Europe + Eurasia
Travel into the heart of a country and its people. The Friendship Force signature program of home hospitality puts you in the center of another culture. Join one of our exchanges today!
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- Provided by the Friendship Force Club of Tbilisi.
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WINEMAKING IN GEORGIA, FROM ANCIENT TIMES TO MODERN DAY
Tbilisi, Sighnaghi, and Kakheti region, Georgia
July 23 to 29, 2013, plus optional 4-day home stay
HIGHLIGHTS
- Discover 7000 years of Georgian arts, folklore, lifestyle, religion, and architecture.
- Experience a uniquely personal connection to vineyards & wineries.
- Discover the Georgian traditions of both modern and natural wine making including the use of Qvevri – a clay vessel lined in beeswax and buried in the earth.
- Tour the beautiful Caucus countryside.
- Embrace Georgian life with an optional 4-day home stay with a Friendship Force Tbilisi member.
Georgia is one of the oldest wine producing regions of Europe. Grapevine has been cultivated in the fertile valleys of the Caucasus for at least 7000 years. The traditions of its viticulture are entwined with the country's national identity. Georgia is believed by many to be the source of the world's first cultivated grapevines. Wine is a symbol of Georgian hospitality, friendship, tolerance and a key to the mystery of Georgian longevity.
The rich land, burning sun and hard work have developed about 500 varieties of vine in Georgia. Get acquainted with Georgian lifestyle and wine-making, enjoy wine tasting, visit cultural, religious architectural sites, folk dance, and traditional song. We will taste and experience both modern wine fermentation methods and natural qvevri style (900+ liter clay vessels lined in beeswax buried in the earth) wine methods still used today by Georgians that were first mentioned in pre-Christian Greek and Roman historical texts. There also will be a chance to visit a local food and spices open air market or to visit generational qvevri vessel craftsmen in process. We will be making stops to hike vineyards, tour Wineries and have the chance to question owners and managers.
After our exploration of these regions of Georgia, we will return to Tbilisi for an optional four night home stay with Friendship Force members of Tbilisi to further your understanding and enjoyment of the rich history and culture of Georgia.
$1,590 USD. Includes FFI fees, host fees, overnight accommodations, tours and meals, bus travel, English guide and wine tasting. Contact the ED for details
Optional four-day homestay in Tbilisi: $155 USD.
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- Provided by the Friendship Force Club of Luebeck.
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NEW - SPEND A WEEK IN A FRENCH CHATEAU AND MAKE FRIENDS IN HISTORIC LUEBECK, GERMANY
Luebeck, Hamburg and Schwerin, Germany; Reims, Ardennes and Champagne, France
August 30 to September 13, 2013
HIGHLIGHTS
- Experience German culture
- Tours of Luebeck, Hamburg, Schwerin and the Baltic coast
- Spend a week in a French chateau
- Visit Reims - France's premier cathedral - and the Champagne country
- See the rich historical and natural sights of the Ardennes region
We spend one week with the Luebeck club from 30 August to 6 September 2013. Their club has planned sightseeing in the old town of Luebeck, an important medieval port city; visits to Hamburg and the Baltic coast; and a trip to Schwerin, capital of Mecklenburg, whose architecture and culture gave it the name “The Florence of the North.”
After the week in Luebeck the group will travel by train to the Chateau and stay a week, taking tours to the surrounding places of interest. The Chateau lies on the banks of the River Meuse, in the hilly and wooded Ardennes region. It dates from the 16th century, and in the 19th century was refurbished by Leopold, King of the Belgians. It allows for self-catering.
Day trips will be by rental cars, allowing flexibility for groups of people to go to wherever interests them. Possible places to visit include Rheims, with its famous cathedral, the Champagne region, Luxembourg, fortified towns and castles, abbeys, and the Han caves.
Basic costs for the two weeks are expected to be around $900, excluding airfare, personal expenditures, and food and sightseeing during the stay at the chateau. Ambassadors need to make their own air travel arrangements, to be in Hamburg airport by early afternoon of August 30. The closest airport from which to return after the Chateau visit is Brussels, though several members of the group plan to spend extra days in Europe and travel back from other airports.
$900 USD. Includes FFI and host fees. Excludes airfare to and from Europe, and food and sightseeing costs during the second week - which are at the discretion of each person.
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NEW - EXPLORE PALACES, WINERIES AND BEAUTIFUL VISTAS IN THE UKRAINE AND RUSSIA
Kyiv and Alupka Region, Ukraine; Rostov-on-Don, Russia
September 24 to October 12, 2013
HIGHLIGHTS
- 4-day tour of Kyiv, Ukraine, the city of gold domed churches and beautiful green parks
- FF of Rostov in Eastern Russia will share their homes and lives with us in this large industrial port city on the Don River
- Learn about the customs of the ancient Cossacks
- Help build a Friendship Force club on the Crimean Peninsula of the Black Sea, in the suburban area of Yalta
- Enjoy the wonderful vistas of rugged mountains and blue seas while visiting beautiful palaces and wineries
With an English speaking tour guide in Kyiv, we’ll visit Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Monastery and St. Sophia’s Church plus other sights along the historical and modern west banks of the Dnipro River.
In Rostov-on-Don, we will enjoy a week of home stays, where we will have a warm and enriching experience. We’ll enjoy a cruise on the Don River and visit a folk Cossack settlement, learning about the historical aspects of their lives, the dances and folk songs for which the region is famous, visit Taganrog, the home of Anton Chekhov and an English speaking school.
We’ll enjoy a week on this beautiful coastal area, where the rugged mountains arise from the clear blue sea. We’ll visit Livada Palace, Massandra Palace and Winery, Sevastopol and its museums and Balaklava. This region is famous as a summer resort for Russians and Eastern Europeans and for the health spas. It is noted for the Rivera-grade vistas. Our host ED hopes to find homes for us to stay, but we may be in small hotels. We’ll assist with starting a new FF club in the Crimean Region.
$1,300 USD. Includes FFI and host fees. Contact the ED for details.
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