The Costa Luminosa in the evening

The elegant Costa Luminosa (294x32m) passed Helsingør/Helsingborg tonight at about 8.50 on its way from Copenhagen to Hellesyt in Norway.

The classic cruise ships Marco Polo and Ryndam

Last night, just before the Wind Spirit passed by, I shot these pictures of  the classic cruise ships Marco Polo and Ryndam.

The Marco Polo does not have many balconies, but the shape of this classical ocean liner is beautiful



The Ryndam is somewhat more "modern", but still retains much of the charm of a classic ship



Sailing yacht Wind Spirit in Øresund

The modern system of sails gives a good speed to the Wind Spirit even in light wind




Tonight at about 08.40 PM the gorgeous 134x14m sailing yacht Wind Spirit quietly sailed through Øresund on its way from Copenhagen to Aarhus.

Here is some more information about the ship:

The Wind Spirit is a sleek, four-masted sailing yacht accommodating 148 guests. With four decks and a gross tonnage of 5,350, the Wind Spirit feels like your own private yacht.
Wind Spirit features wide open, teak decks—quite unusual for small ships. With over 10,000 square feet of open deck space, guests will find hidden nooks for private moments giving them a feeling of being on their own private verandah.All staterooms have ocean views, queen beds, flat-screen TV with DVD player and Bose SoundDock speakers for Apple iPods. The Owner’s Suite includes a sitting area.

Wind Spirit passing Hamlet´s Kronborg (Elsinore) castle

Bon voyage Wind Spirit!

András Schiff and J.S. Bach

The Hungarian born András Schiff is one of the great pianists of our time. I have had a chance to listen to him live once, at the Wigmore Hall in London in the early 90´s. An unforgettable evening of piano enjoyment.

Here a young Schiff plays Varia from Bach´s Goldberg Variations BWV 988

The Colombian training ship A.R.C. Gloria in Øresund

A.R.C. Gloria, the training ship of the Colombian Navy passed my place just north of  Helsingborg/Helsingör this evening at  6.33 P.M. Regrettably there was a lot of haze, which is why I have to apologize for the less than good photo.

For those who want to have a closer view of the beautiful  three masted barque (76x12m) which was delivered to the  Colombian Navy in 1968 by the Spanish Naval Construction Company of Bilbao.

The Gloria has a crew of 163. Gabriel Pérez is the name of the captain.

For those who want to have a closer look at this Colombian beauty, a visit to the Tall Ships Races in Halmstad, Sweden (August 5-8) is recommended. The Colombian Embassy in London featured the Gloria on their webpage earlier this summer when the Gloria topped the board at the Prize giving ceremony with four prizes, including Best Crew and Best Presented on Arrival at the Waterford leg of the Tall Ship Races.

If the arrival in Waterford was anything like this arrival in Honolulu in 2009, no wonder the A.R.C. Glory got the Best Presented award:

August 1, 2011: A Swedish icebreaker in Øresund

Today, just before noon, the Swedish icebreaker Oden (108x30m) passed by. Could this sighting be a sign of an early winter?
Hopefully not.

Carola Standertskjöld remembered

Carola Standertskjöld (1941-1997) - or just Carola as she called herself as an artist - was one of my favourite popular singers during my youth years in Finland. In the early sixties she toured Europe as a soloist with the wellknown Hazy Osterwald Sextet and made several European television appearances. Carola was equally at home with chanson, schlager, jazz, blues, soul, latin and folk music, spoke fluently five languages and performed songs in nine. Sadly, she died much too early due to Alzheimer´s disease. But her music is still here for us to enjoy .... 

Forbidden games was one of Carola´s greatest hits in Finland. Here she sings in Swedish (1966)

                                             Carola´s version of Perfidia is from 1965

This Finnish version of Zigeunerjunge was recorded in 1968

A German sailing yacht in Øresund

This German sailing yacht looked nice this morning. It was sailing northwards from Helsingør/Helsingborg.

A sparrow in my garden

This morning, on the last day of July 2011, I shot this photo of a young sparrow in my garden.