The core of your 2013 Performance Tour to Germany, Strasbourg (France) and Basel (Switzerland), will be the 8-day river cruise aboard the TC Bellevue, a four star deluxe vessel with all the amenities of a similar hotel, but the great advantage that it travels along with you on the rivers Rhine and Moselle.
Day 1 - Dates between June 1 and August 1, 2013 - Saturday to Saturday
Welcome aboard in Cologne
Once you set foot on the TC Bellevue, you will fall in love with the elegant river cruises many features starting with the elegant, spacious foyer and reception area, the five star gourmet dining rooms, the spacious sun deck with jaccuzzi and loungers and last not least your all outside cabins with panoramic windows. The crew will welcome you aboard and after some time to rest, a special welcome dinner will be served.
Day 2
Charming wine-country - Castle Concert
Visit the village of Cochem and present a highlight concert at its main attraction: the Reichsburg. Like many castles in the valley, the original 1027 castle was laid to ruin by Louis XIV's army in 1689. Rebuilt in 1868 in the neo-Gothic style, its medieval ramparts and turrets create a dramatic backdrop for the town and features several venues for an incredible performance. After tasting several of the local wines, continue your journey on the river with more stunning scenary on either side.
Historical Mainz - Performance at the Cathedral
Mainz is located on the left bank of the Rhine, across from the Rhine's intersection with the Main River. It is thought that there may have been wine-producing vines in the area even before the coming of the Romans in 38 B.C., although it was from that time that the regions of the Rheingau and Rheinhessen became widely known for fine viticulture.At the beginning of the Christian era, a bridge connected the settlement on the Rhine's left bank and the Roman fortifications opposite. In the 8th century, the town became a primary archbishopric. Over the centuries, church politics and a series of wars shuffled control of the city back and forth between the French (who called it "Mayence") and various German factions. Today Mainz is a bustling city, with a prosperous trade in wine and other businesses. Most visitors will be interested in the relatively compact Altstadt, which has been restored tastefully and carefully. Above the roofs of the half-timbered houses in the Altstadt rise the six towers of St. Martin's Cathedral, the most important Catholic cathedral in the country after Cologne's. It dates from A.D. 975 but was continually rebuilt and restored, reaching its present form mainly in the 13th and 14th centuries. Below the largest dome, a combination of Romanesque and baroque styles, is the transept, separating the west chancel from the nave and smaller east chancel. Many of the supporting pillars along the aisles of the nave are decorated with carved and painted statues of French and German saints. The Greeley Chorale may be the featured guest choir for Mass at Mainz Cathedral and/or present a formal concert here, in the 1,000-year-old cathedral crypt or another historical venue. Among the most impressive furnishings in the sanctuary are rococo choir stalls and an early-14th-century pewter baptismal font.
Day 4
Kehl and Strasbourg - Mass at Cathedral Notre-Dame
Why not venture into France and visit the capital of the Alsace region, Strasbourg with its stunning cathedral is a must-see destination for the Greeley Chorale and offers yet another amazing performance venue.
Day 5
Gruezi in Switzerland - Basel visit and performance opportunity
The third-largest city in Switzerland, Basel stands on the Rhine at the point where the French, German, and Swiss borders meet. At the entrance to the Swiss Rhineland, Basel is the capital of the half-canton of Basel-Stadt. On its borders are the French Vosges, the German Black Forest, and the Swiss Jura Mountains. Grossbasel (Greater Basel) lies on the steep left bank, and Kleinbasel (Lesser Basel) is on the right bank. The old imperial city stood at Grossbasel. The two parts of the city are linked by half a dozen bridges, plus four ferries powered by river currents.
The town was a Roman fort in A.D. 374, named Basilia, and was later ruled by prince-bishops for about 1,000 years. The Great Council met in Basel between 1431 and 1448, during which time a pope was crowned here. After Basel joined the Swiss Confederation in 1501, it became a Protestant region. During the onset of the Reformation in 1529, it served as a refuge for victims of religious persecution. They flooded in from Holland, Italy, and France, bringing renewed vitality to Basel and laying the foundation for the city's great golden age in the 18th century.
As one of Switzerland's most important cultural centers, Basel saw the development of the printing press and the book trade. In 1516 Erasmus, the great Dutch humanist and writer, published here the first edition of the New Testament in the original Greek. He is buried in the cathedral. Other notable Basel residents were the painter Holbein the Younger, who made portraits of Erasmus; the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who taught at the University of Basel; Theodor Herzl, who addressed the first Zionist World Congress here in 1897; and Jacob Burckhardt, a native, who achieved fame with his history of the Italian Renaissance.
Today the cultural traditions of Basel live on in its many museums (27 in all), art galleries, and schools. The city has become known as an international marketplace for art and antiquities. In 1967 its citizens voted by referendum to purchase two well-known works by Picasso, The Seated Harlequin and The Two Brothers. Picasso was so moved that he donated four other paintings to Basel.
Performance venues for the Greeley Chorale are galore in this city - from churches, to traditional concert halls and even excellent venues within one of the many museums.
Day 6
Breisach and the Black Forest Region
There is so much than to see and experience than the cuckoo clocks and impressive dense forests of this region - last not least joint ventures with a local orchestra or choir to be explored as your river cruise will be staying overnight here. A side trip back into France, namely to the charming village of Colmar is an exciting opportunity.
Day 7
Magical Rheingau: Ruedesheim & St. Goarshausen
Legend says that when God was looking for a place to set up Paradise, the sunny slopes between the Taunus Mountains and the Rhine nearly won the prize. Today the Rheingau is the kingdom of another god: Bacchus. Nearly every town and village from Wiesbaden to Assmannshausen is a major wine producer. The names suddenly seem familiar -- Bingen, Johannesburg, Rüdesheim, Oestrich -- because they're featured on the labels of many wines.
The Rheingau is also rich in old churches and castles, as well as landmarks. The Niederwald Monument, on a hill halfway between Rüdesheim and Assmannshausen -- it can be reached by cable car from either town -- is a huge statue of Germania, erected by Bismarck in 1883 to commemorate the unification of Germany. Below it, on a small island at the bend of the Rhine, is the Mäuseturm (Mouse Tower), where, according to legend, the greedy archbishop of Mainz was devoured by a swarm of hungry mice. But the real attraction of the Rheingau is the cheerful character of the wine villages and their people. Rüdesheim and Assmannshausen are the most visited towns.
We leave it up to you to add a final concert in either Ruedesheim or St. Goarshausen today - alternatively the Greeley Chorale could also just take a day off to enjoy the scenic views from the ship, walks through small towns and last night least the sumptuous farewell dinner aboard.
Day 8 - either Saturday, April 13 or October 26, 2013
Auf Wiedersehen aus Koeln - Bid farewell from Cologne
As the cruise comes to an end, your river cruise brings you back to where you started, the city of Cologne. After breakfast, you will be asked to disembark and your journey can continue straight to the airport or with an extension.
We would recommend to start the journey with a 2 to 3 night stay in either Amsterdam, the Heidelberg area or another musical city where you can recover from the long journey and also have the opportunity for a first performance. Incantato can also propose selected additional overnights at the end of the cruise for those among the group who have more time to continue the journey after the cruise ends.
