2012 TRAVELOXFORD ALUMNI TRAVEL PROGRAMME Exclusive academic tours to every corner of the globe www.alumni.ox.ac.uk/travel Exclusive academic tours to every corner of the globe www.alumni.ox.ac.uk/travel/ NORwEGIAN Classic ROUND Voyage: THE HEART OF GREENLAND Bergen – KIRKENES – Bergen including FLIGHTS from Stansted Date: 24 June – 1 JuLY 2012 Date: 10 – 21 SepTember 2012 NUMbER OF days: 8 NUMbER OF days: 12 PRICE: from £4,487* PRICE: from £1,539 TRIP SCHOLAR: TRIP SCHOLAR: To be confirmed. professor neil Kent, Associate, Scott polar research Institute, university of Cambridge. Kalaallit Nunaat is the Greenlandic name of the world’s biggest island. Another trip scholar to be confirmed. Meaning ‘land of the people,’ the name describes Greenland perfectly. MS Fram brings you not only close to the fantastic mountain formations, A round voyage from the cultural centre of bergen to Kirkenes and endemic wildlife and icebergs, but also to the welcoming people of back again is the ultimate voyage with Hurtigruten. The complete Greenland. voyage takes 12 days. If you travel with Hurtigruten, you will get the Like no other polar destination, Greenland offers close interaction and opportunity to see and experience the most fantastic nature and culture unique cultural experiences together with breathtaking nature. The Inuit that Norway has to offer. You visit 34 ports and cover over 2500 people’s heritage and fascinating way of life is best told by themselves nautical miles. On the southbound leg you have a second chance to catch and we will take you to the storytellers. MS Fram fully understands the ports and experiences that you might have slept through as you and appreciates the contact and cooperation that we have with the headed north. Greenlandic communities and settlements visited en route. In our opinion, sustainability is the only way to operate and the best way to ensure our For over 100 years, Hurtigruten has been a part of daily life for the towns, customers get the best possible experience. villages and hamlets located along the shores and fjords of Norway’s dramatic coastline. As such, our captains know these waters and its people This expedition along Greenland’s west coast is a fascinating meeting with better than anyone else. And with their fleet of smaller, more intimate the Inuit culture and the stunning land they inhabit. Only accessible by ships, they take you closer to the heart of Norwegian life by exploring boat, the small settlements give you a genuine picture of Greenlandic life. narrower channels and stopping at the smaller ports that other larger The spectacular scenery and Midnight Sun provide a stunning backdrop for cruise lines are simply unable to reach. Join us and get closer to the real the voyage. Norway on this voyage of a lifetime. *Book before 31 December 2011 to obtain an early bird discount. 2012 TRAVEL PROGRAMME TRAVEL FOR A FULL ITINERARY PLEASE CONTACT FOR A FULL ITINERARY PLEASE CONTACT THE TOUR OPERATOR: THE TOUR OPERATOR: HURTIGRUTEN: +44 (0)20 88462633 HURTIGRUTEN: +44 (0)20 88462633 OXFORD ALUMNI ALUMNI OXFORD 2 POMPEII wITH bACH FESTIVAL ALbANIA HERCULANEUM IN LEIPZIG Date: 25 februArY – 2 mArCH 2012 Date: 21 – 31 mAY 2012 Date: 7 – 14 June 2012 NUMbER OF days: 7 NUMbER OF days: 11 NUMbER OF days: 8 PRICE: £1,380* from London PRICE: £1,950* from London PRICE: £1,950* from London TRIP SCHOLAR: TRIP SCHOLAR: TRIP SCHOLAR: professor Christopher Smith, mA (Hons), philip Kenrick, mA, Dphil (Oxon). philip read professor John Deathridge, former Organ Scholar Dphil (Oxon), fSAS, frHistS, fSA, professor of Classics at balliol College, Oxford, where he at Lincoln College, Oxford, is the Immediate past Ancient History at the university of St Andrews gained his doctorate on pottery from british president of the royal musical Association and one and Director of the british School at rome, excavations at benghazi. of the world’s foremost classical music experts. from where he takes a close interest in the Herculaneum Conservation project. The landscape of Albania – rugged and Leipzig lies at the heart of the classical mountainous – is steeped in history: the music tradition: wagner was born here, ‘Meanwhile on Mt Vesuvius broad sheets of ancient Greeks planted colonies along the Mendelssohn died here and bach spent fire and leaping flames blazed at several points, Mediterranean coast; Caesar and Pompey nearly three decades as Kapellmeister at the their bright glare emphasised by the darkness fought one another on what is now Albanian Thomaskirche. Leipzig’s St Thomas’s boys of night.’ So wrote Pliny of the sudden territory; and the Via Egnatia, so vital to Choir is almost as old as the city itself and eruption of Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago. the Romans, byzantines, Turks and even in 2012 will celebrate its 800th anniversary. Pompeii and Herculaneum, destroyed yet the Normans, straddled the country on its preserved by the volcanic catastrophe, offer march from the Adriatic to Constantinople. Our visit to the Bachfest will feature five festival unrivalled insight into day-to-day life in the concerts in Leipzig as well as Mozart’s Marriage Roman empire. As well as investigating the Our 11-day tour will visit Illyrian fortifications, of Figaro at Dresden’s exquisite Semper Opera ruins of Vesuvius’ twin victims - the one a Greek and Roman cities, medieval citadels, painted and Hasse’s Cleofide in the Goethe Theatre in Bad vast commercial centre, the other a luxurious Orthodox churches and handsome mosques. Lauchstädt. We will also attend private recitals in Halle, retreat - we will view the exceptional finds on the birthplace of Handel, and in the Leipzig museum The archaeological site of Butrint on the Straits devoted to Bach’s greatest champion, Mendelssohn. display at the National Archaeological Museum of Corfu will be one of the highlights of our in the ever-vibrant city of Naples. journey: surrounded by a picturesque lagoon Our tour opens with the St Matthew Passion in the Our comprehensive tour in and around the Bay and encircled by thick forest, ancient Buthrotum august surroundings of the Thomaskirche, where of Naples will take in a wide array of further owed its early fame to a 4th-century-BC the towering masterpiece was first performed ancient treasures, such as the cave of the sanctuary of Asclepius. Today the settlement four years after Bach’s arrival in Leipzig. The town’s Sybil at Cumae and the famous Odysseus and presents a microcosm of almost 3,000 years Altes Rathaus, Nikolaikirche and Peterskirche also Polyphemus sculptures at Bacoli. The vast villa of Mediterranean history, with a cornucopia host concerts, with music ranging from Bach’s complex at Oplontis will be a further highlight of Hellenistic, Roman and Venetian remains. cantatas to Handel’s Alcina as well as pieces by less alongside Paestum, ‘inexpressibly grand’ Gjirokastra and Berat are two further UNESCO well-known composers, including Johann Kuhnau, according to Shelley. World Heritage sites: the former is a rare example Bach’s predecessor at the Thomaskirche. of a well-preserved Ottoman town, replete Further along the coast, perched on a with a 13th-century citadel and hundreds of “If you want something done properly, go to Dresden”, mountaintop overlooking the sea, lies Velia, fortified kule – grand tower houses with ornately declared Bach. On our whole-day excursion to the 2012 one of the last Greek colonies in Italy. Built to a decorated interiors. capital of Saxony we will salute Dresden’s cultural recognisable town plan, Velia’s remains include a inheritance with visits to the superbly reconstructed Berat, a charming hill-town of narrow, cobbled complex dedicated to Asclepius and an acropolis Frauenkirche and the Old Masters picture gallery in the streets, was at the heart of the nationalist now occupied by a medieval fortress. Zwinger Palace. Our tour will pay tribute to the musical movement in the late 19th century as Albania genius of Felix Mendelssohn, perhaps Bach’s greatest We stay throughout at the first-class Miglio strove for autonomy from the Ottoman empire. champion, and celebrate the recent bicentenary of d’Oro Park Hotel, conveniently situated between Much of Albania – including the transport Robert Schumann with an excursion to his birthplace in Naples and the Sorrento Peninsula. This elegant system – remains undeveloped, and participants Zwickau. We will also hear a concert at the Markt Church hotel, surrounded by private parkland, is within should expect some lengthy road journeys. in Halle where Handel learned to master the organ. Accommodation will generally be of three star walking distance of Herculaneum. quality, but hotels may vary in standard. We stay in the centre of Leipzig at the Best Western Victors Price includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or Residenz, situated a short walk from the Thomaskirche. PROGRAMME TRAVEL Price includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double room, return airfare from Gatwick with British Airways, double room, return airfare from Gatwick with British Airways, Price includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double room, breakfast and dinner, excursions and admissions. full board, excursions and admissions. return airfare from Heathrow with British Airways, all performances, Not included: travel insurance, single room supplement £200. Not included: travel insurance, single room supplement £200. breakfast, three lunches and four dinners, excursions and admissions. Not included: travel insurance, single room supplement £180. FOR A