Hamburg, the new "green" capital of Europe, is taking its award-winning ideas on tour to give the rest of us some pointers.

The German city was recently voted European Green Capital 2011 by the EU and is now taking its "Train of Ideas" to 17 European cities.

The train has six carriages, packed full of ideas, and will tour the cities over the next seven months.

Each carriage is themed. The first carriage shows how Hamburg earned its new title through a diverse selection of environmental protection projects; the other five carriages cover the topics of City of People, City as Living Space, Urban Responsibility, City and Nature, and Cities Prior to Climate Change.

The Urban Responsibility carriage highlights how Hamburg and other cities are tackling environmental issues relating to vanishing resources and energy policies - recycling, waste management, water saving and energy efficiency among them.

Hamburg’s Train of Ideas is a sharing journey. The city sees itself as a learning city and its train journey gives it a chance to exchange ideas with other like-minded cities.

The train will be visiting Copenhagen, Malmo, Gothenburg, Oslo, Zurich, Munich, Warsaw, Riga, Tallinn, Vienna, Barcelona, Marseille, Nantes, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Antwerp, before finally returning to Hamburg.

I know! We miss out. But if you’re on holiday, or away for business, keep an eye open for it. I doubt there’ll be a buffet car, but on the plus side nor will there be a demand for "tickets, please!"

[Image: LuxTonnerre]