Dvorana - Country Dance Tour 2010

Country Dance Tour
October 9 - 18

Foreword
Program
Travel information
Prices

Registration

DVORANA Dance
DVORANA Home Page

DVORANA Dance

Prague

Program draft, may change without notice.

October 9, Saturday

01:00 departure for South Bohemia

02:30 arrival at the village of Kvetuš,

dancing in a barn, traditional handicraft

05:30 common dinner – local speciality

06:30 leaving Kvetuš

08:00 arrival in Třeboň, check-in, free time

We start our touring by heading for Jitka Bonušová’s farm at the small village of Kvetuš in Southern Bohemia. There we will get together for a few easy Czech folk dances in the barn, learn a Czech folk song, and help in preparing the traditional Czech cakes, called kolache. They will then be served as a sweet course at dinner, which will also include some other local and regional specialties. After dinner, we will continue our journey to the picturesque small town of Třeboň where we shall put up at a hotel in the main square; though the building is medieval the hotel facilities are all up to date. We will use this hotel as our "base camp" for three nights.

October 10, Sunday

09:00 departure

09:30 arrival at Kojákovice

- museum of Czech emigrants to USA

11:00 departure from Kojákovice

11:30 arrival at Nové Hrady chateau

walk through the town, lunch time

01:30 departure from Nové Hrady

02:00 arrival at Žumberk fort

– display of traditional folk furniture

03:00 departure

03:15 visit to Bušek’s forge

04:15 departure

04:45 return to Třeboň,

free time or optional sightseeing

06:00 departure

06:15 arrival at Lomnice nad Lužnici,

dinner in a local restaurant

07:30 meeting Javor, a local folk dance group,

joint dancing

09:00 departure

After breakfast our coach will take us to the village of Kojákovice to visit the museum of Czech emigration to America. The museum holds exhibits documenting difficulties and suffering our ancestors endured on their way to the New World. Our next stop will be at Nové Hrady, a town with a chateau surrounded by pretty gardens. As we are going to visit another chateau (in Kromeříž) later in the week, we shall restrict ourselves to a leisurely walk through the gardens which are certainly worth a visit on their own. After lunch we head for Žumberk and its fortress from the middle of 13th century which now houses a permanent exhibition of historical folk furniture. Next on our itinerary will be Bušek’s forge (Buškův Hamr), a smithy from 1780, still in working order, demonstrating to visitors the forging technique of the past centuries using a tilt hammer. From Bušek’s forge we return to Třeboň for a short rest or a bit of sightseeing. The dinner will await us at Lomnice nad Lužnicí; after dinner we join a local folk group for a program of dancing – so remember to bring your dancing shoes with you!

October 11, Monday

09:00 dance class (a short walk away)

10:30 tour of local brewery

12:00 lunch time (individually)

01:30 departure

02:00 a short walk to a castle ruin of Dívčí kámen

03:30 departure for Český Krumlov

04:00 arrival in Český Krumlov (UNESCO-protected)

sightseeing, free time in the town

06:30 dinner in a local hostelry

08:00 departure from Český Krumlov

09:00 arrival at Třeboň

Yesterday the last item on our program was dancing, and dancing is number one on today’s program. The dance hall is only a short walk away. It is going to be a real dancing lesson, so we are going to learn some more demanding Czech folk dances. After the lesson you will be rewarded for your good dancing with a visit to the local brewery, with tasting included. Then we shall disperse for lunch, and afterwards the coach will take us to Český Krumlov. If the weather permits, we plan a stopover at the castle ruin of Dívčí kámen (Maiden’s Stone) built sometime before 1360.
Český Krumlov will be the climax of today’s tour: the picturesque town with narrow twisting alleyways and the meandering river under the fairy-tale castle has been included among the world’s historical treasures by UNESCO. To start with, we shall do our sightseeing all together and then you will have time to explore the town on your own. After enjoying the freedom of the town we shall go to The Gaol. But you need not worry, because Šatlava (The Gaol) is not the local prison but a sought-after eatery and we can be sure they are going to offer us something better than a piece of stale bread and water for our dinner.

October 12, Tuesday

09:00 departure

10:00 arrival at Telč (UNESCO-protected)

walk round the town

11:30 departure

12:00 arrival in Jihlava

free time, lunching individually

02:00 leave Jihlava

03:30 short stop at Austerlitz battle field

(Napoleon 1805)

04:30 visit to Rimice open air museum

05:30 departure

06:00 arrival in Zlín, hotel check-in

07:00 dinner at the hotel

Today we shall cross from one cultural region to another. The first stop on our route will be the picturesque town of Telč that has been taken under the protection of UNESCO to preserve its uniqueness. After a walk round the town we continue on to Jihlava, originally a mining town; here we shall disperse for a bit of sightseeing and lunch. Then we’ll travel farther eastward to the vicinity of the Moravian capital of Brno where, near the village of Slavkov, was fought one of the most famous of Napoleon’s battles, known by its German name as the battle of Austerlitz ,or the battle of the three emperors. Next on our itinerary is an open-air museum of re-erected historical buildings at Rimice; we can enter the old cottages and houses, and see how people lived in the past centuries. There is also an unusual wind mill, fully restored. Rimice is not far from our final destination today, the town of Zlín. This town is famous, primarily, for its Baťa shoe-making company.

October 13, Wednesday

09:00 departure for Tomáš Baťa museum

09:15 visit to museum of Tomáš Baťa

10:30 departure

11:30 stopover at Kromeříž chateau (UNESCO-protected)

– tour of the chateau

01:00 walk through the gardens,

free time in the town

03:30 departure

04:15 arrival at Hostýn, an important Moravian

pilgrimage place, visit the cathedral

and the lookout vantage point

06:00 departure from Hostýn

06:45 dinner in the hotel

08:00 an evening with the local country dance group

Zlín is known as the centre of the shoe-making industry in the Czech republic. It was at the beginning of the 20th century, when Tomaš Baťa started his business from very meagre beginnings and within two decades built it into one of the biggest industrial concerns in the country. In the following years Tomaš Baťa built his factories and extended his business to Asia, Africa, and both North and South America. The history of the company and its products is attractively presented in the company’s museum which we are going to visit. Before lunch we shall fit in a short drive to the town of Kromeříž and visit its chateau. During the lunch break you will have an opportunity for a walk through the beautiful chateau gardens. In the afternoon we are going to visit Hostýn, an important pilgrimage destination. Already in pre-Christian times the place was believed to possess mystical powers and later on, in the Middle Ages, it became a center of Christian worship. According to the legend, the local inhabitants found a shelter from the invading Tartars at Hostýn in 1241 and were saved thanks to intercession of the Virgin Mary. Even for those not interested in religion, the visit will provide a panoramic view from the Hostýn hill tower over the autumnal beauty of the surrounding countryside. From Hostýn we shall return to our hotel, After dinner we will join the local country dancers for an evening dance party.

October 14, Thursday

09:00 departure from Zlín

11:00 arrival at Dolní Kounice

– tour of the convent, and Jewish synagogue

01:00 joint lunch in a local restaurant

02:30 short stop at the Jewish cemetery

prior to departure for Prague

05:00 arrival in Prague, check-in, free time

07:15 departure for dinner on a river boat

08:00 river cruise with dinner

10:00 return to hotel

Today we return to Prague, the city of the hundred spires. The journey is long, and so we are going to interrupt it at Dolní Kounice for a bit of sightseeing. The tourists come to Dolní Kounice to see the Rosa Coli Convent from the second half of 12th century, and also the nearby Jewish synagogue. After visiting the two sites we will sit down to a nourishing lunch in a local restaurant. Time permitting, we may take a short look at the interesting Jewish cemetery. Then off to Prague we haste. In Prague, we shall check in at the Beránek hotel near the centre of the city. After a short rest we shall take an the subway to the Vltava Embankment where we are going to board a tourist boat for a dinner cruise on the river. From the boat you will catch sight of many floodlit historical buildings – the National Theatre, Charles Bridge, Vyšehrad Castle, etc. – and admire the panorama of the Prague Hradčany Castle. After landing, we shall return to the hotel, or you may opt for a leisurely walk and a few drinks in the city centre before going to bed.

October 15, Friday

09:00 sightseeing tour

(free-of-charge, included in the overall cost of the tour)

01:00 joint lunch

03:30 free time

08:00 Festival opening ceremony

For most participants this will be your first visit to Prague, so you will be keen to see the most important sights with a professional guide. He will take you from the hotel by streetcar to the Castle. From there, at a leisurely pace, the walk will take you downhill to the historical Lesser Quarter. There will be a stop for lunch in an old tavern, before continuing the walk, crossing the river Vltava over the mediaeval Charles Bridge and heading through the crooked lanes to the Old Town Square. There the sightseeing tour will end, and you can choose in which direction to undertake more exploration of the beautiful Prague on your own. We shall assemble again at 8 pm in the hotel reception to depart for the Jasan Bonuš Country Dance Festival

October 16, Saturday

The whole day at the Jasan Bonuš Country Dance Festival

There is nothing much to add to the today’s program. Upon your arrival in Prague, you will receive the detailed festival schedule. So the choice now will be yours. We shall not meet for any communal meal today, so you will have freedom to choose your own dining place and time; there are many nearby restaurants. (We have compensated by eating together at both lunch and dinner last Thursday.)

October 17, Sunday

Festival program

01:00 communal lunch

free time

The festival program will continue during the morning and will finish shortly after noon. We will assemble for our last communal meal at lunchtime, and then you will be on your own to enjoy individually life in the Czech capital.

October 18, Monday

09:00 transfer to the airport

The time has come to say good-bye. The organized transfer to the airport will probably occur around 9 am, but may be earlier (8 am) or later, depending on the flight departures for the majority of participants. If your flight is scheduled for very early, or quite late in the day, we shall help you to arrange individual transport to the airport.

WE HOPE YOU WILL LEAVE WITH PLEASANT MEMORIES OF THE TIME YOU HAVE SPENT IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC.

Kvetus