Dates: September 1 - 10, 2010
Leader: David Muse
Location: Bavaria, Germany
Cost: $3495
About the Workshop
Our workshop will wind its way along the Romantic Road, through the German State of Bavaria south to Reutte, Austria and the mountainous Lech River Valley. Over a 10-day period we will wander this historic trade route, part of which dates back to ancient Roman times, and photograph charming medieval towns and villages, folk festivals featuring authentic period costumes, fairytale castles, mountain vistas and alpine meadows.
During the ten years I lived in Germany, I returned over and over again to the Romantic Road locations. I look forward to showing you where to find the best images and how to create them. Not only have I selected the very best sights, but September is a wondrous time to visit Germany. Skies are sunny, and temperatures are mild. The countryside is green and rolling. Towns large and small put on a variety of folk festivals. Windows and balconies still overflow with bright red geraniums and other colorful flowers. And, there are fewer tourists.
Bavaria has been a favorite tourist destination for hundreds of years, and the Bavarians know how to provide quality service. They even have a word for it … Gemuetlichkeit which means a “warm, friendly, convivial, welcoming atmosphere.”
Join us on this photo tour of classic Old World Germany, and you will gather delightful memories and create wonderful images which you will cherish and enjoy for the rest of your lifetime.
Gallery
Germany's Romantic Road Workshop from Jeff Wendorff on Vimeo.
>Included in the Workshop
The workshop fee includes 10 days of workshop instruction, ground transportation, accommodations in 3-star hotels, most breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners and, of course, awesome photo opportunities
Needless to say, your fees include the professional instruction of a PAW leader. While all workshops have leaders, a PAW leader is an expert on the location and has proven skills as a workshop instructor. Our instructors are there to help you make better images and fill your portfolios, not theirs. PAW leaders don’t photograph on our workshops, they teach.
The workshop fee does not include international airfare, most lunches or dinners, gratuities for local tour guides, entrance fees, or beverages at any meal.
This workshop will allow a maximum of 10 participants. To make sure that everyone gets the help and attention they deserve, we include a qualified assistant on all full workshops. A minimum of 6 participants are required for this workshop.
PAW workshops: the best leaders, locations, and instruction.
Transportation and Lodging
Generally, flights from the eastern United States arrive early in the morning at Munich’s International Airport. We ask that workshop participants arrange their flights to arrive by 8am Munich time. I will gather our group together at the airport, and we will travel the rest of the tour via spacious mini-bus or van. Isn’t it great that you can relax and sightsee while someone else does all the driving?
We have pre-booked rooms in 3-star hotels in our three hub cities: Dinkelsbuehl, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and Reutte, Austria (just across the border from Fuessen).
Rooms are based on double-occupancy, and each room has a shower + WC. Please contact PAW about availability of a single room.
Schedule
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Depart the United States
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Arrive at Munich International Airport. Willkommen in Deutschland! Welcome to Germany!
Our group convenes at the airport, boards our mini-bus and departs at 9am for the drive to the medieval town of Dinkelsbuehl, the first stop on our tour and an excellent introduction to the Romantic Road. Over lunch we review our workshop program, cover tips about travel in Germany, and answer any questions that may arise. We spend the rest of the day exploring and photographing Dinkelsbuehl’s market square and cobblestone street scenes, half-timbered houses and other intriguing architecture, and its protective city wall and moat. Its historic city gates and towers are especially photogenic in the evening.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
We have time before and after breakfast to capture early morning light on Dinkelsbuehl.
Late in the morning we board our transportation for the short drive to the delightfully charming town Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where we will spend 5 days/4 nights. Rothenburg sits on a rocky ledge overlooking the Tauber River, thus its name Rothenburg above the Tauber. The centuries-old city wall and ramparts still surround the Gothic churches, the gabled and half-timbered houses, and the narrow cobblestone streets. When you pass through any of the city’s towering gates, you feel transported back to the sixteenth century.
From all along and around the ramparts there are awesome early morning photo ops looking over the rooftops. Street scenes abound during the early morning and late afternoon. Twilight offers equally spectacular views of the illuminated town gates and the hilltop city skyline. Walking trails down through the hillside vineyards and further into the Tauber valley offer views back up the hill to Rothenburg. There are restaurants galore. My wife has reminded me to suggest you leave ample room in your suitcase because there are plenty of opportunities for shopping.
After a leisurely lunch, we take a walking tour through this walled town and then settle into our hotel. The light from late afternoon through evening twilight paints memorable images throughout Rothenburg, and we plan to capture them.
Friday-Sunday, September 3-5, 2010
I have timed our photo tour to coincide with the spectacular Imperial City Festival or Reichsstadtfesttage. This three-day festival commemorates the Free Imperial City status granted to Rothenburg in 1274. Thousands of local citizens and regional inhabitants are members of the various historical groups that perform here over the weekend. Each group represents a specific historical period or a profession of bygone days and features authentic period costumes. Be prepared to meet knights from 1274, a riflemen’s guild, Renaissance pipers, peasants, Swedish troops from the Thirty Years War, Parisian artists, to name but a few. In addition to the performances by these historical groups, the other highlights are the spectacular fireworks and the famous Shepherds Dance or Schaeffertanz.
Key events we photograph are the impressive torch-light parade of the period costume groups on Friday evening, the spectacular fireworks that inflame the city on Saturday evening, and the Shepherds’ Dance on Sunday afternoon
Actual weather conditions and the festival’s activity schedule determine our daily itinerary. We are out and about each day to capture images of the stunning architecture and street scenes this medieval city has to offer. There are well over 20 towers and fortified gates, ramparts that stretch for 1.5 miles, age-old fountains, half-timbered houses, gabled roofs, flowers overflowing from balconies and window-boxes, historical buildings, a stunning Gothic church, quaint characters, performances by the historical groups, and lots of Old World charm to keep us busy. We take advantage of the driving restrictions enforced during the festival to capture vehicle-free street scenes. Without the usual large number of cars your images will have a more medieval look and feel to them. And, most of the city’s gates and towers are illuminated at night, so we have ample opportunity to take advantage of evening twilight.
Expect the unexpected as we tour these historic cobblestone streets. We could encounter knightly fire-breathers on one corner, a 19th century hurdy-gurdy group around the next twist in the road, or peasants serving delicious soup one block over. And, speaking of the unexpected, we have made arrangements for several special photo opportunities. For now, they will remain a surprise.
Monday-Thursday, September 6-9, 2010
After breakfast and a final photo excursion through Rothenburg on Monday morning September 6th, we end our delightful days in the medieval era and move several centuries forward in time. We drive along the Autobahn, Germany’s famous super-highway, through southern Bavaria to our hotel in Reutte, Austria … just across the border from Fuessen, Germany. Be prepared for the first view of the Alps from along the Autobahn. As we enter the Allgaeu region of Bavaria the Alps suddenly spring up majestically along the horizon.
The sights and delights in southern Bavaria and the Lech River Valley in Austria are many and wondrous, and we spend 4 days enjoying them. Here we glimpse fairytale castles clinging to towering crags, thrill to stunning views of mountains reflected in crystal-clear lakes, immerse ourselves in the beauty of majestic alpine vistas, tour the splendid historic city of Fuessen with its hilltop castle and magnificent monastery, and ascend to a tiny village of immensely picturesque wooden huts perched atop and amid mountain peaks.
Prevailing weather conditions determine our actual daily itinerary. Highlights of our sojourn in Bavaria and Tyrol include stunning early morning and evening twilight views of the royal castles of Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein; the magnificent mountain lakes of Austria’s Plansee and Germany’s Hopfen am See; hikes to thundering cascades and a waterfall; and explorations of such quaint Tyrolean villages as Namlos and Holzgau. Along the way we could encounter hang gliders and colorful paragliders soaring over mountain peaks and valleys; bell-adorned cows in alpine meadows; alpine wildflowers; beautiful churches and chapels; and, if we are lucky, a music group playing the alphorn. To be sure, we will encounter a brass band or two playing oompah music.
This part of our tour offers a treasure trove of landscape photo opportunities, and we provide ample hands-on training in the field so you can best capture them. To gain the most benefit from our photo tour I recommend you fully employ your other senses. Listen to the melodic peel of old church bells echoing in the city streets and cow bells clanging across the alpine meadows. Smell the fresh mountain air. Feel the texture of stone and wood structures that have stood the test of time for many centuries. And, communicate with the folks that we encounter. Your photos and memories will be better for it.
Friday, September 10, 2010
After an early breakfast, we drive to the Munich airport and bid each other fond farewell, Auf Wiedersehen.
FAQ
How strenuous is the trip?Mild to moderate exercise is required overall. In the medieval cities the terrain is predominantly cobblestone streets. In Rothenburg we walk several miles most days, including making our way up/down worn stone and wooden stairs to reach the ramparts.
In Bavaria the terrain is a mix of pavement and dirt paths. We walk up/down several mountain paths. There is no significant or steep change in elevation, but the paths are a steady climb. One path is at an altitude of approximately 4200’.
Cobblestone streets and natural forest/mountain trails make up the majority of the terrain. Thus, this photo tour can not accommodate anyone with impaired mobility.
Where do we stay and eat?
Each hotel is quite comfortable and easily accessible to our photo destinations. Each room has a private shower + WC. The hotels in Rothenburg and Reutte have elevators.
Our hotels provide breakfasts that feature scrumptious, fresh-baked rolls called Broetchen, several varieties of bread, various cheeses, cold-cuts, jellies and jams, soft-boiled eggs, and coffee and teas. After one of these breakfasts, you can easily skip lunch.
If you are a meat and potato person, traditional German food is a dream come true. Select from delicious beef, pork, veal, and venison dishes as well as various tasty sausage. If you are not a meat and potato person, there is a wide variety of other cuisines. Germany has been brewing beer since forever and still follows brew laws established in the Middle Ages. Germany produces a number of fine wines as well, and Rothenburg is right in the middle of the excellent Franconia wine district. In short, finding a good place to eat will be a snap.
Equipment and Gear
- Camera body
- Camera manual
- Lenses in the range of 17-200mm (full frame equivalent)
- Teleconverter … useful for a few shots but not essential
- Polarizer for each lens
- UV filter for use at higher altitude
- Lens hood for each lens
- Grad ND filters … I’ll bring a set for folks to borrow
- Sturdy tripod & ball head
- Cable release or remote release
- Battery charger & spare batteries
- Lots of memory cards
- Sensor cleaning supplies
- Portable storage device vs. laptop
Temperatures this time of year are generally mild so pack to dress in layers. A raincoat and good, sturdy, water-resistant low hiking shoes are strongly recommended.
A valid passport is required by law. Please note, if anyone plans to extend their time in Germany, an international driver’s license is required to rent a car.
The Leader
After many years chasing books around dusty shelves in public libraries, David Muse changed careers and is now a professional outdoor photographer and instructor. His photo travels have taken him throughout the greater Baltimore/Washington DC metropolitan area, the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland's mountains, West Virginia, the Mid-Atlantic Region, the American Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, and Western Europe.
David is an avid writer. Maryland Life Magazine (www.marylandlife.com) published his most recent article in their September-October 2009 issue. He also writes how-to articles for several websites including PAWorkshops.net and Budget Travel (www.budgettravel.com, click on Tips & Experts).
David leads a number of photo tours, trips and workshops each year in and around Baltimore, Maryland and throughout the greater Mid-Atlantic region. He also teaches digital photography during the summer months at a private school in Washington, DC. His students are the young and the young-at-heart, and he is an informed and patient teacher whose enthusiasm for photography is contagious.
Toward the end of 2008, David and his wife Kitty moved from the suburbs to one of the historic neighborhoods surrounding Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Catsby, their cat, graciously allows them to live with her in this new house. When he is not behind the lens of his camera, David enjoys reading, walking, hiking, seeking out new restaurants, and doing chores (generally dog-sitting) for his two daughters who each live a few blocks away.
Contact David
Email:
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David's Websites: Baltimore Photo Safari and David Muse Photography
Skype: paworkshops
General Info: 877.384.PAWS(7297)
Final Thoughts
Several German words you will quickly learn on this photo tour are herrlich, wunderbar, schoen and gemuetlich … which translate in English to delightful, wonderful, beautiful and, well, gemuetlich!
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