Travel-Learn Program

When: June 14, 2012 - June 28, 2012 (iCal)

Description

This journey through the heart of Central Europe features a cruise on the Blue Danube aboard one of the vessels of the prestigious AMADEUS FLEET. Our journey begins in Budapest, Hungary, will continue along the river towards Passau, Germany. Along the way, we will take a series of guided excursions: stopping by Bratislava’s Old Town, exploring the storybook village of Dürnstein, attending a private organ concert in Melk and a private music performance in Vienna. Our cruise is complemented by stays in Prague and Kraków, Poland in deluxe hotel accommodations, and with excursions to Cesk´y and Krumlov. With six UNESCO World Heritage sites on our itinerary, this adventure along the Danube River is an exceptional experience. A Budapest Pre-Program Option is available.

Activity Level: Moderately Active

Download the program brochure.

For Early Booking Incentive, your choice of cabin category, and to avoid disappointment of a sold out program, register now!

Cost

From $4,995 per person, double occupancy.

Contact

For more information,contact Usha Nand Sellers Ed. D., Director Tufts Travel-Learn Program, at usha.sellers@tufts.edu or 617-627-5323.

Itinerary

Day 1 & 2 - U.S. / Budapest, Hungary

Depart from home city and arrive in the “Pearl of the Danube” early in the afternoon. After our arrival we will tour the Buda side of the city. Both the banks of the Danube and the Buda Castle Quarter are UNESCO World Heritage sites. On the historic Castle Hill, in the Buda Castle Quarter, we will visit the Gothic Matthias Church, and the neo-Romanesque Fisherman’s Bastion, which commands a panoramic view of the city. This evening we will transfer to the M.S. AMADEUS DIAMOND for embarkation and a welcome toast.

Day 3 - Budapest

Our day begins in Pest with a visit to the elegant limestone Parliament Building. Passing through Heroes’ Square to view its monuments to the Magyar chiefs who conquered Hungary in A.D. 896. Our afternoon is spent cruising past the bucolic farmsteads and dense woodlands along the Danube en route to Bratislava.

Day 4 - Bratislava, Slovakia

Today we will dock in Bratislava, capital of Slovakia - beautifully restored since the end of the Cold War. During our walking tour of Bratislava’s Old Town, we will see some of the finest architecture in central Europe: the 14th-century Cathedral of St. Martin, the Primatial Palace, the Slovak National Theater and St. Michael’s Gate, the only remaining portion of the city’s medieval fortifications.

Day 5 - Vienna, Austria

This morning, we will arrive in Vienna for a tour of this open-air architectural museum, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. This remarkable city owes its present appearance to the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Josef, who created the famous Ringstrasse to showcase the city’s finest landmarks—the impressive Vienna Opera House and the lavish Hofburg Palace. We will also visit the 13th-century Stephansdom, renowned for the zigzagged tiles that adorn its roof.

Day 6 - Vienna, Austria

Our day can be spent at leisure or joining an optional excursion to Schönbrunn Palace where we will visit its beautiful rooms and learn more about the Austrian Empire and its rulers. We depart Vienna this evening.

Day 7 - Dürnstein/Melk

We begin our day in the medieval village of Dürnstein where we will see the ruins of Castle Kuenringer, in which Richard the Lionheart was held prisoner after the Third Crusade. We will then walk to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Abbey Church. Afterwards we will cruise the Danube’s Wachau Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and view the terraced vineyards blanket hillsides dotted with the ruins of medieval castles.

Later we will continue on to Melk’s magnificent Benedictine Abbey, a showcase of some of Austria’s most impressive Baroque architecture. A prestigious center of scholarship throughout the Middle Ages, the abbey’s library today is a repository of priceless relics and works of Albrecht Dürer and Lucas Cranach. Our tour concludes with a private organ concert in the abbey’s beautiful Stiftskirche (church).

Day 8 - Passau, Germany

Passau is built at the confluence of the Danube, Inn and Ilz rivers and was considered by Napoleon to be the most beautiful city in Germany. Along its picturesque medieval streets we will find Neue Bishöfliche Residenz, the Baroque palace of the prince-bishops who ruled Passau for centuries. Inside, we will tour the Cathedral Treasury Museum. Later, we make a visit to nearby St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Our afternoon is at leisure in Passau.

Day 9 -Passau/Český Krumlov, Czech Republic/Prague

This morning we disembark and travel across the wooded German and Czech countryside to Český Krumlov, the best-preserved medieval city in the Czech Republic. Built around a 13th-century castle overlooking the Vltava River, it has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1992. After lunch we will take a walking tour of this city before continuing to Prague.

Day 10 - Prague

During the morning city tour, we will drive to the Hrad˘cany complex, the former residence of Bohemian royalty. We will visit St. Vitus Cathedral, renowned for its stained-glass windows and silver tomb of St. John of Nepomuk. The cathedral is also the burial site of Charles IV and King Wenceslas and incorporates an unusual combination of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque elements. Our afternoon is at leisure for independent exploration.

Day 11 - Prague

Our exploration of this UNESCO World Heritage site continues in the picturesque lanes of the Staré M˘esto (Old Town). Here we will see the 15th-century astronomical clock of the Old Town Hall, the Gothic Old-New Synagogue, and the famous Charles Bridge lined with 17th- and 18th-century statues of saints. We will have time to pursue individual interests this afternoon.

Day 12 - Prague/Kraków, Poland

During the scenic transfer to Kraków, we will have lunch in Brno, located at the crossroads of trade routes that have joined North and Southern civilizations for centuries. Afterwards we will continue to Kraków and meet for a farewell reception in the hotel.

Day 13 - Kraków

Kraków is the cultural and spiritual capital of Poland, serving as the country’s seat of government from 1038 to 1596. Having emerged from World War II unscathed, its Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Today we take a walking tour of the Wáwel Hill complex, the Royal Castle, and the Cathedral of Sts. Stanislaus and Waclaw. Walk into the Old Town and Main Market Square, and visit the 14th-century twin-spires St. Mary’s Church, and the former residence of Pope John Paul II.

The afternoon is free for individual pursuits with the option to join an excursion to Auschwitz-Birkenau, a poignant memorial to those who perished in the Holocaust. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.

Day 14 - Kraków/U.S.

Continue on the Warsaw Post-Program Option or transfer to the airport for our return flights.

Price and Itinerary are tentative and subject to change

617-627-5323|usha.sellers@tufts.edu