AROUND THE BALTIC HAMBURG TO HELSINKI AUGUST 15-31, 2018 TOUR LEADER: DR MATTHEW LAING AROUND THE BALTIC Overview HAMBURG TO HELSINKI For nearly two millennia dominium maris baltici – dominion over the Baltic Tour dates: August 15-31, 2018 Sea – has been the preoccupying dream of Viking warriors and English admirals, of crusading popes and German merchants, of Scandinavian Tour leader: Dr Matthew Laing kings and Russian tsars. The Baltic is one of Europe’s great crossroads, a conduit of trade, culture, religion, language and conflict, but also a region Tour Price: $9,250 per person, twin share of stunning natural beauty that has inspired artists, designers, writers and composers. Single Supplement: $2,150 for sole use of double room This new 17-day tour offers a grand tour of the Baltic Sea, from the romantic and powerful Hanseatic cities of Hamburg, Bremen and Lübeck Booking deposit: $500 per person in Northern Germany, to their Scandinavian cultural and maritime rivals in Copenhagen and Helsinki, and of course the enchanting historic cityscapes and natural beauty of the Baltic states in Riga and Tallinn. We’ll Recommended airline: Qantas walk through every era of Baltic history and eight UNESCO World Heritage sites, from remarkably preserved medieval castles and cities, to Maximum places: 20 neo-renaissance palaces and stunning romantic artworks, to cutting-edge modern design and architecture. Itinerary: Hamburg (5 nights), Copenhagen (3 nights), Riga (2 nights), Tallinn (3 nights), Through lectures and a carefully thought-out program of walking tours, site Helsinki (3 nights) visits, museums and galleries, you will gain a comprehensive and enjoyable understanding of this fascinating region and its people, history, Date published: August 15, 2017 culture and art. The structured part of the tour is complemented by free time to relax, observe the everyday life of the locals and explore independently. The journey has all the usual hallmarks of an Academy Travel tour - extended stays in centrally located hotels, background talks throughout the tour, and a maximum group size of just 20. Your tour leader Dr Matthew Laing is a frequent leader of Academy Travel tours to Europe and North America. He has a PhD in American political history from the Australian National University, is a research fellow in politics and history at Monash University, an ADFAS lecturer on history, and holds regular public lectures and short courses in Melbourne and Sydney. Matthew has a specific interest in Western politics and history, particularly in the United States, Germany and Northern Europe. He has travelled widely in this regions for his research, with recent research on the history of United States in the Gilded Age and the politics of the Reformation in Enquiries and 16th century Germany and Scandinavia. bookings Matthew’s academic publications and research projects have focused on For further information and to both contemporary and historical topics in politics and history, particularly secure a place on this tour leadership, and he is currently writing a new university textbook on the please contact Jemma York history and practice of political leadership for Palgrave Macmillan. at Academy Travel on (02) 9235 0023 or 1800 or “Matthew is a wonderful guide – interesting, attentive, generous, knowledgeable and a great sense of humour. Just ideal in all respects” email [email protected] Feedback from Academy Travel’s Frank Lloyd Wright tour, Sept. 2016. Tour Highlights MEDIEVAL AND GOTHIC CITYSCAPES We’ll survey some of the best preserved medieval and gothic architecture in Europe and the incredible legacy of the Hanseatic League in the old city centres of Bremen and Lübeck, complete with their Brick Gothic masterpiece town halls, cathedrals and trading houses, as well as the incredible medieval walled-city of Tallinn. BREATHTAKING NATURAL BEAUTY Our journey will take in some of the stunning natural beauty of the Baltic Sea and its coastlines. We’ll tour Denmark’s beautiful southern islands, including the chalk cliffs at Møns, drive the ruggedly beautiful mountains and coastlines of Latvia and Estonia, and take a ferry over the Gulf of Finland between Tallinn and Helsinki. ROMANTIC ARCHITECTURE Captivating castles, palaces and galleries are to be found in abundance, built on the wealth of Baltic trade. From the enchanting Schwerin Palace near Lübeck and the beautiful old town district of Riga, to Helsinki’s incredible Suomenlinna Fortress complex and the Kronborg Castle in Helsingør, famous as the setting of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. STUNNING ART Several of the best collections of art in Northern Europe await us. Admire some of the best of the German romantics in the Hamburg Kunsthalle and seminal pieces of European modernism at the Louisiana Museum of Art in Denmark, and discover regional masters at the Latvian National Museum of Art and Helsinki’s Ateneum. CUTTING-EDGE MODERN DESIGN The Baltic region can boast some of the world’s best modern design traditions. We’ll get a taste of some of the best it has to offer from seminal early works by Alvar Aalto and Eliel Saarinen in Helsinki to experiencing the contemporary landmarks of the Copenhagen Opera House and the Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall in Hamburg. Detailed itinerary Included meals are shown with the symbols B, L and D. Wednesday August 15 Arrive After making your connections to Hamburg and transfers to our hotel, there will be welcome drinks and an introductory lecture on the history of the Baltic Sea and its peoples. Overnight Hamburg. (B) Thursday August 16 Above: The Elbphilharonie, the newest addition to Hamburg’s skyline Hamburg: Maritime Powerhouse completed in January of 2017 Hamburg has long been one of the great maritime powerhouses Below: C.D. Friedrich’s Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog in the of Europe, sending ships across the world for commerce, Hamburg Kunsthalle; and the gothic city centre of Bremen conquest, colonisation and conversion. This morning there will be a walking tour of this remarkable history, taking in landmarks such as the Hamburg City Hall, St Nicholas’ Church and have time for lunch in the Krameramsstuben quarter. In the afternoon, we’ll see the World Heritage Speicherstadt (city of warehouses) and visit the Hamburg Maritime Museum, one of the world’s best. We’ll have a group welcome dinner later in the evening. Overnight Hamburg. (B, D) Friday August 17 North German Culture and Art Germany’s second largest city, Hamburg is home to some of the nation’s greatest cultural institutions. This morning we’ll have a guided tour of the encyclopaedic Hamburg Kunsthalle with a focus on its North German paintings. In the afternoon, we’ll visit the birthplace of Johannes Brahms, see the beautiful St Pauli Piers and walk the famous Elbe Tunnels that run under the river and host temporary art exhibitions. We’ll also experience the newly finished modern masterpiece, the Elbphilharmonie concert hall. Overnight Hamburg (B) Saturday August 18 Bremen: Free Imperial City This morning we’ll take a train through the German countryside to Bremen, one of the most influential cities of the Holy Roman Empire with a fascinating and complex history. We’ll have a guided tour of some of its most important sites, including the beautiful medieval Bremen Cathedral, Town Hall, Marketplace and Guildhall. We’ll enjoy a group lunch in the 15th century Ratskeller. Afterwards, we’ll take in the more modern interwar Viertel district, and in the afternoon the Bottcherstrasse and some of its charming house museums and small collections such as the Roseliushaus. Overnight Hamburg. (B, L) Sunday August 19 Lubeck: Queen of the Hanseatic League Today we’ll take a coach to Lubeck, long the leading city of the incredible Hanseatic League that dominated the Baltic Sea for centuries. We’ll see its legacy everywhere in our tour of the old city, especially its beautiful brick gothic masterpieces of the Holstentor and Burgtor, Town Hall and Hospital of the Holy Spirit. In the afternoon, we’ll continue to Schwerin Palace, a fairy-tale romantic castle built on a lake island by the Grand Dukes of Mecklenburg, and tour its apartments and art collection. Overnight Hamburg. (B) Monday August 20 The Danish Islands Our tour continues to Copenhagen today, via the beautiful southern islands of Falster, Lolland and Møn, and the southern reaches of Zealand. After a ferry over the Fermer Belt, we’ll see the charming villages and frescoed medieval churches of Keldby and Elmelunde, and the Viking burial mound at Grønsalen. After enjoying a group lunch on the island, we’ll see the beautiful chalk cliffs of Møn, and take a scenic coastal drive onwards to the capital. Overnight Copenahgen. (B, L) Tuesday August 21 Copenhagen: The Danish Capital The Danish monarchs long strove to make their kingdom the premier cultural, naval and trading power in the Baltic, an ambition that can be seen on every corner of their capital city Copenhagen. Today we’ll do a comprehensive exploration of the layered history of this grand city by foot and by boat tour, seeing the Amalienborg and Christiansborg palaces, the neo- Above: The fairy-tale Schwerin Palace and gardens in Mecklenburg; renaissance icons of the Børsen and Rosenborg, the waterfront and the multi-coloured shopfronts of Copenhagen’s Nyhavn waterfront district Nyhavn district, and even discover the influence of the sea on Danish literature at the Little Mermaid. Later in the day, we’ll tour the glorious Copenhagen Opera House. Overnight Below: The stunning chalk cliffs of Denmark’s Møn island Copenhagen. (B) Wednesday August 22 Along the Øresund Today we drive to Helsingør, once a prosperous and prominent harbour town long central to the struggle for the control of the Baltic, and home to the romantic icon of Kronborg Castle, the famous backdrop to Shakespeare’s Hamlet.