Postcrossing Blog

Christiane from Germany likes postcards since she was a school girl, but she used to get them only from friends when they travelled. Till the day she found out about Postcrossing…

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

I’ve been addicted to postcards since I was a school girl. I always wanted to write and receive postcards. Unfortunately, I only got postcards from my friends when they were on holidays.

Some years ago, a friend from a forum told me about Postcrossing. I was as keen as mustard right away! Well, I registered the same day and sent out 5 postcards – the first postcards of many, many more. :-)

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

I like to go swimming, rock-climbing or hiking. And, as I am a librarian, I love reading, of course! Books are almost as interesting as postcards – they also take you to other places, just like postcards do.

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

Me mailing postcards after a postcrossing meeting in Cologne, December 2008

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

This is an official postcard (PT-38113) that I received from the user postalmada from Portugal. I always appreciate it when users send me library postcards because I know that they are VERY hard to find. Additionally, the library on the postcard is a very beautiful one, so this is one of my favourite received postcards.

Norbert, 53, Düsseldorf, Germany. Better known as “Baer” in the Forum. He is more than a polar bear friend…

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

My fiancè (which is also active on postcrossing) has been penpalling for more than 25 years. One of her penpals, the Turkish postcrosser nihan, sent her the link to this postcard paradise. I tried it first and was infected by the postcrossing virus in the same second… :-)))

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

Rubberstamping, playing table tennis. In former times fantasy roleplaying, boardgames, painting tin miniatures, watercolour painting, motorbiking.

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

My mailman doesn’t like me, I won’t photograph him and show him here. Unfortunately, the friendly people at my postoffice didn’t give me their permission to show their photos here, so I just show the space, mailbox where I sent my postcards from and my mailbox!

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

My most special card – the very first card I received by Postcrossing…

Here is another photo of one of my favorite cards, sent by the user EvansCrew:

It’s in days like today that the power of a simple postcard becomes obvious. The World Lupus Day is celebrated today across the world, and thanks to many Postcrossers who kindly joined our LupusCrossing project, many smiles are being lit right now and many more will be created!

An impressive total of 251 butterfly postcards have flown from Postcrossers to the hands of Lupus patients, coming from many different countries. LupusCrossing has been a great success and we couldn’t be more thankful for everyone that participated on this project. The messages sent from all over the world were overwhelmingly kind and full of hope, as you can check yourself in the German Lupus Association website where all the postcards are displayed. We are very proud to have contributed to make the Lupus patients days into happier ones. The world is a better place to live thanks to Postcrossers.

Simone from the German Lupus Association has reassured us that Lupus Patients will have access to the butterfly postcards and their nice messages, plus they will make their best to show them throughout their 80 regional groups in Germany. Moreover, and as promised, they will send thank-you postcards to 3 randomly chosen senders of each country that participated, plus to a few hand-picked ones. So, if you have sent a butterfly postcard and wrote your address in it, a postcard might be heading your way soon!

And if you wonder how all the butterflies look together, here are some photos of them:

(click to enlarge)


(click to enlarge)

We are certainly looking forward for similar opportunities to make someone’s day a brighter one, if you have some ideas, please let us know!

Happy LupusCrossing!

Every single day Postcrossing lights up thousands of smiles across the world, literally making it a happier place. We are very proud of that and so should you! And today, Postcrossing brings to you an initiative that allows you to create even more smiles through your postcards. Interested? Read on.

On the 10th of May it’s International World Lupus Day, which has the goal of bringing more awareness over this chronic disease that affects over 5 million people worldwide. If you don’t know what Lupus is, here’s a quick summary:

Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body (skin, joints, and/or organs inside the body). Chronic means that the signs and symptoms tend to last longer than six weeks and often for many years. In lupus, something goes wrong with your immune system, which is the part of the body that fights off viruses, bacteria, and germs (“foreign invaders, ” like the flu). Normally our immune system produces proteins called antibodies that protect the body from these invaders. Autoimmune means your immune system cannot tell the difference between these foreign invaders and your body’s healthy tissues (“auto” means “self”) and creates autoantibodies that attack and destroy healthy tissue. These autoantibodies cause inflammation, pain, and damage in various parts of the body.

Lupus occurs nine times more often in women than in men, especially between the ages of 15 and 50, but it can also affect men, children, and teenagers develop it too. To learn more about Lupus, check Wikipedia or the Lupus Foundation of America.

So, how is this related with postcards? The German Lupus Association and Postcrossing have joined efforts around the World Lupus Day, and you can participate too! We call it LupusCrossing – Butterflies are crossing the world and all you have to do is to send a butterfly postcard (butterflies are the Lupus symbol) to the address below to express your support towards Lupus patients on this special day. The goal is to bring worldwide awareness to this problem while at the same time bring smiles to those affected by the disease. You can write on the postcard whatever you want, and you can ask questions about Lupus too.

All received postcards will reach the hands of Lupus patients. In return, the German Lupus Association will send thank you postcards to 3 randomly chosen Postcrossers of each country they receive postcards from so don’t forget to write your address on the card! A photo of the postcards received will appear on their website. Moreover, the German Lupus Association plans to design a roll-up display out of these cards that will be shown throughout the 80 regional groups.

Ready to spark some smiles? Then grab a postcard with a butterfly and send it to:

And don’t forget to check the German Lupus Association website for the progress.

Happy LupusCrossing!

The Postcrossing meetups seem be springing a bit all over the world. These month in addition to the Finnish meetup, there were another another two in Germany: one in Cologne, and another one in Würzburg.

Although smaller, these meetups always include many postcards signed and stamped while visits to local postcards shops to re-stock are also common. The participants in the Würzburg meeting also had the chance to visit the Würzburg Residence (a UNESCO World Heritage site) and the beautiful gardens of the Veitshöchheim castle.

Here are some photos that better describe it: