Hungary

Hungary is a country in Central Europe. Spanning 93.030 km² in the Carpathian Basin, it borders Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Austria to the northwest, Romania to the east, Serbia to the south, Croatia to the southwest, and Slovenia to the west. With about 10 million inhabitants, Hungary is a medium-sized member state of the European Union. The official language is Hungarian, which is the most widely spoken Uralic language in the world, and among the few non-Indo-European languages to be widely spoken in Europe. Hungary's capital and largest city is Budapest; other major urban areas include Debrecen, Szeged, Miskolc, Pécs and Győr.

The territory of modern Hungary was for centuries inhabited by a succession of peoples, including Celts, Romans, Germanic tribes, Huns, West Slavs and the Avars. The foundations of the Hungarian state were established in the late ninth century CE by the Hungarian grand prince Árpád following the conquest of the Carpathian Basin. His great-grandson Stephen I ascended the throne in 1000, converting his realm to a Christian kingdom. By the 12th century, Hungary became a regional power, reaching its cultural and political height in the 15th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, Hungary was partially occupied by the Ottoman Empire (1541-1699). It came under Habsburg rule at the turn of the 18th century, and later joined Austria to form the Austro–Hungarian Empire, a major European power.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed after World War I, and the subsequent Treaty of Trianon established Hungary's current borders, resulting in the loss of 71% of its territory, 58% of its population, and 32% of ethnic Hungarians. Following the tumultuous interwar period, Hungary joined the Axis Powers in World War II, suffering significant damage and casualties. Hungary became a satellite state of the Soviet Union, which contributed to the establishment of a socialist republic spanning four decades (1949-1989). The country gained widespread international attention as a result of its 1956 revolution and the seminal opening of its previously-restricted border with Austria in 1989, which accelerated the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. On 23 October 1989, Hungary became a democratic parliamentary republic.

Hungary is an OECD high-income economy and has the world's 58th largest economy by PPP. It ranks 45th on the Human Development Index, owing in large part to its social security system, universal health care, and tuition-free secondary education. Hungary's rich cultural history includes significant contributions to the arts, music, literature, sports, science and technology. It is the 13th most popular tourist destination in Europe, attracting 15,8 million international tourists in 2017, owing to attractions such as the largest thermal water cave system in the world, second largest thermal lake, the largest lake in Central Europe and the largest natural grasslands in Europe. Hungary's cultural, historical, and academic prominence classify it as a middle power in global affairs.

Hungary joined the European Union in 2004 and has been part of the Schengen Area since 2007. It is a member of numerous international organizations, including the United Nations, NATO, WTO, World Bank, the Council of Europe, and the Visegrád Group.

The envelope was one of many I posted at the Briefmarken-Messe in Essen on 11 May 2017. It was one of the last to arrive back home, taking just over two months. It arrived with a nice, but upside-down postmark from Budapest.

Webshop of Magyar Posta: eshop.posta.hu/stamps.

Date sent: 11 May 2017

Date postmark: 30 June 2017

Date received: 11 July 2017

Number of days: 61

Envelope in collection: 225

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 26 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.

Indigenous Australians inhabited the continent for about 65.000 years prior to European discovery with the arrival of Dutch explorers in the early 17th century, who named it New Holland. In 1770, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788, a date which became Australia's national day. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the time of an 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored and an additional five self-governing crown colonies established. On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy, comprising six states and ten territories.

Being the oldest, flattest and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils, Australia has a landmass of 7.617.930 km². A megadiverse country, its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east and mountain ranges in the south-east. Australia generates its income from various sources including mining-related exports, telecommunications, banking, and manufacturing.

Australia is a highly developed country, with the world's 14th-largest economy. It has a high-income economy, with the world's tenth-highest per capita income. It is a regional power and has the world's 13th-highest military expenditure. Australia has the world's eighth-largest immigrant population, with immigrants accounting for 29% of the population. Having the third-highest human development index and the eighth-highest ranked democracy globally, the country ranks highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, civil liberties and political rights, with all its major cities faring well in global comparative livability surveys. Australia is a member of the United Nations, G20, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), World Trade Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Pacific Islands Forum, and the ASEAN Plus Six mechanism.

I bought a regular stamp for the international letter tariff from the Philatelic Service in Melbourne. When it arrived, I sent it back to the Philatelic Service on one of my envelopes. It arrived back in only nineteen days with a perfect datestamp from the Melbourne General Post Office.

The special Collectables website of Australia Post: australiapostcollectables.com.au.

Date sent: 22 June 2017

Date postmark: 4 July 2017

Date received: 11 July 2017

Number of days: 19

Envelope in collection: 224

Niue

Niue is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, 2.400 kilometres northeast of New Zealand, east of Tonga, south of Samoa, and west of the Cook Islands. Niue's land area is about 261 km² and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1.600 in 2016. The island is commonly referred to as "The Rock", which comes from the traditional name "Rock of Polynesia". Niue is one of the world's largest coral islands. The terrain of the island has two noticeable levels. The higher level is made up of a limestone cliff running along the coast, with a plateau in the centre of the island reaching approximately 60 metres high above sea level. The lower level is a coastal terrace approximately 0,5 km wide and about 25-27 metres high, which slopes down and meets the sea in small cliffs. A coral reef surrounds the island, with the only major break in the reef being in the central western coast, close to the capital, Alofi. A notable feature are the many limestone caves near the coast.

Niue is a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand; and New Zealand conducts most diplomatic relations on its behalf. Niueans are citizens of New Zealand, and Queen Elizabeth II is head of state in her capacity as Queen of New Zealand. Between 90% and 95% of Niuean people live in New Zealand, along with about 70% of the speakers of the Niuean language. Niue is a bilingual country, with 30% of the population speaking both Niuean and English, though the percentage of monolingual English-speaking people is only 11%, while 46% are monolingual Niuean speakers.

Niue is not a member of the United Nations (UN), but UN organisations have accepted its status as a freely-associated state as equivalent to independence for the purposes of international law. As such, Niue is a member of some UN specialised agencies (such as UNESCO, and the WHO), and is invited, alongside the other non-UN member state, the Cook Islands, to attend United Nations conferences open to "all states"] Niue has been a member of the Pacific Community since 1980.

Niue is subdivided into 14 villages (municipalities). Each village has a village council that elects its chairperson. The villages are at the same time electoral districts; each village sends an assemblyperson to the Parliament of Niue. A small and democratic nation, Niueans hold legislative elections every 3 years.

The Niue Integrated Strategic Plan (NISP), adopted in 2003, is the national development plan, setting national priorities for development in areas such as financial sustainability. Since the late 20th century Niue has become a leader in green growth; the European Union is helping the nation convert to renewable energy. In January 2004, Niue was hit by Cyclone Heta, which caused extensive damage to the island, including wiping out most of South Alofi. The disaster set the island back about two years from its planned timeline to implement the NISP since national efforts concentrated on recovery.

From New Zealand post, that sells the latest Niue stamps, I bought a series with reptiles, issued on 5 April 2017. I sent the cover with the complete series to the post office in Alofi. It arrived back in two months with a special First World War postmark with the text 'Remembering those who served'. This postmark was in use for some years to commemorate the participation of Niuean volunteers in the war. The envelope arrived back to me in two months.

The Niue stamps page on the New Zealand post website: nzpost.co.nz/niue.

Date sent: 10 May 2017

Date postmark: 21 June 2017

Date received: 11 July 2017

Number of days: 62

Envelope in collection: 223

United States of America - Pennsylvania - Bristol

From March 2012 the United States Postal Services introduced a number of permanent pictorial postmarks under the name Postmark America.

Postmark America service is a permanent, rubber hand stamp with rotating date plugs that is permitted for participating Post Offices to feature a symbolic image representing a town or region. Postmarking service is available only at windows when it does not interfere with normal retail operations. Postmasters can offer hand-back, will-call, or mail-back service. Postmark America service can be used for mail entering the mailstream or philatelic purposes.

Postmark America service affords tourists, customers, and collectors an opportunity to use and collect postmarks at any time. It also affords postmasters a way to generate revenue without having to staff or wait for events. Postmark America service is date sensitive, and back-dating is prohibited. Customers or collectors wanting a specific date must have their items presented at the Post Office on or before the date of service.

On 26 July 2012 a new postmark was published in the USPS Postal Bulletin for Bristol, Pennsylvania. It shows a covered bridge of which there are many in the county. Bucks County was home to more than 50 covered bridges at one time. Only 12 bridges remain, 10 of which can still carry vehicles.

Bristol Borough is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 37 km northeast of Center City Philadelphia, opposite Burlington, New Jersey on the Delaware River. Bristol Borough predates Philadelphia, being settled in 1681 and first incorporated in 1720. After 1834, the town became very important to the development of the American Industrial Revolution as the terminus city of the Delaware Canal. The canal and a short trip on the Delaware also gave the town access to the mineral resources available in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. From its earliest days Bristol Borough was a centre of textile mills, foundries, milling, and miscellaneous manufacturing. By the 1880s Bristol Borough was home to many factories, including companies manufacturing wall paper and carpet. In World War I, the Bristol Borough docks had sufficient space for a shipyard to construct twelve building slips for the construction of merchant vessels.

The postmark can be obtained by writing to: Postmark America, Bristol Post Office, Postmaster, 699 Beaver Street, Bristol, PA  19007-9998, United States.

Apart from a postmark on the envelope, I got an extra impression on the blank card inside.

Date sent: 16 June 2017

Date postmark: 3 July 2017

Date received: 7 July 2017

Number of days: 21

Envelope in collection: 211