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Pardubice (old town)

Pardubice lies about 100 kilometres east of Prague in East Bohemia. Its main train station (Hlavni Nadrazi) is an important junction. Almost any long-distance train (including Eurocity and international Regiojet) that runs east from Prague's main train station (Hlavni Nadrazi), calls at Pardubice. The journey takes just under an hour. Beyond Pardubice, trains may continue to Olomouc (one hour) or Brno (1:30 hour). In the central hall of the station is a mosaic of Czechoslovakia showing the main railway corridors and towns of that country.



The old town is some two kilometres from the station (go outside, turn right and keep walking along the main road). The old town consists of a large square lined with houses of mediaeval origin that were reconstructed in Renaissance style after fire destroyed the town in the first half of the sixteenth century. Many have richly decorated Renaissance or Baroque façades. Access to the square from the main thoroughfare is through the 'Green' Gate, the old town gate on the road to Prague. The neo-Renaissance town hall (1892 – 1894) dominates the square.



In 1491, Vilem of Pernstejn bought the town and its castle and made it the centre of his family estate. The Pernstejn family was responsible for the reconstruction of the town in Renaissance style. They had the mediaeval castle rebuilt into a fortified residence. Vilem of Pernstejn's grandsons built up a large debt. In 1560, they were forced to sell their estate to Emperor Ferdinand I. As a royal estate, the castle got its present appearance with sgraffito façades.



In the grounds of the castle are many peacocks.




On the main throughfare, in what, officially, is the old town, between the main train station and the Green Gate stands a post office.



Here, I was served by a battleaxe who thought that shouting would make me speak Czech. It made her even more annoying when I noticed a 'B'-tariff stamp I wanted. Now, she was not the only person present who could play prison officer and applying those skills, I persuaded her to sell me the required number of stamps.



Not far from this post office and the historic town is a brick-and-mortar stamp shop that I saw open the day after I took the picture.



Pardubice also is known for its gingerbread that has a protected designation of origin.

Pardubice (main train station)

There is a large facility of the Czech postal service next to the main train station. This appears to be a sorting office. It, also, has a post office.



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Not my post office, but one I visited last month in Rosalie, NE:

The Glen Oaks, NY (North Floral Park) post office - in Queens, NY, where I grew up



The Levittown, NY post office - Long Island, Nassau County, NY, where I live now.

Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia

Shrewsbury, Castle Street / Pride Hill (Darwin Shopping Centre)

I think my last trip to England was for spring Stampex in 2015. So, it was time for another trip. Earlier in the year, one of the TV channels reran episodes of "Cadfael." The stories are about a twelfth-century monk who solves crimes. The stories are set in and around Shrewsbury Abbey. After checking whether there was anything of interest in Shrewsbury, I decided to visit the crime-solving brother's home.

The town of Shrewsbury, in Shropshire, is 9 miles from the Welsh border. A train from Birmingham International Airport takes around 1:20 hours to get there. Transport for Wales operates a direct service every two hours.



Shrewsbury has a large number of monuments that include the church of the eleventh-century abbey, the Norman castle, the birth house of Charles Darwin and several fifteenth and sixteenth half-timber houses. There are plenty of Royal connections, including a half-timber house from 1429 where Henry Tudor stayed.

It, also was an opportunity to buy some essential groceries,



enjoy the local cuisine,



and see if I could add to my stamp collection. Additionally, I needed stamps for my batch of postcards. At £ 2.50 for the basic international tariff, sending thirteen postcards is a rather expensive exercise.

There is a post office branch in the local WH Smith store. The main entrance of the store is on Castle Street, although the official address is the Darwin Shopping Centre on Pride Hill.

The larger branches of WH Smith have stamp magazines. I found 2 that contain more advertisements than articles. Most articles are about new issues. At £ 5.25 each, they are not much value for money. This branch also had a small section with stamp and coin collecting supplies, including packs of stamps.




The post office is located at the lower ground level.



The staff was very friendly and helpful. However, they had only first and second class 'Jennings' stamps. For the stamps to put on the postcards, I was directed to the Post& Go self-service machines. I remember reading these were being phased-out. At this branch, however, there were two.



As the basic (up to 100 grammes) letter rates for Europe and Rest-of-World destinations were merged into a Worldwide basic letter rate, the woman helping me suggested to print thirteen of the European Post & Go labels. Later, seeing that it does not show the value, I decided it would be better to print some Worldwide ones, in case someone at the sorting centre would decide 'Europe' means 'to European addresses' and not £ 2.50 like Worldwide.Two of the recipients cannot afford any postage due, even if there was no postage due.



After writing the postcards and franking them with the appropriate Post & Go labels, I deposited the postcards in the pillar box outside the WH Smith store on the corner of Castle Street and Pride Hill.



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Glad you enjoyed Shrewsbury. I've only been once, the best part of thirty years ago, when we stayed at the Prince Rupert hotel, which seems rather smarter now than it was then. There's also an interesting Roman site nearby, ay Wroxeter. A little eastwards, you're at Ironbridge and the stirrings of the Industrial Revolution. And lots of towns, such as Ludlow, with more of the characteristic black-and-white half-timbered buildings.

Are Tetley tea bags in short supply in the Netherlands?

Actually, I stayed at the Prince Rupert. It needs some maintenance. An English friend has suggested Ludlow. It is on my list but hotels there are extremely expensive.



Not any longer. I brought home 2.5 kilos.

Tetley in the Netherlands? Normally, I order teas from Twinings. It is much cheaper than buying them here and the choice is limited in the Netherlands. I like Tetley. It reminds me of the Yorkshire tea they used to serve at the train stations.

Shrewsbury, Abbey Foregate

At the post office branch in the Darwin Shopping Centre on Pride Hill they had only first and second class 'Jennings' stamps. One of the staff suggested me to go to the post office on Abbey Foregate.

Abbey Foregate is across the Severn from the mediaeval town centre of Shrewsbury. The street takes its name from Shrewsbury Abbey that stood here. Only the church that was reconstructed and a small building survive of the abbey.



Unfortunately, that post office did not open on Saturday or Sunday.

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Westford Massachusetts USA