post

 

For the second time in less than a year the postal workers stopped working, but they are back now (on rotating strikes, but so far not in my area) so I've gotten back into checking my mailbox every day and sending cards through Postcrossing.

Our vans are a little different - less boxy - than these ones from the early 1990s, (same colours)

 

a couple of interesting and very different postboxes both from 2011

day 16 of NaBloPoMo

belgium

 architecture

so much choice

 

chocolate, chips, mussels, and beer from Belgium

and so much ice cream, pies, cakes, muffins, and cookies from Belarus

king of the belgians

 

a 1977 stamp of King Baudouin, also known as Boudewijn (Flemish name) and Balduin (German name) who reigned from 1951 until his death at age 63 in 1993.  As the fifth King of the Belgians, he was much more popular than his father, Leopold III.

nature

In 1986, the theme was Nature Conservation

this wee bird is singing over the noise of the city

In 1965, the participating countries were still using the same design, in this case "tree spring"

the font and the bud shaped CEPT is very much of its time

shades of soft (not Barbie) pink for Europa stamps

lost river

 

Place de Brouckère has some of the city's most important entertainment venues. It was completed around 1870, after the River Senne was covered over.

st gudula

 

Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudule, the patron saints of Brussels

Brabantine Gothic architecture

katjes

kittens and bier

CATURDAY

blvd du jardin

The Boulevard du Jardin Botanique has undergone many transformations since its inception in 1819.

houses of god

First up is a wooden church built in 1765. The Lutheran church is popular for summer weddings

 

Next is this Catholic Cathedral of Djibouti built in the 1965.  

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Good Shepherd  1969

 

Going way back in time, the Benedictine Affligem Abbey  was dedicated in 1086

three very different styles of houses of worship through the ages for Sunday Stamps

letters spelling words

 Brody Neuenschwander designed this Flemish and French "write each other" stamp in 2012

These older Europa stamps were the same for each country. Not nearly as inspiring as the themed ones of today, though I do like the way they incorporated the EUROPA into the design. It has a timeless quality.

 

 

However, this one from just a couple of years later, in 1971, is very much of its time. The geometric font spells out BC

some letters and words for Sunday Stamps

colourful

marche

an 1890s view of Marche St Gery which was prosperous until WWII. It finally closed in 1977, but has now been repurposed as an exhibition and event centre.

carpet

Every two years, Belgium lets loose with the begonias and creates a carpet for the Grand Place in Brussels. This one is from 2004. Each carpet is made from over a million flowers and is put together by volunteers from all over Belgium.

Sunday Stamps - T

A Portrait of a Man in a Turban. Or a self portrait of Jan Van  Eyck.

Painted around 1433, it has been hanging in The National Gallery of London since 1851. The stamp was issued in 1996 for the Belgian Art Abroad series.

This rather messy turban is also called a chaperon, though that translates more as a hood (Little Red Riding Hood is known as Le Petit Chaperon Rouge). If this is a self portrait, I want to know how he managed to paint without it falling off or coming unravelled.

for the letter T - turban

atomium

This is a brilliant rerendering of Brussels' famous Atomium for a Postcrossing meetup card.

Sunday Stamps II - 50

2012, Belgium  "write me"

designed by Brody Neuenschwander, Hindi script by Dharmesh Jadeja

One of a series of Calligraphy stamps issued in 2012. The others in the set were written in Arabic, Latin, Chinese and Greek. On each stamp is written "write to each other" or "write me" - in Hindi "Ek Dusre ko Likhan"

The Belgian Coast

Soldatenfriedhof

Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof in Lommel, Belgium
sent May 19th 1968, writing indecipherable and in German