Lincoln Youth Symphony 2011 American Celebration of Music in Austria Preceded by a visit to Hungary
Hungary/Austria Tour (6 nights / 8 days)
Day 1 Depart from Omaha via scheduled air service. The destination is Budapest, Hungary.
Day 2 Budapest (D) Arrive in Budapest. Meet your MCI Tour Manager, who will assist the group to awaiting chartered motorcoach for a transfer to the hotel via panoramic tour of Budapest’s highlights en route, including Elizabeth Bridge, Gellert Hill, St. Margaret’s Island, Hero’s Square, etc. Mid-afternoon hotel check-in. Evening Welcome Dinner and overnight.
Budapest is the modern combination of three cities: Obuda, Buda and Pest. Linked by eight bridges, these cities have retained their own distinctive characteristics, but their combination has created one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Two opera houses, five concert halls and numerous theatres are only the beginning of the dazzling entertainment in this captivating city.
Day 3 Budapest (B,D) Morning guided tour of Budapest to include the Parliament, Chain Bridge, Royal Castle Hill (for an incredible view of the city), St. Stephen's Cathedral, Matthias Church, Fisherman's Bastion, and the picturesque streets of Táncsis Mihály utca, Uri utca and Fortuna utca which feature splendid examples of medieval houses and Baroque mansions. Afternoon concert as part of the American Celebration of Music in the Vigado Concert Hall* (or similar)
Day 4 Budapest (B,D) Enjoy a tour of Musical Budapest. Budapest – A city between the West and the East, the home of Franz Liszt, Zoltan Kodaly, Carl Orff and Bela Bartok. Hungary boasts of the best music education program in the world! Visit the Liszt Memorial Museum at the Franz Liszt Academy, THE center for teaching and learning music in Hungary. Also visit the Bela Bartok Memorial House and the Museum of Music History.
Day 5 Budapest / Vienna (B,D) Transfer to Vienna via Eisenstadt. Everything in Eisenstadt reminds one of the brilliant composer Franz Joseph Haydn. Entrance is included to Esterhazy Palace with its Haydnsaal, where many of Haydn's works were premiered, Haydn Church to see his mausoleum, and also to Haydn's House, which is now a museum. Continue to Vienna for overnight.
Vienna is still considered the music capital of the world. It is a city of refined tastes, grace, style and unmatched artistic accomplishments. For a thousand years, Vienna was the capital of the far-flung Holy Roman and Hapsburg empires. Though its people and ways have changed, Vienna has retained its imperial monuments, not as reminders of past glories, but as living symbols of its present freedom.
Day 6 Vienna (B,D) Half-day guided tour of Historical Vienna includes the Ringstráße, Imperial Palace, State Opera, Town Hall, Burgkapelle (venue for the Vienna Boys Choir), Palace Stables, Strauß Monument, and Schönbrunn Palace, built by the Habsburgs in imitation of Versailles. Afternoon school exchange
Day 7 Vienna (B,D) Half-day guided tour of Musical Vienna, including entrance to the Haus der Musik (House of Music), a modern interactive sound museum located in the historic city center. Also visit the Collection of Early Musical Instruments in the Hofburg, which displays the history of musical instruments as well as personal instruments of composers such as Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Strauß, Brahms, Mahler and many others. Afternoon concert as part of the American Celebration of Music in Austria in the Orangerie* (or similar). Farewell Dinner and overnight.
Day 8 Depart for home (B) Transfer to Vienna’s International Airport for return flight to Omaha. Arrive home in the evening of the same day.
*subject to confirmation