Annie Knockaert from the Limburg municipality of As has received a postcard that she sent to her parents 44-years ago while she was on holiday in Austria in 1980. The postcard had been postmarked by the Austian post office 44 years ago. Where it has been in the meantime remains a mystery.
The card reads “Mum and Dad, sunny greatings from Erpfendorf. It rained all night until we got to Munich. We arrived in Austria to nice weather. 25 degrees. Lots of kisses, Veerle, Marijke, Roger and Annie”.
The front of the postcard shows a beautiful mountain scene typical of Austria where Annie and her family were holidaying at the time. The card was destined for Annie's mother and father, both of whom have since died.
"They have both died since so it was a bit of shock when I recently received the card. At first, I couldn’t believe it. My first thought was do I know anyone that is on holiday in Austria?’”
How the postcard came to be delivered after 44 year is a mystery. "A note from the postman was attached to the postcard. He had heard that my parents had died and that I live at a different address".
The card looks like it had been folded up for some time. “I assume that it had been lying in a cupboard for a long time. It’s a bit of a mystery. I really treasure the card. I am going to frame it and it will be given pride of place in our house”.
Bpost has no idea where the card has been
The Belgian post office’s spokeswoman Veerle Van Mierlo told VRT News that Bpost has no idea why the postcard has only arrived now. "We have a special department that deals with missing postcards.
This card probably didn’t go there. It is a mystery for us. It rarely happens that we find old cards like this. Our postal workers always do their best to ensure that lost letters arrive at the right address”.