Transit KIEL CANAL - An astonishing engineering feat, some 60 miles long and completed in 1895, the busy Kiel Canal links the River Elbe and the North Sea with the Baltic Sea.
WARNEMUNDE, GERMANY is a little old fishermen town and is located at the mouth of the Warnow, a little river which becomes a bigger lake just before flowing into the baltic sea. Berlin is also reached from Warnemunde. Germany's capital since 1999, Berlin has evolved into the country's only truly international metropolis equal to Paris or London. Berlin is again on the cutting edge, as the federal government, new businesses, artists, and visitors from around the world are all being drawn to the city.
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN -there are no less than 14 islands and 40 bridges in Sweden's stately and spacious capital, a picturesque canvas of waterways, lakes, canals and trees. An immediate focus for every visitor is the charming setting of the Gamla Stan (Old Town) - a maze of medieval alleys and lanes lined by the ancient buildings of the Royal Palace, restaurants and irresistible galleries and boutiques.
TALLINN, ESTONIA is unquestionably one of Europe's most magical capitals, competing even with Prague in the richness of its architectural heritage. Estonia's post-independence renaissance has given exuberant new life to this medieval Hanseatic city, whose Old Town - whose gloriously contrived and almost theatrical tableau of gabled roofs, fairy-tale turrets and soaring spires - dazzles the eye and imagination alike.
ST PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - the jewel in the Baltic crown and Russia's most European city, elegant St Petersburg was Tsar Peter the Great's 'Window on the West', the grandeur of whose Italian and French-designed baroque and neo-classical buildings, many reflected in the city's network of waterways, is rivalled only by the riches of its priceless art treasures - nearly three million of them in the fabled Hermitage Museum alone!
GDYNIA, POLAND Gdansk's story goes back over 1,000 years, and though the original Old Town was largely destroyed in the last war, loving restoration has recreated an authentic setting whose beautiful monuments (among them Poland's largest Gothic church), historic gateways, imposing towers and medieval streets bring wonderfully alive the mood of a Hansa merchants' settlement.
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK -There's an irresistible charm to the welcome of Denmark's cosmopolitan capital. Explore the beautiful settings of historic Christianborg and Amelienborg Palaces, the colourful pavement cafes and pedestrian streets of Stroget, old Nyhavn harbour's quayside restaurants and bars, the fun-filled Tivoli Gardens - and, of course, look out for the 'Little Mermaid' celebrating the tales of the city's own Hans Christian Andersen.
OSLO, NORWAY tucked into its own fjord and set at the water's edge, Norway's lively capital is a small and eminently walkable city with engaging mix of old and new, and graced by broad avenues, parks and elegant neo-classical buildings. Don't miss the enticing shops of pedestrianised Karl Johansgate and Bogstadveien, medieval Akershus Castle, the eye-popping Vigeland Sculpture Park and Bygdoy Peninsula's Kon-Tiki and Viking Ship Museums.
