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The leading specialists in cultural
walking tours
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We specialise in guided cultural walking
holidays with music festivals, opera, art & architecture,
birdwatching, wildlife and gourmet food & wine.
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Haydn in Hungary and Austria - The
Esterházy Legacy
The great Hungarian nobleman, Prince
Miklós Esterházy (1741-1790), endowed the world
with an extraordinary legacy of music and architecture. As
Haydn’s patron for four decades, he provided the setting
in which the composer produced his finest works - the entire
court moving twice annually between the Esterházy
Palaces in Fertod in Hungary and Eisenstadt, now in Austria.
During our nine day visit to this
fascinating area of central Europe we attend three performances
of the Haydn Festivals in the magnificent Esterházy
palaces; enjoy forest, lakeside and vineyard walks; partake of
wine-tastings; and explore the Gothic and Baroque heritage of
Hungary’s quiet small towns - Western Transdanubia
escaped the Mongol and Turkish invasions by a whisker.
We begin the holiday staying in a
splendid castle hotel and conclude with two days in Vienna,
that most elegant and cultural of cities, with an opera
performance in the Vienna State
Opera House on our final
evening.
TRIP ITINERARY
DAY 1
D included
After meeting at Vienna airport by 1
p.m., we travel south, pausing to visit the Augustinian Abbey
of Vorau with its richly frescoed interior, remarkable double
organ and organ loft and 18C Rococo library. Our destination is
a privately owned castle hotel dating from 1065, superbly sited
in the forested hills which form the present borders with
Hungary and Slovenia. The castle’s long history includes
five centuries as part of the Hungarian Crown Lands and
successfully surviving a number of sieges and invasions from
the east.
DAY 2
B, L, D included
After breakfast we set off on foot for a
morning exploring the forest trails - early autumn colours,
wild cyclamen and fungi, and the whitewashed small wayside
chapels which characterise this rural corner of Styria.
Returning to the hotel we tour the castle’s own 17C
‘Long Cellar’, where the estate wine is aged in
barrique casks made from their own oak trees - and taste the
highly acclaimed results. A formal dinner of Styrian
specialties is given a light and creative touch by the noted
young chef.
DAY 3
B, L, D included
The border crossing into Hungary is quite
close and our first destination is the sleepy village of
Ják which contains Hungary’s most important
Romanesque architectural monument - the Benedictine Abbey
Church. Founded in 1214 and miraculously escaping destruction
by the Mongol hordes, its chief glory is the Norman-style
portal - a pillared doorway carved in geometric patterns 12
layers deep. Continuing to Cák, we walk in the landscape
reserve and picnic near a picturesque row of thatched
above-ground wine cellars. In the afternoon we visit
Kószeg, a tranquil little town with a charming
Renaissance square and an illustrious history. During the 1532
siege of the town castle by Suleyman the Magnificent’s
troops, a handful of Hungarian soldiers successfully held the
fortress for 25 days against 100,000 Turks who finally withdrew
at 11 a.m. on 30th August, sparing Kószeg (and Vienna
for the next 150 years). Church bells peal an hour before noon
to this day. Continuing by road, we settle into our country
hotel, a restored 4 star Manor house, before attending our first concert of Haydn’s chamber music in
the nearby Esterházy Palace.
Often referred to as the ‘Hungarian Versailles’,
this opulent palace was Prince Miklos Esterházy’s
summer residence where Haydn composed an enormous number of
works - during the golden years between 1770 and 1790, at least
one new opera performance was given each month!
DAY 4
B, L, D included
We travel a short distance up into the
Lóvér hills for a walk along the forest trails.
Descending on foot into Sopron (where the nine year old Liszt
dazzled audiences at his debut) lunch includes an informal
wine-tasting in an excellent restaurant. The afternoon is free
for exploring Hungary's most delightful mediaeval town - since
neither the Mongols nor the Turks reached here the walled Inner
Town is a treasury of Gothic and early Baroque architecture.
Highlights include the Old and New Synagogues (both built in
the 14C and amongst the greatest Jewish Gothic monuments in
Europe); climbing the Fire Tower (which has a square 10C base
on top of a Roman gate, a 16C cylindrical section and a Baroque
arcaded balcony and spire!); and the Storno Collection of
Gothic furnishings. We reconvene in the late afternoon to walk
along an historically important section of the former Iron
Curtain (site of the ‘Sopron Picnic’), then return
to our hotel.
DAY 5
B, L, D included
A leisurely stroll in the Fertod National
Park, ecologically part of the puszta or Hungarian steppes,
delivers us to a small foot ferry which takes us across the
lake to the village of Rust, where we partake of lunch in a
traditional heuriger (rustic wine tavern). After free time to
wander - many of the 17C houses are crowned with huge storks
nests, and the 12C- 16C Fischerkirche contains faded Romanesque
frescoes - we drive to Eisenstadt, the other favoured
seat of the Esterházy family. Before settling into our
hotel (4 star, modern and central, with an indoor swimming
pool), we visit the Landesmuseum, which contains remarkable
Celtic artefacts, Roman mosaics and Liszt’s ‘Blue
Salon’. An early dinner precedes a performance by the
outstanding ‘cellist
Friedrich Kleinhapl with the Israel Chamber Orchestra and
Roberto Paternostro in the
splendid, and wholly appropriate, setting of the Schloss
Esterházy.
DAY 6
B, L, D included
Following an unhurried start - you may
wish to walk to Haydn's Mausoleum in the Bergkirche, or in the
formal Schloss gardens - we walk through woodland in the hills
above Eisenstadt and picnic in the vineyards where the wine
harvest should already be under way. Free time on our return
permits a swim, the opportunity to visit the Haydn Museum
housed in the composer’s home from 1766 to 1778; to visit
the Jewish Museum in the former ghetto; or to take a tour of
the Esterházy palace. An early dinner in an unusual
restaurant in the colonnaded former Palace stables is followed
a concert entitled ‘Haydn at
La Fenice’, works by Haydn and Scarlatti performed by Il
Complesso Barocco, conducted by Alan Curtis and narrated by the
famous writer of novels set in Venice, Donna Leon.
DAY 7
B, L, D included
North east of Eisenstadt we visit the
charming small cottage where Haydn was born en route to the
archaeological museum (housed in a replica Roman villa) and
then explore the site of Roman Carnuntum, the XV Legion’s
camp from which they defended the boundaries of the empire on
the Danube, before lunch. Transferring to Vienna, an
orientation walk brings us to our very comfortable (4 star)
historic hotel, ideally situated within ‘the Ring’,
Vienna’s mainly pedestrianised historic centre. Dinner is
in an excellent nearby restaurant.
DAY 8
B, D included
A free day in Vienna: the possibilities
include the treasures of St. Stephan's cathedral; the
Kunsthistorisches Museum housing one of the most important
collections of paintings in the world; the bustling, colourful
Naschmarkt - Vienna's oldest food market; the magnificent
Lipizzaner horses at the Spanish Riding School; the splendid
Hapsburg imperial palace, the Hofburg (containing the imperial
jewellery collection in the Schatzkammer); the Liechtenstein
Palace private collections; or savouring Sachertorte in one of
Vienna’s traditional coffee houses. Our final dinner
reflects the culinary heritage of the Austro-Hungarian empire
and precedes a performance at the
Vienna State Opera house.
DAY 9
B included
More time to explore Vienna before a
private transfer to Vienna airport at times to suit you.
Caveat
The Haydn Festival events described are
(rarely) subject to change by the organizers. Actual activities
or their order may therefore vary from those described in the
itinerary.
Price includes:
All accommodation for Days 1 through 9 on
a twin shared basis
All meals (with wine at lunches and
dinners) as listed in the daily notation
All land transportation in a private
vehicle as described except during free periods
Ticket for boat trip across the lake as
described
Wine tastings in both Austria and Hungary
All entrance and sightseeing fees except
during free periods
Tickets for one performance of the Haydn
Festival in Fertod and two performances of the Haydn Festival
in Eisenstadt
Ticket for an opera performance in Vienna
Gratuities for hotel and restaurant staff
Visa and Health Requirements
Visitors from the EU and the US currently
require a valid passport, but not a visa, for entry to Austria
and Hungary. If you are a national of any other country, please
check visa regulations with your nearest Embassies of Austria
and Hungary.
At present there are no specific and
compulsory health requirements for entry to Austria and
Hungary. Residents of countries in the EU can only claim free
(emergency) medical treatment in Austria and Hungary by
presenting their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which
is issued in the UK by the Department of Health. You may also wish to check the advice given to
travellers by the FCO.
Insurance
It is essential, and a condition of
booking, that you protect yourself with a suitable travel
insurance policy as soon as you book a trip. Follow this link
for information on a policy available to UK residents.
If you are already insured or a non-UK
resident, please inform us of your policy at the time of
booking.
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Kudu Travel Limited
Teffont Manor
Teffont Ewyas
Salisbury SP3 5RJ
Phone: 01722 716167
Registered in England
No. 03854049
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