Postcrossing Blog

Meet Vladena (aka ybur) from Czech Republic. She was a bit hesitant about Postcrossing at first… but quickly warmed up to it and is now an enthusiastic member! We were very happy to meet her and her daughters in Prague some weeks ago, where she amazed us with stories of her long-lasting penpal friendships :)

Here is what she had to say:

How did you come across Postcrossing? What got you hooked?

I’ve collected touristic postcards since my childhood. One day in September 2008 my older daughter came home from school and said: "Mom, I have something interesting for you. It is a site on internet, where you can receive cards from the whole world.“ Then she showed and explained Postcrossing to me.

I thought it was nice, but the language of communication was English…and my English was not very good… First my younger daughter registered, then my older daughter. And after 14 days hesitating I registered, too.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

I think my other hobbies are usual – reading, travelling, walking, history, foreign languages… and penpalling. Me and my first penfriend celebrated 50 years of our friendship this year. Thanks to Postcrossing, I got two new penfriends: one from USA (the recipient of my first sent card) and one from Belgium.

Show us your mailbox, your mailman/mailwoman, your postoffice or the place where you post or keep your postcards!

Unfortunately I don’t have any picture of mailbox or mailwoman. I buy stamps and sometimes send my cards from the Main Post office in Prague, and its picture was already presented on Postcrossing.

But I can show you a gift that I’ve received from my daughters for my birthday last year: small box with stamps for one card for every year of my life :-)

Show and tell us about your favourite received postcard to date, and what makes it special.

It is very difficult to choose one postcard, each one has its own story and beauty… Here are some of my most rare ones:

Greenland with a Finnish Postcard ID

Isle of Man

Palau (Micronesia) with a Japanese Postcard ID and American stamp, which arrived after 166 days

South Korea

Iceland

A beautiful autumn scene, from a 92 year old lady

New Zealand, Christchurch – view before earthquake in 2011 (buildings are either damaged or exist no more)

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

I like the surprise of the mailbox opening and also searching the place where the card came from. I like to choose the postcard for every recipient, translate information about places or things on the card – and I’m happy when the Hurray e-mail confirms that I’ve sent a card they enjoyed.

I would like to send more cards, but this hobby is a bit expensive. Postage to Europe has increased by 47% and to overseas by 66% since my registration on Postcrossing. Another comparison: stamp for postcard to Europe costs now 25 CZK (= 0,92EUR) in our country, 0,80 EUR in Austria. However Czech salaries are about a third of Austrian ones…

Have you been surprised by any place that you have received a postcard from or sent a postcard to?

Geography was one of my favorite subjects in the school, so I basically know where the most of countries are located. Only Palau I had to search :-)

Although I was surprised: I confess I’ve never though about Germany as a country to go for my holiday. Now, after receiving many postcards from there I often have to say: yes, this place in Germany is worth to see… and this… and this… and this…

Have you met any other members in real life?

I have two other postcrossers at home – my daughters! :-D Besides, I attended most official Czech Postcrossing meetings. I met there a lot of new friends, and not only from Czech Republic.

I also participated in international meetings: we met girls from Finland, France, Turkey and Netherlands in Prague. Eight of us were guests at a meeting in Dresden in March 2014. Also, my Belgian Postcrossing penfriend visited me 4 years ago.

Oh happy day! The new Czech Postcrossing stamp is now out and about, and we’re beyond excited to finally be able to hold it in our hands!

A small event was held at the beautiful central Post Office in Prague for all the stamps which were launched today, and it gathered an excited crowd of philatelists as well as stamp authors and engravers.

To celebrate the stamp in a more relaxed setting, a Postcrossing meeting is planned for the coming Saturday at Sberatel/Collector’s fair. So, if you’re in the area, do join us there for a chat and some postcard writing! :)

And if you’re not in the area, keep an eye on your mailbox just in case — your next postcard might feature this lovely new Postcrossing stamp! :)

Ahoj, everyone! After Russia and Slovenia earlier this year, Czech Republic is about to enter the exclusive club of countries with their own Postcrossing-themed stamps!

The Philatelic department at Czech Post has some very enthusiastic fans of the project, who successfully pushed for the stamp to become a reality. The stamp design was commissioned to graphical designer and illustrator Maria Nogueira, who imagined a playful way to translate the idea of Postcrossing into the tiny format.

The design went through several different stages, until it concentrated on the essence of Postcrossing: a never-ending flow of postcards, from hand-in-hand, connecting different people all around the world! :)

The new stamp will be launched in early September at the yearly Sběratel/Collector’s fair. We look forward to it, and will share more details about the launch event closer to the date!

Today we have a different sort of postman interview! Petr (aka Trainpostman) used to be a postman… for the a Czech Train Post Office! Petr worked there for 8 years, between 1990–1998 until the service closed in the end of the 90s.

Petr loved and missed his old job… so in 2009 he decided to put his design and photography skills to good use. He made a website called “The Museum of Czechoslovakian Train Post Office” to share his memories of his years working for it, inviting his former colleagues to contribute.

In 2011, Petr took it a step further, and organized a real exhibition with the information he collected, on a railway mail carriage from 1971, parked in Bratislava. He recreated the experience of working on a Train Post Office, so that visitors could see and enjoy it as well!

He has been doing it ever since for special events (Day of Railways, Night of Museums, …) on different railway cars from different owners. Transferring such an exhibition is quite tricky but it gives him the unique opportunity to bring life back to these historical cars. They’ve been held in several different carriages, some of which were over 100 years old!

Railway post offices have been discontinued in most countries in the past decades, slowly replaced by modern sorting machines in sorting centers and trucks. Petr is bringing them alive now and then with his awe-inspiring recreations — and sharing his memories with those who visit his museum.

For more information about the Czech Train Post Office, lots of interesting photos and to be updated about upcoming activities, visit his website at muzeumvlakoveposty.com.

A week ago, Paulo and I were in Prague for a special Postcrossing meetup, and we took the Little Mail Carriers with us, so they could tell you all about it! Here they are:

Ahoj from Prague! It’s sunny and lovely – perfect for adventures!

Ever since we saw a picture of Prague’s main post office on this post from February, we’ve been demanding to be taken there, so that we could see it for ourselves. And what do you know – six months later, the perfect opportunity presented itself: we were invited to attend the yearly Sběratel/Collector’s fair! :)

The fair, which takes place in Prague, welcomes collectors from all over Europe, who come to peruse the stands and enrich their collections. But this year, the fair had a special event taking place: a Postcrossing meetup!

The organizers invited us to come and meet the local postcrossers – we were honored and very happy to do so! Lots of people turned up and we got to meet many new postcrossers, shake their hands, answer many questions and sign a ton of postcards too. A computer and volunteers were at hand to explain Postcrossing to newcomers, and guide them through the signup process. There was even a special postcard and cancellation mark, designed just for the occasion!

We oversaw the stamping process and made sure everything was shipshape!

Meanwhile, the exhibition hall was buzzing with excitement. There were many people walking between the stands, perusing and scanning boxes and folders — it felt like a huge treasure hunt!

Afterwards, we came back to the city center, to finally visit Prague’s gorgeous post office! Ladies and gentlemen, look at that:

The walls are exquisitely painted with themes related to communications and post: in a corner, a young lady seems to be reading a love letter, on another, people call each other on the telephone, while postmen do their rounds. It’s just stunning!

Mr. Kostka from the Czech Post told us the building used to be an old monastery — the central hall is now where the old inner courtyard used to be. This is why there are so many vines and natural elements surrounding the figures on the walls.

Just before leaving, we still had time to meet some very old Czech postmen and peek at the overflowing philatelic counter.

It might well be one of the nicest post offices we’ve ever seen! Plus, it’s open every single day, from 2am to midnight! Wow… can you believe that?!

We really enjoyed our short stay in Prague, but soon it was time to go back to our envelopes and start the journey towards another exciting location… Goodbye Prague and see you soon everyone! :)