Join us next spring for a cruise
along the Elbe River and view the storied cities of
Prague, Dresden, Berlin, and more. On this shared trip
with Williams College and MIT,
we will journey to the Czech Republic and Germany.
The cruise features a unique combination
of fascinating educational forums, exciting excursions
to places
of historical and cultural interest, and exceptional
opportunities to savor local cuisine. As we learn
about topics ranging from the Protestant Reformation
to the Velvet Revolution, our journey will be guided
by Daniel O’Connor, retired Mark Hopkins
Professor of Philosophy at Williams College.
We will follow the course of the timeless Elbe
River and the unique landscape of the Saxon
Alps aboard the MV Katharina von Bora, an intimate luxury
river cruiser that offers state-of-the-art modern
amenities and impeccable old-world service. We
begin our adventure in Prague, the City of a Hundred
Spires. Built atop seven hills, the city offers
an exquisite blend of classic architecture and
natural beauty. We will explore Prague Castle and
St. Vitrus Cathedral, and wander the storybook
streets of Old Town.
Next we travel to Germany, where
we will discover the artistic beauty of Dresden,
the Florence of
the Elbe and see the Brühlsche Terrasse, Frauenkirche,
Semper Opera House, and Zwinger. Then it is on
to charming Meissen where we will tour the historic
factory and museum and learn about the process
for creating exquisite porcelain stoneware, remarkably
unchanged for centuries.
We will visit the ancient town of Torgau, once
the residence of medieval Saxon kings and Schloss
Hartenfels, a Renaissance castle with a chapel
consecrated by Martin Luther. Then it is on to
Wittenberg, the epicenter of the Protestant Reformation.
We will experience some of the most picturesque
and historically significant cities in Germany,
including the bustling city of Berlin, with its
time-woven echoes of kings, conquerors, tyrants,
and statesmen. This is a journey not to be missed.
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Daniel O’Connor is the former
director of the Williams-Oxford Programme and retired Mark Hopkins Professor
of Philosophy at Williams College. Dan is
enthusiastic about Germany and knows it well, having recently spent a year in
Berlin. While in Germany, he also bicycled along much of the Elbe, pausing at
towns which we will also visit. |
