Bolivar Plaza in San Felipe, Panama

Panama

Plaza Bolivar

the sender writes:

This is the "Casco Viejo" founded in 1673 in San Felipe, Panama.

A Unesco World Heritage Sight.  

Greetings from Panama, "Crossroads of the World"

This is postmarked in 2010 with three great Panama stamps.

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San Felipe is a small district in Panama City and is often referred to as Casco Antiguo or Casco Viejo.  It is rich in history and is now regarded as a national treasure.  It was originally built around 1673 by the Spanish garrison, the Catholic Church and the settlers.  

Panama Stamp 2002

B/O 0.05

Tesoras Artisticos del Teatro Nacional

(National Theatre artistic treasure)

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Panama Stamp 2001 

B/O 0.05

Palacio de las Garzas

(Herons' Palace - The official name of the presidential palace, named for the numerous herons that inhabit the building.)

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Panama Stamp 2001 

B/O 0.15

Independencia de Panama de Espana

(Panama Independence from Spain)

Norway - Geiranger (Town) Flydalsjuvet (Fjord)

 

Norge. (Norway) Geiranger, Flydalsjuvet.

Foto: Per Eide

postmarked in 2010 with three Norway stamps
(one is Fjernsynet 50 ar (50 Years of Television)

the sender writes:

I hope you like this card from one of our famous fjords.  I've been here myself, it's an amazing sight.

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Geiranger is a small tourist village in the western part of Norway. It is home to some of the most spectacular scenery in the world, and has been named the best travel destination in Scandinavia by Lonely Planet. Since 2005, the Geiranger fjord has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The third biggest cruise ship port receives 140 to 180 ships during the four-month tourist season. Several hundred thousand people pass through every summer.  Tourism is the main business for the 250 people who live there permanently. The tourist season stretches from May to early September; in the off-season the pace and activity are reduced to that of a normal small Norwegian town.

Each year in June, the Geiranger - From Fjord to Summit event occurs. It comprises a half marathon run and a bicycle race, both starting from the sea level at the fjord and ending at the 1,497 metres (4,911 ft) summit of Mount Dalsnibba, near the lake Djupvatnet. Since there is still a lot of snow left in the mountains at that time of year, the race could also be called "From Summer to Winter".

 

Villa Borghese, Gardens, in Rome, Italy

Roma  (Rome)

Villa Borghese - Little lake

postmarked in 1955 with an Italy stamp

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Villa Borghese is a large landscape garden in the naturalistic English manner in Rome, containing a number of buildings, museums and attractions. It is the second largest public park in Rome (80 hectares or 148 acres) after that of the Villa Doria Pamphili. 

The gardens were developed for the Villa Borghese Pinciana and built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio, who used it as a party villa, at the edge of Rome, and to house his art collection. The gardens as they are now were remade in the early nineteenth century.

University of Phoenix Stadium, Arizona Cardinals

University of Phoenix Stadium

Glendale, Arizona

The 63,500-seat home of the Arizona Cardinals has been named the University of Phoenix Stadium. This is the first time a National Football League venue has been named after an educational institution.

Photo Robert Silberblatt

unused, given to me in 2010

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The stadium features the first fully retractable natural grass playing surface built in the United States on top of an AirField Systems synthetic drainage system. An opening on one side of the stadium allows the playing field to move to the exterior of the building, allowing the entire natural turf playing surface to be exposed to daylight when it is not in use and also allowing the floor to be used for other purposes without damaging the playing surface.

The University of Phoenix, a for-profit university specializing in adult education, acquired the naming rights in September 2006, shortly after the stadium had opened under the name Cardinals Stadium. The "University of Phoenix" name is applied as a corporate sponsor, and not as the home stadium of the University (which has no intercollegiate athletics program).

Wall Art of the Berlin Wall

Eine Karte aus dem ADMOS - postkartenbuch "Mauerkunst"
Foto: Erhard Pansegrau

the sender translates:
A card from the ADMOS postcard book "Wall Art"
Photo: Erhard Pansegrau

Postmarked in 2010 with a Germany 100 flower stamp

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On November 9, 2009, Berlin celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Numerous events took place around the city including the restoration of the East Side Gallery - a 1.3km long section of the wall located along the bank of the Spree River. Initially created in 1989/1990, the wall is a memorial for freedom and is thought to be the largest open air gallery in the world, containing about 106 paintings by artists from all over the world.

Over the last 2 decades, time, weather, pollution, and vandals have taken their toll and the wall has been crumbling and the paint peeling and fading. Since early 2009, almost 90 artists have worked to repaint their original creations, restoring it to it’s former glory.

The artists “have conveyed a second time their genuine euphoria from 1990,” said Kani Alavi, who heads the East Side Gallery Artists’ Association and was a driving force behind the restoration. “Twenty years after the fall of the wall, the East Side Gallery stands for democracy and human rights”.

The wall is a popular tourist attraction and the Berlin City Government contributed more than 2 million euros to help fund the restoration.

(The above postcard is a picture on that wall)

The Wreck of the Chikuzen, British Virgin Islands

Wreck of the Chikuzen

British Virgin Islands

This 223 foot long, Korean refrigerator ship was built in 1960.  On August 11, 1981, word was received that a storm was coming.  Because of engine failure, the owners tried to scuttle the ship.  Even after being set on fire, the ship wouldn't sink.  Finally a tug boat towed her about seven miles north of Tortola, where she sank.  Huge schools of fish are her colorful local inhabitants.

Photos Jim Scheiner / Rainbow Visions

postmarked with a British Virgin Island, World Cup Champion 35 stamp

The Weather in Iceland

Three out of four sheep agree: in Iceland we have weather.

Storhofoi, Heimaey Island,
Vestmannaeyjar (Vestmann Islands),
off the south coast,
Icelandic sheep (Ovis aries)
Icelandic name: kindur

posmtarked in 2009 with an Island (Iceland) Christmas stamp

The sender writes:
I could not agree more with the saying on this card. The weather is like this. If you don't like the weather in Iceland, just wait 5 minutes!

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Vestmannaeyjar -

Small group of islands off the south coast of Iceland. The volcanic island of Surtsey emerged from the ocean in 1963, and in 1973 the volcano Helgafell erupted, causing the population of 5,200 to be temporarily evacuated and adding 2.5 sq km/1 sq mi to the islands' area. The eruption created the volcanic cone of Eldfell. Heimaey, the largest of the islands, is one of Iceland's chief fishing ports.



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Click on the 'Iceland' tag below to see a card of the 1973 Volcano!!

Douglas C-47 Gooney Birds Airplanes

World War II - 117

Douglas C-47 Gooney Birds

Skytrain, Skytrooper, Dakota, and "Gooney Bird" were just some of the military names given the military version of the civilian Douglas DC-3.

postmarked in 2010 with a 28 cent stamp

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Several C-47 variations were used in the Vietnam War by the United States Air Force, including three advanced electronic warfare variations which were sometimes called "Electric Gooneys".  There was also a gunship variation, designated AC-47 "Spooky" often nicknamed "Puff the Magic Dragon".

Arkansas Puzzle Postcard

This postcard is an actual puzzle.

Arkansas USA 20 cents
The Mocking bird and Apple Blossom are the State bird and flower depicted in this 1982 commemorative stamp. This series includes the State bird and flower from all fifty states

the back reads:
To Open Puzzle: Score on perforation lines, Pull off on perforated lines, Puzzle removes easily for your entertainment

This postcard is unused.

Assen, Drenthe, The Netherlands, with Pakistan stamp attached!

Groeten uit Assen (Greetings from Assen)

postmarked in 2010 with a 95 Netherlands stamp, and a surprise stamp attached to the bottom left corner so there is no postmarks on it!!!  - 

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Assen is a municipality and a city in the north eastern Netherlands, capital of the province of Drenthe. It received city rights in 1809.

The TT Circuit Assen is one of the most famous motorcycle racing circuits in the world and is the only circuit that has been in the MotoGP calendar since its beginnings in 1949. It is also regarded as the Cathedral of Motorcycle Racing.

In November of each year Assen becomes the centre of international attention for the world of Ballroom and Latin American dancers when the city hosts the Assen Dance Festival which includes the "Dutch Open Championships". 

Assen is also the capital of the "Cycling Province" of the Netherlands, Drenthe. There are many high quality cycle paths in the city and surroundings and it is host to regular cycling events such as the Drentse fietsvierdaagse and the Jeugdtour.

Ruins of Antigua, Guatemala

Ruinas de Antigua

Ruins of Antigua

Guatemala, C.A.

postmarked in 1973 with a Guatemala Eleanor Roosevelt stamp 

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La Antigua Guatemala (commonly referred to as just Antigua) is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala famous for a number of spectacular ruins of colonial churches. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

National Hotel, Havana, Cuba

Habana: Hotel Nacional
Havana: National Hotel

This postcard is unused.

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This hotel was refurbished in the late 1950's and is still open today.  Some of the famous who have stayed here are: Buster Keaton, Tyrone Power,  Errol Flyn, Marlon Brando, Winston Churchill and the famous Ernest Hemingway, who donated a blue fish specimen to the “Sirena” bar.

Kennedy Space Center, Postcards with Bookmarks attached

The brilliant exhaust from the solid rocket boosters and blue mach diamonds from the main engine nozzles mark the perfect launch of space Shuttle Atlantis.

Apollo 11 Launch

The Apollo 11 space vehicle rises to clear the launch tower at Kennedy Space Center's pad 39A. Liftoff occurred at 9:32 a.m. EDT, July 16, 1969. Crewmen Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. are speeding toward lunar orbit, from where Armstrong and Aldrin will attempt the first manned lunar landing.

For both cards:

Kennedy Space Center

Visitor Complex

Photo courtesy of NASA

This unused postcard was bought in 2010.

The bookmark is where you add the stamp, and when the receiver gets the postcard in the mail, they separate the bookmark from the card using the perforated lines. Brilliant!