The Royal Netherlands Navy's new offshore patrol vessel Friesland in Øresund

The Royal Netherlands Navy's brand new offshore patrol vessel HNLMS Friesland (P842), which this afternoon was going southwards in the Sound, is a very nice looking ship. Friesland is one of four Holland Class offshore patrol vessels in the Dutch navy. The 108.4 x 16 m ship's

complement is 50.



HNLMS Friesland and a Danish fishing boat close to Helsingør. 

Friesland, with hotel Marienlyst in the background (on the right).

The most beautiful European postage stamp in 2013

The Mail Delivery Vehicles stamp was released on May 6, 2013. The stamp portrays a Volvo LV-70 mail truck from 1933 and two drivers standing in front of it. The color tones of the old black-and-white photo have been adjusted to fit a four-color image. In addition to mail deliveries, the Volvo truck was also used for carrying passengers. Today, the 80-year-old car stands in the Mobilia automobile and road museum.
(image by Susanna Rummu and Ari Lakaniemi)

This Finnish postage stamp, designed by Susanna Rummu and Ari Lakaniemi, has been voted the most beautiful in Europe by a panel of judges. Issued in May, the stamp depicts two postal workers standing with their 1933 Volvo postal van.

A total of 56 stamps released in different European countries entered the competition, all depicting mail vehicles, in accordance with the theme of the series. 
The jury paid particular attention to the originality of the stamp design and technical aspects, such as the quality of the graphics. An important criterion was how well the stamp pleases the average stamp user, as well as philatelists with more interest in the matter.
The nine members of the jury were experts in graphic design and stamps from different European countries, including Germany, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. The president of the jury, which convened in Brussels, was the Belgian philately activist Guy Coutant, the organizer of the distinguished Grand-prix de l'art Philatelique.
"The quality of the entries was high, and we needed three rounds of voting and a lot of debate to choose the winner. In the end, the Finnish stamp was the clear winner in all voting criteria," Coutant explains.

“In the end the Finnish stamp was the clear winner based on all voting criteria,” said philatelist expert and panel head Dr. Guy Coutant.
Altogether 56 countries entered stamps released this spring, all depicting different models of postal vehicles.

Congratulations to the Finnish post office Itella and the designers!

A ferry and a castle

Two images from last night:

The Helsingør - Helsingborg ferry Mercandia IV with the island of Ven
in the background.

The Kronborg castle.

Birds and boats

Another gorgeous September morning in Øresund. You never know what in store for you at the Hittarp reef. Today it was birds and boats ...

A sleepy Common Shelduck, six Canada Geese and the Royal Swedish Navy's
coastal patrol craft Jägaren V150 (36.6 m x 6.3 m).



Jägaren on its way northwards in the Sound.

 

The small tanker Matthew (88 m x 16 m) approaching the Hittarp reef.

Tanker Matthew and a Danish fishing boat.

 

Matthew and the Common Shelduck - now asleep.

PS 

I added images of two other red and white coloured ships approaching the

Hittarp reef this morning:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The historic Svartå Manor - the largest non-ecclesiastic wooden building in Finland

The historic Svartå Manor, situated about 80 km west of Helsinki, is the largest non-ecclesiastic wooden building in Finland. The architectural style of the manor, which was built between 1783 and 1792, is a mix between rococo and neo-classicism. The interior is mainly in Gustavian style. A unique bedroom, where one king (Sweden's Gustav III) and two emperors (Alexander I and Alexander II of Russia) have slept, is of particular interest.

In the early 20th century the manor was owned by Finland's then richest man, Hjalmar Linder, who also was a major patron of the arts. Among Linder's guests at Svartå were e.g. composer Jean Sibelius and the Swedish painter Louis Sparre. 

The privately owned Svartå Manor is now a museum. The surrounding buildings have been converted to a small hotel and a restaurant.

A full moon in Laröd

A full moon in Laröd last night:

 

  

The Norwegian Star on its way to Bergen

The colourful cruise ship Norwegian Star tonight was going northward in Øresund for the penultimate time this cruise season. The 294 m x 32 m ship is on its way to Bergen.

 

PS

 

I added a picture of the cruise ferry Crown Seaways, which passed by about half an hour

before the Norwegian Star:

 

 

 

 

A great spotted woodpecker at work

Tonight I saw this Great Spotted Woodpecker busy at work in Laröd:

The classic cruise liner Black Watch meets tanker Ramona in Øresund

The classic cruise liner Black Watch passed by just before 6 PM on its way from Copenhagen to Rosyth (close to Edinburgh). As the Scandinavian cruise season is about to close, only a small number of cruise ships are still about to enter the sound this autumn.



The 205 m x 25 m Black Watch entered service as Royal Viking Star already in 1972

The Black Watch meets the Swedish tanker Ramona close to Helsingør.

 

My neighbour's house seen through raindrops

On this rainy morning, I had a look at my neighbour's house (and Øresund in the background) through the raindrops on my living room window. The image is unfortunately not the sharpest, but still I think you can see the variety of "views". I rotated the image upside down in order to get the drop "images" right:

 

PS

I added two more raindrop images:

 

The Norwegian tanker Sten Bothnia and Kronborg castle

The Norwegian tanker Sten Bothnia and Kronborg castle this afternoon. The 144 m x 24 m tanker is heading for Szczecin.

The small freighter Rova going to Gothenburg

The small (79 m x 12 m) cargo ship Rova (Antigua Barbuda registry) was in the Sound on its way to Gothenburg this afternoon:

The Polish Navy's training ship Wodnik in Øresund

The Polish Navy's training ship Wodnik (251) was this afternoon going northwards in Øresund. The 72.2. m x 11.9 m ship, launched in 1975, has a complement of 56 (24 officers) plus101 midshipmen.


Wodnik approaching Helsingør.

Wodnik and Kronborg castle.

Wodnik with the Danish coast in the background.


PS
Here is a nice video of Wodnik in stormy weather:



Two North American transportation pictures from the early 1920s

 

 

These two Ontarian horses were pulling a load of 306 logs.

Cotton bales transported in North Carolina.

Arctic cruise ship Polar Pioneer on its way to Gdynia

The Polar Pioneer going slowly in Øresund.

The former Russian ice-strengthened research ship Akademik Schuleykin (built in Finland in 1982) was in 2000 converted to an arctic cruise ship - renamed Polar Pioneer - providing accommodation for 56 passengers.

The  71 m x 13 m Russian registry ship, here seen approaching Helsingborg/Helsingør this afternoon, is slowly heading for Gdynia. Possibly for maintenance or repair (?).

General cargo ship Donau approaching Helsingborg/Helsingør

This is the Dutch general cargo ship Donau approaching Helsingborg/Helsingør this afternoon. The 128 m x 15 m Donau is on its way to Muuga in Estonia.

German yacht Nike in windy Øresund weather

The small German yacht Nike (GER 27) was this morning braving windy

and rainy weather in the Sound:

 

Autumn seaweed on the beach

The fact that autumn has arrived is clearly visible at the Hittarp beach, where the display of seaweed is quite colourful:

Container ship Aila and tanker Amarant against dark Øresund skies

Tonight the Finnish container ship Aila and the Portuguese tanker Amarant passed by in the Sound against dark autumn skies:



Aila (141 m x 22 m) is on its way to Teesport.

A closer look at Aila, which was built in 2007.

 

Amarant and Kronborg castle.



Amarant's (120 m x 17 m) destination is Antwerp.

 PS
I added this image of Kronborg castle against a dark sky:

Tanker CPO Finland in a misty Øresund

Nomen ist omen - oil/chemical tanker CPO Finland was this afternoon on its way to Finland (Porvoo) in misty weather conditions. The 185 m x 28 m UK registry tanker was built in 2008.

The CPO Finland is owned by the Hamburg based Claus-Peter Offen Tankschiffreederei.