400 years ago, in 1626, Jan Steen was born in Leiden. I came across this remarkable painter three times in the stamp catalogue. Although the name Steen does not refer to the Stone Age, his name does have something to do with 'stones'...
Deventer is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands. Together with my wife, I visited this 'cookie city'. After all, our first association when we think of Deventer is 'Deventer cookie'. During our stay, however, we noticed that Deventer...
Together with my youngest daughter, I went to Middelburg for a weekend. It was fun and enjoyable. I couldn't resist looking to see if there were any stamps of Middelburg. The first one I came across was the...
While leafing through my Leiden mail, I came across an envelope sent from Japan bearing a date stamp of 8.1.26. You would think that this envelope was postmarked on January 8, 1926. However, that is a wrong assumption, because...
Last Monday, October 16, was 'Stamp Day' in our country, but unfortunately, it no longer receives any attention in the media. On the one hand, that is understandable: stamps are literally and figuratively fading from view. On the other hand, it seems as if PostNL does not...
Together with my wife, I took a trip to Germany and we visited Trier. What a beautiful city! As a Leiden city guide, I (unconsciously) started making a comparison between Leiden and Trier. Do you want to know which city won?...
According to historians, the first flag for the United States was crafted by the hatmaker Margaret Manny from Philadelphia, a city in the former British colony of Pennsylvania. The flag was used during the American Revolution by the Continental Army and...
Nijmegen is the oldest city in the Netherlands. Together with my wife, I visited the city and, among other things, we took a city walk. There is still quite a bit to see from the time when the Romans...
One of the best exhibitions I have seen since the lockdown period (from June 5, 2021) is this expo. You can see this beautiful exhibition at the Allard Pierson Museum until October 24, 2021. More than 200...
It is often said of the British that they have no taste when it comes to food, and that they cannot prepare tasty dishes. That used to be the case sometimes, but times have changed. In Great Britain, too, the...
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