Berlin & Beyond

Day 1 | Monday 4 May
Arrive Berlin

After individual travel arrangements to Berlin, we meet in the evening for introductions followed by a welcome dinner at Oxymoron, situated in the first Art Nouveau courtyard of the Hackesche Höfe and within easy walking distance of the hotel. Overnight Berlin (D)

Day 2 | Tuesday 5 May
Medieval to Prussian

After an introductory talk in the hotel, we travel by coach to Charlottenburg Palace. Built by Elector Friederich III in 1699 as a summer palace for his wife Sophie Charlotte, this regal estate, the largest palace in Berlin, is framed by a baroque-style garden and contains over 600 gems and treasures from the century-long supremacy of the Hohenzollern dynasty. After our tour we visit the nearby Käthe Kollwitz Museum which holds one of the largest collections of works by the artist. We enjoy lunch along Kurfürstendamm, before returning to our hotel with the evening at leisure. Overnight Berlin (B, L)

Day 3 | Wednesday 6 May
The Prussian City

After a talk, we begin our day at the recently reconstructed Humboldt Forum, located in exquisite Berlin Palace. The Forum incorporates two existing museums, the Ethnological Museum of Berlin and the Museum of Asian Art. Our next stop is Berlin’s most famous landmark, the Brandenburg Gate. A symbol of Berlin and German division during the Cold War,
it is now a national symbol of peace and unity. In the afternoon we visit the Gemäldegalerie. Assembled in the early 19th century, the gallery’s collection represents all the major schools of European painting and includes masterpieces by Botticelli, Raphael, Caravaggio, Breughel, Vermeer and Rembrandt. We then return to our hotel for an evening at leisure. Overnight Berlin (B)

Day 4 | Thursday 7 May
Potsdam - Frederick the Great’s City

Today we spend the day in Potsdam, where Prussian kings left their royal imprint on the city through lavish palaces and parks and gardens, many of them now with UNESCO World-Heritage status. Our morning begins at what can be described as Potsdam’s most exquisite palace, Sanssouci. The centrepiece of Sanssouci Park, this Rococo-style palace served as Frederick the Great’s summer residence. Its name, meaning “without a care,” embodies the King’s desire for a retreat from court life. Our tour also takes in the 18th-century Picture Gallery, built specifically to house Frederick the Great’s newly assembled painting collection, and the luxuriant Chinese Teahouse, which once provided Frederick with an exotic escape in the park. Continuing to the western end of the main promenade in the afternon, here we find the Neues Palais (New Palace). The last palace built by Frederick in this park, this monumental palace stands in imposing contrast to the small, intimate Sanssouci. It boasts over 200 rooms adorned with lavish decorations and our tour will take in the spectacular Grotto Hall and ceremonial Marble Hall, crowned by the magnificent central dome. We conclude our time in Potsdam with an early dinner together, before returning to Berlin in the later evening. Overnight Berlin (B, D)

Day 5 | Friday 8 May
Museum Island

This morning, we walk to Museum Island. On the site of one of Berlin’s two original settlements, this unique complex of five state museums is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a must-visit in Berlin. Today we’ll visit the Neues Museum, the home of the Egyptian Museum and the famous bust of Nefertiti. From mid-morning, explore Museum Island further at your own pace and discretion. After a break for lunch we will cruise along the River Spree, taking in most of the major monuments and museums. We return to our hotel with time to relax before dinner at a local resturaunt. Overnight Berlin (B, D)

Day 6 | Saturday 9 May
Museum Island, Pt II
Following a talk this morning we return to Museum Island to visit the Bode Museum, home to the Sculpture Gallery and the Museum of Byzantine Art. Much of the museum’s holdings were shaped by the vision of Wilhelm von Bode, whose pioneering approach to display and connoisseurship created a dialogue between sculpture, painting and the decorative arts. We then join our coach and depart Berlin, beginning our journey to elegant Leipzig. En route, we’ll stop at the ‘Monument to the Battle of the Nations’ – Europe’s largest memorial, and the site of the 1813 defeat of Napoleon by a coalition of German forces. After checking into our hotel, there is time to freshen up before concluding our day with dinner together in a nearby restaurant. Overnight Leipzig (B, D)

Day 7 | Sunday 10 May
Leipzig | Romeo and Juliet
Leipzig is one of the great German cultural centres, with connections to Bach, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Martin Luther, Goethe, Schiller, and the Neue-Leipziger-Schule art movement. This morning we take a guided walking tour of Leipzig, followed by a visit to the Museum of Fine Arts. The original museum building was destroyed in an air raid in 1943, though many of the paintings were saved. A new home for the collection opened in 2004, 61 years to the day after the original museum was destroyed. The afternoon offers the option of visiting the Grassi Museum, an outstanding complex housing three major collections: the Museum of Applied Arts, the Museum of Ethnography and the Museum of Musical Instruments. In the evening we reconvene at the Leipzig Opera House for a performance of one of the world’s most beloved ballets, Romeo and Juliet. Set to Prokofiev’s stirring score, this new production marks American choreographer Lauren Lovette’s debut with the Leipzig Ballet, distilling Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy to its emotional core. Overnight Leipzig (B)

Performance I
Venue: Leipzig Opera House
Program: Romeo and Juliet – Ballet by Sergei Prokofiev, choreography by Lauren Lovette

Day 8 | Monday 11 May
Dresden via Meissen
Departing Leipzig this morning for Dresden, we pause en route at the small town of Meissen on the Elbe river. We begin our visit with a panoramic elevator ride to the hilltop cathedral and palace precinct, where we visit the Gothic Cathedral before strolling down through the historic centre. Our next stop is the world-famous Meissen Porcelain Manufactory for a tour of the workshop rooms, which reveal the artistry and technical skill behind Europe’s first porcelain production. Afterwards, there is time to explore the exhibition and browse the factory shop before enjoying lunch at the onsite cafe. Continuing on to Dresden, we take a coach tour of the southern suburbs, ending at Pillnitz Palace. Built by Augustus the Strong as a pleasure retreat, this extraordinary ensemble of Baroque architecture, gardens and river landscape reflects the splendour of Saxony’s Electors and Kings. After exploring the palace grounds, we continue to our hotel for an evening is at leisure. Overnight Dresden (B, L)

Day 9 | Tuesday 12 May
Mortizburg & Zwinger Palaces

After a morning talk, we make our way to the fairytale castle of Moritzburg, one of Saxony’s most enchanting moated palaces. Built as a hunting lodge for the Electors of Saxony, it now houses remarkable collections, including elaborate hunting trophies, rare gilded leather tapestries and the extraordinary Feather Room, decorated with over a million vividly coloured feathers. We then spend the afternoon at the Zwinger Palace, an excellent example of late Baroque architecture in Germany. Built between 1710 and 1728, the Zwinger was used for court festivities and tournaments. The palace contains Dresden’s Old Masters Picture Gallery, with works by Raphael, Rubens and Canaletto. The evening is at leisure on return to our hotel. Overnight Dresden (B)

Day 10 | Wednesday 13 May
Dresden | Norma
We begin the day by venturing into the Green Vault (The Grunes Gewolbe Museum), founded in 1723 by Augustus the Strong as one of the first public museums. A treasure trove, it contains an extensive collection of precious objet d’art. Our tour this morning takes us through the Historic Green Vault, which is composed of ten lavish Baroque rooms, and the New Green Vault, a modern labyrinth consisting of 12 exhibition rooms. Following a brief lunch break, we return by coach to Berlin, with the afternoon at leisure after checking into our hotel. This evening we gather at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden for a performance of Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma. Premiered in 1831, Bellini’s bel canto masterpiece is renowned for its soaring vocal lines and the dramatic intensity of its title role, one of the most challenging in the soprano repertoire. Overnight Berlin (B)

Performance II
Venue: Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin
Program: Vincenzo Bellini – Norma

Day 11 | Thursday 14 May
From Art to Wilhelmstrasse
| Berliner Philharmoniker
We start our tour today with the Wilhelmstrasse, hub of the Nazi administration. We visit the moving Holocaust Memorial, the site of the new Reich’s Chancellery, Hitler’s Bunker and the Luftwaffe Ministry building, the site of Gestapo Bunkers. Next it’s on to the fascinating Topography of Terror memorial and Potsdamer Platz, to stroll around what is now the modern heart of unified Berlin. Following lunch together, we’ll focus on the newly restored New National Gallery, housing Berlin’s 20th Century Art Collection. Our final stop will be the German Resistance Memorial Centre, created to commemorate those members of the German Army who tried to assassinate Hitler in 1944. Tonight, we make our way to the Philharmonie for a concert with the Berliner Philharmoniker. Klaus Mäkelä, the incoming Chief Conductor of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, pairs Stravinsky’s The Firebird with Andrew Norman’s Symphony Play. In this piece, the American composer explores our attention span in the digital age and the rules of complex video games. Overnight Berlin (B, L)

Performance III
Venue: Berliner Philharmonie
Program: Andrew Norman, Play for orchestra (German premiere); Igor Stravinsky, L’Oiseau de feu (The Firebird)

Day 12 | Friday 15 May
The Synagogue & Berlin in the Cold War

This morning we visit the ‘New Synagogue’, which was significantly damaged on Kristallnacht in 1938. The restored building reopened in 1995. We then stroll through the old Jewish district and the Jewish Museum of Berlin, designed by Daniel Libeskind and opened in 2001. After lunch, we investigate Berlin in the late 1940s and 1950s – the height of the Cold War. Our tour includes sections of the Berlin Wall, the former Stasi headquarters and Karl-Marx-Allee, a broad boulevard lined with impressive Socialist Realist buildings. Tonight we enjoy traditional German cuisine in a local restaurant. Overnight Berlin (B, D)

Day 13 | Saturday 16 May
Contemporary Berlin

On our final day together we take a coach tour of the modern city, focussing on its recent architecture and art. We pause to survey the collection at the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum for Contemporary Art, housed in a striking 19th-century railway station. Following a lunch break, we visit one of Berlin’s newest museums – the Berlinische Galerie. Situated in a repurposed 1960s glass warehouse, the museum highlights the artistic evolution of Berlin during its divided and reunified eras, with an impressive collection that features works from movements such as Dada Berlin, Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) and the Eastern European avant-garde. After time to freshen up back at our hotel, we bid farewell to Berlin this evening with dinner atop the Reichstag Building. A symbol of the struggles and eventual triumph of the city, the Reichstag first opened in 1894, was destroyed by fire in 1933, and then became the first meeting place of a reunified Germany. The reconstruction of the building was completed in 1999 to a plan by British architect Sir Norman Foster. His plan included an extraordinary glass dome at the top of the building which we will ascend. Overnight Berlin (B, D)

Day 14 | Sunday 17 May
Depart Berlin

The tour ends after breakfast this morning. Transfers are available to Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport for those departing today. (B)