Compare Art, Culture & History: A Berlin Adventure With Your Grandchild by Road Scholar

Day 1
In Transit to Program
In Flight

Day 2
Arrive Berlin, Orientation, Welcome Dinner
Berlin D Maritim proArte Hotel Berlin
Activity note: Hotel check-in from 2:00 p.m. If you arrive early, your luggage can be stored at the hotel and take time to explore the neighborhood.

Afternoon: Orientation: 4:30 p.m. The Group Leader will greet everyone with a warm welcome and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule and any changes, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures including contact numbers for key staff, and answer any questions you may have. This is a Road Scholar Intergenerational program. Grandparents are responsible for their grandchildren. If/when separate age group activities are conducted concurrently, program staff will supervise. Children are never to be left unsupervised. Please note that in Germany it is often expected to pay for using public restrooms with small change; we advise carry 50c pieces with you during field trips. We have set aside some free time in the schedule for your personal independent exploration. Please note that program activities, schedules, and personnel may need to change due to local circumstances. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

Dinner: At a neighborhood restaurant, enjoy a plated meal featuring a starter, main course of meat, fish, or vegetarian options, and dessert, plus water and a welcome drink; other beverages available for purchase.

Evening: At leisure.

Day 3
German Language Course, Exploring Berlin
Berlin B,L,D Maritim proArte Hotel Berlin
Activity note: Getting on/off the motorcoach.

Breakfast: In the hotel dining room, enjoy a buffet offering breakfast meats, hot egg dishes, fruit, cheese, yogurt, bread, and croissants, plus water, coffee, tea, milk, and juice.

Morning: In the hotel meeting room, we will meet with a local German teacher. Enjoy an introductory German language course to practice important phrases that you will be able to use during your week in Berlin!

Lunch: Especially for kids: Try out your new German language skills while ordering a two course meal at a local restaurant, plus water; other beverages available for purchase.

Afternoon: We will explore Berlin with an introductory field trip led by a local expert. Boarding a motorcoach, we will see some of the city’s major sites including Checkpoint Charlie, a border crossing between East and West Berlin where tensions briefly escalated in 1961 – resulting in American and Soviet tanks facing each other. We will also visit the Brandenburg Gate, a magnificent triumphal arch built by King Frederick William II of Prussia.

Dinner: At a local restaurant enjoy a plated, two course meal plus water; other beverages available for purchase.

Evening: At leisure.

Day 4
Museum Island, Art Workshop, Free Afternoon
Berlin B,L Maritim proArte Hotel Berlin
Activity note: Walk approximately one mile on street sidewalks to Museum Island.

Breakfast: In the hotel dining room.

Morning: Berlin has experienced an impressive artistic boom in the last decades and has one of the most dynamic art scenes in the world. Today we will have the chance to explore the vibrant Berlin art scene and apply your creativity in a hands-on art workshop. Walking from the hotel, we will spend the morning with our local expert learning about the history and development of the magnificent Museum Island - one of the most famous museum complexes of the world! Especially for kids: Create your own artwork as you discover different painting techniques with a local artist.

Lunch: At a local restaurant enjoy a plated, two course meal plus water; other beverages available for purchase.

Afternoon: The afternoon will be at your own disposal to visit the Museum Island with a provided day pass. Take the time and explore one of the world famous exhibitions. For example you can go to visit the 3000 year old Nefertiti Bust! Please note: At the Pergamon Museum, the hall containing the Pergamon Altar, the North Wing, and gallery of Hellenistic art are closed for renovations. The South Wing, featuring the Market Gate of Miletus, the Ishtar Gate and Processional Way from Babylon, and Museum of Islamic Art remain open.

Dinner: This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions and give directions. There is a variety of restaurants around the hotel: German cuisine as well as Arabian, Indian, Italian or Japanese.

Evening: At leisure.

Day 5
German History & Politics
Berlin B,L Maritim proArte Hotel Berlin
Activity note: Walk approximately 1 1/2 miles on street sidewalks.

Breakfast: In the hotel dining room.

Morning: Today, we will dive deep into Germany’s past, present and future with a local expert starting with an interactive lecture by a historian. Then we will then walk to and explore the German Historical Museum. The museum covers almost 1,500 years of history and we will have the chance to explore the world of knights and castles!

Lunch: At a local restaurant enjoy a plated, two course meal plus water; other beverages available for purchase.

Afternoon: For our next field trip, we will walk to one of the most visited sites in all of Germany where we will be led by a local expert. The Reichstag was constructed in the 1880’s to house the Imperial Diet of the German Empire. After a fire in 1933, the building fell into disrepair, only being used during a brief stint from 1961 to 1964 after a small refurbishing. Upon the German reunification and Berlin’s reinstitution as the capital of Germany, the Reichstag was completely gutted leaving only the external walls in place. The name Reichstag refers only to the building, as the home to the Bundestag – the constitutional and legislative body of the German government.

Dinner: On your own to enjoy what you like or to explore the local cuisine.

Evening: At leisure.

Day 6
Kulturforum, Street Art, Evening Concert
Berlin B,L,D Maritim proArte Hotel Berlin
Activity note: Travel via Berlin U-Bahn and S-Bahn (public transportation system), some stations accessed by going up/down flights of stairs; elevators/escalators NOT available in most stations, adding considerably to the amount of walking/climbing during the day.

Breakfast: In the hotel dining room.

Morning: We will divide into two groups for today’s activities. The adults will ride the public transit and enjoy an expert led visit to Kulturforum, former West Berlin’s premier center for art and culture. Since the reunification the Kulturforum has established as a main center for art and culture of the 20th century and compliments the exhibitions on the Museum Island. The kids will meet a local graffiti artist with whom we will learn about and explore the city’s plentiful and diverse street art via public transportation.

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: This afternoon the kids will have the opportunity to show what they have learned in the morning as they create their own piece of graffiti art. Especialliy for kids: Just for today, painting on the walls is allowed! Meanwhile the grandparents have a free afternoon either to explore on your own or to join the kids at their workshop. Following the workshop we will take public transport back to the hotel.

Dinner: Boarding the motorcoach, we will ride to a local restaurant near Charlottenburg Palace. Enjoy a plated, two course meal plus water; other beverages available for purchase.

Evening: From the restaurant, we will walk to Charlottenburg Palace where we will enjoy a performance of 17th and 18th century classics. The Berlin Residence Orchestra interprets the works from composers such as Bach, Handel, and Mozart with a special flair for the era which makes for an unforgettable cultural experience. This large, baroque palace is the only surviving royal residence in Berlin of the Hohenzollern family – a dynasty that controlled much of central Europe until the World Wars of the 20th century. The largest palace in Berlin constructed at the turn of the 18th century, the intricate palace includes a belvedere, a mausoleum, a theater, and a pavilion.

Day 7
Berlin Wall, Dance Workshop, Spree River Cruise
Berlin B,L Maritim proArte Hotel Berlin
Activity note: Travel via Berlin U-Bahn and S-Bahn. Walking approximately 1/4 to the quay.

Breakfast: In the hotel dining room.

Morning: Via public transit from the hotel, today we will visit the last standing piece of the Berlin Wall and a contemporary witness will tell us about everyday life in divided Germany. The visit will give an impression of how the border fortifications developed until the end of the 1980s, and what impact they had on life in the divided Germany.

Lunch: At a local restaurant enjoy a plated, two course meal plus water; other beverages available for purchase.

Afternoon: Walking to the quay, we will take this opportunity to experience Berlin from the water with a river cruise on the Spree with commentary aboard. Especially for kids: In the late afternoon the kids have the chance to take part in a hip hop workshop at a dance studio led by local dancers, the adults can enjoy some leisure time or watch the workshop. During the workshop, we will learn the basic steps and more advanced dance moves of hip hop, streetdance and breakdance.

Dinner: On your own to enjoy what you like or to explore the local cuisine.

Evening: At leisure.

Day 8
Communication & Media, Free Afternoon
Berlin B,L,D Maritim proArte Hotel Berlin
Activity note: Walk approximately one mile on street sidewalks.

Breakfast: In the hotel dining room.

Morning: Today we will walk to the Museum of Communication, where we will be led by a local expert. Admire the building’s graceful pre-war architecture, and don’t forget to greet the robots who roam the entryway! Especially for kids: Try your hand at Morse Code, the signal flag alphabet, or even smoke signals. Later, we will learn how to decode secret messages with the help of an expert from the museum.

Lunch: At a local restaurant enjoy a plated, two course meal plus water; other beverages available for purchase.

Afternoon: Take this opportunity for personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. Please refer to the list of Free Time Opportunities. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions and give directions.

Dinner: Tonight, say ‘auf Wiedersehen’ to Berlin at a popular restaurant in the vibrant center of Berlin featuring a plated, three course meal, plus water and a farewell drink; other beverages available for purchase. Share what you have learned in Berlin and your favorite memories of your trip!

Evening: At leisure.

Day 9
Program Concludes
In Flight B
Activity note: Hotel check-out by 11:00 a.m. Please refer to the “Travel Details/Transportation” section for information about transfers.

Breakfast: In the hotel dining room. This concludes our program. Safe travels! If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for the next program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Please join our Facebook page and share photos of your program. Visit us at www.facebook.com/rsadventures. Best wishes for all your journeys!