Prague, Vienna and Budapest:
Old World Cultures in the New Century

Sept. 14–30, 2007

WAIT LISTED

This program is a reprise of the programs
led by the Quades in Fall 2006.
     

Itinerary Register

Program Leaders: Pat Quade, professor emeritus of theatre, and Kathy Quade, retired disability services coordinator

Theater, opera, architecture and visual arts offer compelling reasons to visit the showpiece cities of Prague, Vienna and Budapest. Focusing on the arts, we will visit palaces, galleries, theaters, concert halls, museums and cultural centers expressing the heritage of each city. A brief survey of the history of Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary will serve as the basis for the remarkable sights and events we will savor.

Worldwide acclaim has been lavished on Vienna, Prague and Budapest, considered to be among the most beautiful cities in the world. Each has undergone significant transformations over the past 100 years and lays claim to notable artists, philosophers and historians whose work has consistently reflected the powerful forces of cultural change in their countries.

Program
Our journey begins in Prague, offering a stunning cityscape and some of the most impressive architecture in Europe. Largely spared during World War II, its compact medieval center remains an evocative maze of cobbled lanes, ancient courtyards, dark passages and churches beyond number, all watched over by an 1,100-year-old castle. Kidnapped by communism for 40 years, Prague has swiftly moved into the 21st century -- its traditional pubs and eateries have been augmented by a wave of gourmet restaurants, cocktail bars and trendy cafes, though you can still feast on pork and dumplings washed down with a beer.

Next, we travel by train to grandiose Vienna, the showpiece of the far-reaching Hapsburg dynasty. Monumental edifices line the city center, world-class museums burst with treasures, white stallions strut their way down mirrored halls, and renowned orchestras and angelic choirboys perform in lavish concert halls. Cultureheads of every stripe will swoon over Vienna, but music lovers in particular will be in ecstasy. This is the city that nurtured the works of Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, Brahms and Mahler, among others. This heritage has an almost physical presence, and music is still a driving force in today's city.

We crown our journey in Budapest, known as the Paris of Eastern Europe. Budapest is a remarkable and wholly unpretentious place. Explore it fully. Turn off any of the main boulevards and you'll quickly find yourself in a quiet residential neighborhood where the rich scent of a hearty gulyás (stew) wafts from a kitchen window, a woman with a brightly colored kerchief tied around her head sweeps the sidewalk with a homemade broom, and cigarette smoke fogs the cave-like entryway of the corner pub, where the sign on the door states that beer is served as early as 7 a.m. You will spy rows of salamis hanging in the window of the grocery store next door. In the park across the way, men play chess in the shade of chestnut trees, young lovers kiss on a bench, and the famed Hungarian pedigree dog, the vizsla, can be glimpsed darting through the trees.

(Above descriptions from www.lonelyplanet.com and www.frommers.com.)

Program Leaders
Pat and Kathy Quade are veteran travelers and program leaders. They led two five-month Global Semesters for students (Switzerland, Greece, Israel, Egypt, India, Nepal, Hong Kong, China, Japan and South Korea) in 1993-94 and 1996-97. They returned February 1, 2005, from the five-month St. Olaf College Term in the Middle East (Turkey, Morocco, Egypt and Greece).

Pat and Kathy have led numerous student and adult programs abroad. Pat led his first St. Olaf Study Travel program, "London for Theatre Lovers," in October 1995. Pat and Kathy led 29 intrepid Study Travelers on "Mini Global" in March and April 2001. Since then they have led St. Olaf Study Travel programs in Denmark, England and France, Australia and New Zealand, London and the Middle East.

Pat graduated from St. Olaf in 1965 and joined the theatre department in 1968. After 29 years of teaching and directing plays he began serving as director of International and Off-Campus Studies in 1996. In that post he lead the department that sends over 800 students abroad each year on more than 35 one-month Interim courses and over 60 semester or yearlong programs.

Kathy is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a major in teaching English. In her role at St. Olaf as student disability services coordinator and tutoring request specialist, she worked with first generation and low income students as well as students with disabilities. Pat and Kathy retired from St. Olaf in February 2005.

Program Fee
The program fee is $4,400 per person through May 15, 2007. Based on double occupancy, it includes:

  • Seminars by Pat Quade
  • Assistance by Kathy Quade
  • Roundtrip airfare from Minneapolis
  • Accommodations
  • Breakfast daily and several other group meals
  • Entrance fees
  • Group tours
  • Ground transportation
  • Gratuities

For single occupancy, add $1,175. To travel land only (making your own way to Prague and from Budapest), subtract $850. Payment schedule

After May 15, 2007, the program fee is $4,550 per person and may be subject to additional airfare.

Continuing Education 
Approximately 56 continuing education hours are available.

Register Today
Go “behind the seen” with St. Olaf Study Travel. Register online, call toll-free 866-255-6523 or fax the registration form to 507-646-8232. A $350 per-person deposit guarantees your space.