Postcrossing

 As mentioned in my why a reluctant philatelist post, I have enjoyed collecting postcards for some time. I particularly am fond of ones with maps - country maps, city, maps, maps of transit systems. 

I recently signed up with Postcrossing, a project that allows participants to exchange postcards with others around the world. The idea is simple: send a postcard, get a postcard.  The project was started in 2005 by Paulo Magalhães. The project now boasts over 800,000 registered members from 209 countries. An astounding 63,774,843 postcards have been received.  Right now I have six postcards traveling and have received six. 

My Postcrossing cards sent from Spain, Connecticut, Prague, Miami, Netherlands, and Germany

Postcrossing has been such a joy. There is something wonderful about selecting, writing, and decorating a card to send off, as well as receiving one. Postcrossers use stamps, stickers, washi tape, and hand-drawn pictures to decorate cards.  Each one is unique and can be its own work of art. 

From a philatelic point of view, Postcrossing provides an added venue for obtaining postal stamps!  

Czech Republic 

My favorite stamp among this lot of three from the Czech Republic is the one on the far left.  It was issued in 2012 and is an example of folk architecture in Dolni Vidim. It depicts a typical timbered house from the whole Kokořín area.  The stamp was designed by Jan Kavan and engraved by Bohumil Šneider.  

Germany (and you can see some of the lovely washi tapes applied as decoration)

My favorite stamp on this card is the 70-ct 2018 "800 Jahre Hansestadt Rostock" (SG DE 4198).  This stamp was issued to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the German city of Rostock.  Designed by Matthias Wittig, a Berlin-based graphic designer.  The image was striking and bold, a mix of the old skyline with the modern shipyard machinery featuring a Van-Goghesque swirl of water.   

Just because I am an academic librarian, I'd like to share a link to the University of Rostock's library.  The library is a stunning piece of architecture. Designed by Henning Larsen, it was built in 2004. I could not locate any public domain or cc:by images to use. So, I encourage you to check out the links.