Travelling
People who lived in Czechoslovakia between 1948–1989 had very limited
possibilities to travel abroad. Their travels were confined to the countries of
the communist block. And after the velvet revolution when the possibility to
travel became freely available, many of them were already retired, depended upon
a fixed pension, did not feel so healthy and did not feel like to travel with a
travel agency.
In 1990 Dana Steinova, who was running the U3A offer grade in Prague, came
with a new idea: RECIPROCAL EXCHANGE with seniors from foreign countries.
The very first exchange group arrived from Boston, MA, USA on April 29th,
1991, formed of 23 American seniors who were keen to learn what the country
behind the iron curtain looked like. And the Czechs showed them not only the
beauty of their country but opened their hearts to them. The Americans loved the
personal attention of the Czech senior students, their cooking, guiding,
homes. They repaid the Czech hospitality in a splendid way in October 1991 when
23 Czechs arrived for the same lenght of time.
What a wonderful way to explore the world!
Since that time the Czech senior students went litterary around the world,
37 exhanges have been implemented up to now. They have been 4× in the USA, 4×
in Australia, 3× in the U.K., in Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, 3×
Austria, 3× Spain, Portugal, Italy, Denmark, Neatherlands,Germany, Poland,
France, Switzerland, Hungary,etc.
The exchange partners were similarly motivated seniors, usually members of
U3A groups /e.g. South Africa, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Poland/ or
Institutes for Learning in Retirement / the USA and Canada/ or other forms of
educational programs for seniors /Institute for Senior Studies in Glassgow or
ZAWIW in Ulm/.
The philosophy of such exchanges is very simple: „Do you best for your
guests, they will do the same for you when the roles reverse“.The hosting
party is always paying the stay of the guests and everyone is paying his own
travel costs.
Reciprocal exchanges are a great form of activation of seniors, a visible
demonstration of their physical and mental potential, the more energy they put
in, the cheaper trip they get. And travels based on personal bases ,giving the
chance to the participants to learn , appreciate and respect mutually their
cultures, history and mentality are very different in comparison with the trips
done by travel agencies.
Dana Steinova
Center of Lifelong Learning, Prague
Example of an exchange program:
Hosting group: 24 Czech senior students from Center of Lifelong
Learning, Prague,Czech Republic
Visiting group: 24 senior students of U3A from Cape Town and
George,South Africa
International Gathering of Seniors in Prague
combined with the Grand tour of Central Europe
May 25-June 15, 2008
Itinerary is subject to modification if required
May 25 Sunday arrival day –the full assistence
with your arrival will be provided,
your hosts
will be holding a poster with your name
Welcome party
with a concert given by a famous violinist
Alexander
Shonert –winner of many international competitions
Accommodation with the Czech hosts during your stay in Prague
May 26 Monday 9.30 am Vysehrad –the first
residence of Czech Kings
Lunch in the
Restaurant Male Divy, Janovskeho 3, Praha 7
/daily,unless indicated otherweiss/
Four seasons
in Czech folklore – concert
Dinner with
Czech families
May 27Tuesday 9.30 am Bertramka –
Mozart´s Prague retreat or free time
lunch as
usual /meeting point in KD Vltavska at 1.15 pm/
2.30 pm Army
band –concert of the worlds evergreens
Walk through
the Jewish Quarter
6 pm Dinner
in a medieval cellar from 11th century
8 pm
Blacklight theatre – Palace Metro
May 28 Wednesday 9.30 am Conference on senior education
with lunch in KD Vltavska
and
Classic Jazz Collegium concert
2.30 pm
Reception at the Old Town Hall- guided tour of
representative rooms and outlook tower
5 pm
Vltava river cruise from Kampa
6.30 pm
Official opening of painting exhibition in KD Vltavska
Buffet supper
7.30 pm
„Dear Amadeus“- fictive dialogues of Wolfgang
A.Mozart,
his wife Constance and Josefine Duskova and
Mozart´s music
May 29 Thursday 9 am Royal Route and Charles
Bridge guided tour
lunch and
rest on the route in McDonald´s
3 pm
Prague Castle-guided tour of representative rooms
packed
supper with the hosts in the Malostranska Garden
6.30 pm concert of classical music in Palffy´s Palace
May 30 Friday Optional morning program:
1/
10 am National Museum visit
2/
10.30 am stroll through the Exhibition ground from 1891
3/
free morning
lunch
as usual /meeting point KD Vltavska at 1.15 pm/
Petrin
Hill by cable car, Petrin Tower and Mirror Maze
6 pm
Supper in KD Vltavska
8 pm
Antonio Vivaldi-Four Seasons-Krizik´s fountain
performance
May 31 Saturday 10 am visit to the Contemporary Art
Collections–National Gallery
12 noon
lunch in KD Vltavska
2 pm
opera Don Giovanni by W.A.Mozart in the Theatre of
Estates
dinner
with your host
June 1 Sunday 9.50 am Senate –Waldstein
Palace and Waldstein Garden
Sunday
lunch with your host
free
afternoon
6 pm
Farewell party with Swing12 men-band and dance,
in KD
Vltavska
June 2 Monday 8:30 am Meeting
point VOLHA
9 am
departure for Olomouc with packed lunch
Stop
for an excursion of the glass manufacture on our way
Guided
tour of the historic city center /UNESCO listed fountains/
Reception at the University with supper and music – meeting
with
the local U3A
Accommodation : Kolej B.Vaclavka,
ul.
17.listopadu, Olomouc –one night
/
three double rooms with private bath and toilet in one suite/
June 3 Tuesday departure for Zlin
/BATA´s town, the famous shoe maker /,
Excursion to Bata´s museum and skyscraper
1.30 pm Lunch at the Bata´s university
departure for High Tatras after lunch, with packed supper
3 pm excursion to the destilary in Vizovice
with tasting of the famous plum brandy
arrival in High Tatras
accommodation in HOTEL BANIK
Strbske Pleso /three nights- double rooms ,private bath/
June 4 Wednesday High Tatras-an impressive
mountain range up to 2.600 m
above the sea level
options:
a) walk along the glacial lake
lunch in Hotel BANIK
free afternoon
b) after lunch hike to Popradske Pleso 12 km loop
beautiful sceneries, reaching the snow level
dinner in Hotel BANIK
June 5 Thursday Bus trip to
Levoca
visit of St Jacob Church-Master Paul of Levoca´s
highest gothic alter in the world
lunch in a historic Hotel Arkada
visit of the ruins of the largest medieval castle in
central Europe–Spissky Hrad
served as military fortification since early 13th cent.
UNESCO listed site
Dinner in Hotel BANIK
June 6 Friday Departure for
Hungary with packed lunch
Estergom, Basilica of St. Mathias
Szentendre, picturesque baroque town on Danube river
Free time for self-exploration
Accommodation in ETAP Hotel, To utca 1,
H 2045,Torokbalint,Budapest – one night
double rooms with private bath
dinner in a popular wine cellar-Hungarian cuisine
and gipsy songs and dances
June 7 Saturday Budapest day
/capital of Hungary/
city tour by bus with a local guide
Mathias Church, Fisherman Bastion
Market place,lunch in a nice restaurant in the city center
Departure for Bratislava with packed supper in late
afternoon /three hour drive/
accommodation in double rooms with private bath
/SZU, Limbova 12, 833 03 Bratislava-two nights /
June 8 Sunday Bratislava
day /capital of Slovakia /
See the city from the Castle area
walking through the Old Town
St Martin Cathedral,Michal´s gate,
Main Square
Lunch at the nursing home
Memory centrum – excursion of the AD Day care center
free afternoon
6 pm Supper in the Restaurant „Biela pani“, Jozefska 7,
in the city center-near the Presidential Palace
June 9 Monday Vienna day
/capital of Austria/-only 40 km from B.
Hundertwasser´s unique architecture,box lunch
Anker Uhr, Hoffburg, St.Stephan´s Dome
Guided tour on foot through the historic center
free time
Departure for Moravia in the late afternoon
/two hour drive /
wine cellar in Hustopece near Brno
wine tasting and dinner
Accommodation in Brno –two nights /double rooms,
private bath /Pension Palacky, Kolejni 2, 612 00 Brno/
June 10 Tuesday Departure
for Kromeriz- UNESCO listed town
Castle tour, visits to two unique churches
Lunch in UNESCO Senior Centre
Flower garden from 17th century with breathtaking
artistic garden creations
Art Nouveau Architecture- unique
hospital complex from 1905 -excursion
Box supper
return to Brno
June 11 Wednesday Departure after
early breakfast for
Moravian Karst -complex of caves
with beautiful natural stalagnites and stalactites
Boat trip on underground river Punkva –optional or late
breakfast and rest in your room
12 noon lunch in Brno
Trebic- Basilica of St.Prokop (UNESCO listed site)
stop in Telc (UNESCO listed town), packed supper
accommodation in Velesin for four nights –2 double
rooms in
one suite, OSSE, U Hriste 527, 382 32 Velesin / boarding
school /
June 12 Thursday Ceske Budejovice
day /regional capital of Southern
Bohemia /
Reception at the Townhall,
folk songs and dances performance of children choir
guided tour of the historic city center
Lunch at Masne Kramy –historic butchers shops /belong
to the world famous Budweisser Brewery /-Budweisser
goulash / ,excursion to the Budweisser brewery
Free time in the city center
Christmas dinner as a special treat in local nursing home
June 13 Friday Cesky Krumlov
day / UNESCO listed town /
Castle tour / 2nd largest Castle in the country/
lunch according to your choice-100 CZK in cash
Free afternoon in the unique historic center
5 pm departure from the parking area-be prompt please!
Dinner in Velesin, concert of classical music
given by the local conservatory of music
June 14 Saturday Holasovice (UNESCO
listed village, unique rural baroque
Departure for Trebon -Rennaisance town with the largest
man made pond „The World“in Southern Bohemia
lunch in „Bily Konicek“ an impressive Rennaisance hotel
options:
1)enjoy the beautiful Castle park and historic square during
your free time
2)take a scenic walk along the pond and visit the
Swarzenberg Crypt
supper in Velesin, early bed time
June 15 Sunday
1.30 am departure for Prague- half of the group
departs at 7 am from the airport
5 am meeting with the Czech hosting group-packed
breakfas for those who are leaving, those with later
departures will be taken home , bus is taking off from the
airport
This is the itinerary for the exchange group formed of U3A members in
Cape Town and George, S.A. Accessible only on the basis of reciprocal exchange.
All costs are covered by the hosting group, which is the U3A group in Prague,
Czech Republic: accommodation, admissions, three meals a day, including drinks
and all the transport according to the itinerary. The participants need only
pocket money. Both parties are paying their own airtickets and take care of
their own medical insurance. The Czech exchange group is interested in a direct
exchange of 1.000 Rands into Czech crowns on the personal bases.
The S.A. group will repay the Czech hospitality for the same lenght of
stay and the same number of participants from June 29 till July
20, 2008.
The participants are kindly requested to bring a cabin size luggage only,
if they can make it.
Dress code for Prague: there will be many official events where a tie and
a jacket are desirable such as welcome and farewell party, Don Giovanni opera
in the Theatre of Estates and Wednesday 28th events.On the other hand take
only informal clothes for the tour, think about layers, weather can vary from
15 to 25 °C . Jacket can wait for yor return in Prague.
This itinerary should be carried along during your entire stay because of
your own safety, includes important addresses of your accommodation and
Dana´s mobil phone number.
Try to avoid to carry around documents such as driving licence,
passport-except its copy, or credit cards, if it is not absolutely necessary
under circumstances.Emergency number is 112.
Contact address: Dana Steinova, Leckova 1520, 149 00 Praha 4, Czech
Republic
mobil phone number 00420 608 552 113
RETURN VISIT
Visiting group: 24 Czech senior students from Center of Lifelong
Learning, Prague,Czech Republic
Hosting group: 24 senior students of U3A from Cape Town and
George,South Africa
June 28,2008 departure from Prague
June 29, 2008 arrival in Johannesburg,stop st the Panorama Carlton Center
for a view
across the city
Constitutional Hill, Law Courts,
Apartheid Museum
Township of Soweto, Nelson
Mandela´s House
Departure for Cape Town
Dinner with hosting families
June 30,2008 Welcome meeting at the U3A ground with lunch
City tour by bus
Welcome party with local folklore
band- Xhasa tribe
July 1–2, 2008 Klein Karoo tour, a semi desert region with beautiful
sceneries
Outshoorn –the Ostrich country,
visit to an Ostrich Safari-
Optional ride on the ostrich
back!!!
July 3, 2008 travel to Grahamstone
July 4–5,2008 Grahamstone National Art Festival with a rich cultural
program
Visit of concerts, museums, a lecture
of local musical instruments in the
Musical Museum, street dances, choir
performances
July 6–7,2008 ADOO Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape with a
night and day
jeep tours. Overnight stay in the
bush huts with game viewing (Big 5:
elephant, leopard, lion, rhinoceros,
buffalo)
July 8, 2008 Pletenberg Bay
Elephant Sanctuary-walking with
elephants
Monkey Land-sanctuary of previously
caged monkeys
Birds of Eden the largest single free
flight aviary in the world
July 9–10,2008 Knysna, located between mountains and the Indian Ocean on
the
Garden Route, famous for its Oyster
Festival
Meeting with the local U3A- memory
training lecture
Lunch with the S.A. Navy Admiral and
the U3A board
Township tour
Boat trip across lagoon to the
Western Head-scenic view, walk back
Dinner and a concert with a
local U3A
July11–12,2008 George, located on the Garden Route
Welcome party with the local U3A in
a grand mension overlooking
the Victoria Bay
Wine tasting and visit of the local
vinyard
Bus tour of Queniqua Mountains
Scenic route,
Waterfalla and wildlife
Dinner with the local U3A at the
harbour restaurant
July 14–15,2008 Hermanus, hosted by the local U3A
Whale museum, whale watch from the
shore-unique!!!
Dinner and a concert with the
local U3A
July 16–19,2008 Cape Town and Western Cape
Reception with the mayor at the
Town Hall
The Bolders- pinguins
sunctuary
Bird Watch
San Recreational Park –a
lecture on a history of a bushman
Table Mountain by a cable car
Dr.Bernard´s museum- the world
first heart trasplantation
Trip up along the West Coast to see
the Fossils
Jakkelsfontain nature reserve-walk
along the beach
Wine Route- wine tasting in
Stellenbosh and Fransch Hoek
Township tour
Waterfront experience
July 20,2008 Departure day
July 21,2008 Stopover in Istanbul, Turkey
July 22,2008 return to Prague
