A year ago, in September, I decided to start writing one story every week about a post office visit. Some were written right during my travels, others came from older memories, but all of them followed the same structure: first, a brief look at postal history, and then my own (or sometimes my companion Andry’s) experience on the spot. In every post, I also included a photo of the postmark on the postcard as a memento of our visit.

Each post became a little window into the world. One week I found myself in the Vatican post office, where letters travel faster than from anywhere else in Rome, and another week in an African country, where the postal service is slowly recovering and sending a postcard can feel almost like a utopian idea.

Some countries have centuries of postal tradition, while others didn’t even have national stamps until independence. In a few places, due to political reasons or the Covid-19 pandemic, international mail was completely suspended – for example, in Syria, Sudan, or Somaliland.

Looking back, many interesting patterns emerged. In almost every country, stamps are part of national identity, and every post office plays an important role in the village or community in one way or another. Sending a postcard was rarely the primary function of the post office – money transfers, sending and receiving parcels, communication hubs, small tourist stops, internet points, or even bus stations were often more essential. But mailing a postcard gave us a reason to step inside these buildings, explore local life, and see how communities function. The differences between countries and towns usually appeared in speed, reliability, and whether mail today is still an everyday service or more of a nostalgic luxury.

This year-long project also taught me a lot about writing itself. My first posts are certainly different from the later ones, but I tried to keep the same pattern: first, research the historical background, then choose a few interesting facts, and finally tie them to my own experience. Some posts focus on the postal system of an entire country, while others tell the story of just a single post office. That’s how these 58 posts came to life – like a small encyclopedia of post offices, but seen through my own eyes.

If you’d like to go back and browse these stories:

Note: The post offices are grouped by location, not by political status. Postage rates mentioned reflect the time of writing and may have changed since.

• European post offices– Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Greenland, Liechtenstein Switzerland, Vatican
• Asian, Middle East and Eastern Indian Ocean islands post offices– Bahrain, Bhutan, Brunei, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Iraq, Japan, North Korea, Palestine, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Syria
• African post offices Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania, Rwanda, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Sudan, Togo, Uganda
• Western Indian Ocean islands post offices– Comoros, Mauritius, Mayotte, TAAF
• Pacific & Oceania Post Offices– Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Pitcairn Island, Wallis and Futuna
• Caribbean post offices– Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, Saba, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad andTobago,
• South American post offices – Colombia, Peru

I’m not stopping here – but I will slow down. From now on, I plan to post two stories a month instead of four. There are still plenty of fascinating visits waiting to be written about: places like Antarctica, the Faroe Islands, Burundi, Saipan, Suriname…

To thank everyone who has followed and supported me, I’m organizing a little lottery: five lucky readers will each receive a postcard from my next trip. This time, I’ll be traveling to a country where fewer than 1,000 postcards have been sent through the Postcrossing system.

To enter, simply send me your name and country by email to nexttrip123@gmail.com with the subject line “Lottery”. The deadline is November 1, 2025, at 09:00 UTC. The winners will be drawn randomly using wheelsofthename.com. If you win, I will contact you to ask for your address and also I put in to the comments of this post.

And with that, this chapter closes — but the journey continues.

✨ Giveaway Winners! ✨

Here they are – our five lucky winners! 🎉
David (Germany), Stephany (Germany), Szilvi (Spain), Amber (USA), and Suvi (Finland) 💫

I’ve just sent you all an email, so check your inbox (and maybe your spam folder too 😉).

Thank you for all your kind words — you’re the best! 💖
I’m really glad I didn’t have to choose the winners myself, that would’ve been impossible! 😅

Big thanks to everyone who joined in — and stay tuned, I’m sure there’ll be more fun giveaways in the future!

– Maret

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