Postcrossing Blog

Earlier this week, RTÉ (Ireland’s national broadcaster) aired part two of a six-part documentary about the Dublin’s General Post Office. The series, told in weekly episodes, revolves around the iconic building and includes stories from many of the people who use it on a daily basis. Here’s the synopsis:

“Best known as the headquarters of the 1916 Rising, the GPO has been at the heart of Irish life for 200 years. Inside the GPO goes behind the scenes at Ireland’s busiest post office; home to 950 staff, a microcosm of Irish society, and caretaker of letters, parcels, hopes and stories.”

Well… postcrossers do visit post offices rather often, so it’s only natural that a group of enthusiastic Irish postcrossers were picked to be featured on the documentary!

Sitting down in a café with their stamps and postcards, Nora (aka ned44440), John (aka jr11577), Claudia (aka chrissybaby) and Kodzos (aka kodzos) braved the cameras and did an excellent job representing the Irish Postcrossing community. Well done guys!

You can see the segment (until April 21st) at http://www.rte.ie/player/is/show/inside-the-gpo-30003923/10549881. This is the second part of this series — the first one can be seen here.
If you like it so far, do follow RTÉ's website for the next episodes!

Never thought about visiting the island nation of Vanuatu? Then here’s a good reason for you to consider: they have the first (and only?) underwater post office in the world! We bet you never thought it was possible to post mail underwater, have you?

The Vanuatu Post came up with this idea to increase awareness of the richness and diversity of Vanuatu’s underwater world. And if you never had the chance of finding nemo in real life, then that’s yet another reason to think about Vanuatu for holidays, where you can do snorkeling and see the great aquatic life there is there.

But, don’t think it’s easy to get there! This special post office is 50 meters offshore and is 3 meters deep underwater – you’ll need to scuba dive to actually get there. And make sure to check their schedule, as their are “open” only one hour per day! :)

Since its start in 2003, they have received over 100.000 visitors so it surely seems to be working well. Waterproof postcards are available and they use a special embossed cancellation stamp that can be used underwater. Postcards can be sent anywhere in the world, so it’s perfect!