July 30, Thursday
After your arrival in Prague today, a bus will be waiting at the airport to take you to your hotel in the city center. We do not yet know your exact arrival time, so we are unsure whether you will be able to access your room immediately. If your room is not ready, we will secure your luggage and then head into the city together. Since there are many restaurants in the area that accept credit cards, we can easily stop for lunch if anyone is hungry. You will later be able to check into the hotel and have some time to relax. We will then go to dinner together at a restaurant just a few minutes‘ walk from the hotel.

July 31, Friday
Today is your first full day in Prague, the “City of 100 Spires”, the capital of Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. We will visit some of the not-to-be-missed sites of the city center with our guide, go up to the castle complex and walk through Pražský hrad (Prague Castle) and down to Malá Strana. We will share lunch together with the group, then continue our city tour by walking across the 14th century bridge Karlův most (Charles Bridge) through Staré Město (Old Town) and end at Old Town Square. After the tour, you will have time to rest a bit and explore the city on your own. We all will meet again later in the afternoon and will join the dinner cruise. That will give you a chance to see Prague from a completely different perspective.

August 1, Saturday
Today we leave Prague and start our journey through the Czech Republic. Our first stop will be the medieval royal castle of Točník. After touring the castle and enjoying the beautiful views of the countryside, we’ll return to the bus and head to a restaurant for a group lunch. After lunch, we will travel to a small village in western Bohemia to meet our folk dance instructors. Following the dance seminar, we will travel to the historic city of Plzeň, where we will be staying overnight. We will spend some time walking around the historic city center, and afterward, you will have time for a dinner on your own. Your hotel is within comfortable walking distance of the main square.

August 2, Sunday
Today, we will begin at the local Puppetry Museum. Puppetry holds an important place in Czech history and is part of our folk culture. After the museum visit, we will head to the Pilsner Urquell Brewery. Beer is also an integral part of Czech culture, and this visit will give us a fantastic opportunity to taste one of the world’s best and most famous beers. You will have time for lunch in the city center, or those who wish may return to the hotel to relax. In the afternoon, we will take a bus to attend another dance lesson. Dinner will be together at a local restaurant. Afterward, we will meet with local dancers and musicians to put into practice what we learned during the lessons. Following this, we will return to the hotel.

August 3, Monday
Today involves a hotel change, so we will start the day by packing and loading our luggage. In the morning, we will drive to a former farm, now a rural dance center. At the center, we will enjoy a dance lesson, sample traditional village food, and meet with a local children’s dance group. After lunch, we will travel further south and stop in the town of Písek. Here we will see the oldest stone bridge in Central Europe, which was built prior to 1300. Our next destination is České Budějovice, a beautiful town with a lovely main square. After checking in, those who wish to can participate in a city tour. Dinner will be on your own, so those not interested in the city tour can explore the city by themselves. The hotel is easily reached on foot from the city center.

August 4, Tuesday
Today, we will spend the morning feeling like we are in a fairytale! We will travel to the town of Český Krumlov, which is considered one of the most beautiful places in the Czech Republic.
First, we will ascend to the local castle for a guided tour. Afterward, we will explore the historic part of the town. Lunch will be on your own.
In the afternoon, we will visit the well-preserved royal monastery Zlatá Koruna. We will learn how the monks lived and see the unique architecture of the site. We will have a group dinner, and then we will meet with a local folk ensemble. We will watch their performance and then have a chance to dance with them. Afterwards we will return to the hotel.

August 5, Wednesday
Today, we will be changing hotels again, so we must load our luggage this morning.
In the preceding days, we spent a lot of time in cities, so we will take this opportunity to enjoy a walk in the beautiful nature surrounding the river. After our walk, we will continue our journey, heading to the east. We will stop for lunch in another unique town: Telč, famous for its Renaissance architecture. Finally, we will arrive in Brno, the capital of Moravia. Here, we will have a dance lesson with a local instructor, followed by a group dinner. Our hotel is once again in the city center, so we will not need the bus for the evening.

August 6, Thursday
We are staying in Brno today, so we will not need our luggage. First, we will have a dance lesson with a local instructor, focusing on Moravian dances. We will then have free time in the city center for lunch. After lunch, we will meet our bus and travel outside of Brno to see the unique exhibition by the world-famous artist, Alfons Mucha. This expansive exhibition, known as the Slav Epic, consists of unusually large canvases. On our way back, we will visit one more monastery. Even though we have already visited one, this particular site is so unique that it would be a pity to miss it. It feels more like an enchanted castle from a fairytale. Finally, we will return to Brno for a group dinner, and afterward, we will attend a local folk dance party.

August 7, Friday
Today, we will once again load our luggage and head further east. Our first stop will be the world-famous Austerlitz battlefield, where Napoleon defeated the Austrian and Russian armies in 1805. From there, we will drive to the city of Kroměříž, renowned not only for its beautiful chateau but also for its unique garden. The garden will be our primary focus here. After we have toured the garden, we will move to the city center, where you will have free time for lunch. After lunch, we will transfer to the mountains, to the town of Rožnov pod Radhoštěm. We will check into our hotel here in the early afternoon, and you will have free time to rest. You can use the hotel’s pool free of charge, both the indoor and outdoor options. This will be a pleasant refreshment during the summer. We will have dinner at the hotel, and in the evening, we will transfer to the open-air museum (skansen) for the opening of a folklore festival. Following the evening program, we will return to the hotel.

August 8, Saturday
Today’s program is simple: we will spend the entire day at the festival. You will receive a detailed program once we arrive at the venue. Since the festival takes place within the beautiful surroundings of the open-air museum (skansen), if you don’t wish to watch a performance, you can take a walk and admire the traditional crafts on display. The program will also include dance lessons. Meals will be on your own today. There will be many excellent food opportunities available at the venue.

August 9, Sunday
This morning, you will be able to choose your own activity: You can choose to stay at the hotel and relax by the pool, or you can continue enjoying the festival program or you can take a chairlift ride up to the highest local mountain, followed by a mountain hike. This hike is about 5 miles (approximately 8 kilometers) but is not difficult terrain. After the morning activities, we will all proceed to the festival, where you will have lunch on your own and we will attend the festival’s closing program. Following the closing ceremony, we will have one more dance lesson with a local instructor. Dinner will be with the group back at the hotel.

August 10, Monday
The festival is over, and we will now continue on the final part of our trip. Our first stop will be the private workshop of a dulcimer maker. He has agreed to meet with us and explain how these instruments are crafted. Afterward, we will drive to Ostrava to visit a unique metallurgical blast furnace. This site is truly one-of-a-kind. (Those who are afraid of heights may wait below.) Lunch time will be on your own in the city center. In the afternoon, we will make one more stop: we will tour a unique fortification system dating back to 1938, which the former Czechoslovakia built to defend against Nazi Germany. Finally, we will board the bus and drive to Kraków, where we will meet the participants for the next leg of the journey to Poland. Dinner will be served together at the hotel.

August 11, Tuesday
Today, it is time to say goodbye. Perhaps some of you will even be joining the second part of the trip to Poland. For those flying home, we will assist with the journey to the airport.