Great Museums: Berlin & Vienna
November 8 - 16, 2008
Led by Dr. Robert S. Bianchi


This tour will focus on the great museum collections of Egyptian, Classical and Near Eastern art in Berlin & Vienna. For all who have visited Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Syria or Iraq, or will visit these places, this tour is an absolute treasure trove of art from their ancient cities. You will be able to see the magnificent monuments that once dominated the sites around them. We will also visit major collections of Christian art, as well as museums known for their outstanding paintings. As we will travel during the height of the cultural season, there will be many opportunities to attend opera, ballet or other performances. Dr. Bianchi’s knowledge of Egyptian, Classical and Christian art, as well as his command of art history in general, combine with his great enthusiasm to make him an outstanding leader for this tour.

Saturday, November 8: BERLIN: The tour begins at the centrally located Hotel am Zoo. We will meet at a designated time this afternoon for a brief drive through the city to view some of the restored monuments of Berlin, as well as the remains of the Berlin Wall. We then visit the Dahlem Museum complex, including the ethnographic, Far Eastern, Islamic and Indian art sections, and return to our hotel to rest. This evening we will gather for our opening lecture and dinner with Dr. Bianchi at a restaurant in our hotel.
Meals: Dinner

Sunday, November 9: BERLIN: The full morning will be spent in East Berlin visiting the Pergamon Museum, which houses antiquities from both the ancient Orient and the Greek and Roman worlds. Among the architectural masterpieces reconstructed here in their original size are the fabulous Ishtar Gate from Babylon, the famous Hellenistic altar from Pergamon, and the Market Gate from the Greek city of Miletus on the Turkish coast. After lunch, touring continues at the Sammlung Berggruen, which displays Germany's largest collection of Picassos as well as works of other 20th-century artists.

Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Monday, November 10: BERLIN: Our touring in Berlin continues at the new Jewish Museum, built by the American architect Daniel Libeskind in the shape of a broken Star of David. The zinc-panelled building sets new architectural standards by creating a close relationship between the museum's themes and its architecture. The remainder of the day will be at leisure to explore this vibrant city on our own. .
Meals: Breakfast

Tuesday, November 11: BERLIN: Today we will tour the Altes Museum, which now houses the antiquities collection formerly on display in the Charlottenburg and part of the material from the Pergamon Museum, including Greek sculpture, the so-called Berlin Amphora from Vulci, Scythian treasures from Vettersfelde and treasures from Thyreatis in the Pelopponese, as well as a collection known as the Hildesheim Silver from the first century BC. The Altes Museum is also the temporary home for the material formerly housed in the Aegyptisches Museum, including its many treasures from the Amarna period, the famous bust of Nefertiti, the Berlin Green Head and the Gateway to the Temple of Kalabsha, built by the Roman emperor Augustus and contemporary with the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This collection is now so large that we will take a coffee break midway. The remainder of the day will be at leisure to visit another museum or revisit one of the many we have seen.

Meals: Breakfast

Wednesday, November 12: VIENNA: A morning flight brings us to Vienna. The remainder of the day will be spent with our Viennese guide on a walking tour exploring the area of the city between the cathedral and the Danube canal known as “Old Vienna.” We will stroll the long narrow streets, stopping to visit Stephansdom, Vienna's magnificent cathedral. The rest of the monuments will be viewed from the outside, including Mozart's house, the Hoher Market Square, where remains of the Roman Legion's camp have recently been found, Ruprechtskirche, the oldest building in Vienna, Am Hof, the 14th-century former town hall, and much more. The Europa Hotel is centrally located within walking distance of many fine restaurants and cultural venues.
Meals: Breakfast

Thursday, November 13: VIENNA:Our day begins at the Naturhistorisches Museum. This museum houses among its treasures the Venus of Willendorf, the finds from the Hallstatt graves and a mineral collection that includes the famous “bouquet of jewels” given by Maria Theresa to her husband. After a lunch at a traditional Viennese restaurant, our tour continues at the new Leopold Museum, which opened in September 2001. This fine museum houses an unparalleled collection of works by 20th-century Austrians, including Klimt, Kokoschka and Schiele.

Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Friday, November 14: VIENNA: This morning will be devoted to the fabulous Kunsthistorisches Museum. The extraordinary treasures we will examine include the 18th-dynasty sculpture of Thutmosis III and the Old Kingdom Reserve Head in the Egyptian gallery, the gold of Nagyszentmiklos and the Gemma Augustea cameo in the Greek, Etruscan and Roman gallery, as well as many remarkable works in the painting galleries. This afternoon we will visit the new Liechteinstein Museum, opened in 2004.
Meals: Breakfast

Saturday, November 15: VIENNA: Today we will end our museum touring with the finds from Ephesus and Samothrace at the Ephesus Museum. The collection includes the Athlete of Ephesus and the Frieze of the Parthian Monument in honor of Emperor Lucius Verus. The afternoon will be at leisure for our own pursuits. There are over forty more museums to visit! This evening we gather for our farewell dinner at one of the city's fine restaurants.

Meals: Breakfast & dinner

Sunday, VIENNA: Independent departures home.