Since one year the Welcome Center offers a diverse culture program, which has been a great success in 2012. Last year we have been in Hamburg and Görlitz, discovered the beautiful castles above the Elbe river and visited the famous Sistine Madonna's birthday exhibition at the Zwinger, went to Pillnitz on a steam boat, had a guided tour around the Dresden airport and were hiking through the vineyards of Radebeul with wine tastings and wonderful sights on the autumn landscape.

The culture program is not only about getting to know Germany and the German culture, but also a great possibility to meet other international researchers and German scientists.

This is, what the participants think about the culture program:

"The excursion to the vineyard was really great experience. Not only did I learn more about Saxonian vine making history but I also met lots of international PhD students and young researchers. Still I am in contact up to date. Thanks a lot and I look forward to the next trip!" (Petr Máca, Czech Republic)

"Vielen, vielen Dank für Radebeul!!! Ich bin ganz fasziniert. Der Tag war super, er bleibt lange in Erinnerung. Das Welcome Center gibt immer eine Möglichkeit, Deutschlands Sehenswürdigkeiten kennenzulernen und neue Kontakte anzuknüpfen. Ich denke, allein hätte ich eine solche Wanderung nicht schaffen können. Das ist erlebte Landeskunde!" (Galina Denisova, Russia)

"We would like to thank you and your colleagues for your good programs for international researchers in 2012. Certainly this kinds of programs can help internationals to have good knowledge about Germany and its rich culture. In addition this programs could make a bridge between different people which come from different countries all over the world. Thank you again for all of your good program, help and support." (Jamshid Karami & Mahdi Montazerolghaem, Iran)

Due to the tough work load of our target group, the excursions take place on the weekends. One or two tutors from the Welcome Center staff join the tours, share their knowledge with the participants and take care, that everybody enjoys the program.

The program is supported by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) and therefore only open to PhD students and PostDocs. The participants do not pay more than 35% of the real price!

Coming events 2013:

Event	Date	Meeting-Point	Fee
Saxon court life at Moritzburg Castle and the fine art of Käthe Kollwitz Let´s get to know together what Saxon court life at Moritzburg Castle was like! For May we are planning to visit Moritzburg. There we are going to take a tour around the Moritzburg Castle, which was the hunting and pleasure castle of Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. He had built it just outside Dresden’s gates surrounded by a pond. There we will enjoy a pick nick (self-catering!) and the beautiful view. In the afternoon we would like to visit the Käthe-Kollwitz- Museum. Käthe Kollwitz is one of the most important German artists of the twentieth century, who created timeless art works. Käthe Kollwitz believed that art should reflect the social conditions of the time and during the 1920s she produced a series of works reflecting her concern with the themes of war, poverty and working class life. Moritzburg Castle	Saturday, 25th May	9.30 a.m. at the Train Station "Neustadt"	Euro 6,00
“La Bayadère” at the Semper Opera   The first Opera excursion in February was a success. We received many requests for a new visit to the Opera. That is why we organized a second Opera visit in summer. This time we have chosen the classical ballet production »La Bayadère« from Aaron Watkins, which is set in ancient India. This romantic story tells about love and jealousy between three main characters: the temple dancer Nikiya, her rival, the Rajahs daughter and Solor, a noble warrior loved by both women. We are looking forward to discover the outcome of this love triangle ballet with you! Semper Opera in Dresden	Thursday, 20th June	6.20 p.m. at the Main entrance of the Semperoper	Euro 6,00
Boat Tour from Königstein to Pirna with barbeque and guided tour in Pirna In June we invite you to enjoy the sun by taking a boot tour from Königstein to Pirna. There you will be able to practice your boot-navigating skills while enjoying the beautiful landscape along the Elbe River. You will observe the town Rathen and Wehlen and the Elbe Sandstone Mountains in the Saxon Switzerland from a different angle. To recharge energies we are going to take a break and have a pick nick (self-catering!). After the boat trip we will visit the city of Pirna. We are going to travel in time and learn which role water and the Elbe River had for the city, from its origin until the century flood in August 2002. Please note: Even if everybody will wear a life jacket, we can only accept participants, who are able to swim! Boat Tour to Pirna	Saturday, 22nd June	8.30 a.m. at the Main Train Station	Euro 11,00
Literature and architecture, democracy and the dark side of history in Weimar In July we would like to invite you to two cities: Weimar and Dessau. Weimar is located in the federal state of Thuringia (German: Thüringen) and is famous for its cultural heritage in Germany. It is most often recognized as the place where Germany's first democratic constitution was signed after the First World War. In Weimar we will take a guided tour to get to know the city and it’s famous inhabitants. In the afternoon we are going to visit the former camp grounds of Buchenwald Concentration Camp, which is a part of the history of the twentieth century. On the second day we will visit Dessau. This city is surrounded by numerous parks and palaces that rank it as one of the greenest towns in Germany. Here we will visit the well-known Bauhaus and the Workshop of Modernity, which portrays the relationships between education, art and architecture in the about 100 years ago. Afterwards we will see the former homes of the Bauhaus teachers and their ideal of modern living at that time. Then we are going to enjoy a tour in Wörlitz palace and garden of the Garden Kingdom of Dessau-​Wörlitz. We will finish with a gondola trip after which we can make a relaxing walk in the park and enjoy the landscape. The National Theatre in the Historical City Centre of Weimar	Saturday and Sunday 13rd and 14th July	7.45 a.m. at the Main Station, bus stop to Berlin on Bayerische Straße	Euro 40,00 (incl. bus transfer, overnight stay, breakfast, dinner and guided tours)

For a print version please click here.

Reservations for all excursions will be possible until 10 days before the excursion. Please write us as early as possible an e-mail to young.researchers(at)mailbox.tu-dresden.de with your name, status (enrolled PhD student/guest researcher) and e-mail address to register for the excursion, in which you’d like to participate. Who comes first, serves first!

Terms and Conditions of the Welcome Center cultural program

events, which have been organized in 2013:

Ballet evening at the Semper Opera
On February 10th we would like to inaugurate the cultural event´s program 2013 with a visit of the Opera in Dresden (Semperoper). There we will enjoy  “Les Ballets Russes – Reloaded”, an evening of four short old and new ballets, based on the famous “Ballet Russe” compositions. No ballet company so influenced the 20th-century intellectual world as did Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, with its signature conceptualization of dance, music and the fine arts as equal partners in a unified art form. Join us and be amazed about the famous Semper Ballet’s interpretation of these choreographies!

Day: 10.02.2013
Time: 19:30 p.m.
Cost: 7 Euro
Meeting Point: Main entrance of the Semperoper
(fully booked)

Guided tour on "National Socialism in Dresden"
For the second excursion on February 23rd we have planned a guided tour with the topic “National Socialism in Dresden”. Since this is an important topic for the city, we would like to give you an insight in the historical background of the events in February. After the tour we invite you for a fair trade coffee or tea and a delicious cake at the “Aha-Café” to discuss your impressions or just meet you again or get acquainted to new participants.

Day: 23.02.2013
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Cost: 5,50 Euro
Meeting Point: Altmarkt, main entrance of the Kreuzkirche
(fully booked)

Day trip to Freiberg
On March 16th  we would like to invite you to the city Freiberg. Its historic town centre has been placed under heritage conservation and is a chosen site for the proposed UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Ore Mountain Mining Region. Until 1969, the town was dominated for around 800 years by the mining and smelting industries. In recent decades it has restructured into a high technology site in the fields of semiconductor manufacture and solar technology, part of Silicon Saxony. We’re going to discover the historic city on a guided tour and visit the Mineralogical Collection Germany “Terra Mineralia”.

Day: 16.03.2013
Time: 9:30
Cost: 7 Euro
Meeting Point: Main Station Dresden
(fully booked)

Sorbian Culture and Stasi prison in Bautzen
We would like to invite you to Bautzen. This city is the center of the Upper Lusatia (Oberlausitz) and is the most important cultural center of the Sorbs, the smallest Slavic nation. Over 1000 years ago, Slavic people settled in parts of middle and northern Germany. Their descendants, the Sorbs, continue to inhabit the region of the Lausitz to this day and maintain their culture and language. That is why the signs and official publications in Bautzen are written in both, German and Sorbian-language. In this excursion we will visit the “Gedenkstätte Bautzen”, which in English means the Bautzen Memorial. The building of the former ‚Stasi prison‘ Bautzen II is now the site of this Memorial.
After that we are going to drink a coffee and have a dessert at the sorb restaurant Wjeblik. Afterwards we are going to take a guided tour to discover the city.

Day: 16th April 2013
Time: 9:30
Cost: 5 Euro
Meeting Point: Main Station Dresden

Contact:

Maike & Maria
E-Mail: young.researchers(at)mailbox.tu-dresden.de
Phone: 0351 463 34009