Tentative Itinerary
We will spend an average of 4 days per country with a very active and hands-on learning experience. Our objective is to gain an understanding of the socio-economic forces at play in the last decades of communism, how change unfolded in each country, and what the short and long-term effects have been. We will meet with those who experienced this period firsthand to learn about discontent, hopes, and dreams - and how they were expressed through art and music.
Days 1-4: Berlin, Germany
- Walking tour (Brandenburger Gate, Reichstag, Under den Linden, Museum Island)
- "Everyday Life in GDR" museum at Kulturbrauerei
- Bus tour of East Berlin: Soviet/Communist sites such as the Soviet Memorial in Treptower Park, former "Stalin Road" (now Karl-Marx-Allee), location of the signing of the final unconditional surrender of Germany, ending WWII.
- Visit either a former Stasi Prison with a former prisoner or the former Stasi Headquarters for a guided tour.
- Visit Potsdam, the Cecilienhof (where in 1945 the "Big Three" Conference decided the fate of Germany, see the Glienicke Bridge (the Bridge of Spies), and then either the Allied Museum or the museum at Checkpoint Charlie.
Day 5: Train to Warsaw
Days 6-8: Warsaw and Gdansk, Poland
- Walk around the Old Town (Warsaw)
- Lecture: The Cold War, Radio Free Europe
- Bus tour: History of Communism in Warsaw
- Day trip to Gdansk, visit to Solidarity Museum
- Lecture: The Student Generation, Student Movements
- Warsaw Rising Museum
Day 9: Flight to Prague
Days 10-12: Prague, Czech Republic
- Vaclav Havel and the Velvet Revolution Tour, visit to Cold War Museum
- Alternative Prague Tour
- Discussion/lecture: Influence of art/music; Plastic People of Universe
- Graffiti Workshop
Day 13: Flight to Kyiv
Days 14-17: Kyiv, Ukraine
- Lecture: Later history of the USSR - Afghan War, perestroika, Gorbachev era, nationalist movements
- WWII Museum
- Day trip to Chernobyl
- Lecture/Discussions: Soviet Propoganda; Social, political, and economic forces at play
- Lecture/Discussion: Political history of Ukraine - 1991 to the present
- Tour of Maidan with one of the participants
Day 18: Flight to Tbilisi
Days 19-21: Tbilisi, Georgia
- National History Museum, Soviet Occupation Museum
- Tbilisi walking tour, events of 1989
- Lunch discussion: The Role of Ethnic Diversity in the Caucasus
- Influence of Western pop culture in the USSR (informal gathering of artists/musicians)
- Day trip to Kazbegi (mountains)
- Lecture: Political History of Indepdendent Georgia
Day 21: Travel by train to Batumi
Day 22-23: Batumi, Georgia
- Visit to Gonio Fortress (built by Romans in 1st century AD)
- Visit to Turkish border, open air lecture on religious diversity in the region
- Cooking class (Adjarian khatchapuri)
- Farewell dinner with Georgian music
Day 24: Departure (from Kutaisi)