Berlin
10th-14th June 2027
Berlin is undoubtedly one of the most exciting cities in Europe. Its vibrancy comes from the marriage of old and new, the rebirth and renovation of a city newly reunited – a city where cutting edge, experimental architecture houses ancient treasures. This trip will chart the history of Berlin from the glory days as the Prussian capital under Frederick the Great, through the cultural era of the Weimar Republic to the years as the headquarters of Hitler’s Third Reich. Berlin is an irrepressible city sprinkled with items of beauty and interest – consider Dürer, Jan van Eyck, Bruegel, Dürer, Cranach and Vermeer or Mies Van der Rohe and Nefertiti.
There will be the opportunity to see a concert at the stunning and innovative Berlin Philharmonic. Combining great art and architecture with world class music and literature, this is one of our best short courses.
The tour is led by Grant Rogers, one of AHA’s most distinguished tutors, who presently lives in Berlin and Nick Ross, Director of AHA.
Itinerary
Thursday 10th June
Our flight lands in Berlin at midday when we will be met by our private coach and taken for a light lunch near the Käthe Kollwitz Museum, which houses her most intensely moving works. The collection of drawings, etchings and sculptures implore you to share the artist’s deep compassion for the poor and oppressed. We will continue exploring 20th century Berlin with a visit to the Gedächtniskirche, looking especially at the interesting renovation – a theme which will run through our time in Berlin. Our coach will then take us to our hotel, and we will have supper in a good restaurant nearby.
Friday 11th June
We hope to start the morning with breakfast at Käfer, on the rooftop of the Reichstag with unrivalled views across the city. We can then walk across the Tiergarten, taking in one or two memorials as we go, before coffee. We will visit the magnificent Gemäldegalerie, home to one of the world’s finest collections of European art from the 13th to 18th century. The collection includes works by Jan van Eyck, Bruegel, Dürer, Rubens, Vermeer and Rembrandt. After a short stroll we will have a well-earned lunch.
After lunch we will visit the Neues Nationalgallerie (both East and West Berlin had their own National Galleries, names which are still used today). This museum houses the great modern collections in a thrilling building by the modernist architect Mies Van der Rohe. Walking back to the hotel we pass through The Wall and past Check-Point Charlie and some other buildings that survive from the Nazi era. In the early evening, we will take taxis for the KW Institute of Contemporary Art and the gallerista part of town. The programme for June ’27 is yet to be published but usually this space holds fascinating, if not baffling, exhibitions. In the evening, we hope to see a concert at the Berliner Philharmoniker; Elim Chan and Seong-Jin Cho with Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto. Tickets will be released in February, so please do let Charlie know if you would like to join; we will purchase the tickets, more information can be found below.
Saturday 12th June
The Alte Nationalgalerie on Museum Island houses an excellent collection of 19th century paintings and includes works by Caspar David Friedrich, Adolph Menzel, Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Arnold Böcklin as well as a good collection of Impressionists. Very close by is the Bode Museum of Sculpture and one of the greatest collections in the world.
After lunch we will go to the Neues Museum which was brilliantly refurbished by the British architect David Chipperfield and which houses the most wonderful Egyptian collection, including the sublime Nefertiti. Nearby is the Dom, or Cathedral of Berlin. Supper at Clärchens Ballhaus which seems barely to have changed since the 1930’s and which defines the ‘Dinner Dance’ as throughout supper, couples get up to waltz or foxtrot around and around.
Sunday 13th June
Our morning will begin with a look together at the now iconic East Side Gallery. One of the struggles for Berlin is to define itself as a young city grafted onto old foundations. This is physically and intellectually a view from the former East. The now world Famous East Side Gallery is covered with social media friendly “Street Art”. Here we can spend time looking at a few of the artists’ responses to a unified Berlin before visiting the astonishingly dramatic Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park. The memorial opened in May of 1949 and commemorates the Battle for Berlin. If weather permits, we will stop for lunch in a classic Berlin institution, the Beer Garden. Following lunch, we will visit The Jewish Museum and examine another cultural aspect of Berlin, it’s Jewish History. This extraordinary museum also has the Daniel Libeskind extension which is a fantastic example of design and museology. This afternoon will be completed with a visit to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. An extraordinary example of public interaction, discourse and memorialisation in a society that cannot commemorate its past.
Monday 14th June
For our last morning, we will walk along the Unter den Linden by way of summary of our visit, passing the Humboldt University, the Neue Wache memorial by Kath Kollwitz and the Babelplatz memorial. There are also a cluster of interesting newly built embassies close to the Brandenburg Gate and, if we can secure permission, an elaborate design for a bank by Frank Gehry. On the way to lunch we will also pass the site of the Führerbunker and the Reich Chancellery. For an early lunch we will go to the House of World Cultures in the Tiergarten where there are thought provoking exhibitions of forward-thinking architecture and international policy. We can also have a good lunch here before boarding a private bus bound for the hotel and thereafter the airport.
Further Details
Tutors
The trip will be led by Nick Ross and Grant Rogers. Nick has taken many trips to Berlin, and it is one of his favourite places to visit. Grant lives and works in the city and so has an insider’s knowledge on the best spots to eat, drink and see.
Hotel
We will stay at the Hotel Oderberger, perfectly located in Prenzlauer Berg surrounded by good restaurants and cafes. https://www.hotel-oderberger.berlin/en/
Flights
We do not book the flights thus allowing you to travel to suit your budget, use airmiles, travel between different airports or on different dates. We recommend buying the following flights with British Airways:
Thursday 10th June BA988 London Heathrow 08:45-11:40 Berlin Brandenburg
Monday 14th June BA995 Berlin Brandenburg 20:10-21:05 London Heathrow
Transport
We will have a private coach for the airport transfers. While in the city we will take the very efficient S and U-Bahn.
Concert
We hope to see Elim Chan and Seong-Jin Cho with Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto at the Berlin Philharmoniker on Friday 11th June. Tickets go on sale in February 2027, so please let Charlie know if you would like us to purchase you a ticket. Tickets are £80 for the very best seats in the house. https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/concert/calendar/57178/
Ability
There will be quite a bit of walking on this trip, but it will be easy to call a taxi for the longer stretches should you need to. As is the case for all our courses, there is a lot of standing while we discuss the works we are looking at.
Lunches and Dinners
Lunches are a set menu of two courses to include drinks. Dinner is by no means compulsory, but we book a table for the group each night at different restaurants and divide the bill equally between everyone. Sometimes these may also need to be a set menu, but we try our best to avoid this. We will adjust the bill for those not drinking alcohol.
Cost
The fees are £2250 which includes accommodation and breakfast, all lunches, transfers for the recommended flight, transport when connected with teaching, entrance fees, tuition, reading lists and local advice. The single occupancy supplement is £280 (double room for single use). Not included are the flights, all suppers, travel insurance. The group will not exceed 16 people and we will divide into two smaller groups wherever possible.
To register
Please complete the online registration form, having read our terms and conditions and pay a deposit of £600 per person via bank transfer once you have received the confirmation email. Please note your place is not confirmed until we have received your deposit.
Please call 01379 871800 or email [email protected] if you have any queries.
NB you must buy your own flights.
