SOCIAL PROGRAM

 

 

Get-together events

All Congress participants and their accompanying persons are cordially invited to take part. Accompanying persons will receive admission tickets if they have been requested in the Registration Form.

Festive Congress Opening

Saturday, 23 August 2014, 19:30 - 22:00 h

Clarion Congress Hotel Prague,
Freyova 33, Prague,
Metro Station: Vysočanská, line B.
Opening addresses, musical performance and banquet.
Admission for participants and their accompanying persons is included in the registration fee.

Student‘s beer party

24 August 2014, 19:30 h

Novoměstský pivovar, Vodičkova 20, Prague 1

Come and taste great Czech beer! Three big beers per person are free for all students (incl. PhD students). If you want to join us, please pick up your beer vouchers at the registration desk.

How to get there: take metro line B from the hotel Clarion (Vysočanská station) to the station Můstek (exit to Jungmannovo náměstí), then follow the map.

Congress Concerts

25 August 2014, 20:00 h

Smetana Hall of the Municipal House (Obecní Dům), Metro Station: Náměstí republiky, line B.
Prague Symphony Orchestra (FOK).

Program
A. Dvorak: In Nature's Realm
F. Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Violin Concert
A. Dvorak: Symfony No. 6

Violin: Roman Patocka
Conductor: Petr Altrichter

Congress Party U Fleků

26 August 2014, 20-23 h
Price: 50 EUR/person
Congress party with buffet dinner and a lot of Czech beer will take place at the famous Czech brewery U Fleků (http://www.ufleku.cz/en/)

TRIPS AND SIGHTSEEINGS

Trips - overview
Saturday, 23 August 2014
14:00-17:00	Great Prague Sightseeing
Sunday, 24 August 2014
8:30-18:00	Kutná Hora and Popovice
9:00-12:00	Great Prague Sightseeing
19:00-23:00	River Cruise
Monday, 25 August 2014
8:30-18:00	Karlovy Vary
9:00-12:00	Great Prague Sightseeing
Tuesday, 26 August 2014
8:30-18:00	Český Krumlov
9:00-13:00	Konopiště Castle
14:00-17:00	Great Prague Sightseeing
Wednesday, 27 August 2014
9:00 -17:00	Pilsner Brewery - West Bohemia Tour
9:00-13:00	Karlštejn Castle

Great Prague Sightseeing tour

(glass of famous Czech beer is included)

Saturday, 23 August 2014, 14:00-17:00

Price 35,- EUR

To take a tour of Prague is simply a MUST. Tour is composed to show you the most beautiful places of Prague in 3 hours, so we combined walking parts with minibus drives.

Pick up is at your hotel and the tour is terminated at the Old Town Square, where you can decide if you want to stay in city center or to be taken back to your hotel.

The first discovered area will be Hradčany - Prague Castle with it’s courtyards and the dominant St.Vitus Cathedral. As this is pedestrian zone, do not forget to take comfortable shoes. To give you some rest, the next part is drive by minibus through the historical city quarters like Old Town, New Town and Lesser Town, where starts the second walk across the famous Middle Age bridge - 1357 Charles Bridge. This bridge will lead you to Old Town with amazing Old Town Square, Jewish Town with fairy tale little narrow streets.

In the summer the body needs much more liquids so typical big Czech beer is included!

(For those who prefer wine, we can offer excellent Moravian wines)

Kutná Hora and Brewery Tour of Velké Popovice

Sunday, 24 August 2014, 8:30-18:00
Price 80,- EUR

Feel the Silver Rush + Taste famous Czech beer + Enjoy scary bone chapel, entrance fees with tasting, lunch, guide and transport included

If you can, do not miss this very exceptional tour, where you will feel like a real silver miner in a beautiful historical town of Kutná Hora where 30% of all European silver was produced.

But first of all you will be taken to breath taking church - Kostnice, where walls and all chapels are filled with human bones as a symbol of life and death. Then the doors of the second greatest cathedral of Bohemia will welcome you to present the amazing architecture of middle ages in St. Barbara’s Cathedral. Tour will continue to real Silver Mine - Hrádek - a small castle - which was originally a wooden fort defending the town, later rebuilt as a place to live in. It was owned by many owners and it has a spectacular gothic appearance. You will also see the exposition of the history of the town and get to know something about the local rich people and you can see samples of all ores that have been mined there, afterwards we will dress you into special mining wear - same as in the 16th Century, and together we will explore silver mine route.

As a cherry on the top of the cake you will be guided through very famous brewery of Velké Popovice ... of course with beer tasting.

 

River Cruise

Sunday, 24 August 2014, 19 - 23 h.

Price: 55 EUR (includes: transport to the boat and back, buffet dinner with music, English speaking guide)

River cruise on the Vltava River with night views of Prague from a steamer board. Buffet dinner with music.

Come and spend a few hours of your evening on one of the most popular tours in Prague! That certainly is an exciting voyage aboard a huge party boat on the historical Vltava River. Enjoy a buffet style dinner featuring a variety of Czech cuisine as well as a welcome drink. The boat offers a wide variety of drinks including Czech pilsner and Pilsner Urquell.

From the boat deck enjoy the breathtaking views of this magical city all lit up. Cruise on the Vltava River for a couple of hours as you have fun with your friends while socializing with other tourists from around the world. Travel underneath the ancient Charles Bridge; get an unbelievable look at the National Theatre and of course the unforgettable view of the historic Prague castle. All this while having a guide with you telling you stories and hidden mysteries and answering any of your questions.

Seeing Prague from a river boat will allow you to experience a completely new aspect of Prague that you can only experience while being on aboard of one of the river boats.

The atmosphere on the boat is electric as everyone on the boat is in the same situation. Everyone wants to have an unbelievable time, and you definitely will as you meet people from all over the world. Come take the voyage that you will be talking about for years to come. Take the river boat cruise and be prepared to have the time of your life.

Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad)

Monday, 25 August 2014, 8:30 - 18:30
Price 80,- EUR

Special Spa water porcelain cup, entrance to famous Moser Glass factory + Becherovka liqueur factory with tasting, lunch, guide and transportation included.

The tradition of Czech spas is an inseparable part of the European cultural heritage. Spend the day in the largest, second oldest and most celebrated spa and wellness resort in the Czech Republic. Karlovy Vary was founded in 1358 by Charles IV, Czech King and Roman Emperor, and reached town status in 1370.

After the decline during the Thirty year war, a boom in the bath industry occurred. Over the years the town flourished, with many important historical personalities making it their regular seasonal retreat. The fame of Karlovy Vary has spread throughout the world thanks to its 12 hot healing springs used for treating digestive disorders, with the strongest hot spring rising from a depth of 2000-3000 meters.

As you will see the Architecture was strongly influenced by historicism and the coming Secession Style from the end of the 19th century. The majestic streets and spa colonnades are surrounded by a romantic, mountainous landscape; intersected by many kilometres of forest paths, with stupendous views of the spa valley. You will have the opportunity to stroll along the colonnades with the possibility of tasting the mineral water directly from the spring fountains using the famous porcelain cups specially manufactures for use at the springs.

Since 1946, Karlovy Vary has also hosted one of the most important cultural events in the world, the International Film Festival. It also stakes its fame for being the producer of the world known Moser crystal glass. You will have the chance to see exactly how this beautiful hand made glass was manufactured during a visit of the Moser museum.

Karlovy Vary has also enjoyed fame for over two centuries as the producer of the Karlovarská Becherovka liqueur factory, the popular Mattoni mineral water and the original Karlovy Vary wafers. Visit of Becherovka museum is a very nice experience, where the tour it terminated by great tasting of 3 famous Becherovka liqueurs.

It is a tradition that you can not visit the Czech Republic without taking a day to sit back, relax and enjoy what Karlovy Vary has to offer.

The founding and development of Karlovy Vary has always been inseparably connected with the soothing curative effect of its warm mineral springs. The springs have fascinated and stimulated people since the 14th century including Charles the 4th, a Czech King and Emperor of the Roman and German Empire.

Český Krumlov

Tuesday, 26 August 2014, 8:00-18:00
Price 80 EUR

Come and spend the day at the second largest castle in Bohemia, located in one of the most visited cities in the Czech Republic. The Castle and the town Český Krumlov were founded in the 13th century by the nobility of Český Krumlov. The Castle itself rests on a steep rocky hill above the Vltava River, the same river passing through Prague.

In 1302 the Rosenberg family took the castle over and made it their main residential palace. During the era of Rosenberg, the huge gothic castle was rebuilt into a modern Renaissance residence. You will take a well guided tour through the town of Český Krumlov where you will witness the astonishing buildings and monuments that date back to the 16th and 17th century. Due to these well preserved architectural treasures Český Krumlov is listed as an UNESCO world heritage site. On your tour you will walk through the interior of this historic castle and witness a huge collection of priceless artefacts. While walking around the castle garden you will get a chance to see the large Baroque theatre with its original furnishings and fixtures. Český Krumlov is one of those places you can not describe unless you visit them. Picture yourself in a fairy tale setting as you walk through the castle streets. Come to Český Krumlov and witness what people around the world are talking about.

Konopiště Castle

Tuesday, 26 August 2014, 8:00-18:00
Price 40 EUR

This four hours tour takes you 50 km south of Prague to Konopiště chateau, which was founded by the Benesovec family in the forested region of the valley of the river Sázava in 1300. It is a mature sample of the type of medieval fortification architecture represented by the French conception of the castle. Seven stunning round towers lined the periphery of the fortification walls.

In 1887 the successor to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Frantisek Ferdinand d’Este, became the owner of Konopiště and between 1889 and 1894 he extensively restored the manor, this work having been connected with transformations into gothic forms.

Konopiště keeps extraordinary rich collections of artistic as well as arts and crafts articles covering the Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and also modern periods, all of them being of the widest variety. Just a sample of this collection would make Konopiště one of the most interesting manors in all of central Europe.

Ferdinand d’Este was a passionate collector of hunting trophies, historical weapons, paintings, furnishings, china and a wide variety of statues, which you will be able to witness for yourself. Konopiště finds itself in the middle of an astonishing park with a rose garden founded by Ferdinand d’Este himself. Entrance fee included.

The Archduke had the famous D’Este Armoury moved to Konopiště from his modern inheritance; this armoury belongs among the most interesting in Europe. The collection of the church antiquities, relating to the cult of St. George, the patron of knights, is also unique.

The representative halls on the first floor belong, as do the interiors, among the best. The reception hall and pillared hall, for example, both contain extraordinary valuable Italian cabinets from the 17th century, the big dinning room with a ceiling painting by F.J. Lux from the middle of the 18th century, and the manor chapel with beautiful decorated vaults. The manor passages are decorated with sundry hunting trophies.

People from all over the world come to visit this astonishing Castle. Come and see what people have been talking about for centuries, come and visit the Konopiště Castle.

West Bohemia Golden tour  - Sparkling Wine & Pilsner Beer tasting

Wednesday, 27 August 2014, 9:00 - 17:00
Price 70,-  EUR (2 x excursion + 2x degustation, lunch, guide, transport included)

This is a designed tour for life lovers. Czech republic doesn’t offer only historical monuments and castles. We are also proud of our products like world famous Pilsner beer of great producer of sparkling wines Starý Plzenec dated since 1871.

Here you will start really great tour through production of sparkling wines terminated by degustation.

Lunchtime will lead us to a typical Bohemian restaurant for local cuisine and when you once get to Western Bohemia, it is a must to visit world famous museum of Pilsner Beer.

Excursion takes cca 100 min and you can be sure the degustation is part of it.

We also did not to forget to count with some free time for shopping and exploring.

This seems to be like a great day, what do you think?

Karlštejn Castle

Wednesday, 27 August 2014, 9:00 - 13:00
Price 40,-  EUR

Only 39 km southwest of Prague lies the 2nd most visited monument in the Czech Republic, Karlštejn Castle. The gothic Castle was built between 1348 and 1357 by Emperor Charles the 4th as a treasury for the imperial, and later also the Czech crown jewels and sacred relics. Between 1520 and 1530 the burg raves residence was built between the walls. In the period 1587 and 1596 the castle was reconstructed in the renaissance style by architect Ullrico Aostalli. The Castle interiors have preserved the church of the Virgin Mary and St. Catherine chapel which have very unique paintings of the famous Charles the 4th.

The Highlights of the castle architecture is the Chapel of holy rood located in the tower. The chapel features 129 gothic paintings from the workshop of Master Theodoric's, a gothic gallery of international importance, for this reason Karlšteijn Castle was nominated for entry into the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage. Spend the afternoon exploring this medieval treasure.

Karlštejn impresses upon everybody with its stately manor and the same mood is felt by its visitors by its interior, adjusted as close as possible to the original medieval appearance. It is possible along the tour route to behold not only the architecture which is very valuable from a historical view point, but also the furnishings.

The unique collection of 129 gothic paintings represents "the entire army of heavens” ideal or approximate portraits of the saints, holy popes, and bishops, the knights of the Theban league, holy rulers and church teachers. These works were designed and predominantly painted by master Theodorik "the royal court painter” of Charles the 4th.

Social program booking, cancellations and refunds

The social program can be ordered by using the services booking form in your user pages. After filling in the form, the invoice for the services will be immediately generated for you at the menu of your user pages under Review of invoices. Please follow the payment instructions given there. In case of cancellation of the already paid social program the refund will be made on site with a deduction of 20 %. No refund will be made if cancelled after 31 July 2012. After this date the ordered events that have not been paid in the due date will be cancelled. However, it would be possible to purchase these events in the Congress office if tickets are still available.

Dresden (Germany)

Monday 25 August 2014, 8:30-18:00
Price 90 EUR

Bus trip to Dresden. Dresden has a long history as the capital and royal residence for the Electors and Kings of Saxony, who for centuries furnished the city with cultural and artistic splendor. The city was known as the Jewel Box, because of its baroque and rococo city center. The controversial British and American bombing of Dresden in World War II towards the end of the war killed approximately 25,000, many of whom were civilians, and destroyed the entire city center. The bombing gutted the city, as it did for other major German cities. After the war restoration work has helped to reconstruct parts of the historic inner city, including the Katholische Hofkirche, the Semper Oper and the Dresdener Frauenkirche as well as the suburbs.
You will see restored historical city center and you will also time for shopping.

Škoda Mladá Boleslav

Tuesday 26 August 2014, 13:00 - 18:30
Price 40 EUR

You will visit a museum of Škoda cars and also the factory of Škoda cars.
In 1895, Václav Klement and Václav Laurin founded their business here in Mladá Boleslav. This makes Škoda one of the oldest and most traditionrich automobile brands in the world. Škoda Muzeum brings the past to life in an authentic place, namely the former production halls, where cars were made as late as in 1928. Immediately adjacent, the company’s largest and most modern plant continues this history, churning out new ŠKODAs day after day.