A Journey from Nordic Exploration to Exquisite Cultural Gems

A privileged glimpse at the best of Northern Europe, from the greenest cities in Denmark to the stunning fjords of Southern Norway, and a stylish haven in North Germany. Days of exploration blend with idyll days at sea for a journey unlike any you’ve known before. Copenhagen and Goteborg, while each distinct, both share titles of being ranked as two of the world’s greenest cities. A powerful sense of creative design and a zest for the cosy Hygge lifestyle bestows a wonderful joyous vibe on both locales. Recharged. Renewed. A day at sea leads us past a maze of islands swimming in a narrow fjord to call on Norway’s crown city of Oslo. History is more than nostalgia here and it is proudly on display at the Viking Ship Museum and City Hall, where the much-anticipated Nobel Peace Prizes are awarded each year. Don’t miss the formal gardens at Frogner Park, where more than 200 sculptures present humanity’s emotions in beautiful and bizarre displays. Have you ever found yourself smiling this much? Not until you board a fast-boat to experience lovely Lysefjord and glide along Hegjane Waterfall, or discover a mountain stairway, created by Nepalese sherpas, to Preikestolen (pulpit rock) for soul-enriching cliff-views. Fuel the spirit with the neo-Nordic food scene that has put Stavanger on the culinary map. But don’t forget her history within Stavanger Cathedral that is Norway’s oldest. From the North Sea, we ply the Elbe River more than 130 kilometres inland to call upon Hamburg, Germany’s “capital of cool.” Affluent shopping promenades mix with endowed museums, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the iconic architectural concert hall; all have a role in cementing Hamburg as a must-do retreat amongst the most sophisticated social circles. Once the home of designer Karl Lagerfeld who, like the city, anticipated what came next in fashion, media and moguls.
The glamourous age is alive and well. A privileged glimpse at the best of Northern Europe, from the greenest cities in Denmark to the stunning fjords of Southern Norway, and a stylish haven in North Germany. Days of exploration blend with idyll days at sea for a journey unlike any you’ve known before. Copenhagen and Goteborg, while each distinct, both share titles of being ranked as two of the world’s greenest cities. A powerful sense of creative design and a zest for the cosy Hygge lifestyle bestows a wonderful joyous vibe on both locales. Recharged. Renewed. A day at sea leads us past a maze of islands swimming in a narrow fjord to call on Norway’s crown city of Oslo. History is more than nostalgia here and it is proudly on display at the Viking Ship Museum and City Hall, where the much-anticipated Nobel Peace Prizes are awarded each year. Don’t miss the formal gardens at Frogner Park, where more than 200 sculptures present humanity’s emotions in beautiful and bizarre displays. Have you ever found yourself smiling this much? Not until you board a fast-boat to experience lovely Lysefjord and glide along Hegjane Waterfall, or discover a mountain stairway, created by Nepalese sherpas, to Preikestolen (pulpit rock) for soul-enriching cliff-views. Fuel the spirit with the neo-Nordic food scene that has put Stavanger on the culinary map. But don’t forget her history within Stavanger Cathedral that is Norway’s oldest. From the North Sea, we ply the Elbe River more than 130 kilometres inland to call upon Hamburg, Germany’s “capital of cool.” Affluent shopping promenades mix with endowed museums, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the iconic architectural concert hall; all have a role in cementing Hamburg as a must-do retreat amongst the most sophisticated social circles. Once the home of designer Karl Lagerfeld who, like the city, anticipated what came next in fashion, media and moguls.

If there is magic on the planet, then it is contained in water. On this journey, we discover liquid highways that have flowed for thousands of years through the most desirable destinations. Hamburg, seated on the Elbe River and straddling the North and Baltic seas, was built atop a group of narrow islands by medieval shipping merchants of the still proud Free and Hanseatic League. With six times as many canals as Venice, Hamburg owes its affluence to water. Today, the most notable network of canals wind through the gentrified neighbourhood of Speicherstadt. Once the largest warren of water-facing warehouses in the world, it is now a thriving UNESCO World Heritage Site teeming with boats, bistros, shops and nightlife. Heavily hyped as the newest darling of achievement is the sensational waterfront Elbphilharmonie concert hall. Crowned with a wildly beautiful wave-like glass tiara, she lives up to her accolades as the most acoustically advanced concert hall in the world. Landmark architecture in Rotterdam is similarly set beside life-sustaining canals. Once a way to control tidal flooding, the canals, they now thoroughly reflect a lifestyle of marvellous urban living. Curious and cubist, the Kubuswoningen apartments seem to fall like stacked yellow squares into a quaint barge-lined canal. Here the promenade leads to Oudehaven, where the White House, the oldest high-rise building in the Netherlands, towers as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our quest for canals and culture continues to Zeebrugge that is forever linked by the Baudouin Canal to Bruges. Fairytale, charming, UNESCO, the accolades cascade like the currents. Everything here puts its best face toward the water. The Quay of the Rosary, the most photo-worthy point, was once where salt trading was valuable than gold. Even more revered, however, is the Basilica of the Holy Blood that is reported to have a venerated relic of Christ’s body brought here by the Count of Flanders. Water sustains the dream of the adventurer and there is no place it is more appreciated than aboard this journey.