zaterdag 4 maart 2017

Postcards for the weekend: "From your home country"

This weekend the 'Postcards for the weekend' theme is about our home countries.

I tend to just link to one blog post from July 2016. Because I thought: isn't home - the 'home country' - the place where your heart is, where your friends are? On that blog post I shared two cards. One sent to an old friend in the city of Nijmegen, the city where I grew up, went to school and university. The other sent to a friend in Amsterdam, the city where I have been born and to which I live close now. Both cities make me feel home. But above all: friends make me feel home. And, also mailboxes make me feel home :-) As these shorten the distance to 'far-away' friends, to mail lovers like you!

Anyhow, I'll show some pictures of my two main 'home' cities, regions, here, too.



This postcard I bought ages ago, I think in the eighties. It shows a part of a shop at the corner of the Van Welderenstraat (a street in the city center of Nijmegen). Our school was close by, so in the breaks we wandered through this city center.
Recently I saw both the fountain pen and the fountain pen shop had disappeared, but a short search on the internet learned that at least the pen shop still exists, it just moved to a larger location in the same street.



The Waalbrug, Bridge over the river Waal, is a landmark. I always love to see it, and to pass under the large bows to enter Nijmegen (via the road, not via the water :-) ).

I even drew it, and put it on a personalized stamp.



In the upper right corner you see a tiny stamp of Schiphol, aka Amsterdam Airport, which is close to my present hometown.

Below you can see a part of a stamp sheet about Nijmegen. In contrary to my present home region in the really flat west of the Netherlands, the city of Nijmegen, and almost all of the east of our country, is hilly. There is a nice view from the Valkhof over this Waalbrug.
The statue pictured shows Marieke van Nimwegen. I never read or heard the complete (medieval) story, but the status also is located in the city center, and I consider a landmark, too.



From Nijmegen 120 kms to the north-west, to Amsterdam:



Below you see the Dam Square. This is located in 'hartje Amsterdam', 'the heart of Amsterdam' = the city center of Amsterdam. You can see two lion statues behind (in real: in front of) the Monument on the Dam.
My late grandmother told me that in 1927, when she was 17 years old, the lion's weren't there yet. Instead there were kiosks. My grandmother wanted to work there, to sell newspapers, but she was one year too young. Finally her father convinced the owner to get her job, and she did very well.
A few years later she got married, which in those days meant she had to stop working outdoors. And a few more years later my mother was born.



Finally I'll show you three map cards.

Funny is that the rivers in real are north from the cities: the Waal is north of Nijmegen, and the IJ is north of Amsterdam. But the old cards show the rivers on bottom of the cities, or the cities on top of the rivers:

Nijmegen (Novio Magum is the name given by the founders, the Romans, over 2000 years ago):



Amsterdam:



And on this larger map card you can see where both cities are located:



Be sure to check this weekend's 'Postcards for the weekend'to see more interesting and dear places!

12 opmerkingen:

  1. Thanks for sharing about your grandma, these pretty postcards from Nijmegen and Amsterdam, and your personalized stamp Heleen! I'm hoping I can see Amsterdam real soon! I can't wait!

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    1. Thank you for your enthusiast comment, Maria!

      Concerning Amsterdam, many visitor from outside the NEtherlands visit Amsterdam and its area. But there are several beautiful places outside, too (like Nijmegen, or the Open Air Museum in Nijmegen's neighbouring city Arnhem).

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  2. Hi Heleen, As one who loves fountain pens I could easily say my favorite card here is the one for the pen shop on the corner. Wow, I wonder who ended up with the giant Pelikan pen? (By the way, Pelikan pens are great!) Your drawn stamp is very cool! Love the cards with vintage maps. I learned a lot from your post. Very nicely done!

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    1. WHen I visit Nijmegen again I should go to this street and will have to ask the owners of the present pen shop! Maybe it's there, inside, and otherwise also I am curious to know what happened to this giant Pelikan pen :-)

      I inherited a bottle of Pelikan ink from my late grandfather (he used to use for his to-ne-filled fountain pen). I never used it - in former times I used easy-to-use fountain pen fillings, and nowadays I prefer a ballpoint or drawing pen (because of their water resistant ink, in case my mail gets wet).
      Anyhow, the brand (and the nice bird) is familiar to me, too. Great to read that you love Pelikan, too!

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  3. I'm a map person so the last one is my favourite. I have learned so much from maps over the years.

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    1. Yeah, maps are so much fun! When visiting unknown citues I always use a map (I still don't have a tomtom nor use gps), and I always am pleasantly surprised by the fact that the information on the maps is exact the same as the streets and buildings in real :-)

      I must have sent you one of the old maps, few years ago. I wanted to send the other, too, but I forgot which one. Please let me know: am I correct that I've sent you the Nijmegen map card? In that case the old Amsterdam map postcard should follow soon :-)

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  4. I just read a book that was based in Amsterdam, so I was really pleased to see all the pictures and maps. When I was quite young, my mother, sister and I took a city tour of Amsterdam and I have always wanted to go back, but sadly haven't been able to. I need to bump that up my list a little!

    Great cards and stamps! Thank you for sharing them.

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    1. That's a nice coincidence, your book and this blog post!

      Probably Amsterdam street views have rather changed since you visited our capital, I would be curious whether you would get the same feeling as when you were young, if ever you visit Amsterdam again!?!
      (and oh, lists - there are so many nice places to visit...!)

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  5. The one with the pen is unusual :) and I like the one with the bikes on the bridge...

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    1. Thank you for your comment :-) There are a lot of bikes in Amsterdam, and in almost all larger cities, so I thought them common. I thought the sunset would attract more attention on that postcard, but regarding it after reading your comment, indeed those bikes provide a nice view, too! Funny how one starts to see better when watching through other people's eyes :-)

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  6. I've enjoyed your post a lot, even if I had seen some postcards from Nijmegen in the past :)

    The card with the fountain pen is just great!

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  7. Love the giant pen, that would have enticed me into the shop. Old maps are so interesting. I had a very enjoyable visit to Amsterdam (but a very long time ago) and always intended to go back but somehow it never happened, yet.

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