Berlin at New Year - particularly this New Year will, we hope, be a really excting prospect and we are working on a programme of performances and events. The highlight of our visit will be a performance of La Boheme at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden conducted by Domingo Hidoyan with superstar soprano Sonya Yoncheva as Mimi. We are also planning to include concerts at the Philharmonie, a private recital and dinner atop the iconic Reichstag as well as an orientation of the city and free time to enjoy the lights, shops and atmosphere of Kurfürstendamm.
We plan to stay at the luxurious Dorint Hotel Kurfürstendamm. Designed by award-winning architect Jan Kleihues, the hotel is located in the heart of the City West at the start of the legendary shopping mile Kurfürstendamm and just a short distance from the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, Berlin Zoo and the KaDeWe department store. We have reserved spacious 'Comfort' King rooms which feature walk-in closet, separate bath & walk-in shower, bose sound system and nespresso machine. Full buffet breakfast is included each morning.
The programme includes:
- Scheduled flights from Manchester with Lufthansa and Swiss (or deduct £250 per person and make your own arrangements and meet at the hotel – see below)
- Five nights at the Dorint Kurfürstendamm with buffet breakfast included each morning
- One lunch (30th), Welcome dinner on 29th, pre-performance dinner on 31st, Reichstag dinner on 1st and post-opera supper on 2nd January all with wines included
- Maestro Kirill Petrenko, superstar violinist Janine Jansen and the Berlin Philharmonic with a romantic programme of Bruch, Korngold, Richard Strauss & Fritz Kreisler (see seat info)
- Centre stalls seats for Die Fledermaus on New Years Eve at the Deutsche Oper followed by a private drinks party to see in the New Year at the Dorint
- Stalls seats for the New Year’s Day concert at the Konzerthaus Berlin (4pm) followed by New Year’s Day Dinner in the exclusive setting of the rooftop restaurant of the Reichstag, beneath Norman Foster’s astonishing cupola.
- Centre stalls seats for La Boheme at the Berlin Staatsoper on 2nd January followed by a Farewell Supper.
- Two morning tours by private coach of Berlin West & East with coffee & cake along the way!
Berlin Phil seat info:
The Philharmonie is unlike any other concert hall in that the audience are effectively ‘wrapped’ around the orchestra. Seats are priced in 8 categories from €68 - €200!). Our seats are in the 5th category (€115) and have a side view to the stage (but excellent). If you wish you can update to 3rd category for £40 or to 1st category for £75.
Flights from Manchester:
LH2501 29DEC Manchester - Munich 1105 1400
LH1942 29DEC Munich - Berlin 1545 1655
LX 967 03JAN Berlin - Zurich 1455 1620
LX 380 03JAN Zurich - Manchester 1720 1820
As previously advised, we have made a conscious decision to use Lufthansa and Swiss because of their responsible behaviour and speed of refund in the event of our being prevented from flying due to a UK lockdown or prohibition on entering Germany. The flights require a change of plane (in Munich on the way out and Zurich on the way back) and while this adds to the travel time, we believe this offers the most secure situation.
We appreciate that some of you would prefer to fly direct and to use the Ryanair flights (which have excellent flight times). If you wish to do this, you can deduct £250 from the tour cost and make your own travel arrangements and meet us at the hotel.
Flights from Heathrow (supplement £80):
BA 992 29DEC Heathrow - Berlin 0845 1140
BA 993 02JAN Berlin - Heathrow 1220 1320
Easyjet and Ryanair also fly from Gatwick, Luton, Glasgow and several other airports.
Insurance:
Full payment for the tour is required at the time of booking. As we are already close to departure and have to make immediate commitments on the many facets of the tour, you are committed to 50% of the costs from booking until 31 days prior to departure and, thereafter 100% (see complete details in the Booking Conditions within the Booking Form). It is therefore very important to ensure that you have adequate travel insurance, in particular if you are prevented from travelling due to illness (including prevention from travelling due to contracting covid-19) and also to ensure that you have full cover whilst on holiday. We are not licensed insurance brokers and so cannot recommend a particular company, however our ‘go to’ information source is Money Saving Expert who have a regularly updated and well researched list of insurance companies that meet these requirements and are particularly helpful relevant to pre-existing conditions.
Vaccination & Testing:
It will certainly be a requirement (of airlines, entry to Germany and concert hall) that we carry a QR-code based proof of vaccination. The little hand written cards will NOT be sufficient for this tour. If you need help with getting your Digital Pass let us know and we will assist you. We expect that a private lateral-flow test may still be required before each flight. Maestro will organise the delivery of these tests to your home (if required) by courier but it will be your responsibility to carry out the test and submit the results (via upload) as required by the testing company within 48 hours of departure. We will help you with the tests in Germany if they are required. Any costs relating to these tests are included in the holiday cost. If the British Government re-introduce the need for ‘Day 2’ testing (unlikely) then this would be a cost you would need to cover (currently around £39).
Booking is currently open (19th October) to all clients who have pre-registered for the tour and any remaining places will go on sale on 25th October. The booking deadline for this tour is Friday 29th October.
