location

Germanic Studies: Vienna, Munich, Berlin
German Culture across Europe

June 30 - July 27, 2008

German -Vienna, Munich, Berlin Location

Accommodations

In Berlin and Munich, students will be housed within a short distance of the city center. In Vienna, students will reside at a centrally-located hotel. All housing is double occupancy.

UCLA Summer Sessions reserves the right to change housing location. Should this be necessary, we will arrange comparable accommodations elsewhere.

Meals

In Berlin, breakfast and lunch are provided daily. In Munich and Vienna, breakfast is provided daily.

If you have strict dietary requirements, this program may not be able to accommodate your needs. Please let us know when you apply for this program if you have special dietary needs as well as any physical or medical conditions. We will advise you accordingly.

Tentative Program Excursions (Subject to Change)

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
This concentration camp outside of Berlin was developed as a "model" for other camps. Over 200,000 people were imprisoned here between 1936 and 1945. Guided tours explain the history and function of the camp.

Reichstag in Berlin
This grandiose building has closely escaped destruction many times during its 100 year history and has undergone some major transformations over the years (not to mention the legendary "wrapping" of the building in the summer of 1995 by the artist Christo and his wife). One year after reunification in 1991 the parliament decided that Berlin should once again become the seat of German government. Having recently undergone extensive restoration work the building is now once again home of the German Parliament (the Bundestag). The newly constructed metal glass dome over the parliamentary chamber offers good rooftop views over the city.

Jewish Museum in Berlin
The Jewish Museum houses an extensive collection of artifacts documenting the history of the German Jewish community. Various artworks including sculpture, painting and design offer an artistic impression of Jewish culture and religion.

Neuschwanstein
This fairy tale castle build by Ludwig II is perhaps the most familiar site in all of Germany.

Center of Vienna
The Hofburg, the Habsburg empire power center until 1918, is a conglomerate of 19 interior courtyards, 18 main- and auxiliary buildings, portals, arches, hidden passages and more than 2,500 rooms. The festivities here, in the company of high European nobility, which paved the way to the eventual downfall of the Habsburg empire are easy to envision when one tours the magnificent rooms and exhibits! Next to the Hofburg lies Heldenplatz, a large square in the heart of the city, with greenery and pompous equestrian statues of the legendary Prince Eugene and Archbishop Karl. The sight of so much greenery in front of the baroque Hofburg is truly fascinating. The classicist outer castle tower from 1824 recalls the bloody massacre by the Napoleonic troops at Leipzig. A visit of the Hofburg complex will be the starting point of our extensive tour of the center of Vienna, its well-preserved medieval part, and famous streets and alleyways, best explored on foot and rounded up by a visit to a typical Kaffeehaus.

Optional Excursions

Limited free time is built into this program for independent sightseeing. If you plan on traveling extensively, we recommend that you budget additional spending money.

Location

The cities of Berlin and Vienna - like no other two cities - have experienced both the most glorious and the darkest moments of European history. Today they lead the way into the twenty-first century as centers for dazzling new architecture and a thriving counter-culture. Walk the streets of Berlin that were once divided by the politics of the Cold War, and where now the new politics of reunification and reconciliation is taking place.

Enjoy Munich, which will be abuzz with the excitement of soccer's world cup. The Bavarian capital is rich with history and intrigue. Munich is the birthplace of the Nazi as well as home to avant-garde art movements Hitler hoped to eliminate.

Experience what it feels like to live in Vienna, a city that inspired Mozart and Beethoven and shocked the world with the art of Egon Schiele and the thought of Sigmund Freud. Discover the lasting influence of Viennese arts and design, and follow in the footsteps of legendary filmmaker Orson Wells."

For more information about Berlin, please visit the Berlin Site.

For more information about Vienna, please visit the Vienna Site.