Grand Rotterdam, Bruges And Hamburg, 23 Nights

Brussels, (brùs´elz) Fr. Bruxelles, city (1991 est. pop. 140,050), capital of Belgium. An important manufacturing center, it is also a seat of the European Union and of NATO. Brussels was inhabited by the Romans and later (7th cent.) by the Franks. It developed into a center of the wool trade in the 13th cent. and became (1430) the seat of the dukes of Burgundy and later (1477) of the governors of the Spanish (after 1714, Austrian) Netherlands. In 1830 it became the capital of an independent Belgium. Its historic buildings include the Maison du Roi (13th cent.), Gothic city hall (15th cent.), and parliament building (18th cent.).

Hamburg, city (1989 est. pop. 1,603,000), coextensive with, and capital of, Hamburg state, N Germany, on the Elbe and Alster rivers. It is Germany’s largest and busiest port. Manufactures include copper, ships, and machinery. Founded in the 9th cent., it formed (13th cent.) an alliance with Lübeck that became the basis of the Hanseatic League. The city was largely destroyed by fire in 1842. Severely damaged during World War II, it has been rebuilt and is now a modern cultural center. Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms were born in Hamburg.

Each of its five boroughs is a county: Manhattan (New York county), an island; the Bronx (Bronx county), on the mainland, NE of Manhattan across the Harlem River; Queens (Queens county), on Long Island, E of Manhattan across the East River; Brooklyn (Kings county), also on Long Island, on the East River adjoining Queens and on New York Bay; and Staten Island (Richmond county), an island SW of Manhattan across the Upper Bay.

The nation’s largest city, New York is a major U.S. port, the country’s trade center and with its banks and stock exchanges, the financial center of the world.

Theaters, nightclubs, shops, and restaurants draw millions of visitors. With all the sights to see, New York is sure to be a fun filled getaway!

Southampton Parish, on Main Island, is one of the nine parishes each of 2.3055 (two point three zero five five) square miles. It was named after Henry Wriothesley, Third Earl of Southampton (1573-1624), an English aristocrat, one of the most colorful Elizabethans, the patron and friend of William Shakespeare.