Following a brief update on Philatelia Munich (see separate article), Olaf Hoffmann spoke about his visit to the FIP World Exhibition, which took place in Dubai from February 4–8, 2026.

Entrance to the exhibition hall with an attractive frontage

As the author of a gourmet blog, Olaf naturally couldn’t resist visiting a few top-class restaurants; here at "The Link", run by Madame Le Pic, with breathtaking views of Dubai’s skyline (in the background on the left is the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building)

Following Ruud van Wijnen’s article in BALTIKUM No. 20 on value letters from Latvia, a number of members rummaged through their collections for similar items.

Simon Schütt found this cover, which was actually sent on April 23, 1919, from Talsi in Latvia to Jena in Germany.

Front

Back

Our monthly video chat, where anyone with an interest in Baltic philately is welcome, takes place on every first Saturday of the month at 17 h CET more technical information on this here).

Next date: Easter Saturday, April 4, 2026

Special theme: none so far

Join the Zoom meeting with:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85338222428?pwd=WGpZRXJTZVpnSnB6eHg4Ukx2aFVHdz09

Some trade fairs still attract large audiences. Philatelia Munich proved this on its opening day. Visitor numbers only began to decline slightly around 3 p.m., which is normal. While this success could not be repeated on Sunday, professional philatelists' reactions indicate that Philatelia performed above average. The organisers of the APHV, led by Wolfgang Lang and Stefan Lutter, deserve credit for this.

The exhibition team from our working group had some interesting conversations with visitors and colleagues from other groups. Considering the size of countries with populations similar to those of Munich, Hamburg and Berlin, it is astonishing how many philatelists have an interest in the Baltic states. We sold the last copy of the railway post book presented by Oliver Hanschmidt, as well as some of the remaining stock of stamps ordered privately for the association's anniversary. Our exhibition team this time consisted of Friedhelm Doell, Reinhard Heinrich, Olaf Hoffmann, Thomas Löbbering and Torsten Berndt.

We also exchanged ideas among ourselves and strengthened our connections, particularly with active collectors in the Munich area. We also spoke with representatives of the trade press, as well as professional philatelists whose offerings provided all participants with one or two gems for their collections. Visiting trade fairs, especially Philatelia Munich, is always worthwhile.

Addition to the image on the right: This special catalogue from the Köhler auction house presents the "Mare Baltikum" collection, which will soon be put up for sale. We sent it to ArGe members who had requested it to supplement their literature collection.

Friedhelm Doell and Olaf Hoffmann posed for the photographer on behalf of the exhibition team.