Looking for a more personalized visit abroad? Excited to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of The Sound of Music movie? Have we got the trip for you!
You and a guest will travel for 11 days, May 2026 (exact dates soon to be determined), with the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts to Germany and Austria for an insider perspective on German/Austrian history and culture. We will start in Berlin, Germany's cosmopolitan capital that brings past and present together in a cityscape filled with memorials, museums, galleries, palaces, theatres, and nightclubs. Witness the reminders of a dark past that gave birth to one of the world's most stable democracies and inclusive cities. Enjoy traditional German food and drink or sample Turkish, Ethiopian, Italian, Greek, or any of the other cuisines available in this multicultural mecca.
Next stop is the nearly thousand-year-old city of Nuremberg and the medieval walled town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. You'll see exquisite artworks by Albrecht Dürer and Tilman Riemenschneider and visit the Kaiserburg, where the Holy Roman Emperor resided when he was in town. Crossing into Austria, we'll spend two nights in the baroque city of Salzburg, birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and setting for the movie The Sound of Music. We will conclude our journey in Vienna, city of waltzes and operas and former seat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. We will tour ornate baroque palaces and churches, see paintings by Gustav Klimt, attend a concert, and sample the new wine in a traditional heuriger on the outskirts of the city. And we won't forget to take a ride on the giant Ferris wheel and have coffee and Sachertorte, Vienna's world-renowned chocolate layer cake named after the hotel where it was created.
The trip allows for a flexible combination of group activities and free time for participants to explore sites on their own (with Dean Schmidt ready at hand to assist). Participants will have the option to add on evening visits to the theatre, symphony, and opera, or choose to have free time instead. The trip fee includes eleven nights in hotels, breakfast, daytime entrance fees for items on the itinerary, guides and tours, and transportation via train, bus, and streetcar within Germany and Austria (participants may use taxis if they choose at their own cost). One dinner in Berlin including a discussion with a German author on current affairs will be included. Participants are responsible for all other meals during the trip, and Dean Schmidt will gladly provide recommendations or make group reservations on request.
Gary Schmidt holds a Ph.D. in German Literature from Washington University in St. Louis and has led numerous student and faculty trips to Germany and Austria. He was a Fulbright German Studies Scholar and a participant in a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar in Vienna. He is the translator of two full-length novels from German to English as well as co-editor of Quertext: Queer Voices from German-Speaking Europe.
**Included (for two people):
- 11 nights in hotels (double room), breakfast included
- All ground travel in Germany, including within and between cities
- All daytime entrance fees
- 2 Group Meals (Welcome dinner and farewell dinner)
- Tours and lectures provided by dean and local experts on site
**Not included: Airfare and passport fees
