Germany Trip 2019

 

THE FOLLOWING ITINERARY IS FROM A PAST SOCIETY TRIP, AND IS PRESENTED FOR INTEREST ONLY, TO ILLUSTRATE THE TYPE OF TRIP THAT THE SOCIETY ORGANISES OUTSIDE THE UNITED KINGDOM

 

Sunday 26th May to Saturday 1st June 2019

 

 

 

a celebration of F. W. Murnau’s 1922 silent classic

 

This six night trip, based in Hamburg and Berlin, takes in film locations in the northern medieval ports of Lübeck and Wismar, Babelsberg Film Studios outside Berlin (the oldest large-scale film studio in the world), and the cemeteries in Potsdam where Murnau and Max Schreck are buried.

 

Itinerary:

 

Day 1 (Sunday 26th May): Group gathering for evening meal.

 

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Day 2 (Monday 27th May): Wismar

 

We travel by train (approx. 2hr 10mins) to begin our tour in the medieval Hanseatic port of Wismar (Wisborg in Nosferatu). It is here that the film opens with a shot of the market square from the tower of St-Marien-Kirche. We can follow in the footsteps of Count Orlok and walk from the harbour through the gate tower.

 

 

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Day 3 (Tuesday 28th May): Lübeck

 

We make the short train journey (45 mins.) to the medieval port of Lübeck where many of the street scenes in Nosferatu were filmed. We can still see the houses where the characters of Hutter and Harding lived, and the now renovated Salzspeicher, which served as Count Orlok’s new Wisborg residence.

 

Day 4 (Wednesday 29th May): Berlin

 

Departing Hamburg we travel by train to Berlin (1 hr 40 mins). Having checked into our hotel in the afternoon we will visit the Berlin Film Museum in Potsdamer Platz.

 

Day 5 (Thursday 30th May): Babelsberg

 

We will visit the Babelsberg Filmpark (formerly UFA film studios) where many silent classics were filmed, including Murnau’s The Last Laugh (1924) and Fritz Lang’s Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler (1922) and Metropolis (1927).

The film park has a number of attractions including a train ride around the back lot of the working studio.

 

Day 6 (Friday 31st May): Potsdam

 

In the morning we will visit the wooded cemeteries to visit the graves of F. W. Murnau and Max Schreck.

The afternoon will be at leisure to explore the scenic parks and palaces of Potsdam.

 

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Flights and Accommodation

 

Travellers will need to book their own flights (there are a number of options to Hamburg and back from Berlin from several UK airports). As the trip includes the Bank Holiday weekend it is advisable that travellers book these flights as soon as possible to secure the best value. (Budget flights from London Gatwick to Hamburg, returning from Berlin, are now available from Easyjet).

 

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In Hamburg, accommodation has been reserved at the Novum Hotel Kronprinz Hamburg (www.novum-hotels.com/en/hotel-kronprinz-hamburg) just across the road from the main central railway station.

Prices will range from c. £85 per night for single occupancy to £110 for a twin/double. (Breakfast is included.)

 

In Berlin, we have booked rooms at the 4* NH Berlin Kurfürstendamm Hotel (www.nh-hotels.com/Berlin/Kurfürstendamm) in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf area, with easy access to Tegel airport and the S-Bahn to Potsdam.

Current prices are around £83 per night room only, but there are many cafés and restaurants nearby for breakfast.

 

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Fly back to the top!

It will be possible to book additional nights of accommodation in our hotels in both Hamburg and Berlin to see more of these cities, but the minimum stay is three nights in each.

Please inform us as soon as you’ve decided upon your length of stay. (We are very happy to book flights for people if they’d like us to do so!)

The "Deutsche Bahn" rail system is efficient and prices are very reasonable, often with group or regional discounts. The cost of our three days of rail journeys should total less than 50 euros per person.