Discover, Plan & Go!

Music Festivals of Europe

Featuring the opera festivals of Verona & Munich, Tuscany &
celebrating music festivals in Bohemia & Salzburg
23 Nights in Europe
18 July to 10 August 2008

This program of opera in Europe includes three Opera Festivals in Italy and Germany as well as two classical music Festivals in the Czech Republic and Austria. We experience performances as part of the renowned Munich Opera Festival, Verdi in Verona's arena and Puccini in Tuscany's Torre de Lago. We participate in celebratory music festivals in Bohemian Cesky Krumlov and Mozart's Salzburg. We also visit the musical cities of Rome, Prague and Vienna. Due to the special nature of this program, we have limited the group size to 24 participants. Although we observe Springboard's philosophy of multiple night stays at each site, we have selected four star hotels conveniently located to permit easy access to the selected Festivals. Your study leader will lead discussions which will ensure your enhanced appreciation of the operas attended. As soon as the individual musical performances are confirmed, we shall provide participants with a complete schedule.

Itinerary at a Glance & Site / # Nights

• Germany, Heidelberg - 2,
• Munich - 3,
• Czech Republic Prague - 2,
• Southern Bohemia Cesky Krumlov - 2,
• Austria Vienna - 3,
• Salzburg - 3,
• Italy Verona - 3,
• Tuscany - 4,
• Rome - 1,
• Program ends in Rome prior to boarding your return flight.

Program Information
Music Festivals of Europe
Departs 18July 2008
Price from $11,875 per person twin share
Single Supplement $2,145
Ex Heidelberg, Germany

Prices quoted are in USD

Program Includes

• 23 nights in four star hotels offering share twin rooms with private facilities.
• 23 typical local breakfasts and 16 dinners daily.
• Tickets to all performances listed.
• Touring by comfortable and modern coach.
• Transport, lectures and field trips as indicated.
• Applicable entry fees and services of local guides.
• Services of a study leader.
• Gratuities and necessary tips.
• Detailed program information booklet.
• Group transfer to the airport at the conclusion of the program.

Program Excludes

• Airport transfers and dinner on Day 1.
• Return economy class international airfare.
• Departure taxes applicable to the standard itinerary.
• Comprehensive travel insurance.

Items of a personal nature.

Itinerary

Germany, Heidelberg

Upon arrival in Heidelberg make your own way to the hotel. There will be free time to explore the city.

Accommodation
We stay in a comforable hotel offering share twin, double and single rooms with private facilities. Two breakfasts and a welcome dinner on Day 2 will be provided.

What you will experience
On Day 2 we will have a program overview, orientation and welcome dinner. After breakfast we travel via mediaeval Rothenburg on the Romantic Road to Munich.

Germany, Munich

Munich is one of the great cultural cities of Europe. Great monuments and palaces of its regal past as the Bavarian capital sit side by side with the symbols of one of Germany's most affluent cities. Munich's acclaimed annual Opera Festival is a testament to the city's position as a leader in the field of European arts.

Accommodation
We stay in a comfortable hotel offering share twin, double and single rooms with private facilities. Typical local breakfasts and 2 dinners are provided.
What we will Experience

We will learn about the city and visit its main icons including the sumptuous palaces and outstanding churches. There will be time to visit some of the city's fine art galleries as well as to learn about its more recent past from the rise of Nazism to the Olympics. We also attend a performance at the Munich Opera Festival.

Included are field trips to:

• The icons of Munich including the Royal Palace.
• An opera performance at the Munich Opera Festival.

En route to Prague we pause in Nuremberg regarded as one of the cradles of German culture - with its hugely impressive German National Museum as well as the site of both the Nazi rallies and Post World War II trials.

Czech Republic, Prague

This "stone jewel in the Hapsburg crown" offers a great wealth of historic and cultural sights from the imposing Castle and mediaeval Golden Lane to the Old Town and famous Wenceslas Square. The city has remained relatively undamaged by the war and, therefore, is today one of the best preserved mediaeval cities. The city has a rich musical tradition with several opera houses.

Accommodation
We stay in a city hotel in share twin or single rooms with private facilities. Typical local breakfasts and dinners are provided.

What we will Experience
We experience the musical culture of the Czech Republic and a performance of Mozart at the Villa Bertramka. We explore the icons of the city and visit the museums dedicated to the great composers from Dvorak and Mozart to Smetena and Janacek.
Included are a lecture and field trips to:

• Introduce the music of the Czech Republic.
• The icons and monuments of the city including the Castle, Saint Vitus Cathedral, Charles Bridge and the Old Town Square and the museums dedicated to the great composers from Dvorak and Mozart to Smetena and Janacek.

An evening of Mozart's music at the Villa Bertramka. Enroute to Cesky Krumlov, we visit the great mediaeval castle of Karlstejn.

Southern Bohemia, Cesky Krumlov

This small town in Southern Bohemia is a mediaeval gem and is recognised by UNESCO as outstandingly well preserved. It is a typical re-roofed town, with an impressive Castle complex overlooking the Vitava, and a unique example of mediaeval architecture. In the summer months, this town hosts a Festival of Classical Music in which we take part.

Accommodation
We stay in a genuine castle offering three-star facilities close to Cesky Krumlov in share twin or single with private facilities. Facilities include a bar and restaurant. Typical local breakfasts and dinners are provided.

What we will Experience
We experience the great mediaeval architecture of this small town with a guided walking tour of its historic streets and a visit to the impressive Castle. We also enjoy a concert as part of the Cesky Krunlov Summer Festival.

Included are field trips to:

• Explore the mediaeval architecture of Cesky Krumlov.
• A Concert

En route to Vienna we follow the route of the River Danube through the Wachau Valley, steeply clad in vineyards and dotted with castles.

Austria, Vienna

Vienna was the glittering capital of the Hapsburg Empire with its fine palaces and ornate buildings. St Stefan's Cathedral is one of Europe's finest and the sumptuous Schonbrunn Palace was the envy of many of the crowned heads of Europe. Vienna has always been a great cultural centre attracting musicians from Mozart and Haydn to Strauss.

Accommodation
We stay in a hotel offering share twin, double or single rooms with private facilities. Typical local breakfasts daily and 2 dinners are provided.

What we will Experience
We experience some of the great musical culture of the city with a lecture on the history of music in Vienna at the world famous Musikakademie. We discover the icons of the city including the sights made famous by the city's many composers as well as the imposing Schonbrunn Palace. Here we enjoy a musical performance.

Included is a lecture and field trips to:

• Introduce the music of the well-known Viennese composers.
• The icons and monuments of the city.
• The Schonbrunn Palace.
• A musical performance.

En route from Vienna to Salzburg we pause at the imposing abbey of Melk.

Austria, Salzburg

Austria's fourth largest city, Salzburg, is situated on both banks of the Salzach River. The old town is a Baroque masterpiece of churches, plazas, courtyards and fountains, and is the site of the Salzburg Festspielhaus.

Accommodation
We stay in city hotel offering shared twin, double and single rooms with private facilities. Typical local breakfasts daily and 2 dinners are provided.

What we will Experience
We explore the icons of the city of Salzburg, learn about its musical heritage and attend an opera performance at the Salzburg Festival. We also experience the environs of Salzburg with an excursion to Salzkammergut, the setting for the "Sound of Music" and "White Horse Inn".

Included are field trips and excursions to:

• Icons of Salzburg.
• The Salzburg Festival for a musical performance.
• The environs of Salzkammergut.

En route from Salzburg to Verona we travel through the Austrian Tyrol and over the Brenner Pass.

Italy, Verona

Verona has a rich Roman and mediaeval history, its ancient centre boasts many magnificent Roman ruins and fine palaces built by the city's mediaeval rulers, whose ruthless rivalry provide the basis for the Romeo and Juliet story. The town owes its musical renown to the summertime open air performances in the amphitheatre, used for opera since the 19th century. This provides a huge performance space of which the terracing enhances the beauty of the productions presented here. The stage erected in the summer is the biggest in the world, with over fifteen thousand spectators flowing into the amphitheatre every evening of the season. The first opera season opened on 10 August, 1913 in commemoration of Verdi's centenary and many famous singers were first discovered here, including Maria Callas and Placido Domingo.

Accommodation
We stay in a hotel close to Verona at the medieval city of Sirmione on the shores of Lake Garda offering shared twin, double and single rooms with private facilities. Typical local breakfasts daily and 2 dinners are provided.

What we will Experience
We experience the city's Roman and mediaeval icons and attend an opera performance at the Roman amphitheatre. Discover the natural setting of Italy's largest lake, Garda.

Included are field trips to:

• The city's Roman and mediaeval icons.
• The Roman amphitheatre for an open air opera performance of Verdi's 'Aida'.
• Lake Garda.

En route from Verona to Tuscany we visit the ancient university city of Bologna.

Italy, Tuscany

Renowned for its art, history and evocative landscape, Tuscany is a region where the past and present merge in pleasant harmony. Hill-towns gaze across the countryside from on high, many circled by Etruscan walls and slender cypress trees, olive groves or vineyards. Handsome palaces testify to the region's wealth while mediaeval town halls indicate a long-standing tradition of self-government.

Accommodation
We stay in a hotel in the spa resort of Montecatini close to our Festival site offering share twin and single rooms with private facilities. Typical local breakfasts daily and 2 dinners are provided.

What we will Experience
Here we experience one of the region's great Renaissance cities and some of the typical hilltop towns of Tuscany. We visit the Florence of Botticelli, Michelangelo and Donatello; the ancient Roman colony of Lucca; and the former city port of Pisa. The highlight to our stay in Tuscany is our attendance at the Puccini Festival in small town of Torre del Lago.

Included are field trips to:

• Florence with its cathedral and great galleries of the Accademia and the Uffizi.
• Pisa with its fine Basilica and Leaning Tower.
• Lucca with its fine mediaeval streets following the plan of the Roman colony.
• A performance of Puccini's 'Tosca' at the Puccini Festival.
• The mediaeval hilltop town of San Gimignano and city of Siena, famous for its mediaeval "Palio" horse race.

We travel from Tuscany to Rome.

Founded by the Etruscans, Rome became the centre of Europe's greatest Empire and one of the world's great religions. It still offers an astonishing array of outstanding sights from the Roman Forum and Colosseum to the great Vatican Basilica of St Peter. The traveler is awestruck by the richness of the city's churches, monuments and museums. Rome is a city in which a phenomenal concentration of history, legend and icons co-exists with the hustle and bustle of its four million inhabitants.

Accommodation
We stay in a city centre hotel offering twin and single rooms with private facilities. A farewell dinner and a typical local breakfast are provided.

What we will Experience
We experience the icons and monuments of the city on a guided visit of Rome, ancient and modern.
Included are field trips to:

• The icons and monuments of Rome.

Program concludes in Rome.

If you wish to extend your stay Europe, please contact Springboard.

Itineraries may change if flight schedules, site availability, and other inclusions have to be amended prior to departure. Springboard will notify registrants if, and as soon as, such changes occur.