Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Sea Holly

When we had a nice walk at the beach of Glommen/Sweden this summer, we found wild Sea Holly. Although this plant looks so strong and well-fortified on on hand and so fragual growing just in sand on the other hand, actually it is on the Red List of highly endangered plants. Since the coastal preservation measures destroy the habitat of this sea mineral dependent plant it becomes rare at European coasts.


Art 2015 II

 Coastline Als/Denmark - 2015 - Acrylic on Canvas - 24x18cm - $200 available at Saatchi Online


SkagenDenmark - 2015 - Acrylic on Canvas - 24x18cm - $200 available at Saatchi Online

Sea  - 2015 - Acrylic on Canvas - 24x18cm - $200 available at Saatchi Online

 Soby/Denmark - Acrylic on Canvas - 2015 - 24x18cm


 Lyo/Denmark - 2015 - Acrylic on Canvas - 24x18cm - $200 available at Saatchi Online


Bagenkop/Denmark - 2015 - Acrylic on Canvas -  24x18cm - available at Saatchi Online

Monday, December 28, 2015

Vejro/Denmark - 08/21/2015

That day we sailed 81.74 NM. We wanted to reach Vejro today, since for the following days heavy winds were predicted. We started at 5:30 am....
We already had quite some wind and at noon, when reaching the chalk rocks close to Rodvig/Saejland, we took a break there and had lunch and a short walk at the beach for recovering.

On we sailed, the sun set slowly, we had dinner, darkness felt around us. The moon was very low and hysterically changed it's color to dark red over the next hours or so....It sank deeper and deeper until it was gone and it was completely dark around us.....
We reached Vejro shortly before midnight, only on light at the harbor entrance was illuminated which made the orientation rather tricky in this pitch black darkness around us....anyway in the very last moment the pier was to me seen, Wolfgang changed tack just in time and we were in safe harbor of Vejro....

Kobenhavn/Denmark - 08/20/2015

After our sightseeing tour at Castel Kronborg, we started for the 22.2 NM to Denmark's capital Kobenhavn. It was a easy drive and arrived at the harbor Lange Linie later that afternoon.

The evening we spent exploring the inner city. The children were very impressed by the change of guards at the royal palace.

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Castel Kronborg Helsingor/Denmark - 08/20/2015

We took our time to explore Castel Kronborg in Helsingor.
When this castel was built in the 16th century word spread in Europe how magnificent and beautiful it was.
Although the famous english poet Shakespeare had never been to Helsingor, he most likely felt fascinated by the reports about Castel Kronborg and located the tragedy of Hamlet at this very place....
We started our tour in the casemate. First we were introduced to the story of Holger Dansk, a strong and loved kind, who ones disappeared but will come back one day his people are in need for him.
The deeper we went into the underground of the castel the darker and damp it became and bats were flying around our heads. The children consider this as the best part of the whole sightseeing ;-)
The castel really is beautiful and a lot can be learned about danish and Scandinavian  history.


Saturday, December 26, 2015

Glommen/Sweden - 08/18/2015

Not much was going on in Glommen.....Not even the fish shop, we read about in the pilot, existed anymore....some people told us, all fish is brought to a large fish factory somewhere else.....

At the beach near by the harbor, there is a huge rock called Glommen, which gave the name to the village and was already recognized as landmark in ancient times.

However, we had a nice hike to the lighthouse in the afternoon and even found the endangered sea holly...


Fortress Varberg/Sweden - 08/18/2015

After a long day sailing the day before, we took it more easy and started the day by exploring the Fortress Varberg.

We were too early for the museum, but the whole complex of buildings was very interesting anyway.

The first fortress was built here in the 13th century by an danish earl and it is were well observable that over the succeeding centuries the site was rebuilt, changed, extended and rearranged even in the 20 century.


Varberg/Sweden - 08/17/2015

At that point of the journey, we felt rather short of time and therefore made it a day full of sailing. we did 51,24 NM that day and arrived in Varberg in the evening when the sun was about to set.

Friday, December 25, 2015

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Rörö/Sweden - 08/16/2015

Rörö was definitely one of the most beautiful places we visited this summer!
Since we were there at off-season, it was not crowed (what I assume would be the case in main season...) and the nature of the natural reserve was just beautiful! I liked especially the fresh water pond with water lilies close to the beach.

Ellös/Sweden - 08/15/2015

Wolfgang started antibiotics that day and we made a short trip of 10 NM to Ellös.
No much was going on in Ellös, but it is the town of the very famous Haller-Rassay shipyard and we had a neighbor at the pontoon with a rather unusually ensign.....take a close look at the pictures ;-)


Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Reso/Sweden - 08/13/2015

There was no wind today, so it took us back to Sweden by engine.  At that point it definitely felt like being on the ay back, although a whole bunch of vacation days were left.

What made the mood even worse, that Wolfgang had a really sore throat with high fever and had to spend the rest of the day inked. Therefore we went for a  harbor and Resø was a very good choice.
It is an active fishing harbor, has a little supermarket with (most important ice cream :-) ) and the atmosphere was busy but relaxed.

I did a lot of laundry that day and we simply hoped that with the help of some antibiotics Wolfgang would feel better the next day...

Nordre-Sandor/Norway - 08/12/2015

At that day, we took an even shorter trip of about 5 NM. But before reaching the remote bay of Nordre-Sandoy, we a a quick break in Skjerhalden, buying wonderful fish in a shop directly at the harbor (pst...we have been here before ;-)
It was a quiet day with delicious grilled fish, an afternoon at the beaches of the bay and a walk in the forest until the mosquitos ate us up....
Later that day we first heard and then saw some inhabitants of the island :-)
The sun set was gorgeous :-)



Ekevika-Singløya/Norway - 08/11/2015

At this day, it was only a short trip of 20 NM and we took the beautiful way through the Hankosund.

After leaving the protection of the sund, the wind was getting kind of rough, but after being on board now for some time, no-one is feeling sea sick anymore and the spirits were high.

And then we reach, what we will later refer to as the most beautiful place we have been to on this whole journey, a small piece of paradise...
We anchored at the rocks of the bay Ekevika on the small island Singløya, where we were completely alone (except of some sea gulls having an eye on us...). The island is beautifully forested and a lot of wild blueberries and low bush cranberries are growing here.
In the evening we had the best campfire ever.... :-)

Monday, December 14, 2015

Engelsviken/Norway - 08/10/2015

We left Haoya in the morning for Engelsviken.
We have been to this natural harbor bay at the East side of the Oslo Fjord twice before: One time last summer  and in 2012 by car, when we took the Colorline ferry to Oslo in the autumn...
We like this small suburban town, with a few craftsman's establishments, offices, one supermarket and an absolutely excellent fish shop. Besides of that it is rather quiet and unspectacular...(ah, except of the showers which are very spacious, new and very clean ;-)).


Haoya/Norway - 08/09/2015

After a wonderful morning at the Fram Museum we started going back Southward, down the Oslo Fjord. 
Todays stop was at Haoya, an larger island close to Oscarsborg. Apparently there had been quite some agriculture on this island. These days some houses are for rent as vacation homes, some are abandoned. 
we had the chance to tie at a very small pontoon in a sheltered bay. 
In the afternoon we took a longer walk over the island, when we suddenly met some very shy ladies.....with a bit of patience the children were allowed to offer them some delicious branches...Nearby was a small dairy farm, where we bought some rather expensive but very tasty goat cheese.
For the evening we had a brilliant campfire with bread on branch-sticks coming together with one of these fantastic nordic sunsets......:-)



Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Oslo - Fram Museum/Norway - 08/09/2015

For the next morning the plan was to visit the Fram Museum.
From the royal sailing club to the museum it was an almost 2 km walk through a lovely mansion district with beautiful houses.

The Fram Museum was definitely THE highlight of our vacation to me. I started to read Nansen's "Farthest North" a couple of weeks ago. The Museum do not show a model or a replica of the expedition ship Fram. In this museum there is the very Fram, which was built by Colin Archer and with which Nansen and his team set of to reach the North Pole.
In fact they drifted with the Fram frozen in pack ice until they felt  - 18 month later! - Nansen and his colleague Johansen  could pursue on ski and sledges to reach the North Pole by feet.
Actually they didn't, because at one point the ice drift brought them faster Southwest than they could walk North....anyway they reached 86° North and about one and a half years after they left the Fram they came back to Norway after an unbelievable demanding walk for month over ice and a quite chilly, 8 month long winter they spend on Jackson island.

I didn't expect how much the visit of this museum, standing on this very ship, which Nansen described so very detailed, would touch me.... but in fact I was very touched!


(Some of the pictures taken inside the museum are not that sharp, since the light was rather dim, but I show them anyway in hope to give a even better impression of this wonderful museum.)


Oslo - Dronningen/Norway - 08/08/2015

After a really pleasant morning in Oscarsborg, we were on our way to Oslo. It was a nice trip up the Oslo Fjord.
In Oslo we choose to stay at the royal sailing club, since it is rather close to the Fram Museum we plan to visit the next day.
In order to explore a bit of Oslo again (we have been to Oslo by ferry in 2012) we went across the harbor region by dinghy in the evening just to have a walk of maybe and hour in the city center. But just as we tied the dinghy to some pontoon and were about to set of some security guy reminded us very pilot and friendly that the fee even for a short stay on a dinghy would be €30,- with a fine of additional €50,- if we would not pay immediately.....it was an easy decision to explore Oslo rather by boat than by feet....


Oscarsborg/Norway - 08/08/2015

Since we had a day long traveling the day before, we took our time to explore Oscarsborg.
Oscarsborg is located in the Oslo Fjord controlling a narrow point. A Fortress was but 1844-45. Three cannons, which were constructed by Krupp in Germany, are installed here. They are named Moses, Aron and Josva. Moses first fall into the Fjord when arrived in Norway, which is the reason for the naming...
Although I am not that much into military stuff, the cannons and they way they are constructed were very impressive.
In addition a beautiful nature surrounds the fortress and the view at the Oslo Fjord is brilliant.