In 2025, our medieval Europe study abroad trip will begin in Northeastern Italy, with visits of Padua, Ravenna, Ferrara, and Venice. From there we’ll go to Salzburg (Austria), visiting neighboring castles and medieval towns, then to Nuremberg (Germany, with visits of Rothenburg, Würzburg, Bamberg, and Nuremberg (Germany), and conclude in Prague and Kutna Hora (Czech Republic). Departure ca. May 18, return ca. June 8, 2025.
We will stay in centrally-located hotels in all 4 cities and will go on daily excursions either visiting the local sites or neighboring towns, such as going from Padua to Venice, or from Salzburg to Werfen (castle Hohenwerfen).
You will share the room with one or two other students, unless you opt for a single which would cost extra.
Here is a syllabus from 2023, which we will follow more or less, with the dates to be adjusted.
More Travel Information
Travel requirement: only one suitcase (up to 50 pounds) and a carry-on, or backpack. Check with the airline policy. You must have an umbrella and a watch. For further details, see the checklist with travel tips Participants must be in good physical health, fit to hike relatively steep hills to visit castles and churches without outside help, walk for a longer stretch when we explore medieval cities or monasteries, and keep up with a fairly fast pace. Our hotels are normally centrally located, but sometimes that cannot be the case, or the bus might not be able to take us close to it, requiring you to pull your suitcase/s for some distance and up the stairs, if the elevator in the hotel does not work or does not exist.
Helpful links:
Spanish castle
Castillo de Loarres, Spain (as an example)
The Classen March
For an enjoyable activity when we need to cover some distances:
Always count on the left foot:
eins, zwei, drei, vier, fuenf, sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn, ein Stock, ein Hut, ein Schirm, und (this one brings both feet together), (while standing, move the left foot) vorwaerts, rueckwaerts, seitwaerts, und…. then you start marching and counting again.