Berlin, Potsdam and Dresden
23 June – 07 July 2012 (15 days)
with Thomas Abbott
Since the fall of the Wall in 1989 Berlin has re-merged, phoenix-like, as the political, economic and cultural capital of Germany. Twenty-three years on, the rebuilding and reunification are still underway but there is no doubt that the ‘new’ Berlin has ‘arrived’.
Join Thomas Abbott for two weeks in this extraordinary metropolis and the nearby cities of Potsdam and Dresden. Enjoy a full historical, social and cultural overview, leisurely visits to all the major museums and palaces, a survey of the extraordinary town planning and architecture underway in all three cities and a look at Berlin’s burgeoning contemporary art scene.
Highlights include four full days dedicated to the Berlin art collections spread between Museum Island and the Kulturforum, two full days in the former ‘royal seat’ of Potsdam, a visit to Meissen, Dresden’s magnificently restored historic centre, the picturesque Elbe Valley and its palaces. You will also experience concerts, opera and ballet in venues such as the Konzerthaus and Philharmonie in Berlin and the Semper Opera House in Dresden.
Brandenberg Gate, Berlin
ITINERARY
Sat 23 June 2012 / Arrive Berlin Arrive Berlin and check into the Radisson Blu, situated on the River Spree, opposite the Berlin Cathedral and close to Museum Island.
This evening, join Thomas Abbott and fellow group members for a welcome briefing and dinner. (D)
Sun 24 June / Berlin Join Thomas for a talk on ‘The Position of Berlin in the Holy Roman Empire and Europe through the Centuries’. Following the lecture, begin your exploration of Berlin with a morning walking tour seeing the Royal Palace (under reconstruction), the Berlin State Opera, Humboldt University, the Altes Museum and the Zeughaus (German Historical Museum). Finish at Pariser Platz, surrounded by the Brandenburg Gate, the Hotel Adlon, the Academy of the Arts and Frank Gehry’s DZ Bank building.
After a break for lunch on your own, walk to the Konzerthaus on the nearby Gendarmenmarkt. Here you will enjoy an afternoon concert (4 pm) by the Konzerthaus Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Ivanovich Fedoseyev.
PROGRAMME
Glazunov — Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 55 (‘The Heroic’)
Stravinsky — The Song of the Nightingale
Tchaikovsky — Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32
Following the concert, enjoy dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Gendarmenmarkt. (BD)
Mon 25 June / Berlin Today you will explore Greater Berlin by coach. Beginning in the East, viewing the exterior of ‘Rem Koolhaas’ building for the new Dutch Embassy.
Continue to Karl Marx Allee, East Side Gallery, Oberbaumbrucke, the Soviet War Memorial Treptow and Bruno Traut’s 1925 Horseshoe Development (‘Hufeisensiedlung’), an icon of 1920’s Berlin and Modern Architecture.
Crossing to the West, see the Olympic Stadium at Charlottenburg and visit the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. The morning will finish with lunch at Ka de We, Berlin's largest and most luxurious department store.
After lunch continue to the German Resistance Memorial, Air Lift Memorial and Niederkirchnerstrasse. The site is now marked by the Topography of Terror Memorial and Museum.
No introduction to Berlin would be complete without a visit to Checkpoint Charlie (or "Checkpoint C") the name given by the Western Allies to the best known Berlin Wall crossing point between East and West during the Cold War. Continue to the New Synagogue then to Bernauer Straße, the street famous for escapes from windows of apartment blocks in the eastern part of the city when the Berlin Wall ran along this street. Return to the hotel through Prenzlauerberg, one of the most exotic districts of Berlin with a well preserved and unique atmosphere from Germany past, once a workers' district in the former East, now undergoing gentrification.(BL)
Tue 26 June / Berlin Join Thomas for a talk on ‘Showcase of Western Civilisation’.Walk to nearby Museum Island, a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site where five major museums, Altes Museum, Altes Nationalgalerie, Bode Museum, Neues Musuem and Pergamon Museum are situated.
This morning you will visit the Neues Museum (New Museum). The museum features a history of art and technology in the 19th century and provides a new home for the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection and the Museum of Prehistory and Early History together with artefacts from the Collection of Classical Antiquities.
Continue to the Pergamon Museum. The museum houses original-sized, reconstructed monumental buildings such as the Pergamon Altar, the Market Gate of Miletus, all consisting of parts transported from Turkey. The museum is subdivided into the antiquity collection, the Middle East museum, and the museum of Islamic art.
Tonight you will dine in the Nikolaiviertel area, five minutes from the Alexanderplatz and your hotel. (BD)
Wed 27 June / Berlin Catch the local bus to Potsdamerplatz, an important public square and traffic intersection in the centre of Berlin. It is named after Potsdam (25km south west) and marks the point where the old road from Potsdam passed through the city wall of Berlin at the Potsdam Gate.
Begin with an introduction to the Kulturforum (Culture Forum), a collection of cultural buildings built in the 1950’s and 1960’s at the edge of West Berlin after most of the once unified city's cultural assets had been lost behind the Berlin Wall. The Kulturforum is characterised by its innovative modernist architecture. Several buildings are distinguished by the organic designs of Hans Scharoun.
Continue to the Gemaldegallery (Old Masters Paintings), an art museum first opened in 1830 holding one of the world's leading collections of European art from the 13th to the 18th centuries. Its collection includes masterpieces from such artists as Albert Durer, Lucas Cranach, Raphael, Tital, Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt and Johannes Vermeer. (B)
Thu 28 June / Berlin Join Thomas for a talk on ‘The 19th Century Art of Europe and Germany’. Return to Museum Island for a morning visit to the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery), featuring a collection of Classical, Romantic, Biedermeier, Impressionist and early Modernist artwork.
Remainder of the afternoon at leisure where a visit to the Altes Museum may be on your agenda.
Originally constructed to house all of the city's collections of fine arts, since 1904, the museum has housed the Antikensammlung (Collection of Classical Antiquities). Since 1998 the Collection of Classical Antiquities has displayed its Greek collection, including the treasury, on the ground floor of the Altes Museum.
Enjoy dinner tonight in the Hackescher Markt (Hacke's Market) area, not far from your hotel. After dinner enjoy an evening visit to the Bode Museum on Museum Island. A historically preserved building, the museum was designed by architect Ernst von Ihne and completed in 1904. (BD)
Fri 29 June / Berlin This morning pay a visit to Schloss Charlottenburg (Charlottenburg Palace), the largest palace in Berlin and the only royal residency in the city dating back to the time of the Hohenzollern family.
Following lunch at the palace, the afternoon will be spent at the Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery). The collection features a number of unique highlights of modern 20th century art. Particularly well represented are Cubism, Expressionism, the Bauhaus and Surrealism.
Evening concert at the Berlin Philharmonie by the Orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin, conducted by Patrick Lange and featuring Renaud Capuçon (violin). Designed by Scharoun, the building is acclaimed for both its acoustics and its architecture. (BL)
PROGRAMME
Mendelssohn — Violin Concerto in E minor
Stravinsky — The Rite of Spring
Sat 30 June / Berlin – Potsdam – Berlin Depart Berlin for the first of two full days at nearby Potsdam.Begin with a tour of Sanssouci Palace, designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff between 1745 and 1747 to fulfill King Frederick the Great, King of Prussia’s need for a private residence where he could relax away from the pomp and ceremony of the Berlin court.
After lunch, continue through Park Sansouci to the Neues Palais (New Palace). The building was begun in 1763, under Frederick the Great and was completed in 1769. In 2012 the palace will celebrate the conclusion of a long period of restoration with the special exhibit of Friedrich 2nd: “Friedrikiso” and over 70 rooms open for viewing. (BL)
Sun 01 July / Berlin – Potsdam – Berlin Return to Potsdam for a second day. Begin at the Wannsee Conference House where, on 20 January 1942, Senior Nazi officals held a conference, presumably approved by Adolf Hitler, for the deportation of the Jewish population of Europe and French North Africa to German occupied areas in eastern Europe. The Wannsee House is now a Holocaust Memorial. Also see the Glienicker Brücke (Glienicke Bridge), one of the most renowned monuments of the Cold War not only a prominent border village, but also a point of exchange for secret agents of both political systems who had been taken prisoner. Continue to Schloss Cecilienhof, a UNESCO World Heritage Site built between 1914 and 1917 the palace was designed by Paul Schultze-Naumburg to resemble an English Tudor country house.
This afternoon visit Marmorpalais (Marble Palace) a royal residence designed in the early classics style by the architects Carl von Gontard and from 1789 Carl Gotthard Langhans. Afterwards continue through the Russian Colony, then a walk through the centre of Potsdam Town, completing the afternoon at the Church of Peace situated in the Marly Gardens in the palace grounds of Sanssouci Park.
This evening attend a performance of Verdi’s La traviata by the Berlin State Opera at the Schiller Theatre. Conducted by Omer Meir Wellber, the performance stars Aleksandra Kurzak (Violetta), Francesco Demuro (Alfredo) and Alfredo Daza (Giorgio). (BL)
Mon 02 July / Berlin Join Thomas for a talk on ‘New Architecture in Berlin’ This morning explore the contemporary town planning and architecture of Berlin. Visit the Berlin Hbf tief (Main Train Station), Nicholas Grimshaw’s ‘Stock Exchange Armadillo’, Helmut Jahn’s ‘New Kranzler Ecke’ and Otto Boeck Representation. The morning will finish at the Jüdisches Museum (Jewish Museum) which covers two millennia of German Jewish history.
This afternoon visit the Boros Collection. Established by Christian and Karen Boros, since 2008 their private collection of contemporary art has been housed in a converted WWII bunker.
Tonight, celebrate the conclusion of your stay in Berlin with dinner at the Käfer Rooftop Restaurant. The restaurant is located on the roof terrace of the Reichstag (Parliament) with wonderful views over Berlin and into Norman Foster’s dome at the summit of the Reichstag. (BD)
Zwinger Palace, Dresden
Tue 03 Jul / Berlin – Dresden Depart Berlin for a full day’s drive to Dresden, via Proschwitz Castle and Meissen.
The small village of Proschwitz contained an ammunitions factory during WW II. Now the castle is a winery where you will enjoy a visit and lunch.
After lunch continue to the famous Meissen Museum to visit the Schauhalle (porcelain museum) and the Schauwerkstatt (demonstration of the manufacture in progress). The production of porcelain at Meissen started in 1710 and attracted artists and artisans to establish one of the most famous porcelain manufacturers.
Afterwards continue to Dresden arriving late in the afternoon. (BL)
Wed 04 Jul / Dresden Join Thomas for an ‘Introduction to Dresden’ followed by a short walking tour of the historic city centre. See the 1876 mural The Procession of the Princes, the Semper Opera, Royal Palace, Elbe Terrace, the Frauenkirche (Our Lady Church) and the Zwinger Palace. Finish the morning with a visit to the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Picture Gallery) featuring major works of art originating from the 15th to the 18th century.
In the afternoon visit the Historic Green Vaults, then continue up one level to the New Green Vaults. After the guided tour you are free to visit other museums. (B)
Thur 05 Jul / Dresden Today, explore ‘Greater Dresden’. Beginning in the southern city area, see the Synagogue, Glass Factory and Art Nouveau District. After a coffee break at the world famous 1880’s Pfunds Molkerei (Dairy Store), continue via the Villa District, Elbe Palaces and Blue Wonder Bridge to scenic Loschwitz, a borough of Dresden overlooking the Elbe River.
This afternoon tour the New Town. While three-quarters of Dresden's Old Town was decimated by Allied firebombs, much of the New Town survived. The 18th century apartment buildings have been restored, giving the area a Baroque look instead of the Soviet style predominant on the Old Town side. See the Kunsthofpassage with its many interesting buildings, shops and restaurants. (BL)
Fri 06 Jul / Dresden Journey out of Dresden today. Begin with a visit to Gross Seydlitz before continuing to Bastei where the spectacular rock formation towers 194 metres above the Elbe River. Depart Bastei and continue to Pillnitz, a city quarter in the east of Dresden. Visit the 18th century Schloß Pillnitz, a beautiful Baroque palace built by architect Pöppelmann.
Enjoy a farewell lunch at the Schloss Hotel, in a beautiful setting by the Elbe River surrounded by picturesque vineyards and fruit orchards.
Return to Dresden by boat cruise along the Elbe River (afternoon tea on board).
Enjoy your final night of the tour with a ballet performance ‘Les Ballets Russes – Reloaded’ at the famous Semperoper, the opera house of the Staatsoper Dresden. Choreographies by Stijn Celis, George Balanchine, Bubeníček and Jacopo Godani. (BL)
Sat 07 Jul / Depart Dresden Tour arrangements conclude after breakfast. (B)
Join Thomas Abbott for two weeks in this extraordinary metropolis and the nearby cities of Potsdam and Dresden. Enjoy a full historical, social and cultural overview, leisurely visits to all the major museums and palaces, a survey of the extraordinary town planning and architecture underway in all three cities and a look at Berlin’s burgeoning contemporary art scene.
Highlights include four full days dedicated to the Berlin art collections spread between Museum Island and the Kulturforum, two full days in the former ‘royal seat’ of Potsdam, a visit to Meissen, Dresden’s magnificently restored historic centre, the picturesque Elbe Valley and its palaces. You will also experience concerts, opera and ballet in venues such as the Konzerthaus and Philharmonie in Berlin and the Semper Opera House in Dresden.
Brandenberg Gate, Berlin
ITINERARY
Sat 23 June 2012 / Arrive Berlin Arrive Berlin and check into the Radisson Blu, situated on the River Spree, opposite the Berlin Cathedral and close to Museum Island.
This evening, join Thomas Abbott and fellow group members for a welcome briefing and dinner. (D)
Sun 24 June / Berlin Join Thomas for a talk on ‘The Position of Berlin in the Holy Roman Empire and Europe through the Centuries’. Following the lecture, begin your exploration of Berlin with a morning walking tour seeing the Royal Palace (under reconstruction), the Berlin State Opera, Humboldt University, the Altes Museum and the Zeughaus (German Historical Museum). Finish at Pariser Platz, surrounded by the Brandenburg Gate, the Hotel Adlon, the Academy of the Arts and Frank Gehry’s DZ Bank building.
After a break for lunch on your own, walk to the Konzerthaus on the nearby Gendarmenmarkt. Here you will enjoy an afternoon concert (4 pm) by the Konzerthaus Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Ivanovich Fedoseyev.
PROGRAMME
Glazunov — Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 55 (‘The Heroic’)
Stravinsky — The Song of the Nightingale
Tchaikovsky — Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32
Following the concert, enjoy dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Gendarmenmarkt. (BD)
Mon 25 June / Berlin Today you will explore Greater Berlin by coach. Beginning in the East, viewing the exterior of ‘Rem Koolhaas’ building for the new Dutch Embassy.
Continue to Karl Marx Allee, East Side Gallery, Oberbaumbrucke, the Soviet War Memorial Treptow and Bruno Traut’s 1925 Horseshoe Development (‘Hufeisensiedlung’), an icon of 1920’s Berlin and Modern Architecture.
Crossing to the West, see the Olympic Stadium at Charlottenburg and visit the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. The morning will finish with lunch at Ka de We, Berlin's largest and most luxurious department store.
After lunch continue to the German Resistance Memorial, Air Lift Memorial and Niederkirchnerstrasse. The site is now marked by the Topography of Terror Memorial and Museum.
No introduction to Berlin would be complete without a visit to Checkpoint Charlie (or "Checkpoint C") the name given by the Western Allies to the best known Berlin Wall crossing point between East and West during the Cold War. Continue to the New Synagogue then to Bernauer Straße, the street famous for escapes from windows of apartment blocks in the eastern part of the city when the Berlin Wall ran along this street. Return to the hotel through Prenzlauerberg, one of the most exotic districts of Berlin with a well preserved and unique atmosphere from Germany past, once a workers' district in the former East, now undergoing gentrification.(BL)
Tue 26 June / Berlin Join Thomas for a talk on ‘Showcase of Western Civilisation’.Walk to nearby Museum Island, a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site where five major museums, Altes Museum, Altes Nationalgalerie, Bode Museum, Neues Musuem and Pergamon Museum are situated.
This morning you will visit the Neues Museum (New Museum). The museum features a history of art and technology in the 19th century and provides a new home for the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection and the Museum of Prehistory and Early History together with artefacts from the Collection of Classical Antiquities.
Continue to the Pergamon Museum. The museum houses original-sized, reconstructed monumental buildings such as the Pergamon Altar, the Market Gate of Miletus, all consisting of parts transported from Turkey. The museum is subdivided into the antiquity collection, the Middle East museum, and the museum of Islamic art.
Tonight you will dine in the Nikolaiviertel area, five minutes from the Alexanderplatz and your hotel. (BD)
Wed 27 June / Berlin Catch the local bus to Potsdamerplatz, an important public square and traffic intersection in the centre of Berlin. It is named after Potsdam (25km south west) and marks the point where the old road from Potsdam passed through the city wall of Berlin at the Potsdam Gate.
Begin with an introduction to the Kulturforum (Culture Forum), a collection of cultural buildings built in the 1950’s and 1960’s at the edge of West Berlin after most of the once unified city's cultural assets had been lost behind the Berlin Wall. The Kulturforum is characterised by its innovative modernist architecture. Several buildings are distinguished by the organic designs of Hans Scharoun.
Continue to the Gemaldegallery (Old Masters Paintings), an art museum first opened in 1830 holding one of the world's leading collections of European art from the 13th to the 18th centuries. Its collection includes masterpieces from such artists as Albert Durer, Lucas Cranach, Raphael, Tital, Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt and Johannes Vermeer. (B)
Thu 28 June / Berlin Join Thomas for a talk on ‘The 19th Century Art of Europe and Germany’. Return to Museum Island for a morning visit to the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery), featuring a collection of Classical, Romantic, Biedermeier, Impressionist and early Modernist artwork.
Remainder of the afternoon at leisure where a visit to the Altes Museum may be on your agenda.
Originally constructed to house all of the city's collections of fine arts, since 1904, the museum has housed the Antikensammlung (Collection of Classical Antiquities). Since 1998 the Collection of Classical Antiquities has displayed its Greek collection, including the treasury, on the ground floor of the Altes Museum.
Enjoy dinner tonight in the Hackescher Markt (Hacke's Market) area, not far from your hotel. After dinner enjoy an evening visit to the Bode Museum on Museum Island. A historically preserved building, the museum was designed by architect Ernst von Ihne and completed in 1904. (BD)
Fri 29 June / Berlin This morning pay a visit to Schloss Charlottenburg (Charlottenburg Palace), the largest palace in Berlin and the only royal residency in the city dating back to the time of the Hohenzollern family.
Following lunch at the palace, the afternoon will be spent at the Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery). The collection features a number of unique highlights of modern 20th century art. Particularly well represented are Cubism, Expressionism, the Bauhaus and Surrealism.
Evening concert at the Berlin Philharmonie by the Orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin, conducted by Patrick Lange and featuring Renaud Capuçon (violin). Designed by Scharoun, the building is acclaimed for both its acoustics and its architecture. (BL)
PROGRAMME
Mendelssohn — Violin Concerto in E minor
Stravinsky — The Rite of Spring
Sat 30 June / Berlin – Potsdam – Berlin Depart Berlin for the first of two full days at nearby Potsdam.Begin with a tour of Sanssouci Palace, designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff between 1745 and 1747 to fulfill King Frederick the Great, King of Prussia’s need for a private residence where he could relax away from the pomp and ceremony of the Berlin court.
After lunch, continue through Park Sansouci to the Neues Palais (New Palace). The building was begun in 1763, under Frederick the Great and was completed in 1769. In 2012 the palace will celebrate the conclusion of a long period of restoration with the special exhibit of Friedrich 2nd: “Friedrikiso” and over 70 rooms open for viewing. (BL)
Sun 01 July / Berlin – Potsdam – Berlin Return to Potsdam for a second day. Begin at the Wannsee Conference House where, on 20 January 1942, Senior Nazi officals held a conference, presumably approved by Adolf Hitler, for the deportation of the Jewish population of Europe and French North Africa to German occupied areas in eastern Europe. The Wannsee House is now a Holocaust Memorial. Also see the Glienicker Brücke (Glienicke Bridge), one of the most renowned monuments of the Cold War not only a prominent border village, but also a point of exchange for secret agents of both political systems who had been taken prisoner. Continue to Schloss Cecilienhof, a UNESCO World Heritage Site built between 1914 and 1917 the palace was designed by Paul Schultze-Naumburg to resemble an English Tudor country house.
This afternoon visit Marmorpalais (Marble Palace) a royal residence designed in the early classics style by the architects Carl von Gontard and from 1789 Carl Gotthard Langhans. Afterwards continue through the Russian Colony, then a walk through the centre of Potsdam Town, completing the afternoon at the Church of Peace situated in the Marly Gardens in the palace grounds of Sanssouci Park.
This evening attend a performance of Verdi’s La traviata by the Berlin State Opera at the Schiller Theatre. Conducted by Omer Meir Wellber, the performance stars Aleksandra Kurzak (Violetta), Francesco Demuro (Alfredo) and Alfredo Daza (Giorgio). (BL)
Mon 02 July / Berlin Join Thomas for a talk on ‘New Architecture in Berlin’ This morning explore the contemporary town planning and architecture of Berlin. Visit the Berlin Hbf tief (Main Train Station), Nicholas Grimshaw’s ‘Stock Exchange Armadillo’, Helmut Jahn’s ‘New Kranzler Ecke’ and Otto Boeck Representation. The morning will finish at the Jüdisches Museum (Jewish Museum) which covers two millennia of German Jewish history.
This afternoon visit the Boros Collection. Established by Christian and Karen Boros, since 2008 their private collection of contemporary art has been housed in a converted WWII bunker.
Tonight, celebrate the conclusion of your stay in Berlin with dinner at the Käfer Rooftop Restaurant. The restaurant is located on the roof terrace of the Reichstag (Parliament) with wonderful views over Berlin and into Norman Foster’s dome at the summit of the Reichstag. (BD)
Zwinger Palace, Dresden
Tue 03 Jul / Berlin – Dresden Depart Berlin for a full day’s drive to Dresden, via Proschwitz Castle and Meissen.
The small village of Proschwitz contained an ammunitions factory during WW II. Now the castle is a winery where you will enjoy a visit and lunch.
After lunch continue to the famous Meissen Museum to visit the Schauhalle (porcelain museum) and the Schauwerkstatt (demonstration of the manufacture in progress). The production of porcelain at Meissen started in 1710 and attracted artists and artisans to establish one of the most famous porcelain manufacturers.
Afterwards continue to Dresden arriving late in the afternoon. (BL)
Wed 04 Jul / Dresden Join Thomas for an ‘Introduction to Dresden’ followed by a short walking tour of the historic city centre. See the 1876 mural The Procession of the Princes, the Semper Opera, Royal Palace, Elbe Terrace, the Frauenkirche (Our Lady Church) and the Zwinger Palace. Finish the morning with a visit to the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Picture Gallery) featuring major works of art originating from the 15th to the 18th century.
In the afternoon visit the Historic Green Vaults, then continue up one level to the New Green Vaults. After the guided tour you are free to visit other museums. (B)
Thur 05 Jul / Dresden Today, explore ‘Greater Dresden’. Beginning in the southern city area, see the Synagogue, Glass Factory and Art Nouveau District. After a coffee break at the world famous 1880’s Pfunds Molkerei (Dairy Store), continue via the Villa District, Elbe Palaces and Blue Wonder Bridge to scenic Loschwitz, a borough of Dresden overlooking the Elbe River.
This afternoon tour the New Town. While three-quarters of Dresden's Old Town was decimated by Allied firebombs, much of the New Town survived. The 18th century apartment buildings have been restored, giving the area a Baroque look instead of the Soviet style predominant on the Old Town side. See the Kunsthofpassage with its many interesting buildings, shops and restaurants. (BL)
Fri 06 Jul / Dresden Journey out of Dresden today. Begin with a visit to Gross Seydlitz before continuing to Bastei where the spectacular rock formation towers 194 metres above the Elbe River. Depart Bastei and continue to Pillnitz, a city quarter in the east of Dresden. Visit the 18th century Schloß Pillnitz, a beautiful Baroque palace built by architect Pöppelmann.
Enjoy a farewell lunch at the Schloss Hotel, in a beautiful setting by the Elbe River surrounded by picturesque vineyards and fruit orchards.
Return to Dresden by boat cruise along the Elbe River (afternoon tea on board).
Enjoy your final night of the tour with a ballet performance ‘Les Ballets Russes – Reloaded’ at the famous Semperoper, the opera house of the Staatsoper Dresden. Choreographies by Stijn Celis, George Balanchine, Bubeníček and Jacopo Godani. (BL)
Sat 07 Jul / Depart Dresden Tour arrangements conclude after breakfast. (B)
