Oceania Cruises: Marina

Wonderful Copenhagen is a city of bridge-spanned canals, copper-roofed buildings and manicured parks. This famous Baltic seaport is one of Europe’s loveliest capitals and the seat of the oldest monarchy in the world. Copenhagen is a focus for commerce, culture, industry and cosmopolitan atmosphere. The locale of Hans Christian Andersen’s enchanting tale of The Little Mermaid, Copenhagen is known as Denmark’s fairy-tale city. Its impressive theaters, museums and churches are of interest to many visitors; the best-loved attractions include the world-famous Tivoli Gardens, the Langelinie Harbor with its Little Mermaid statue and the busy shopping promenade known as Strøget.

Oslo, Norway’s capital and largest city, is encircled by wooded hills and snowcapped peaks. The city displays a mixture of several architectural styles. A full range of activities includes art galleries, museums, restaurants, theaters and nightclubs. Other points of interest include Royal Palace; Frogner Park, known for its famous Vigeland sculptures; Holmenkollen, where international skiing events take place; imposing Åkershus Castle; and Bygdøy Peninsula, home to some of Oslo’s most important museums. Many attractions can be explored on foot. Oslo's City Hall ranks as the most distinctive part of Oslo’s waterfront. The art portrays the country's different historical and domestic phases. Munch Museum, which is dedicated to the life work of Norway’s famous painter, contains more than 5,000 drawings and paintings. National Gallery has the nation’s largest collection of Norwegian art and some of Munch’s best-known works. Åkershus Fortress & Castle, transformed into a Renaissance palace in the 17th century, houses Norway’s Resistance Museum.

Set on the scenic southern tip of Norway, at a magical spot with more sunshine than anywhere else in Scandanavia, little Kristiansand is Nature’s playground. Its spacius, ice-free harbor is ringed with thousands of tiny islands, a haven for swimmers, boaters and sport fishermen. Along the waterfront, in the silent Christiansholm fortress, and the charming houses of the historic center, you’ll find a peaceful serenity.

With its spectacular setting among seven hills, Bergen is one of the most beautiful and enjoyable cities in Norway. Most sites are within an easy walk from the harbor. From fine surviving medieval buildings to a series of good museums such as Fishery Museum and Old Bergen open-air museum, Bergen offers a wide variety of attractions. Its scenic beauty can best be appreciated from Mt. Floyen and is captivating. Enjoy this lovely city by taking a stroll to the old part of town, passing impressive 12th-century Bergenhus fortress. Old Hanseatic Wharf, called Bryggen, is where reconstructed gabled buildings house workshops, boutiques and restaurants. St. Mary's Church is Bergen’s oldest building and one of the finest Norman churches in Norway. Rasmus Meyers Collection is a rambling townhouse featuring one of the best collections of Norwegian art, including an upper floor devoted almost entirely to Munch. Bergen boasts numerous historic buildings dating from medieval times: Bergenhus Fortress; Rosenkrantz Tower; Haakon’s Hall.

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The municipality´s centre of administration and trade, with about 1,600 inhabitants and well-developed services, including a hotel, cafes, restaurants, auto repair shops, specialty shops, a pharmacy, bakery, movie theatre, swimming pool, and other services. The newspaper "Lofot-Tidende" is published here.

The small town of Harstad, 75 miles northwest of Narvik, sits surrounded by craggy, snow-topped mountains on the island of Hinnøya. Harstad’s greatest attraction is the Trondenes Church which dates back to the 13th century. This structure was originally built as a fortress church; its design incorporates massive walls, some 7 1/2 feet thick. At the time, Trondenes was also Norway’s northernmost stone church and one of the most important in the country during Roman Catholic times. As early as the Viking Age the church was used as a local gathering place, including the meetings of the Ting (local parliament). Serving as the breadbasket for northern Norway, this region provides seasonal fruits and vegetables for nearby marketplaces. Harstad’s pretty setting with hilly streets, rainbow-colored wooden houses, terraces and views of the mountains is especially appreciated by the summer crowd which flocks here to enjoy the North Norwegian Arts Festival and International Deep-Sea Fishing Festival, usually held in June and July.

The Rock carvings at Alta, dating from circa 4200 BC to 500 BC, are on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. In additon, the Komsa culture was named after the Komsa mountain in Alta municipality, where the first archeological remains were discovered.

In World War II, the German battleship Tirpitz used Altafjord as a harbor, and was damaged here by attacking allied warplanes.

Altasaken in 1979 made headlines for weeks, as many people (especially environmentalists) demonstrated and used civil disobedience to prevent the building of a dam in order to produce hydropower. The dam was built, however, and the river still offers good salmon fishing.

The world's northernmost village, Honningsvag, the gateway to the North Cape, is a completely modern fishing harbor set in a land of forests, fjord waters, and crashing waterfalls, everything bathed in summer by the eerie light of the midnight sun. Only the chapel withstood the German destruction of 1944. It's some 50 miles nearer to the North Pole than Hammerfest, on the Alta-Hammerfest bus route.

Hammerfest, the world's northern-most city with a population of 7,000 residents, is located in the wide but calm bay of the Province of Finnmark. The North Atlantic Gulf Stream provides the city with an ice free port all year round. Hammerfest's short distance from the North Cape makes it an attractive destination to tourists. Like Tromso, Hammerfest became a major location for the start or end of arctic expeditions in the 19th century. In 1890, the town was one of the first in Europe to provide electric street lighting. Of course, the sun's disappearance from the sky during the arctic winter from November through February may have contributed to this distinction. Today the main street shops of this interesting trawler port offer a friendly welcome, and the drily -named 'Polar Bear Club' provides intriguing insights into Arctic history and tradition.

Enjoy the appealing frontier atmosphere at this ancient whaling capital and base for expeditions to the North Pole.