11 nights from Reykjavik

Reykjavík is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxa Bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a population of around 123,300 (and over 216,940 in the Capital Region), it is the heart of Iceland's cultural, economic and governmental activity, and is a popular tourist destination.

Reykjavík is believed to be the location of the first permanent settlement in Iceland, which, according to Ingólfr Arnarson, was established in AD 874. Until the 19th century, there was no urban development in the city location. The city was founded in 1786 as an official trading town and grew steadily over the following decades, as it transformed into a regional and later national centre of commerce, population, and governmental activities. It is among the cleanest, greenest, and safest cities in the world.

Grundarfjörður is a small town, situated in the north of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in the west of Iceland. It is situated between a mountain range and the sea. The nearby mountain Kirkjufell forms a small peninsula.

Kirkwall is the largest settlement and capital of Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland.

The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name Kirkjuvagr (Church Bay), which later changed to Kirkvoe, Kirkwaa and Kirkwall.

The town is well known for the Invergordon Mutiny of 1931. More recently it has also become known for the repair of oil rigs which line up in the Cromarty Firth on which the town is situated. In the 1970s and 1980s nearby Nigg was known for the construction of these rigs. The yard used for this is now attempting to re-establish itself as a fabricator of large offshore wind turbines and oil rig refurbishment since being purchased by Global Energy Group.

For a number of years Invergordon was the site of an aluminium smelter until 1981 when British Aluminium closed it down. The pipeline that covered the conveyor belt from the smelter to the BA pier was not dismantled until the early 2000s and the two large tanks still stand today as well as a water tower.

It still has a grain whisky distillery, operated by Philippines-owned whisky giant Whyte and Mackay, the output of which contributes to many blended whiskies. Connected to the distillery was the Invergordon Distillery Pipe Band.

At present the port is visited by many large cruise liners each year, as the deep water port allows disembarkation for coach tours in the northern Highlands.

Since the 1970s some would perceive the town as a 'Glasgow colony', since many workers were recruited from southern Scotland to work in the oil rig fabrication and aluminium smelting industries. As a result, the residents' accents often show more influence from Glasgow, than the surrounding Easter Ross dialect of Highland Englishalthough this has changed in recent years.

In recent years Global Energy Group have been expanding, with the purchase of the Nigg fabrication yard it has also brought much appreciated work to Invergordon's Docks with the town again full of oil company workers through the day.

Amsterdam is the capital city and most populous municipality of the Netherlands. Its status as the capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands, although it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague. Amsterdam has a population of 851,373 within the city proper, 1,351,587 in the urban area] and 2,410,960 in the metropolitan area. The city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country but is not its capital, which is Haarlem. The metropolitan area comprises much of the northern part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe, with a population of approximately 8 million.