DE-6234252 The Icebreaker Lenin

Lenin (Ленин) is a decommissioned Soviet nuclear-powered icebreaker. It was launched in 1957and was both the world's first nuclear-powered surface ship and the first nuclear-powered civilian vessel. Lenin entered operation in 1959 and worked clearing sea routes for cargo ships along Russia's northern coast. From 1960 to 1965 the ship covered over 85,000 miles during the Arctic navigation season, of which almost 65,000 were through ice. On April 10th 1974 the vessel was awarded the Order of Lenin. She was officially decommissioned in 1989. The icebreaker Lenin was subsequently converted to a museum ship and is now permanently based at Murmansk.

Murmansk (Му́рманск) is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, It is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, an inlet of the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, close to Russia's borders with Norway and Finland. (Source: Wikipedia)

This postcard came from Lera (7 June 2017) who currently resides in Germany. 

The Star Ferry of Hong Kong

Logo of the Star Ferry

This postcard (20 August 2015) DS Postcrossing came from Yvonne. It shows a panoramic view of Hong Kong. On the bottom half is the iconic Star Ferry of Hong Kong.

The Star Ferry, or The "Star" Ferry Company, is a passenger ferry service operator and tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Its principal routes carry passengers across Victoria Harbour, between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. It was founded in 1888 as the Kowloon Ferry Company, adopting its present name in 1898.
The fleet of twelve ferries currently operates two routes (four prior to April 1, 2011) across the harbour, carrying over 70,000 passengers a day, or 26 million a year. Even though the harbour is crossed by railway and road tunnels, the Star Ferry continues to provide an inexpensive mode of harbour crossing. The company's main route runs between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui.  Unfortunately, since the Central Star Ferry Pier was moved from its old pier next to City Hall to the new location outside International Finance Centre, passenger numbers have fallen drastically to mainly tourists and a small number of commuters. This has meant the Star Ferry company has lost many millions of dollars since the relocation.

DE-4423467 Lufttransport Süd (LTU Süd) Boeing 757-200

LTU Süd no longer fly the skies.

Lufttransport Süd, or LTS, was an airline based in Munich and it flew from May 1984. Its parent company was LTU from Düsseldorf and this subsidiary, LTS was started in August 1983. LTS started with three Boeing 757s. Soon after its inception, the blue LTS logo and paintjob were changed to a white top/red bottom paintjob with LTU Süd logo in order to match more closely that of its parent company. At its peak, LTU Süd operated up to six 767-300s and thirteen 757-200s. All LTU Süd flights were always marketed as LTU flights. With the restructuring of LTU (the parent company), LTU Süd (as a business subsidiary on paper) was merged into its parent at around 1997 and ceased to exist. Air Berlin later acquired LTU.

This postcard came from Nadine (14 August 2015) Postcrossing.  It shows a Boeing 757-200 with LTU Süd livery.

The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner that was designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the manufacturer's largest single-aisle passenger aircraft and was produced from 1981 to 2004. The twinjet has a two-crew member glass cockpit, turbofan engines of sufficient power to allow takeoffs from relatively short runways and higher altitudes, a conventional tail and, for reduced aerodynamic drag, a supercritical wing design. Intended to replace the smaller three-engine 727 on short and medium routes, the 757 can carry 200 to 295 passengers for a maximum of 3,150 to 4,100 nautical miles (5,830 to 7,590 km), depending on variant.

The 757 was produced in two fuselage lengths. The original 757-200 entered service in 1983; the 757-200PF, a package freighter (PF) variant, and the 757-200M, a passenger-freighter combi model, debuted in the late 1980s.

SW FB-458 Hong Kong Kai Tak International Airport (1925-1998)

Kai Tak Airport 啟德機場 was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. It was officially known as Hong Kong International Airport from 1954 to 6 July 1998, when it was closed and replaced by the new Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok, 30 kilometres (19 mi) to the west. In 2013, the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal was opened on the site of the former airport's runway.

With numerous skyscrapers and mountains located to the north and its only runway jutting out into Victoria Harbour, landings at the airport were dramatic to experience and technically demanding for pilots.  As shown in the postcard, planes flying low over Kowloon City while landing or taking off from Kai Tak Airport were daily occurrences. 

 

Personal note:

I remember being with a friend in Mongkok trying to talk above the hum of the streets and the roar of jet engines above. 

This postcard came from Gloria C. (3 February 2015) Swap-bot.

Vespa - a famous Italian scooter

Vespa is an Italian brand of scooter manufactured by Piaggio. The name means “wasp” in Italian.

The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of Pontedera, Italy—to a full line of scooters and one of seven companies today owned by Piaggio.

From their inception, Vespa scooters have been known for their painted, pressed steel unibody which combines a complete cowling for the engine (enclosing the engine mechanism and concealing dirt or grease), a flat floorboard (providing foot protection), and a prominent front fairing (providing wind protection) into a structural unit.

This postcard is a reproduction of a vintage advertisement of the Vespa scooter.

FI-2246591 MS Viking Grace

MS Viking Grace is a cruiseferry constructed at STX Europe, Turku, Finland for the Finland-based ferry company Viking Line. The ship took service on 13 January 2013. It is the first large scale passenger ferry to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) but it can also operate with traditional heavy fuel oil or with diesel. MS Viking Grace does a return trip from Turku to Stockholm with a stop at Mariehamn (capital of the Åland Islands) or Långnäs Harbour (at night).
This postcard was posted in Åland Islands and the stamp depicts the ship MS Viking Grace.
This postcard came from Marja-Leena who sent it during her cruise with her husband (27 November 2014) Postcrossing.