featuring harvest mice and a Year of the Rabbit stamp from 2022.

The Charming Town of Ponte Maceira, Spain

This is from the municipality of Vila-seca in the Spanish province of Tarragona. The larger stamp sheet shows the town of Ponte Maceira in the municipality of A Coruña. This stamp is actually a pane from a  2023 stamp booklet from the Charming Town series. Also on the cover is a 2016 stamp commemorating the 125th anniversary of the first philatelic exhibition in Barcelona, and a 2023 Christmas stamp featuring Christmas sweets.

Zugspitze, Germany

Sent from Zugspitze: the highest peak in the Wetterstein Mountains and the highest peak in Germany. There are cable cars running from Germany and Austria that can take you to the observation platforms and restaurant near the peak. Or you can take the cog train that terminates at a station on a small plateau on the mountain (Zugspitzplatt) just south of the peak to access the ski resort and the Zugspitze post office.

Troll Station, Norway

Troll is Norway's only year-round Antarctic research station. It is only a few kilometers from the Troll Airfield which means mail get get to and from the base via Capetown very quickly during staff change-over at the beginning of the season. And I guess that's why this got back to be so fast. But no postmark? I was expecting a Tromsø postmark, assuming it would be returned to the Norwegian Polar Institute in Tromsø. Maybe that's not the case. 

Vaduz, Liechtenstein

The stamp pair is from a set about cultivated lands in Liechtenstein. And being such a tiny country means there isn't very much of it. The panorama on this particular stamp pair shows the "Global Field" in Vaduz.  It's maintained to help promote agricultural awareness. Unique food crops are grown here for markets. And it is also used as a sort of educational area, demonstrating how much land it takes to feed a single human. This field is 12,000 square meters. Just enough to support three people. 

Dumont d'Urville Station, TAAF

Sent from the French Antarctic research station Dumont d'Urville in Adélie Land. Would have been nice to see the handstamps on the back placed on the front instead. Oh well. Not exactly sure why I used a pink envelope. The stamp on the left was from a sheet of two titled "The Great Glaciological Raids". And the stamp on the right shows shaped and polished Arfvedsonite.

Bhubaneswar, India

From the city of Bhubaneswar in the eastern state of Odisha. The 2020 stamp on the left commemorates the 150th birth anniversary of Ghandi. The stamp sheet on the left commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Constitution of India.

Skálhøvdi Promontory, Faroe Islands

Postmarked at the post office in the Faroese capital of Tórshavn. The stamps from 2023 show off the Skálhøvdi promontory: a rocky ridge that juts out into the ocean on the eastern shore of the island of Sandoy, separating the villages of Skálavík and Húsavík.

Vadodara, India

I'm pretty sure this is from the city of Vadodara. That stamp on the left is a 2007 rose stamp that still smells like roses. Literally. And on the right is a 2022 joint issue with the UAE commemorating 50 years since the formation of the UAE and 75 years of Indian independence.

Railway Services in Hong Kong

Postmarked in the Hong Kong town of Ma On Shan. A pair of 2014 definitive stamps on the left. On the right is a stamp from a recent stamp set about the development of railway services in Hong Kong. This particular stamp depicts a Chinese Q-train that runs on the Kwun Tong Line.