Beauty comes in many forms, and on this incredible northern voyage you’ll find all of them. Cruise pristine Norwegian fjords with snow-capped peaks and steep cliffs to either side, watching for mountain goats and picturesque farms as the hillsides glide past. Be lured ashore by fjord towns painted in pleasing spice colors that promise all kinds of rewards. Bergen, with its historic Bryggen wharf, a remnant of its Hanseatic League days. Molde, the City of Roses. Alesund, with its stunning Art Nouveau architecture. OldenLoen’s glaciers, waterfalls and ice-green lakes. Then discover the rough-hewn natural beauty of Scotland’s Northern Isles where the smell of peat smoke and sound of spinning wheels hint at a very different lifestyle. Explore Iron Age ruins and mysterious stone circles, shop for sturdy Orkney creepies (stools), and admire the orange-tinted cliffs and green moors of these remote archipelagos. Take your pick of Iceland’s wonders – powder-blue geothermal pools, massive waterfalls, and cozy bookstores crowded with friendly, eager readers. And enjoy it all surrounded by the luxurious comforts of your Windstar ship.

Colorful Bryggen, Bergen’s Hanseatic quay and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is so delightful you may find it difficult to explore further. But do. Watch the Huldras (forest nymphs) dance at Kjosfossen Waterfall, wander the narrow smau between the old buildings climbing the hillside.

The pleasant small village of Olden is located at the inner end of the 66-mile long Nordfjord, the sixth longest fjord in Norway.   Long known for tourism and industry, it is now also famous for contemporary design.  With fewer than 500 inhabitants Olden is an ideal destination for people who enjoy spending time in the great outdoors, and is the gateway to Jostedal, the largest glacier on the European mainland. If you can, find a bottle of Olden Mineral Water, as close as you will get to a glacier on tap.

At the entrance to spectacular Geirangerfjord, Alesund has been voted the most beautiful town in Norway, and not only because of its location. The town burned to the ground in 1904 and was rebuilt in Art Nouveau style, with a few added elements from Nordic mythology – a longboat here, an image of Thor there.

Known as the City of Roses, Molde is encircled by 222 mountains, each one worthy of oohs and ahhs. Breathtaking excursions await, including the world-famous Trollstigen scenic mountain road with its sheer cliffs, waterfalls, and hairpin turns. Or take the low road—the Atlantic Road—twisting its way across the islands of the North Sea like an asphalt roller coaster.

Visit tiny goat villages to sample homemade cheese. Take a RIB boat out on the spectacular Geirangerfjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Buy yourself a mango ice cream cone and absorb all the beauty around you.

The Shetland Islands may only have one town, and it’s small, but as you already know, good things come in small packages. There are seabird colonies and sea mammals galore, along with a windswept beauty that’s refreshing in its simplicity. History buffs can investigate 400-year-old castles or Iron Age ruins. Or meet the tiny ponies that share the islands’ name.

Everything about Orkney is olde, from the 5,000-year-old village of Skara Brae (the “Scottish Pompeii”) to the peat-distilled whisky at Highland Park to the UNESCO site of the Ring of Brodgar, dating back to 2700 B.C. Even the local brogue hints at times past, accented by the area’s Viking legacy.