Christmas Adventure In Lapland - "God Jul": Blessed With Many Experiences

Hamburg is Germany’s second-largest city with a history dating back to Charlemagne. A major port, this vibrant city is home to art and culture, extensive shopping facilities, Baroque buildings and waterfront vistas. With its well-known fish market, art galleries and Museums together with several beautiful parks including a botanical garden, this is a city with something for everyone. British visitors who remember the Swinging Sixties may like to visit the streets around Grosse Freiheit, where an unknown pop group called The Beatles gave their first public performances in various local clubs before achieving worldwide fame.

Treat all your senses to an exceptional winter cruise on the HANSEATIC nature to welcome in the New Year. Glittering landscapes and illuminated cities, shimmering stars and maybe even the magical Northern Lights: this route is packed with the very best that Swedish and Finnish Lapland have to offer. The festivities for real explorers begin with views of marshes, forests and hills on the daytime passage through the Kiel Canal.

On Gotland, you will be welcomed with “God Jul” – merry Christmas! The Swedish summer destination also has a special appeal in winter. In Visby, you can enjoy the Nordic Christmas spirit as you stroll through the narrow streets with their Christmas decorations.

Gotland is Sweden's main holiday island, a place of ancient history, a relaxed summer-party vibe, wide sandy beaches, and wild cliff formations called raukar (the remnants of reefs formed more than 400 million years ago). Measuring 125 km (78 miles) long and 52 km (32 miles) at its widest point, Gotland is where Swedish sheep farming has its home. In its charming glades, 35 varieties of wild orchids thrive, attracting botanists from all over the world.

Today you will celebrate Christmas Eve as never before: in a cosy, personal and maritime atmosphere on board the HANSEATIC nature, with views over the wide expanse of the northern extension of the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Bothnia. Your best present will be time to yourself, perhaps to go on a culinary voyage of discovery, visit the OCEAN SPA or attend fascinating expert presentations. With a little luck, you will also be able to see the Northern Lights in the clear northern sky.

On Boxing Day, you will leave Kemi in Finland and head for Rovaniemi1 to visit Santa Claus in his official home town. Lit up with Christmas lights, the town on the Arctic Circle is enchanting with its arts and crafts and “Elves Forest”. Activities like snowshoe hiking1 in the snowy spruce forest or a snowmobile safari1 through Finnish Lapland are a gift for nature lovers.

There is also plenty to do and see in Lulea. Winter hike or ice trail? Frozen waters make it easy to make the transition. If you’re looking for a sense of pure adventure, go for a ride on a fat bike1 across the ice and snow or a winter experience with huskies1. Perhaps here you will get another chance to see the mysterious Northern Lights. Shed light on the Gammelstad Church Town1 UNESCO World Heritage Site on an atmospheric guided tour with torches.

A winter wonderland also awaits around Umea, the cultural capital of northern Sweden, surrounded by wild nature. Cross-country skiing1 in snowy Tavelsjo or a dog sled ride1 – where will the mood take you today?

The centre of Sundsvall is a well-preserved district from the late 19th century. Explore the “Stone City” at your leisure or, if you’re feeling energetic, climb the local hill.

Experience Stockholm in a special way: on a winter walk1 through the magical old town or on a winter visit to the Skansen open-air museum1 with its traditional Christmas and arts and craft market. Your travel concierge will arrange your individual activities and cultural programmes in the Swedish capital in advance on request.

Stockholm is a city in the flush of its second youth. Since the mid-1990s, Sweden's capital has emerged from its cold, Nordic shadow to take the stage as a truly international city. What started with entry into the European Union in 1995 gained pace with the extraordinary IT boom of the late 1990s, strengthened with the Skype-led IT second wave of 2003, and solidified with the hedge-fund invasion that is still happening today as Stockholm gains even more global confidence. And despite more recent economic turmoil, Stockholm's 1 million or so inhabitants have, almost as one, realized that their city is one to rival Paris, London, New York, or any other great metropolis.With this realization comes change. Stockholm has become a city of design, fashion, innovation, technology, and world-class food, pairing homegrown talent with an international outlook. The streets are flowing with a young and confident population keen to drink in everything the city has to offer. The glittering feeling of optimism, success, and living in the here and now is rampant in Stockholm.Stockholm also has plenty of history. Positioned where the waters of Lake Mälaren rush into the Baltic, it’s been an important trading site and a wealthy international city for centuries. Built on 14 islands joined by bridges crossing open bays and narrow channels, Stockholm boasts the story of its history in its glorious medieval old town, grand palaces, ancient churches, sturdy edifices, public parks, and 19th-century museums—its history is soaked into the very fabric of its airy boulevards, built as a public display of trading glory.

Celebrate New Year's Eve on deck in front of the old town illuminated by fireworks. Excellent front-row seats in Stockholm for a particularly stylish end to the year.

Stockholm is a city in the flush of its second youth. Since the mid-1990s, Sweden's capital has emerged from its cold, Nordic shadow to take the stage as a truly international city. What started with entry into the European Union in 1995 gained pace with the extraordinary IT boom of the late 1990s, strengthened with the Skype-led IT second wave of 2003, and solidified with the hedge-fund invasion that is still happening today as Stockholm gains even more global confidence. And despite more recent economic turmoil, Stockholm's 1 million or so inhabitants have, almost as one, realized that their city is one to rival Paris, London, New York, or any other great metropolis.With this realization comes change. Stockholm has become a city of design, fashion, innovation, technology, and world-class food, pairing homegrown talent with an international outlook. The streets are flowing with a young and confident population keen to drink in everything the city has to offer. The glittering feeling of optimism, success, and living in the here and now is rampant in Stockholm.Stockholm also has plenty of history. Positioned where the waters of Lake Mälaren rush into the Baltic, it’s been an important trading site and a wealthy international city for centuries. Built on 14 islands joined by bridges crossing open bays and narrow channels, Stockholm boasts the story of its history in its glorious medieval old town, grand palaces, ancient churches, sturdy edifices, public parks, and 19th-century museums—its history is soaked into the very fabric of its airy boulevards, built as a public display of trading glory.

It’s all about “New Year, new impressions” as you cruise through the Stockholm Archipelago –with knowledgeable commentary from your team of experts. Enjoy the clear air on the open deck areas of the ship.

Stockholm is a city in the flush of its second youth. Since the mid-1990s, Sweden's capital has emerged from its cold, Nordic shadow to take the stage as a truly international city. What started with entry into the European Union in 1995 gained pace with the extraordinary IT boom of the late 1990s, strengthened with the Skype-led IT second wave of 2003, and solidified with the hedge-fund invasion that is still happening today as Stockholm gains even more global confidence. And despite more recent economic turmoil, Stockholm's 1 million or so inhabitants have, almost as one, realized that their city is one to rival Paris, London, New York, or any other great metropolis.With this realization comes change. Stockholm has become a city of design, fashion, innovation, technology, and world-class food, pairing homegrown talent with an international outlook. The streets are flowing with a young and confident population keen to drink in everything the city has to offer. The glittering feeling of optimism, success, and living in the here and now is rampant in Stockholm.Stockholm also has plenty of history. Positioned where the waters of Lake Mälaren rush into the Baltic, it’s been an important trading site and a wealthy international city for centuries. Built on 14 islands joined by bridges crossing open bays and narrow channels, Stockholm boasts the story of its history in its glorious medieval old town, grand palaces, ancient churches, sturdy edifices, public parks, and 19th-century museums—its history is soaked into the very fabric of its airy boulevards, built as a public display of trading glory.

Impressive views also await you when cruising through the archipelago off Karlskrona. Afterwards, as you walk through the picturesque baroque city, you will find the perfect balance between culture and relaxation – in accordance with the Swedish lagom way of life.

Impressive views also await you when cruising through the archipelago off Karlskrona. Afterwards, as you walk through the picturesque baroque city, you will find the perfect balance between culture and relaxation – in accordance with the Swedish lagom way of life.

A cosy atmosphere, glogg and pastries will accompany your visit to Copenhagen. Take a relaxed stroll through the city, empty of all the hordes of summer visitors, or visit Zeeland’s fairy-tale castles1. This hygge feeling and your many wintry impressions will stay with you for a long time to come. What a great start to the New Year!

By the 11th century, Copenhagen was already an important trading and fishing centre and today you will find an attractive city which, although the largest in Scandinavia, has managed to retain its low-level skyline. Discover some of the famous attractions including Gefion Fountain and Amalienborg Palace, perhaps cruise the city’s waterways, visit Rosenborg Castle or explore the medieval fishing village of Dragoer. Once the home of Hans Christian Andersen, Copenhagen features many reminders of its fairytale heritage and lives up to the reputation immortalised in the famous song ‘Wonderful Copenhagen’.

Hamburg is Germany’s second-largest city with a history dating back to Charlemagne. A major port, this vibrant city is home to art and culture, extensive shopping facilities, Baroque buildings and waterfront vistas. With its well-known fish market, art galleries and Museums together with several beautiful parks including a botanical garden, this is a city with something for everyone. British visitors who remember the Swinging Sixties may like to visit the streets around Grosse Freiheit, where an unknown pop group called The Beatles gave their first public performances in various local clubs before achieving worldwide fame.