NEW TAKES ON OLD CITIES...
BUDAPEST A once- run-down neighborhood
back on the rise, Pest’s District 8 is a mix of pre- war and Communist-era residential blocks and 19th-century mansions now restored as libraries and museums, and is home to a large Roma (Gypsy) population. Go off the beaten path in the
district to visit a Romani violinist and his wife in their private home. He’ll share a few tunes with you, along with his passion for music, before you join a local guide for a look around the neighborhood. Much of Hungary’s 1956 revolution was fought house-to-house in these streets... you’ll see bullet holes left to tell the tale.
VIENNA You’ve probably seen them... gorgeous
white horses leaping and dancing in amazing precision to the command of skilled riders in historic uniforms. For over four centuries, the cadets and instructors of the Spanish Riding School have preserved and practiced traditional forms of classical
equestrian ballet that the fabled white Lippizaner Stallions perform for millions around the world. Instead of just visiting this famous institution, Culturious takes you behind-the-scenes for a VIP tour of the school and stables... and a taste of the bubbly, to boot.
PRAGUE Hair-raising tales of hauntings, curses,
martyrdom, murder, war, rebellion, and all manner of mayhem will have your spine tingling as you delve into the murky history of Charles Bridge. Join us for a nighttime look at the dark side of one of Prague’s great medieval treasures, filled with spooky fun.
Listen to mysteries and legends surrounding the iconic structure as you walk past its Baroque statues. See where a future saint was thrown into the river... where the severed heads of executed rebels once dangled as a warning... and visit the Old Town Bridge Tower, said to be one of the most haunted spots in the city...
Look out over Prague’s “100 spires” during a farewell dinner at Villa Richter
6. SCHÖNBRUNN & BICYCLING IN THE WILD Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace was Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa’s attempt to outdo Versailles; did she succeed? Decide on a private tour of the Imperial Apartments and your exclusive visit to the Bergl Rooms, decorated with murals by Johann Wenzel Bergl. Catch a ride on Schönbrunn’s Panorama Train around the 395-acre grounds, including the world’s oldest zoo, to the palace gardens’ hilltop Gloriette and on to the Imperial Pavilion for lunch. Head into Burgenland, Austria’s “wild side,” for a guided bicycle tour* in Neusiedler See-Seewinkel National Park. Pedaling through habitats including steppe, salt pans, meadows, wetlands and Lake Neusiedl, grab your binoculars and look for white donkeys, Hungarian grey cattle with their big horns, and over 300 bird species that fill the park’s skies. Find the perfect place for dinner on your own in Vienna tonight. Meals BL
7. THE WACHAU VALLEY TO CESKY KRUMLOV Your last morning in Vienna is yours to spend mining the city’s cultural riches on your own; there are over a hundred museums here on topics ranging from trams to Sigmund Freud to the film noir classic The Third Man (shot in Vienna’s postwar ruins). Travel to a 2,000-year-old winery in the Wachau Valley for a taste of its wares in cellars with Roman-era walls; ride to the top of the vineyard to gaze out over the valley below. Cross the border into the Czech Republic to Cesky Krumlov; this exquisitely preserved medieval Bohemian town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Your boutique hotel is set in what was a baker’s shop during the 16th and 17th centuries. Meals B
8. MEDIEVAL MOMENTS & ON TO PRAGUE Springing up along the Vltava River in the late 1200s, Cesky Krumlov’s “open-air museum” of restored medieval architecture invites you back to the 14th to 17th centuries. There’s lots to explore on your own, from the Gothic Church of St. Vitus to Cesky Krumlov Castle and its Baroque Court Theatre, one of a few in the world with 18th-century stage machinery intact. It’s all about the beer in Cesky Krumlov; learn about brewing traditions as old as the town itself on a private visit to the Eggenberg
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