Amsterdam, Liverpool, Kirkwall

The Port of Amsterdam is one of the most impressive harbors of Europe. Its industrial appearance turns it into a mysterious spectacle. The city is the economic and cultural center of the Netherlands. It is an "open museum", with beautiful canals, bridges, endless walkways and bike lanes.

Liverpool, England, an industrial town on the River Mersey about 290 km northwest of London. Liverpool's biggest claim to fame is its identity as home of the Beatles. We highly recommend a visit to the Liverpool Cathedral (Anglican), offering an outstanding view, to the Merseyside Maritime Museum, which reflects the city's considerable shipping history as one of the world's greatest seaports, the Beatles Story, which reveals the singers' early lives in Liverpool and their rise to stardom, and for art lovers, the Walker Gallery, which exhibits such periods as the 17th century masters (Rembrandt, Rubens and Ruysdael); 18th century British (Gainsborough, Reynolds and Wedgwood); Impressionism (Cezanne, Degas, Matisse, Monet and Rodin); Romanticism and early 19th century British (Constable and Turner); plus Medieval, Renaissance and High Victorian periods crafts, designs and sculptures.

Kirkwall is the biggest town and capital of the Orkney Islands, off the coast of northern mainland Scotland. At the heart of the town stands St. Magnus Cathedral, the finest medieval building in the north of Scotland, next to it the ruins of the former Bishop's Palace and Earl's Palace. The town has two museums, the larger being Tankerness House Museum, which contains items of local historical interest within one of Scotland's best-preserved sixteenth century town-houses and the Orkney Wireless Museum, dealing with the history of radio and recorded sound. During your visit, you will also notice many 17th-18th-century houses in the local vernacular style. Kirkwall is a bustling market town, a lively centre for shopping and eating out.

The Port of Amsterdam is one of the most impressive harbors of Europe. Its industrial appearance turns it into a mysterious spectacle. The city is the economic and cultural center of the Netherlands. It is an "open museum", with beautiful canals, bridges, endless walkways and bike lanes.