May 17, 2027 – May 29, 2027
Berlin, Prague, Vienna
Join Us in Central Europe
Three capitals. Twelve days. One planetary crisis.
On foot, by train, and with open minds we will explore how different countries along the former Iron Curtain approach a common problem.
We will focus on energy, resilience, public involvement, and social justice – but we will also see and experience three of the most vibrant and historic cities in Europe.
Berlin
We will start the trip in Germany’s capital Berlin and discuss the “Energiewende”, the change in approach with which Germans want to handle climate change and the country’s energy needs.
We will talk to political actors, activists, and those who have felt left behind. We will see the gaps between green ambition and lived reality. And we will visit sights and museums that remind Germans how societal change that leaves too many behind can backfire.
Prague
We will take a four-hour train first through former East Germany’s coal mining region, then along the lovely river Elbe through “Saxonian Switzerland”, and finally through northern Bohemia to the Czech capital Prague.
Prague boasts Europe’s largest castle with a view across the river Vltava to the meticulously restored old town and a cathedral from the 14th century. Like many European cities built along rivers and in flood plains, Prague has suffered devastating floods, including one of the worst in 2002. This event became a wake-up call for the people of Czechia to reckon with environmental excesses of their communist past and focus on ecological resilience not least in the face of a changing climate.
Vienna
Another 4-hour train trip will take us to Vienna, where we will see how a country that as a neutral country during the Cold War stayed above the fray of East-West division.
Vienna is not only the center of the Habsburg Monarchy but also the cultural capital of central Europe, one of three seats of the United Nations, and the International Atomic Energy Agency. In Vienna we will visit a new neighborhood of the city that was designed and built as a model for sustainability, visit the UN headquarters, and get a tour of a fully constructed nuclear power plant that never entered service because of public protests.
We will also have time to experience Vienna’s baroque beauty, stroll along the Danube, and enjoy Viennese culture, wine, and hospitality.
In the true spirit of the liberal arts, the tour weaves together history, political science, and ecology, while not forgetting that we will be in three of the most desirable and interesting European cities to visit that have a lot more to offer its visitors, including art, music, and architecture.
Join us for an unforgetable trip!
