Northern Europe from Oslo

Oslo, la capital de Noruega está situada en la cabecera del fiordo de Oslo, rodeadA de cordilleras boscosas. Oslo es la sede del Gobierno de Noruega y el Parlamento y el Palacio Real se encuentra al final de la Calle Karl Johan, la calle principal de Oslo. Muchas características sorprendentes de la ciudad son inusual para una capital Europea. Los límites de ciudad los espacios naturales, así como una gran variedad de restaurantes. Oslo está llena de lugares de interés, como museos, parques, distritos urbanos con edificios y un conjunto bien desarrollado de tiendas.

La Capital Escandinavia Copenhague es muy vibrante y asequible y es una de las ciudades más amigables de Europa. Pequeña y acogedora, es un lugar donde la gente en lugar de coches marcan el ritmo, como lo demuestra la gran cantidad de cafés al aire libre y el número de vías que se han dado a los peatones y bicicletas. Dispuesta y relajada, también ofrece una amplia gama de entretenimiento, que desmiente su tamaño relativamente modesto. Las atracciones culturales, incluidos los principales museos nacionales, una selección de galerías de arte mágicas, una saludable variedad de eventos de artes escénicas y una de las escenas cinematográficas más interesantes de Europa.

The Warnemünde quarter in Rostock is a famous German seaside resort that you can visit when you reach the German coasts on your MSC cruise of northern Europe.

At the mouth of the river Warnow, in the Baltic Sea, Warnemünde will surprise you with its villas, hotels and the large white and silver beach. Its heart is Am Strom, next to the port, where the homes of old captains and fishermen have been turned into coffee shops and boutiques. With an excursion during the cruise, you can continue towards Schwerin.
Surrounded by lakes and with a fairytale Schloss that tickles the imagination, the town represents a pleasant surprise, given by the architecture and spirit of a historic capital. Continuing the excursion you can admire Lubeck, one of the few cities along Europe’s northern coasts that preserves the glory of medieval times.
For more than two centuries the standard bearer of the Hanseatic League, this was one of the wealthiest and most powerful of European cities, the Venice of the Baltic. The commercial opulence is best expressed in its architecture: from the oldest Rathaus in Germany to the churches with the tallest bell-towers to the merchants’ mansions.
Lubecca is the first city in Northern Europe to be included in the list of UNESCO world heritage sites in 1987. Finally, you should not leave out a visit to the cosmopolitan Berlin, the largest and liveliest city in Germany. Amongst the monuments to visit are the Brandebourgh Gate. Situated close to the Reichstag, the seat of the German parliament, the monument, designed on the model of Athens’ Acropolis, was built as the city’s arch of triumph in 1791 and soon became the symbol of unified Germany.
The Brandenburg Gate looms over the ornamental gardens in Pariser Platz which extends eastwards towards the wide, tree-lined Unter den Linden avenue, that means “Beneath the linden trees”, flanked by shops and cafés.

When you arrive in the Bay of Gdansk on your MSC cruise, you come into the most fascinating regions of the Baltic Sea and of Northern Europe.

In Gydna, along the southern pier (the Poludniowe pier), you find two interesting museum ships: an imposing, three-mast frigate, the Dar Pomorza, launched in 1909 and used for many years as a school ship by the German navy; and the torpedo boat destroyer, the Blyskawica, that managed to escape a German attack in 1939.
When you come ashore from your MSC cruise ship, outside the interesting oceanographic museum and aquarium (Muzeum Oceanograficzne i Akwarium Morskie) you will find a statue of Jozef Konrad Korzeniowski, more commonly known as Joseph Conrad, born in 1857 in Berdicev, Ukraine. As you arrive at the Bulwar Nadmorski, along the seafront with its inlets and beaches, that connects Gdynia, Sopot and Gdansk, you will find the interesting Naval Museum (Muzeum Marynarki Wojennej).
While on your MSC cruise of Northern Europe, don’t miss an excursion to Gdansk, a city which, because of the importance of its port, has a very rich history. Visit the Old Town (Główne Miasto), along the Motlawa river, once the port centre. Here you can see a large, blue, port crane made of wood, the largest machine if its kind in Europe. Built in 1444, it was used for loading and unloading ships, as well as for fitting masts.
Leaving the river behind you, you can walk down the Royal Stretch, the road that brought kings and dignitaries into town, closed by two imposing gates, the Golden Gate and the Green Gate. Along this road you can admire the Court of King Arthur, one of the lively centres of city life. In the museum-home of Uphagen you can get a taste of the life of a wealthy Gdansk family of the 18th century. At the end of the Royal Stretch instead, you will find the gothic church of the Virgin Mary: amongst the tallest brick buildings in Europe.

When you arrive in Klaipeda, the cruise ship will berth in the only Lithuanian port, one that has been operating since the middle of the 13th century.

The historic centre, that dates back to when the city was known as Memel, is built in the typical fashion of the German medieval towns, including the square with the majestic clock tower. Klaipeda is divided into two parts: the new town, right of the river Dane and the old town that develops on the left bank.
The latter is built in the classic chessboard layout of the 17th century German towns and still sports handsome trellised buildings like, for example, those in the artisan district: used as warehouses in the past, they now host art galleries, cafés or clubs. There is a variety of sculptures around town, starting from that of the Four Winds, in the port, at the entrance of the terminal where your MSC cruise ship is berthed.
Visit the handsome neo-classic Dramos theatre, which is the main building in the square and where you also find a statue dedicated to the poet, Simon Dach. Your MSC cruise of Northern Europe also offers two excursions, both along the coast. Palanga, in the north, is the largest Lithuanian seaside resort with a walk that ends at the long pier on the sea. This is located along the ancient Amber Road and it is not rare to find bits of this resin stone on the white beach after a heavy storm.
For sure you can admire this stone in the city’s Amber Museum. To the south instead we find the Neringa peninsula, a 98km long sand bar that separates the Curi lagoon from the Baltic Sea and where, in Nida, you find the largest dune in Nothern Europe; this is a UNESCO world heritage site for its importance in the biosphere.

Riga, la capital báltico más grande es el hogar de numerosos museos fascinantes – hasta 30 tipos diferentes, así como un castillo y la Iglesia de Saint Peter.

Durante su estancia en la “Venecia del Norte”, hay muchas formas de donde elegir para ver la ciudad: en bus, a pie o un paseo romántico en bote por los canales Stockholmes.