Two modern Finnish ladies in the early 1930s

Two young ladies in Helsinki smoking and drinking cognac with coffee in the early 1930s. My colorization of a photo by an unknown photographer. The original is in the Helsinki city museum collection (N160953). 

A day on the beach

A day on the beach in Viken

The Finnish Steamship Co. steamer S/S Urania in Helsinki (early 20th cent.)

The Finnish Steamship Co Ltd. (FÅA) combined passenger and cargo ship S/S Urania in the Helsinki Southern harbour in the early 20th century. My colorization of a photo in the Helsinki city museum collection (N350500). The photographer is unknown.

The 68.6 m Urania - built in 1891 by Wigham Richardson & Co. in Newcastle - was one of the ships carrying Finnish migrants on the route Hanko - Copenhagen - Hull. (In Hull the migrants boarded bigger ships for the journey to the US). The Urania had cabins for 22 first class passengers, 34 second class passengers and 186 third class passengers.

S/S Urania sank in heavy fog near Kullen (not far from where I live) on February 2, 1913 when it collided with the Norwegian S/S Fancy while on its way from Hull to Copenhagen. The passengers and the crew were rescued by the heavily damaged Fancy to Helsingör, Denmark.

The Danish yacht Factory Girl in Öresund

Nice sailing in Öresund early this morning for the Danish yacht Factory Girl: 

The legendary female aviator Elly Beinhorn in Helsinki 1952

The legendary German pilot Elly Beinhorn on arrival to Helsinki in the summer of 1952 (on the right). Beinhorn covered the Helsinki summer olympics for the German magazine Quick as a "flying reporter". The other lady on this picture is Gisela von Bonin, the wife of the photographer, Volker von Bonin. The original photo, here with my colorization, is in the Helsinki city museum collection (N210168)

"Elly Beinhorn, referred to as “one of the most daring women of the 20th century” on the inside cover of her autobiography Alleinflug (Solo Flight), was born in Hannover, Germany in 1907 as the only child of a merchant family. In 1928 she was so fascinated by a lecture she attended held by the trans-Atlantic aviator Hermann Köhl that she immediately applied for acceptance to the Berlin-Staaken amateur pilot school. She received her amateur pilot license in the spring of 1929, and shortly thereafter she acquired her stunt pilot license at the flying school in Würzburg. Additional pilot licenses were to follow.In 1931 she took off on her first solo flight to Africa. After a four-day-long trek through the desert, with the aid of locals she survived an emergency landing during her return flight to Europe, returning safely to Germany: “My emergency landing caused more headlines than my wildest flights.”Several months later the 24-year-old ventured to circle the world in her Klemm KL-20 airplane. The flight took her via southern Asia to Port Darwin in Australia, where she boarded a ship to Panama. From there she flew via the Cordilleras to the east coast of South America, arriving in Buenos Aires on July 23, 1932.In 1933 Elly Beinhorn was awarded the Hindenburg Cup, the highest German honor for an amateur aviator. With her famous Messerschmidt Me 108, which she christened “Typhoon”, in 1935 she flew from Gleiwitz in Silesia to Scutari on the Bosporus and back to Berlin in one day: 3,470 km in 13-1/2 hours.In 1936 Beinhorn married the famous racecar driver Bernd Rosemeyer, who died in a car accident two years later, only ten weeks after the birth of their son Bernd. She remarried in 1941 and within a year gave birth to a much-longed-for daughter, whom she named Stephanie. After the war Beinhorn-Rosemeyer reapplied for and received her pilot licenses in Switzerland in 1951. Once the flying ban was lifted in Germany, she successfully participated in numerous competitions.Since 1932, Elly Beinhorn-Rosemeyer has written a number of highly popular books on her life as an aviator and as the wife of a world-renowned racecar driver. After 5,000 mostly solo flight hours, at 72 she turned in her pilot licenses. Her conclusion: “I was fortunate to be able to fly at a time when flying was still a real adventure. I experienced that marvelous, independent era when one had the sky all to oneself!”Elly Beinhorn-Rosemeyer has received countless honors in the course of her long life, however she has never considered herself to be a 'star'. She has consistently supported the recognition of women aviators."

http://www.fembio.org/english/biography.php/woman/biography/elly-beinhorn/

Japanese youth reporters at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics

Youth reporters for the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shinbun at the Helsinki Olympics in the summer of 1952. My colorization of Volker von Bonin´s photo. The original is in the Helsinki city museum collection (N2100260).

Energy Observer in Öresund

My first impression when I saw this boat last night: What a strange looking sailing yacht! Actually it was one of the most interesting boats in the Sound this summer: Energy Observer - the first hydrogen vessel in the world.

Here is some background:
"Energy Observer, launched in April 2017, is the first vessel in the world to both generate and be powered by hydrogen. Developed in collaboration with engineers from the CEA-LITEN [fr] the boat will test and prove the efficiency of a full production chain that relies on the coupling of different renewable energies. Following its launch[1], the boat left in the Spring 2017[2] for a world tour lasting 6 years in order to optimize its technologies and lead an expedition that will serve durable solutions for energy transition. The boat was nominated first French ambassador of the Sustainable Development Goals by the French Ministry for an ecological and solidary transition." (Wikipedia)

"Energy Observer is the first hydrogen vessel, aiming for the energy autonomy, with zero greenhouse gas emissions or fine particles. This former race boat, an outstanding competitor has been fully transformed into a vessel of the future, powered by electric propulsion thanks to a mix of renewable energies and a hydrogen production system that produces carbon-free hydrogen on board using seawater."

http://www.energy-observer.org/en/#bateau

Wind Mill Day in Hittarp

Yesterday we celebrated Wind Mill Day here in Hittarp. Below is a selection of my pics.

Here is some background information on the mill:

"The mill is one of the largest windmills in Skåne. It was built by the German mill master builder Georg Soffel on behalf of the owners of the estate Kulla Gunnarstorp and went into operation in 1798. Until 1950, the Kulla Gunnarstorps Mölla was regularly in operation and was given to the heritage association Kulla by Countess Brita Wachtmeister in 1962.

It is a smock mill in the typical architecture of that time. On a bricked, plastered and whitewashed ground floor with a surrounding gallery is an octagonal wooden mill tower. The tower is three stories high and carries the rotatable head with the mills' wings.

The mill was declared a monument in 1991. The wooden mill drive and the two grinders have been renovated and the technical interior is completely intact. The wings have also been renewed, so that the mill is operational at all times.

On the Mill Day, which takes place every year on the first Sunday in July and during the local heritage festival in August, the mill is open to the public. Visits are otherwise only possible after previous arrangement by telephone." (The Kulla Gunnarstorp mill home page)