2013 Friends of Music Tour

Day 1
Sunday, June 23, 2013

Depart from Minneapolis via scheduled air service to Munich, Germany

Day 2
Monday, June 24 - Munich

Arrive in Munich

Meet your MCI Tour Manager, who will assist the group to awaiting chartered motorcoach for a transfer to the hotel via panoramic tour of Munich’s highlights including Alstadt, Frauenkircke, Richard-Strauß Fountain, Food Market, and time for lunch on own, shopping, and exploring in the Marienplatz (with its famous Glockenspiel)

Late afternoon hotel check-in and Welcome Dinner

Munich, the Bavarian capital, is ideally located in southern Germany near the Alps. It is a first-class cultural center and the most flourishing economic zone in the southern part of the country. Munich's cultural wealth, its special atmosphere - a blend of gaiety, tolerance and respect for tradition - and the beauty of the surrounding countryside have combined to make it one of the most appreciated of German cities.

Day 3
Tuesday, June 25 - Munich

Breakfast at the hotel
A guided tour of Munich includes Frauenkirche, Hofbräuhaus (best-known of all German beer halls), the English Gardens, and entrance to Nymphenburg Palace, the former summer residence of the Bavarian sovereigns
Lunch on own

Afternoon at leisure for sightseeing, shopping, museum visits or other planned activities
Evening dinner on own

Day 4
Wednesday, June 26 - Munich/Salzburg

Breakfast at the hotel
Transfer to Salzburg via Neuschwanstein Castle (made famous by the Walt Disney model in Anaheim), built by the infamous Ludwig II (including entrance and uphill transport).
Lunch on own

Continue to Salzburg for group dinner and overnight

Salzburg, Mozart's birthplace, is a delight from the first sight of the outline of the Hohensalzburg Fortress, the symbol of the power of the prince-archbishops. The city’s picturesque streets with their wrought-iron signs, its spacious squares with sculptured fountains and the noble architecture of its buildings inspired by bishops with a passion for construction, leave memories which linger for years

Day 5
Thursday, June 27 - Salzburg

Breakfast at the hotel
Morning guided tour of Salzburg including Mirabel Palace and Gardens, Mozart Square, the Dom (cathedral), University Church, entrance to the Mozarthaus (Mozart's birthplace) and a cable car ride up to the Fortress (for an unparalleled view of the city below)

Festival Welcome Lunch
Afternoon massed Rehearsal
Dinner on own
Evening massed rehearsal

Day 6
Friday, June 28 - Salzburg

Breakfast at the hotel
Morning at leisure for optional tours

Lunch on own

Afternoon massed rehearsal
Group dinner in a local restaurant

Evening massed dress rehearsal with Orchestra in the Dom

Day 7
Saturday, June 29 - Salzburg

Breakfast at the hotel
Sightseeing today will include driving past Schloß Leopoldskron, featured in "The Sound of Music", and entrance to Schloß Helbrunn with its famous "Sound of Music" gazebo and trick fountains

Lunch on own

Afternoon at leisure for additional sightseeing, shopping or other planned activities
Dinner on own

Evening Festival Finale Concert in the Salzburg Dom

Day 8
Sunday, June 30 - Salzburg / Melk / Vienna

Breakfast at the hotel
Transfer to Vienna via Mondsee (church was site of "The Sound of Music" wedding) and Melk (entrance to the world-famous Abbey and possible recital)

Lunch on own
Evening group dinner

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 9
Monday, July 1 - Vienna

Breakfast at the hotel
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 entrance to Schönbrunn Palace, built by the Habsburgs in imitation of Versailles

Lunch on own
Concert as part of the American Celebration of Music in Austria
Evening group dinner

Day 10
Tuesday, July 2 - Vienna / Prague

Breakfast at the hotel
Half-day guided tour of Musical Vienna includes entrance to the Haus der Musik, a modern interactive sound museum located in the historic city center. This tour also includes the Museum of the Vienna Philharmonic
Lunch on own

Afternoon transfer to Prague
Evening group dinner

Prague achieved much of its present glory in the 14th century, during the long reign of Charles IV. During the Middle Ages, Prague enjoyed a golden age - a time when Prague was larger than Paris or London! The Hapsburgs also left their artistic and architectural mark. Today, Prague is universally declared one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.

Day 11
Wednesday, July 3 - Prague

Breakfast at the hotel
Morning guided tour of Prague that includes seeing the Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with its Tyn Church and the Astronomical Clock, the Jewish Quarter, and also visiting Hradcany Castle, including its St. Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace, the Golden Lane, and the Daliborka Tower

Lunch on own
Concert in Prague
Evening group dinner

Day 12
Thursday, July 4 - Prague / Terezin

Breakfast at the hotel
Excursion to Terezin (former fortress and Nazi Concentration Camp for children), including entrance to the fortress and Museum of the Ghetto. Terezin offers poignant insights for musicians because of the music written here by prisoners and also modern works such as The Song of Terezin

Lunch on own
Return to Prague for an afternoon at leisure for shopping or other activities
Evening Farewell Dinner

Day 13
Friday, July 5 - Depart for Home

Breakfast at the hotel
Transfer to Prague’s International Airport for return flight

Cost and Inclusions

Cost of the tour is $5,500 per person, based on double occupancy.  For more information, go to costs and inclusions.

For more information

Contact Jackie Peterson at jpeters9@gustavus.edu or by calling 800-726-6192.  

Register Here

Trip arrangement provided by MCI Travel.