Cover #16: Estonia: Beautiful Sports Stamps

An absolutely beautiful cover from Estonia is here with wonderful sporting stamps. The cover was sent by Kriistina from Estonia and contained some really beautiful used stamps, a FDC and a card. All are beautiful.

The 3 stamps on the left form a complete set of of three commemorative stamps issued on the occasion of the 1st Baltic Sea Games held under the aegis of the International Olympic Committee in a number of Estonian towns from 23 June to 4 July 1993. The description of the 3 stamps is as follows:-

• The 60 s stamp (on the left) features wrestling, one of Estonia’s most successful sports in the first half of this century. Famous Estonians wrestlers include the professionals Aleksander Aberg, Georg Lurich and Georg Hackenschmidt from the early 1900s, as well as the Olympic gold medal winners Kristjan Palusalu (1936) and Johannes kotkas (1952).
  
• The 1 kr + 25 s stamp features a Viking ship with a sail carrying a map of the Baltic sea area, and the colours of the participating nations in the shape of warrior shields lining the side of the ship.
  
• The figure of the shot putter on the 2 kr stamp actually represents Kalevipoeg, the hero of the Estonian national epic. Kalevipoeg’s victory over his brothers in a stone-throwing test of strength by which he come to inherit his father’s kingdom is one of the best known episodes of the 19th century poetical work.
  

The magnificent stamp on the right top of the cover was issued on 4 May 2004 by Estonia. It's a EUROPA stamp promoting vacations The relatively brief Estonian summer provides enough, various opportunities of spending the leisure in a pleasant way. As Estonia is a maritime country, the holiday is often connected with the sea. There are numerous beautiful beaches, notably in Pirita, Pärnu, Haapsalu, Toila etc. Besides sunbathing, a day on the beach offers opportunities of more athletic activity as well, windsurfing or yachting being just two options out of many. Both require skill, strength as well as an adventurous spirit. A day under the sails, breathing salty sea air, can be a unique experience.