When I was a kid, I had several hobbies. My brother and I collected empty cigarette packs. But then we threw them out. Then we collected tin cans: from beer, vodka, and soft drinks. We gathered more than 160 of them (different ones). They gathered dust, ruined the interior, and we threw them out.
In 2002 I decided to start another hobby. It has to do with postcards and travel. Before 2002 I rarely traveled. Well, I went to the seaside a couple of times. And sometimes to the suburbs for the summer. But in the summer of 2002 I went to Poland for an internship. That’s when it all started.
I really like Jules Verne’s novel Around the World in 80 Days. The main character—Willy Fogg—had to check in at British consulates in the cities he visited, to confirm the fact of his movement along the round-the-world route. I wanted to do something similar.
The rules are very simple. I need to come to some city. Buy stamps and a postcard with a picture of that city. On the back, write under what circumstances I ended up in this city (for example, a conference or vacation), and possibly also mention who I’m at the post office with right now, what the weather is like. Then put down my home address and drop the postcard in a mailbox.
In total, my collection has 34 postcards (including repeats) from 21 cities in 5 countries. Not once has a postcard been lost or failed to arrive.
Poland: Katowice, Krakow, Gdańsk, Przemyśl, the Tatras, Sopot, Gdynia, Gliwice, Warsaw.
Ukraine: Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Luhansk, Yevpatoria.
Russia: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Sochi.
Latvia: Riga.
Armenia: Yerevan.
I was in Poltava, but unfortunately, at all the post offices I managed to visit, they only had postcards saying “Happy 75th Anniversary!” and “Happy Diamond Wedding Anniversary.”
At the main post office in Odesa they stamped it and canceled the stamps on the picture side. On the back, the lady from the post office had to cancel the stamps with just a ballpoint pen.
In Luhansk I didn’t find any postal postcards, but I did find ordinary ones (the kind sold in a pack). There were no mailing fields on the back, but I found a free spot, wrote the address, stuck on the stamps, and dropped it in a mailbox. The postcard arrived. That’s when I realized that any piece of cardboard with an address and stamps will get there.
In Warsaw I had very little time (a few hours between transfers), and I didn’t find a post office. So in broken Polish I asked the saleswoman at a kiosk to stick on some stamps and drop the postcard in a mailbox in her free time. And she stuck them on and dropped it. So the Warsaw postcard can be considered a cheater one. That was in 2004; since then I don’t do that anymore. If I couldn’t find a post office, it means I didn’t deserve a postcard. Some of my friends know what a bore I am when traveling. When everyone goes to the beach, I turn around and go downtown to look for a post office. I’ve noticed that postcards can be sold anywhere, but stamps—only at the post office.
Recently I found out that Lebedev also collects postcards (see from 2:10). My collection, of course, pales in comparison with Tyoma’s. He has been to a hundred countries and several hundred cities. But your own collection is your own collection. I’m not planning to stop yet.
It so happened that my collection split in two. Knowing about my hobby, friends simply started sending me postcards. My friends travel more than I do, so the “other people’s” collection has all sorts of cities I haven’t been to yet. So if you’re going to the South Pole, give me a shout, I’ll scribble down my address for you. :)
And what stupid hobbies do you have?