The CTP Group and Fine Art Connoisseur are planning their second annual Art Cruise. We invite you to join us! Here is an email sent out by Eric Rhoads – publisher of Fine Art Connoisseur.
Dear Friends,
We hope that you will join us for the Danube Art Cruise (October 2-9, 2011), and we are truly looking forward to spending time with you then! Today we want to bring you up to date on our plans for that exciting voyage, which has been custom-designed not only for sheer pleasure, but also to highlight the close cultural interconnections of the Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Austrians, and Germans who live along central Europe’s most remarkable river.
Boarding of our lovely ship, the ms AmaDante, will begin in Budapest, Hungary, on Sunday, October 2 at 3 pm; the ship will set sail at 9 pm. (For those spending a day or more in Budapest before we sail, please see the “Pre-Cruise” section below.) On Sunday evening, we will gather for a welcome reception on board, and then on Monday morning, October 3, we will convene again for Peter Trippi’s first illustrated lecture about Bratislava, Vienna, and Dürnstein. We will arrive in Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital, at 2 pm, and will not depart until 11.30 pm. This means that we will have plenty of free time to stroll, with our guide and also independently, through the historic quarter, exploring its Castle, St. Martin’s Cathedral, and other important sites.
The next day—Tuesday, October 4—will be very busy, and totally thrilling. We’ll arrive in Vienna at about 6:30 am and not depart until midnight! During our early breakfast onboard, we will enjoy a welcome lecture by Dr. Christiane Inmann, a native of Vienna who will tell us more about her beloved city and her fascinating book focused on images of women reading. This theme is particularly appropriate to Vienna given the central role played by women in the cultural life of Austria and its empire. Soon we will set out to see the best of this great capital: in the lively MuseumQuartier, we will have the Leopold Museum entirely to ourselves (we’ve arranged a PRIVATE viewing for you today as the museum is closed). Here Dr. Elisabeth Leopold will show us how she and her late husband created their unparalleled collection of art by Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, and other masters of Vienna’s golden age circa 1900.
Then we will cross the street to meet Dr. Sabine Haag, Director of the Kunsthistoriches Museum (KHM), home to some of the world’s most outstanding art, including the unique Cellini Salt Cellar stolen (and recovered) last decade. (We will also look closely at the stunning decorations of the KHM, which were painted by Mihály Munkácsy.) Those who prefer to explore the city independently are free to head off at any time, as these museum destinations are very centrally located. Others may choose to follow us onward to the Belvedere Palace, where an unprecedented survey of the Austrian master painter Hans Makart (1840-1884) is on view. And a visit to Vienna would not be complete without an evening of music, so our tour coordinator will be organizing a special evening out in Vienna. (Details will follow soon.)
We promise that there will be no rest for lovers of beauty in Austria! On Wednesday morning, October 5, we will dock at the charming village of Dürnstein at 7.30 am and depart it at 1 pm. Here we can stroll its quaint streets, with our guide and also on our own; this is an especially good place to shop for souvenirs of the Wachau region, which will be ablaze with autumnal foliage and also signs announcing the arrival of the new wines for which this area is famous. Back onboard, Peter will lecture about our next stops (Melk and Salzburg) before we arrive at Melk at 4 pm. We don’t depart Melk until 10 pm, so there will be plenty of time to tour its enormous Rococo abbey and then enjoy the town itself before sailing onward.
Early on Thursday, October 6, we will disembark at Linz, from which we will be carried by bus through 70 miles of stunning Alpine scenery to the renowned city of Salzburg, the longtime seat of Austria’s most powerful archbishop-princes and hometown of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This is an ideal city to explore independently because it is so compact, but before we disband, we will explore the lovely Mirabell Gardens, once the private domain of the archbishop. Here we will tour the Salzburger Barockmuseum, home to a superb collection of Baroque oil sketches, and also the world-class commercial venue for contemporary art, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac. You’ll have free time to shop, try one of the excellent local restaurants, ascend the mountain to the picturesque castle, and more. Our merry band will reassemble in central Salzburg for the easy drive back to the ship, which by this time will have put in at Passau, just across the German border.
On Friday morning, October 7, Peter will lecture on our next stops, Regensburg and Nuremberg. At 2 pm, we will arrive at Regensburg, the beautifully preserved city where Benedict XVI served as cardinal before his installation as Pope in 2005. The highlight of our visit here will be a tour of the Palace of St. Emmeram, ancestral home of the aristocratic Thurn und Taxis family, and literally a treasurehouse of Bavarian and central European culture. We will depart Regensburg at 9 pm, so those wishing to explore its charming streets may do so for most of the evening.
Most of Saturday, October 8 will be spent soaking up the glorious views passing along either side of the ship. We will reach the medieval city of Nuremberg at 5 pm, where we will have the evening to wander its cobbled lanes. Alas, our voyage concludes the next morning and some of our guests will immediately be carried by bus to airports nearby. For those opting to join us for the seven-hour bus journey to Prague, please see below.
For those joining us for the pre-tour in beautiful Budapest, we highly recommend that you spend at least two days here. Our key activity together will be a visit on Saturday afternoon, October 1 to the impressive Hungarian National Gallery in the Buda Castle. Here we will study the remarkable paintings of Hungary’s most beloved artist, Mihály Munkácsy (1844-1900), and also other Hungarian artists working around the same time. Hungarian art of any era is seldom seen in North America, so this will be a special treat. Afterward, we will enjoy a private tour of the magnificent Four Seasons Hotel which was originally built in 1907 for the British insurance firm, Greshams. Greshams constructed marvelous Art Nouveau buildings across Europe, and this is certainly the finest. Please note that all costs associated with the pre-cruise experience (such as hotel accommodations and tours) are in addition to the regular cruise (October 2-9). The CTP Group has negotiated special hotel rates in Budapest; please contact Gabriel Haigazian for details.
If you have the time, we highly recommend spending at least two days in the ancient Czech capital of Prague. It’s an eminently walkable city that’s easy to explore on one’s own, so our time together will focus deeply on one important aspect of its rich culture: the great artist Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939). On Monday, October 10, we will visit the Mucha Museum in the heart of Prague. Then, on Tuesday, October 11, those who are especially passionate about Mucha are invited to join us on a customized bus journey to southern Moravia, to visit the master’s remarkable Slav Epic, a series of 20 huge paintings depicting the history of the Czech and Slavic peoples. These are now kept in the castle of Moravský Krumlov, which is a three-hour drive (each way) from Prague. Please note that all costs associated with the post-cruise experience (such as accommodations and tours) are in addition to the regular cruise (October 2-9). The CTP Group has negotiated special hotel rates in Prague; please contact Gabriel Haigazian for details.
Several of you have asked about reading you might want to do before we travel. Although none of the following titles are required to participate in the Danube Art Cruise, you will surely find these titles enjoyable. If you read just one book, we highly recommend that it be Andrew Beattie’s The Danube: A Cultural History (Landscapes of the Imagination). To prepare for our exploration of Vienna, try Kirk Varnedoe’s Vienna 1900: Art, Architecture, Design. And for those interested in the imperial contexts of the Danube region, read Alan Palmer’s Twilight of the Habsburgs: The Life and Times of Emperor Francis Joseph.
Visit DanubeArtCruise.com to see more information on the trip.
Very best,
B. Eric Rhoads
Publisher
This itinerary is current as of July 12, 2011, and is subject to change. Final details will be available on September 1.
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