Europe's most scenic and picturesque places. This summer is no exception. The journey will take you to Western Scandinavia, a place of unparalleled natural and historic beauty. The tour includes choice parts of Sweden, Denmark and Norway and the spectacular 'Norway in a Nutshell' tour across the Norwegian Alps to the fjords - geologic formations that defy exag-geration.

We begin our trip on Thursday, June the 21st, the day after the conference. The first leg in our journey is an overnight boat trip from Copenhagen to Oslo. The boat doesn't leave Copenhagen Harbor until 5 PM , and since it takes only an hour and a half by bus to go from Lund to Copenhagen, there will be plenty of time to see Copenhagen during the day.

Copenhagen, Scandinavia's largest city (pop. 1.5 million), has been Denmark's capital since the Fifteenth Century. It is one of Europe's most beautiful and well-preserved cities, with numerous architectural landmarks on every street. One day in Copenhagen will allow for a walking tour or two, of which one ought to be in the old city. Starting at the Radhuspladsen (Town Hall Plaza) you can visit Lavendelstraede, with it's perfectly preserved 18th Century houses, then visit the courthouses on Slutterigade and Nytorv Square, where Kierkegaard lived. Slightly to the west is the Stroget, a lively traffic-free shopping street, and see the Helligandskirten, a spectacular 15th Century abbey. Stop at La Glace, Denmark's most famous pastry shop,learn to pronounce a specialty dessert of theirs, and then head to Gammel Stand, a waterfront promenade with a great view of the Christiansborg Palace. Next, walk to Magstraede, one of Copenhagen's best preserved 16th-Century streets, and revisit Tivoli Gardens, the square with world famous amusements, and vibrant restaurants and beer gardens. But don't stay too long - you will need to take a taxi to the harbor, which is about 30 minutes away.

The boat has (inside and outside) single, double, triple and quadruple cabins. Rooms are priced so that larger rooms are less expensive per person. Should you elect to go with a windowless cabin, rest assured that you will not be denied the spectacular view of Öresund at dusk. A seven o'clock sit-down dinner will be served on a dining deck with large, wrap-around windows and a spectacular panoramic view. The boat approaches Oslo during breakfast, which includes a Scandinavian favorite - pickled herring (consumption not mandatory). Travelers will probably stay on the dining deck until the boat docks, as the simultaneous narrowing of the channel and rising elevation of the terrain approaching Oslo will be sure to transfix.

From the boat we will be shuttled to a Hotel, giving us a day to see Oslo (pop. 480,000). Founded in the 11th Century, little remains in Oslo from that period, as a massive fire destroyed the town in 1624. Considerably smaller than Copenhagen, one day will give you plenty of time to get a good feel for the city. Some of the most popular attractions are the Vikingskiphuset (Viking Ship Museum), the Norwegian Folk Museum, The Vigeland Sculpture Park, and Akershus Castle. The Kon-Tiki Museum has momentos of Thor Heyderdahl's trip across the Pacific. For a more casual pace, there is good food to be gotten along the harbor, abundant street night life at Karl Johans Gate, and open-air beer gardens in Student's Grove. The forest-clad hills surrounding Oslo are popular excursion points; the annual Holmen-Kollen ski meet attracts skiers from all over the world.

The next day, Saturday we will catch the 8:00 (a.m. !!!) train to Bergen on a route that cuts right across Norway over the Norwegian Alps. This train journey is on of Europe's most spectacular rides, through what is possibly the only open wilderness left in Europe. Starting at sea level, the train will follow a river valley, gradually climbing to 4,000 feet on its way to Myrdal. The river valley is know for its unique geography, high mountainous expanses with dramatic peaks spread far apart. The type of terrain makes for a most engaging ride as vistas pass by at a mesmerizingly slow pace. In Myrdal we transfer to the Flamsbana, an electric cog train descending to Flam, located on one of the side arms of the majestic Sognefjord. The vies from the cop train is as renowned as it is breathtaking. From here you see the snow capped peaks lacerated by the fjord's aquamarine waters as you descent 1,000 feet for very mile traveled. You can not help but be dwarfed by the awesome power of the waterfalls originating on the mountaintops and falling free thousands of feet into thin mist, or the shear cliffs that are but inches from the side of the train. The fifty-minute long ride will bring us to Flam by 2 PM. After a break for lunch we will take a boat into the Sognefjorden, the world's longest fjord. It is more than 200 km long, up to 1300 meters deep and has numerous tributary fjords. The boat will meander through the Sognefjorden's most scenic areas before docking in Gudvangen, where we will take a bus. The bus snakes its way up the mountainside along narrow, winding roads, bringing us back up to alpine elevations. Views from the bus are as daunting as from the cog-train, except with even steeper cliffs. For this reason, the bus driver recommends that acrophobic passengers bring blinders. The bus terminates in Voss, where we board another train to travel to Bergen.

Bergen (pop. 219,000) was founded in the 14th Century, establishing itself as a major Hanseatic trading outpost. With fishing as it's main industry, Bergen was the nations capitol until the 19th Century. Nested among seven hills and confined by water on three sides, one can see the whole city in a day. A stroll along the Hanseatic wharf, Bryggen, is mandatory. Composed of a maze of characteristic wooden buildings with pointed gables facing onto the harbor, Bryggen's attractions include the fish market, numerous restaurants and shops. Old Bergen, an outdoor museum of some 40 18th and 19th Century dwellings, shows town-life as it was then. The Bergen Aquarium is one of the finest collections of marine life in Europe, and the city boasts numerous museums: the Hanseatic Museum, the Bryggen Museum, the "Buekorps" Museum, the Norwegian Fisheries Museum, Bergen's Maritime, Museum, the West Norwegian Museum of Applied Arts. It is no surprise, then, that Bergen is listed by UNESCO as one of the world's most significant cities in Europe, and was chosen as the EU's "European Center of Culture" for the year 2000.

Should you wish to return home from Bergen, your best options are by air or by sea. Flesland Airport is about 12 miles south of the city with several flights to Copenhagen International Airport every day. Boats, traditionally Bergen's lifeline to the world, offer service to Newcastle, Shetland and Faroe Islands, Scotland, Iceland and, of course, Denmark.

Please note the advanced registration deadline of March 1, 2001 for the post-conference tour from Copenhagen to the Oslo, across the Norwegian Alps by train, a boat journey on the Sognefjord, by bus to Voss and then by train to Bergen. To guarantee seating on the train and to lock in the availability of special rates on the ship from Copenhagen, Denmark to Oslo, Norway, Hotels in Oslo and Bergen, we have to make early commitments and prepayments. We are competing with travelers from all over the world who want to take one of the most extraordinary train rides.