Postcrossing Blog

Remember the Little Mail Carrier’s cousin? It’s been a while since he was last on the blog… Earlier this year, he threw a huge tantrum and demanded to be sent on new adventures — so we sent him off to Romania, where an exciting meeting was about to take place! Here’s their report, as told by the participants in this unique meeting.

Once upon a very special day, on February 29th of 2016, the Romanian Postcrossing Community organized the first Postcrossing train meetup in the world, a round-trip journey between Bucharest and Ploiești. The day started with the arrival of the Little Mail Carriers’ cousin in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. As every tourist would have done, he first went on a sightseeing tour through the wonders of Bucharest.

Naturally, he took some selfies and because he is so small, a special “magnifier tool” was used to be sure everything is in focus!

He started with the Palace of the Parliament which is the heaviest building in the world. It is also the second largest administrative building in the world (after the Pentagon in the USA) housing the Romanian Senate and Parliament and the National Museum of Contemporary Art.

He continued his tour to two of the most prestigious buildings in Bucharest: the House of Economies (CEC) and the National Museum of Music (Cantacuzino Palace).




In front of the Romanian Athenaeum he got really excited, because inside is the longest circular fresco in the world! It was done by Costin Petrescu, and is a stunning piece depicting 25 different scenes of Romanian history over 70 meters of canvas… wow!

The final stop before the meetup was at the Revolution Square, admiring the National Museum of Art (The Royal Palace), the statue of King Carol I of Romania (1866–1914) and the Central University Library.

Finally he arrived at Gara de Nord (train station). The little couriers’ cousin met with members of the Romanian Postcrossing Community and quickly jumped on the train to grab some seats.

We had lots of fun activities during our trip from Bucharest to Ploiești (60 km), such as: signing postcards, organizing lotteries, tasting cupcakes and of course taking photos with our small guest, who even received a nickname for the day: Max!

With this special occasion, we printed a limited edition meetup postcard, showing the Royal train of Romania (Photo by Mihai Raitaru). Everybody signed it — even the train inspectors, who were quite impressed by it!




Once arrived in Ploiești, we gathered for a nice group photo and went on sightseeing, having a few hours available before the train back to Bucharest.


We first visited the Clocks Museum – the biggest clocks collection in South-Eastern Europe.

The Art Museum was next on our list, where we took more photos and signed some more postcards in the lobby. Max got a special surprise from one of our colleagues, who played the piano for him.

Before heading back, one last stop was made at the Postal Office to send our “train traveling meetup” postcards to fellow Postcrossers around the world and to say goodbye to little Max, who continued his journey back to Portugal. At the end of this full and fun day we all went back to our homes with many wonderful memories.

We also found out that this was the first train traveling meetup in the world and all this was possible because Postcrossing exists! Thank you Postcrossing team for bringing us together, thank you for building bridges among people and nations! Happy Postcrossing, everyone!

Train meetup participants (who came from a bit all over Romania):
Anca, bardamu1964, cristinaS, corneljipa, dienuca, DrAmpie, eumihai2003, lamelemon, MaraMilu, MihneaR, modranhoria, mpalade, Nazareanu, NoarVladimir, Schumi99, spiderpc and susanica.

Concept: Mihnea (MihneaR)

Organizers: Mihnea (MihneaR), George (Nazareanu), Eugen (eumihai2003)

Photos: Eugen (eumihai2003) and George (Nazareanu)
 — you can see lots more here!
Article: George (Nazareanu) with the help of Beatrice ( boopilina), Diana (dienuca), Anca (Annajo) and Mihnea (MihneaR)

Thank you guys, that was brilliant! And what do you think… it’s time the Little Mail Carriers’ cousin had a name — should we stick to “Postman Max”? :)

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! :)

About a month ago, a group of students in Kampar, Malaysia hosted a really nice event in their university, to spread the word about Postcrossing. It was quite successful, and everyone had a great time – so we wanted to share their story, in order to inspire you! :) Here they are:

If you are a postcrosser, you can probably relate to that indescribable feeling in finding a happy postcard sitting in your mailbox to welcome you home after a long, tiring day. A postcard is simply magical; each can only contain so few words yet enough to give you a glimpse of the life of someone living across the globe. To receive postcards personalized for you, knowing that each was handwritten by a thoughtful heart, it reminds us that the world is a hopeful and wonderful place.

Wanting to share what makes us so blissfully happy, we decided to start small in our university. One booth, 18 hours, 37 new members (not including those who preferred to register in the comfort of their own home) pretty much summed up our whole campaign. The idea of Postcrossing was very well received; many are excited and eager to restore the once forgotten postcards tradition together. To follow up, we created a small Facebook community, which is still growing each day. Hopefully if we can inspire every postcrosser to reach out and do something small, together we can achieve more.

Well, since a picture is worth a thousand words, here they come…

Our twin #1, Catherine (on the left) sharing her Postcrossing experience with enthusiasm.

Our twin #2, Angela (on the right) is equally passionate when it comes to Postcrossing.

Meng An (on the right) with potential new members. She also contributed to most of our eye-catching and colourful decorations!

Ming Zhe (on the right) – our photographer #1 and the reason why we are now obsessed with postcards. He introduced Postcrossing to the rest of us!

Yee Hong (on the left) attracting a potential member with her postcards collection.

Stewart in action! He is also the man in charge of producing our flyers and photographer #2.

Sandrene posting the first batch of postcards written by our new members.

Fantastic work! Please give a big round of applause for the enthusiastic members who organized this event:

From left to right: Angela (aka Hebe92), Stewart (aka stewartooi), Yee Hong (aka yeehongsia), Sandrene (aka sandrene), Meng An (aka mengan0716), Catherine (aka catgoh92) and Ming Zhe (aka ming_zhe0423).

What about YOU? Got any plans to spread the word about the project in your local school or university? :) Let us know how it goes!

Once again, we give the Little Mail Carriers’ cousin center stage, so that he can finish telling you about his adventures in Indonesia (here’s part one in Jakarta, if you missed it)!

The Yogyakarta meetup was slightly different because it was not just for Postcrossing members but for all mail lovers… even Indonesian Post attended!

The meetup was held in Indonesia Education Museum (Museum Pendidikan Indonesia) at Yogyakarta State University (Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta), and was opened by Vice-Regent of Sleman Regency, who symbolically signed a postcard.

It was really exciting for me to attend what was the largest meeting in Yogyakarta so far. Everyone was really friendly and took the time to introduce themselves and exchange gifts! :)

After that, we went straight to the post office, to have a look and mail some cards! Did you know that pillar boxes are orange in Indonesia? Neat!

The next day we visited Vredeburg Fort (which means Peace Fort). It used to be a military fortress, but these days it’s been restored and turned into a museum. Inside of the former barracks there is a collection of historical photographs, historical objects and replicas.

Street food in Indonesia is unbelievably delicious, I couldn’t get enough of it! This is mendoan, which is basically soy bean that has been yeast fermented for around to 2 days. When it’s sticky enough, flour and spices are sprinkled on it, and then it’s fried. Nom nom nom!

I also visited the souvenir heaven in the corner of Malioboro street, one of Yogyakarta’s main shopping streets. There were a lot of miniatures there that were just the right size for me, yay!

We got the chance to watch a lady painting batik, a traditional art in Indonesia which UNESCO has classified as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Wax must be applied to the cloth before it is dipped in color, so that the design can be unveiled once the wax is removed. It was wonderful to see, such attention to detail! The lady explained to me that batik must be painted diligently, neatly, and patiently.

I had gudeg for my last meal in Indonesia. It’s a jack fruit stew, served with rice and chicken, and it’s also the signature dish of Yogyakarta. I must have gained at least 20 grams here… I can’t seem to stop myself! :)

And that’s a wrap! Indonesia is so huge and diverse… I regret not having more time to properly explore it, but at the same time, I’m grateful for the amazing opportunity! :) A big thank you to Yanita, Aisha, Tintin, Ari, Dewi, Tascha, Dhani, Maya, Fathia, Sekar, and Fatima who welcome me warmly and took some very nice pictures for me!

Earlier this year, the Little Mail Carrier’s cousin was invited to attend some Postcrossing meetings in Indonesia. He begged us to go, so we packed him on a comfy envelope and off he went, towards the Java sea! Yanita (aka YanitaDC) kindly hosted the little man and showed him around her home country. Here’s his report of the trip:

Halo, Apa Kabar?

I just visited Indonesia, the biggest archipelago country in the Equator. I came here to attend the Postcrossing meetup In Jakarta, capital city of Indonesia… and stayed a bit longer with my host Yanita, to see the sights.

But first things first! The meetup was held in early March in Jakarta, at the Kantor Filateli Jakarta (Jakarta Philatelic Office), where a postcard exhibition of member’s collections was also taking place.

People came from all over Indonesia for this meeting, so I got to meet lots of new friends… I felt like a movie star having a fans meeting! They thought of everything and even made special postcards for everyone to sign!

That was really exciting! Can you believe how many people were there? There was even a news report made about the Indonesian Postcrossing community at this meetup, which was later played on the bigger post offices of Indonesia for a month! Have a look:

In a word… awesome! :D

Next on my tour of Indonesia, I visited Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (which means 'Beautiful Indonesia Miniature Park’). It was brilliant! I could see as much of Indonesia as I wanted… all in one place!

Aaaah, so many things to see… Indonesia is huge! After so much sightseeing, I was feeling a bit hungry, so Yanita gave me some kerak telor. It’s a sort of spicy omelet with sticky rice inside, topped with fried shredded coconut, fried shallots and dried shrimp. That was amazing and really hit the spot!

While I was in Jakarta, another meetup was being planned, this time in Yogyakarta, about 500km west from Indonesia’s capital. The organizing committee kindly invited me to join them, so I eagerly hopped on my envelope and took the plane over!

Stay tuned for my next update – there’s a lot more I want to show you from this lovely country scattered in the sea! :)