W Tripoli Italiana

What's up with the W Tripoli Italiana stamp on this postcard? In 1912, when this postcard was sent, Italy had just won the Turco-Italian War and been awarded Libya as a prize. Although this war only lasted for 13 months, it showed some notable advances in warfare technology such as the airplane, which was used not only in reconnaissance, but also to drop a bomb on Turkish troops in Libya. The airplane on this card hardly resembles a bomber, but I think the reference is intended anyway. The card is originally French; the Tripoli stamp was probably added later.

The postcard was sent to someone I would love to have met in person, the carissima (dearest) Carmelina Piccolo. I admit it's because I love her name.

As luck would have it, another Carmelina graciously agreed to translate this card for me. You can see what Carmelina's creating these days on her blog, Creative Carmelina. Although Carmelina couldn't make out the last sentence, here is her translation:

Endicott, 11 Nov. 1912

Dearest C.

I'm sorry that I haven't written you sooner, but it's because I was waiting to give you a small photo of myself. Please wait patiently and do not worry. We are all well here.

Streetcar Sunday - Amsterdam, The Netherlands

This postcard dates from about 1915. It shows trams crossing a canal in Amsterdam at Plantage Middenlaan. Amsterdam's tram or streetcar system was operated by several private companies until the City took them over and consolidated them into one system in 1900. In that same year, they introduced the first electric trams. They also took over the Amsterdam Omnibus Company, creating  a new corporation called the Gemeentetram (Municipal Tram Corporation.) Decades later, the corporation  merged with the ferry services, creating  a new organization called the Gemeentevervoerbedrijf (GVB) or Municipal Transport Corporation. Today it is simply known as GVB.

Here's a Google Maps view of the same area today. Allow me to add that I have never had so much fun looking for a place on Google maps as I did with this one. I wanted to just keep going down the streets. If you can't afford a vacation this year, you may want to consider visiting Amsterdam via Google maps. The only catch is that it will make you want to hop on a plane for a real visit.

View Amsterdam in a larger map
Here's another view of a streetcar in Amsterdam. Truus, who lives in Amsterdam sent me this card through Postcrossing. Truus also has a postcard blog, called Truus Postcrossing, with all of the cards she has received through Postcrossing. There's another opportunity to travel around the world without leaving your desk. This card is a reproduction of an old one in the Amsterdam City Archives.

 This horse-drawn streetcar is on the Rembrandtplein, viewed from near the Reguliersbreestraat. That's in case you want to see if you can find it on Google maps and see what it looks like today!

Knokke, Belgium

Knokke, Belgium has been a beach resort for over a  hundred years. The town is located near the Dutch border, and still attracts wealthy visitors. Knokke looks very quaint and charming in these pictures. I can't say the same for the modern pictures I've seen.  But then again, I have never been there, so maybe there is some attraction besides Knokke's casino that I am missing. The entire beachfront is lined with buildings, which are unattractive to me, but indicate that there are indeed a lot of visitors. I do know that there are some lovely nature areas between Knokke and the Dutch border.

In the last postcard you can see the bathing machines, changing rooms on wheels that were used to preserve the modesty of bathers. Click here to see a previous post that shows the bathing machines in the water.