1. HARBOUR VIEW HIGH SCHOOL
12 DAY PERFORMING TOUR TO EUROPE
JUNE 25 – JULY 6, 2013
Preliminary Itinerary – September 17, 2012
Note: It is the responsibility of all participants to be in possession of
the correct documentation to travel out of the country. Failure to do so
will result in participants being denied entry/boarding and returned
home at the expense of the individual.
Canadian Citizens require a valid passport (the Canadian
Government recommends that passports are valid at least 6 months
beyond your return date).
Groups are advised to obtain notarized letters of consent for persons
under 18 years of age.
Non-Canadians must check entry and transit requirements.
Please notify the group leader at time of booking if you will be
traveling with a passport from another country so we can
check requirements and advise you accordingly.

2. Day 1 – Tuesday, June 25 to FRANKFURT, Germany
- a coach arrives at Harbour View High School for loading of luggage
- board the coach and transfer to Halifax Airport
- check in with Condor for your trans-Atlantic flight
- depart on Condor flight 2063 to Frankfurt
- dinner will be served at the discretion of the airline

3. Day 2 – Wednesday, June 26 to LEIPZIG B/D
- breakfast is served before landing
- arrive at Frankfurt Airport – clear customs and claim your luggage
- meet your motor coach and driver who will be with you for the entire trip
- board your coach and depart for Erfurt – The Capital City of Thuringia –
Germany’s Green Belt (estimated drive time is 30 minutes) - its’ earliest historic
records date from AD 729 and the city’s cultural, intellectual and economic dominance
drew great personalities such as Martin Luther, Goethe, Schiller, Bach (his parents
were married in the Kaufmannskirche), Czar Alexander of Russia and Napoleon
- meet your professional English speaking guide for a walking tour
of Erfurt – highlights of the tour may include Dom St. Marien, the Fischmarkt, the
Kramerbrucke (the merchant bridge which spans the River Gera), the Anger (the
market square and Erfurt’s main shopping street), and the Augustinerkloster (in the
neighbouring monastery, can be found the reconstructed cell where Martin Luther lived
as a monk)
- time to purchase lunch and explore the town in your chaperoned groups
continue on to Leipzig
- check into your accommodation for a 2 night stay
- dinner at the hotel

9. Day 3 – Thursday, June 27 LEIPZIG B/D
- breakfast at your accommodation
- board your coach and depart for St. Thomas Church
(Thomaskirche) where you will meet your guides at the Bach Memorial
- divide into 2 groups and begin your 2 hour walking tour of
Leipzig
- Johann Sebastian Bach was Leipzig's musical director –
director ‘musices lipsiensis’ – and choirmaster of the St Thomas' Boys
Choir between 1723 and 1750. The city has dedicated itself to maintaining
Bach's heritage with the Bach Archives, the Bach Museum, the St
Thomas' Boys Choir, and the Gewandhaus Orchestra.
- your tour will include a visit to St. Thomas Church where J.S.
Bach produced music for 27 years. J.S. Bach is perhaps the most
important musician and composer of all time. He advanced the concepts
of tonal harmony that would become the foundation for musical structure
and design to this day. His vast collection of works has been performed
by choirs, orchestras, pianists and organists worldwide for three centuries.
Bach’s musical intelligence lead him to further refine the equal tempered
tuning system. This concept made it possible for keyboard instruments to
be played in all 12 major and minor keys. He wrote many etudes and
fugues in all 12 keys for his students to study and learn.
- “a Capella” performance featuring the Harbour View
Choral Ensemble

10. your tours will conclude with time to purchase lunch in your chaperoned groups
- meet outside the Bach Museum where you will have a guided tour
- following the tour there is time for independent exploration
in the museum
- board your coach at a predetermined location and depart for Alumnat
Saint Thomas School
- meet your hosts and begin your guided tour of the Alumnat
- The Thomanerchor (St. Thomas' Choir) is a shared living and
learning experience of nearly 100 boys between the ages of 10 and 18.
The major focus of the choir is with the works of Johann Sebastian Bach.
It is believed that no other choir specializes to such an extent on one single
composer. Established 780 years ago, the Thomanerchor is the oldest cultural
institution of the city of Leipzig.
- exchange of performances (2 songs each)
- dinner at your hotel
- retire to your rooms for the evening

12. Day 4 – Friday, June 28 to ESSEN B/D
- breakfast at your accommodation followed by check out
- board the coach and depart for Essen
- a stop will be made in Kassel – this area was rebuilt
after WWII with new buildings to give a clean break from the past
- continue to Essen
- Essen began with a Benedictine monastery that was
built in 850 A.D. - As the city grew, it eventually became, during
the Industrial Revolution, an important center of mining and iron
and steel production.
- check in at your accommodation for a 2 night stay
- dinner at the hotel
- transfer to a local church to prepare for your concert
- performance by Harbour View High School Choral
Ensemble

15. Day 5 – Saturday, June 29 COLOGNE/ESSEN B/D
- breakfast at your accommodation
- board the coach for a day trip to Cologne, Germany
- upon arrival in Cologne prepare for your performance at
the Cologne Cathedral
- performance by Harbour View Choral Ensemble
(sing 1 or 2 songs)
•Cologne Cathedral is the heart of the city – 144 metres long, 86
metres wide and with spires 157 metres tall
•following the performance there is time to explore the cathedral
and stroll the market area in your chaperoned groups
•purchase lunch in your chaperoned groups
- board the coach and return to Essen
- visit the Zollverein Coal Mine - a UNESCO World
Heritage site that preserves the story of the evolution and decline
of coal mining before and since the Industrial Revolution
- return to the hotel to freshen up before dinner
- dinner at a nearby restaurant

19. Day 6 – Sunday, June 30 to UTRECHT, HollandB/D
- breakfast at your accommodation followed by check out
- board the coach and depart for Nijmegen and Groesbeek site of
the Canadian War Cemetery - the final resting place for 2,338 Canadian
soldiers, many who became casualties during the battle for the Rhineland…
they were transferred here by order of General Crerar who decreed that no
Canadian casualties of World War II were to be buried on German soil
. - there will be time in Nijmegen to purchase lunch in your
chaperoned groups
- board the coach and continue to Utrecht
- check in at your accommodation for a 2 night stay
- dinner at the hotel or a nearby restaurant

21. Day 7 – Monday, July 1 AMSTERDAM/UTRECHTB/D
- breakfast at your accommodation
- board your coach and depart for Amsterdam
- arrive in Amsterdam’s Jordaan District at The Anne Frank House
…the hiding place in "The Annex" that Otto Frank found for his family,
the van Pels family, and Fritz Pfeffer, which kept them safe until tragically close
to the end of the war, when it was raided by Nazi forces and its occupants
deported to concentration camps (due to the size of your group, 2 consecutive
entrance times have been booked)
- noon time concert performance by Harbour View Choral Ensemble
- time to purchase lunch and explore in chaperoned groups
- meet at the Rederij Lovers Boat Pier located in front of Amsterdam’s
Central Station
- arrive at the Lover’s Boat Cruise Pier in time to board your canal boat
- depart on your 60 minute illuminated cruise tour of Amsterdam’s
Canals
(the center of Amsterdam features many interesting buildings, canal-side
houses and attractions which at night are beautifully lit) – enjoy the evening
- at the conclusion of the cruise make your way to dinner
- group dinner at Humphrey’s restaurant (or similar)
- board the coach and return to Utrecht

22. Day 8 – Tuesday, July 2 to ANTWERP, Belgium B/D
- breakfast at your accommodation followed by check out
- board the coach and depart for Antwerp
- a stop will be made at Delta Works – one of the Seven Wonders of
the Modern World
- Delta Works is a series of construction projects to protect a large
area of land around the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta from the sea – finished in
1997 after almost 50 years of construction
- mid afternoon departure for Antwerp
- late afternoon arrival in Antwerp
- check in at your accommodation for a 2 night stay
- dinner is included at a nearby restaurant
- meet professional step on guides in front of the hotel for a walking
tour of Belgium’s second city which combines high fashion with a medieval Old
Town and a vibrant nightlife scene

25. Day 9 – Wednesday, July 3 Vimy and Beaumont Hamel, France
B/D
-breakfast at your accommodation
-board your coach and depart Antwerp heading south for northern France
-midmorning arrival in Vimy and Vimy National Memorial Park a site that
needs no introduction to Canadians, where it has often been accurately said
that Canada became a nation…enjoy a guided tour of the trenches and
tunnels (tentative to confirmation)
- informal midday “a Capella” performance featuring the
Harbour View Choral Ensemble at the base of the beautiful Vimy Memorial
- view the exhibits in the Visitor’s Centre
- The Battle of Vimy Ridge has become one of the most significant
moments in Canadian military history and marks the first time that the
Canadian Corps went into battle as a national unit. On that day, at great
cost, the Canadian forces achieved the biggest single advance on the
Western Front during World War I, and won back the high ground from the
Kaiser’s Troops, which had previously been unobtainable to the British and
the French Forces

28. - board the coach and depart for Beaumont Hamel
- a stop will be made to purchase lunch (suggest Arras)
- continue on to the Newfoundland Memorial
- on arrival the choir will sing a few songs of remembrance
- begin a guided tour
- board your coach and return to Antewerp
- dinner at the hotel or a nearby restaurant

29. Day 10 – Thursday, July 4 to KOBLENZ, Germany B/D
- breakfast at your accommodation followed by check out
- board the coach and travel to Brussels
- on arrival you will meet your English speaking guide for an
overview of the city with small town charm
- there will be time to explore and purchase lunch in your
chaperoned groups
- board the coach and continue to Koblenz
- check in at your accommodation for a 2 night stay
- dinner at the hotel or a nearby restaurant
Day 11 – Friday, July 5 KOBLENZ B/D
- breakfast at your accommodation
- today you will enjoy a cruise on the Rhine River
- possible performance
- farewell dinner

30. Day 12 – Saturday, July 6 HOME B
- breakfast at the hotel followed by check out
- load the coach and transfer to Frankfurt Airport
- on arrival check in with Condor for your flight back to Canada
- depart on Condor flight 6062 for Halifax
- set your watches to local time before landing
- arrive in Halifax where you will clear customs and claim your
luggage
- meet your coach for transfer to Saint John
- arrive at Harbour View High School
- welcome home