#82 GF - Torshavn, Faroe Islands

The Norse established their parliament on the Tinganes peninsula in AD 850. Thus, Tórshavn became the Faroe Islands's capital and has remained so ever since. Early on, Tórshavn became the centre of the islands' trade monopoly, thereby being the only legal place for the islanders to sell and buy goods. 

The Tórshavn Jazz Festival has been held annually since 1983. It attracts musicians from North America and Europe and has become a popular tourist event.

EUROPA stamp 1991 - "Space exploration"

 

An airport painting - Ternopil, Ukraine

Ternopil known until 1944 mostly as Tarnopol, is a city in the west of Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret. Ternopil is one of the major cities in Western Ukraine and the historical regions of Galicia and Podolia. Ternopil is a centre for the light industry, food industry, radio-electronic and construction industries. In the Soviet and early post-Soviet period, a harvester plant and a porcelain factory operated in the city.

EUROPA stamp 2020 - "Ancient postal routes"

 

#75 GF - Oost Souburg, The Netherlands

The village was first mentioned in 1162 as Sutburch and used to mean "southern fortified place" because it was the most southern of three defensive structures to defend against the Vikings. Oost (east) was added later to distinguish it from West-Souburg. Oost-Souburg developed around the 9th century walled fortification. The fortification was abandoned in the 10th century.

EUROPA stamp 2018 - "Bridges"

 

F-16C, Krzesiny Military Air Base - Lublin, Poland

The 31st Air Base is a Polish Air Force base and military airport, located in Krzesiny, part of the Nowe Miasto district of Poznań. The base was officially constituted on 31 December 2000, and since then has been the home base for the 3rd Tactical Squadron. It was the first base to host Polish F-16 fighters.

EUROPA stamp 2021 - "Endangered national wildlife"

 

Lucia vine on Big Sur in California - Čatež, Slovenia

The Santa Lucia Highlands AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Monterey County, California. It is part of the larger Monterey AVA and is located in the Santa Lucia Mountains above the Salinas Valley. Over 931 ha of vineyards are planted in the AVA, some as high as 366 m above sea level, with about half of them planted to the Pinot Noir grape. The region enjoys cool morning fog and breezes from Monterey Bay followed by warm afternoons thanks to direct southern exposures to the sun.

EUROPA stamp 2015 - "Old toys"

 

Porto Antonat vintage illustration from 1946 - Lisbon, Portugal

Port wine or simply port, is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties.

EUROPA stamp 2019 - "National birds" (The Azores)

 

Yellow plane - Vilnius, Lithuania

Lynx have a short tail, characteristic tufts of black hair on the tips of their ears, large, padded paws for walking on snow and long whiskers on the face. Under their neck, they have a ruff, which has black bars resembling a bow tie, although this is often not visible.

EUROPA stamp 2021 - "Endangered national wildlife"

 

Colmar - La petite Venise - Saint Louis, France

The city is renowned for its well-preserved old town, its numerous architectural landmarks and its museums, among which is the Unterlinden Museum, which houses the Isenheim Altarpiece. Colmar is located on the Alsatian Wine Route and considers itself to be the capital of Alsatian wine.

EUROPA stamp 2021 - "Endangered national wildlife"

 

Bouquet of flowers - Blagoveshchensk, Russia

In the past, Mongolian and Manchurian influences reached here. The 1689 Treaty of Nerczyn granted the area to the Qing dynasty. Blagoveshchensk was founded in 1856 as a military post after the Russian occupation of the area. In 1858, the region of Russia was granted, and Tsar Alexander II granted the settlement city rights.

EUROPA stamp 2008 - "Writting letters"

EUROPA stamp 2009 - "Astronomy"

 

Pug - Tampere, Finland

Tampere is known for its active cultural life. Some of the most popular writers in Finland, such as Väinö Linna, Kalle Päätalo, and Hannu Salama, hail from Tampere. These authors are known particularly as writers depicting the lives of working-class people, thanks to their respective backgrounds as members of the working class.

EUROPA stamp 2018 - "Bridges"

 

German beer - Leverkusen, Germany

By far the most popular type of beer in Germany is pilsner, generally known as ‘Pils’. The light-golden beer with the dry hoppy aroma is very popular in the North, West and East. The name goes back to the Czech town of Pilsen.

EUROPA stamp 2020 - "Ancient postal routes"

 

Samerberg viewing chapel - Denizli, Turkey

The chapel with its octagonal building dates from the 19th century. In the chapel itself, you will find a rather small gothic altar from the 16th century and a gothic altarpiece with the 14 Holy Helpers.

In front of the chapel, visitors have a fantastic view over the Rosenheimer Land with Bad Aibling and Rosenheim to the Simssee and Chiemsee.

EUROPA stamp 2018 - "Bridges"

 

Karlskirche in Vienna - Wohnbach, Germany

Widely considered the most outstanding baroque church in Vienna, as well as one of the city's greatest buildings, the church is dedicated to Saint Charles Borromeo, one of the great counter-reformers of the sixteenth century.

EUROPA stamp 2021 - "Endangered national wildlife"

 

Letadlo Aero A-14 ČSA - Brno, Czech Republic

The Aero A.14 was a Czechoslovakian biplane military reconnaissance aircraft built in the 1920s. Even though it was obsolete by the time it entered production in 1922, the A.14 is nevertheless noteworthy for its role in the establishment of Czech airline CSA.

EUROPA stamp 2018 - "Bridges"

 

#50 FOTW - Ponta Delgada, The Azores

Blue and white were traditional colours used by the Portuguese nation and represented the Portuguese Constitutional Monarchy borne in the Azores. The nine stars symbolize the archipelago's nine islands.

The archipelago's name comes from the Portuguese word açor, meaning goshawk, because it was supposed to be a common bird at the time of the discovery. However, these birds never existed on the islands - they were a local subspecies of the buzzard. The shield of Portugal in the top left corner of the flag represents the Portuguese patriotism of the Azorean people.

EUROPA stamp 2017 - "Castles"

#49 FOTW - Sutomore, Montenegro

The national flag of Montenegro (zastava Crne Gore) has a red field with a gold border and the coat of arms of Montenegro in its centre. It was officially adopted on 13 July 2004, when the then Republic of Montenegro was a constituent of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, and its precise specification was standardized on 16 September 2004. The flag was retained after Montenegrin's independence from Serbia in 2006.

Two versions of the Montenegrin flag are in use, horizontal, mostly used outdoors; and vertical, mostly used indoors.

EUROPA stamp 2018 - "Bridges"

 

Hawk 66 in The Finnish Air Force - Vammala, Finland

The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engined two-seat advanced jet trainer. The Finnish Air Force's Hawks bear the military designation HW and are operated by Fighter Squadron 41 of the Air Force Academy, primarily in advanced and tactical training roles.

EUROPA stamp 2020 - "Ancient postal routes"

 

Boeing 747SP with NASA Space Shuttle - Kokkola, Finland

Boeing 747SP with NASA Space Shuttle at Fairford in Gloucestershire, England (photograph by David Smith).

The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) are two extensively modified Boeing 747 airliners that NASA used to transport Space Shuttle orbiters. 

The SCAs were used to ferry Space Shuttles from landing sites back to the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center. The orbiters were placed on top of the SCAs by Mate-Demate Devices, large gantry-like structures that hoisted the orbiters off the ground for post-flight servicing then mated them with the SCAs for ferry flights.

EUROPA stamp 2016 - "Ecology in Europe"

 

Lebensfreude by Julia Laatsch - Veenendaal, The Netehrlands

"radość życia" PL

"joie de vivre" FR

"lebensfreude" DE

"love of life" GB

EUROPA stamp 2009 - "Astronomy"

 

The Galata Bridge - Thorshavn, Faroe Islands

Torshavn - the largest city of the Faroe Islands archipelago, at the same time its capital and seat of the highest authorities of this Danish dependent territory. The name Thorshavn in Danish means Port Thor, the Norse god of storm and thunder.   

EUROPA stamp 1989 - "Children's games"