The Finnish cruise ship Kristina Katarina in the Sound

Tonight it was nice to see a Finnish cruise ship, the Kristina Katarina, in the Sound. The 138 m x 22 m ship, which is on its way to Kristiansand, is since 2010 owned and operated by the Finnish family-owned shipping company, Kristina Cruises, with over 50 years of experience in the cruise business. 

The Kristina Katarina and Hamlet's Kronborg castle.

The Kristina Katarina in the Sound. 

The Costa Luminosa early in the morning

The Costa Luminosa was approaching Helsingborg/Helsingør early this morning. The 292 m x 32.2 m cruise ship was on its way from Oslo to Copenhagen.

Marine traffic in Øresund on the evening of June 28, 2013

There was a lot of marine traffic in Øresund last night. Here is part of it:

The  large cruise ship Adventure of the Seas (311 m x 33 m ) was on its way from
Copenhagen to Tallinn. 

The Finnish cargo ship Hjördis (120 m x 18 m) was going to Terneuzen late in the evening.

The Dutch container ship Njord's (133 m x 19 m) destination was Vlissingen. 

The Swedish sailing boat Josefine was struggling a little with the spinnaker.

The Landskrona - Ven ferry service

The Ventrafiken ferries M/S Uraniborg (left) and M/S Stjerneborg meet close to their home port Landskrona. 

The ferry service between Landskrona and Tycho Brahe's island Ven (Hven in Danish) in the middle of the Sound, is operated by Ventrafiken. The company uses two modern ferries, the brand new M/S Uraniborg and the recently rebuilt M/S Stjerneborg on the route. The crossing takes about 30 minutes.

The M/Stjerneborg approaching Landskrona.

A closer look at the M/S Stjerneborg, with a capacity of 247passengers and 11 cars.

Passengers disembarking.

From Landskrona's Citadel you have a good view of Ven.

The Landskrona Citadel - One of Europe's largest and best preserved historic fortifications

The city of Landskrona is this year celebrating its 600th anniversary. The city was founded at the location of Scania's (at the time part of Denmark) best natural harbor, as a means of King Erik of Pomerania's anti-Hanseatic policy. 

From a visitor's point of view, the Landskrona Citadel, initially built in 1549-1559 as a purely defensive fortification, is the most interesting sight. The Citadel, with three moats, is one of Europe's largest and best preserved. 

During the first decades of the 20th century, the Citadel was used as a women's prison. It now serves as a museum, and can also be rented for conferences and other occasions. 

A mallard mother with two ducklings - and a possible father

This mallard hen and her two ducklings were yesterday enjoying the nice afternoon at the Landskrona Citadel. The male in the third picture could be the father, but most likely not, since about  90% of mallard drakes move on and find another mate after the hen's eggs are close to hatching. Fortunately, the hen is well capable of looking after the ducklings without the drake. 

Nearby a baby herring gull was waiting for the food service to continue:

Former Danish Navy missile boat HDMS Sehested (P547) towed to Copenhagen

Early this morning (about 5 AM) tugboat Baltsund was towing the former missile boat of the Royal Danish Navy, HDMS Sehested (P547) towards Copenhagen. The  46 m x  7.4 m  P547, which was on active duty in 1978 - 2000,  now serves as a museum ship at the Royal Danish Naval Museum. The boat is now returning to the museum from Assens, where it has been in for service and repairs. 

Containerships VII passing by at 4 AM

Containership VII in Øresund on June 28, 2013.

One of the Øresund regulars, the Finnish Containerships VII, was early this morning (at 4 AM) going northwards in the Sound. The 158 m x 22 m ship is estimated to arrive in Teesport tomorrow morning.

Container ship Hanna in the Nordic summer night

This is container ship Hanna (Cyprus flag) in the Sound tonight, at about 11 PM. The 134 m x 23 m ship is on its way to Aarhus:

The view from the top of Helsingborg's Medieval Kärnan tower

The top of the medieval Kärnan tower is the highest publicly accessible point in Helsingborg. The view over to the city to Helsingør on the Danish side, as well as to other directions, is simply breathtaking. A climb up the steep stairs of the tower is strongly recommended if you plan to visit Helsingborg! 

The medieval Kärnan tower.

DFDS cruise ferry Crown Seaways on its way to Oslo

The Danish cruise ferry Crown Seaways is together with the other Copenhagen - Oslo ferry, the Pearl Seaways, perhaps the most often seen commercial ship in the Sound. The Crown appears in some of my previous pictures, but I thought that now is the time to publish a couple of fresh shots of the 171 m x 28 m vessel. They are from last night.

Ro-ro ship Finnsea in Øresund, late last night

This is the well lit ro-ro cargo ship Finnsea approaching Helsingborg/Helsingør late last night. The 188 m  x 27 m ship is on its way from Aarhus to Helsinki.

Jamie Barton, "the Georgia farm girl" who won the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2013 competition

Mezzo Jame Barton, "the Georgia farm girl", who won the Cardiff Singer of the World  2013 crown.

"The Georgia farm girl who yesterday won the prestigious BBC Cardiff Singer of the World crown". That is how Iowa Public Radio described the winner of the 30th anniversary Cardiff Singer of the World competition, mezzo soprano Jamie Barton, who also carried off the song prize. (I was particularly pleased that she chose to sing Var det en dröm? (Was it a dream?), one of Sibelius's finest songs, which sadly is not performed very often by non-Scandinavian singers). 

Argentina's Daniela Mack could also have won.

All the five finalists were outstanding talents, and the prize could very well had gone to e.g. the Argentinian mezzo Daniela Mack or the Croatian bass baritone Marko Mimica. I also liked the expressive singing and the personality of Italian soprano Teresa Romano. 

Of the two studio expert commentators, voice coach Mary King was the clearly more helpful and appreciative. First Singer of the World winner Karita Mattila seemed to have only one comment about Barton and the other finalists - "more color". 

Italian soprano Teresa Romano has a strong personality and a fine voice.

The Beneteau Oceanis 58 yacht Flipje in Helsingborg

Last night I shot these pictures of the gorgeous Dutch yacht Flipje - a Beneteau Oceanis 58 - in the Helsingborg marina. Flipje, is the mascot of the Dutch city of Tiel, where you can find a statue, and even a museum, dedicated to this figure, which was associated with a once famous jam factory.

PS

If you would like to charter a Beneteau Oceanis 58, I noticed the e.g. the Blue Passion is available at Simpson Bay, Tortola.

Pictures of the Helsingborg marina on a cloudy June evening

The Helsingborg marina and ferry terminal looked great last night, with some distinct clouds above: