We intend to continue the journey from where we finished
last year's trip, so will explore some more of eastern Germany, then continue
into the Czech Republic and Prague, and end the trip in Vienna. Our theme this time will be Science
Behind the Iron [Fe!] Curtain. We
will all meet in Leipzig to start the trip on June 22 2005, and will begin with
a welcome lunch. The tour will end
in Vienna after breakfast on July 6. Tour members frequently choose to arrive
at the starting point a few days early, or else to stay on for a few days after
the trip ends. Yvonne can give you advice on this, as she can often help with
ideas or hotel suggestions.
The
itinerary includes Dresden
and the marvelous collection of the Zwinger museums. Dresden is also of great interest for its architecture -
wonderfully restored after almost complete destruction in WWII. A visit to the fabulous Meissen factory
will enable you to see early examples produced in Europe's first porcelain
factory and also to see present day Meissen porcelain being manufactured. The
composition of porcelain was a secret, manufacture being a monopoly in the
Orient, until the secret was re-discovered by an alchemist in the employ of
Augustus the Strong of Saxony.
Other visits will take place in the Saxony region (whose wealth was
based on silver-mining) where there are lovely castles and gardens and small
towns that most tourists have not yet found. There are also a number of very old collections of
scientific interest, just emerging from obscurity.
We will
then travel throughout the length of the Czech Republic exploring its wealth of
science history. Prague, with its connections
with Tycho Brahe and Kepler, and Brno, the
place where Mendel
founded the science of genetics, will be two of the places we will stay. Visits
to the other towns now coming to life after years under Communist domination,
but as yet largely undiscovered by tourists, will be a delight. The tour will end with a couple of days
in Vienna, a lovely city with
connections to many scientists and famous Naturalischeshistorisches
Museum.
Walking tours of
many cities, lectures from local experts and visits to the homes of scientists
will be included in the tour. Those who wish can explore the cultural offerings
of the cities of Dresden and Prague and Vienna, where concerts and operas
abound. Along the way we will take
a short cruise of the Elbe from Dresden to the Castle at Pillnitz. Evidence of the stultifying and in some
cases perverse influence of the Soviet
regime on science will be found in many places and will provide a strong
contrast to the degree of scientific freedom seen in the United States.
Accommodation
will be in comfortable welcoming hotels where all rooms have private
bathrooms. Room-sharing arrangements
can be coordinated for those persons who are traveling alone, but would like to
share a room to save single room supplements. We will travel either by luxury coach that will stay with us
while we are touring, or sometimes by train. Inexperienced international travelers will be given as much
help as they need. Those traveling
alone will find a warm welcome from this congenial and interesting group where
it is easy to make friends.
During
the tour all land transportation, hotels and breakfasts, at least (on average)
one other meal per day - often with a glass of wine, all admissions to museums,
lecture fees, and taxes are included.
Your additional expenditure will be for the few meals when the group does
not eat together, incidentals such as theater or concert tickets, and personal
expenditures. TRANSATLANTIC
AIRFARE IS NOT INCLUDED. The
cost of the 2005 tour will be $2975 per person, double occupancy. We regret the necessity to increase the
price over last year's, but the large decline in the value of the dollar makes
this inevitable. You will find
that you receive excellent value for money.
Graduate
credit is available. CPDUs
are also available for teachers.
For
registration materials, further information and/or to be put on the mailing list,
contact:
Yvonne
Twomey, 841 Kinston Court, Naperville, IL 60540 Tel: 630-961-9811
E-mail:
ytwomey@mindspring.com
Or Lee
Marek, Tel: 630-420-7516 E-mail: LMarek@aol.com
See the
following pages for a web presentation on our past trips.