Río Wang tours in 2019

The tours of río Wang grew out of this blog at the request of our readers. For the eighth consecutive year, we have been organizing tours to regions that we know well and love, and which are not to be found in the repertoire of tourist offices; or even if they occasionally are, they do not delve so deeply into the history and everyday life of these places, the tissue of little streets, interior courtyards, cafés and pubs frequented by the locals: to the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Iran, the Far East. Our journeys are no package tours, but rather the excursions of friends. Almost always there is someone who admits to never having wanted to take part in a package tour, but could not resist the call of the blog. And in the end he/she recounts with relief that it has absolutely been no package tour. We consider it a really great compliment. For fresh news, sign up for our mailing list at wang@studiolum.com! About myself: Dr. Tamás Sajó, art historian, translator, blogger. I live in Berlin, from which I organize my tours. I speak and translate in fifteen languages. I have worked at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Central European University in Budapest. In fact, the tours I organize are also peripatetic university lectures.

Our 2019 tour calendar has taken shape through the conversations during the previous trips and blog meetings, and all of the subsequent correspondence about them. The participants have told us where they would prefer to go, and their votes on the first proposal, which was sent out in a circular letter, has decided which tours to actually organize. Meanwhile, for some trips the maximum number of participants – 18 persons, the capacity of a small bus – has been also reached. So if, in the future, you want to take part in the shaping of the tour calendar, and want to be sure you do not miss out on the most popular tours, sign up for the mailing list at wang@studiolum.com.

In previous years, there were many tours we organized only once or twice, while the interest in them was increasing. This is why we announce many familiar trips again this year. Once again we visit Rome, Andalusia, Lemberg, Istanbul, Berlin, Sarajevo, Albania. May, as always, is Caucasus month, when we travel through Georgia’s still largely unknown sights. At the end of May, we repeat our Jewish heritage tour to Odessa through the shtetls of Galicia and Podolia, and in the autumn the Toscan tour following the traces of Antal Szerb’s cult novel Journey by moonlight, as well as the tea-horse-road in China’s Yünnan province. In the second semester, we are planning new, exotic tours to Ethiopia, Morocco and Anatolia.

I regularly hold presentations, historical and art historical lectures and travel reports on our tours, which are announced in the afore mentioned newsletter. Be sure to subscribe!

You can register for the tours or request information about them using the same wang@studiolum.com address. In response, I will send you a detailed program with all pertinent information.

Usually, each participant pays for the flight ticket out of their own pocket, and everything else concerning the tour is organized by me. Participation fees usually include one bed in a double room (breakfast included), rented bus and my services as guide; if any other expenses accrue, I will specify them. If you prefer a single room, ask me about the surcharge. Where I only indicate the participation fee approximately, it will depend on the number of participants and the corresponding final costs of the bus and hotels.


2019 first semester

These tours are all prepared, all are confirmed, having a sufficient number of participants (many of them are already full). The next available spots are in the Berlin tour in early April, Lemberg/Lviv at Easter time, and for Georgia in late April-early May.

Rome, from piazza to piazza, 27 February – 3 March. To bring spring forward, we begin with a few tours to warmer climes. Following our previous successful tours in Rome, over the course of five days, we explore in detail the old town of Rome, including the most important ancient, Renaissance and Baroque monuments, also addressing some more “exotic” scenes, such as the Jewish quarter, the self-sufficient world of Trastevere, or the beautiful garland of ancient and medieval churches in the Caelius Hill. We acquaint ourselves with the city from square to square, street to street, so that it will offer many interesting details and secrets even to those already lovers of Rome. Our accommodations will be in the heart of the old town, so that a long bus ride from and to the suburbs would not encumber the day. For details, check our posts on Rome. Participation fee 500 euros. • Full.

Historic cities of Andalusia, 5-9 March. Andalusia is one of those special areas of the Mediterranean upon which many great cultures left their mark. Starting from Málaga, we go through the historic cities of Seville, Córdoba, Granada and Ronda, getting to know in detail their Roman, Arabic, Jewish and Christian pasts, monuments and still living traditions. • Participation fee 600 euros. • Full.

Istanbul, beyond the bazaar, 27-31 March. We penetrate the many layers of the city’s two-thousand-year history, from the Roman and Byzantine period through the Ottoman Empire to modern Turkey. We explore in detail the most remarkable monuments from Hagia Sophia to Suleymaniye Mosque, walk through the self-sufficient neighborhoods from Galata to Kadiköy, and discover a lot of hidden places, small restaurants, Greek, Armenian, Jewish and Ottoman monuments. It is recommended that you read our posts on Istanbul and Turkish culture. Participation fee 450 euros. • Full.

Berlin’s scenes, 4-7 April. A long weekend to explore Berlin’s iconic sites and unknown parts, contemporary architecture and exotic neighborhoods. We visit the historic heart of the city as well as the recently built centers, the subcultural neighborhoods and little hidden worlds. We pay special attention to the cultural flourishing of Berlin of the 1920s with its Eastern European and Jewish immigrants, the post-war divisions, and the alternative scene of the 80s and 90s. Participation fee 450 euros. • Full.

Easter in Lemberg, 19-22 and 25-28 April. Lemberg/Lviv/Lwów is one of the most beautiful cities in Eastern Europe, and one which has not been demolished in the vicissitudes of the past hundred years. Several nationalities – Poles, Armenians, Jews, Ukrainians, Germans, Hungarians and others – have made it one of the most colorful cities of the old Austrian Monarchy. Its architecture was as great during the Renaissance as it was during the Art Nouveau period. We visit this city on two consecutive long weekends, the first of which coincides with the Catholic, and the second with the Orthodox Easter: during this time, the Greek Catholic, Orthodox and Armenian believers of this multiethnic, multiconfessional city celebrate not only in the churches, but throughout the entire city. On the way there, we visit the Baroque town of Drohobycz, the birthplace of Bruno Schulz, and on the way back, the Jewish cemetery of Bolechów, one of the most beautiful and best-preserved Hasidic cemeteries in Galicia. • Travel by small bus from Budapest to Lemberg and back. Participation fee 450 euros, single room surcharge 90 euro. • Full.

Round trips to Georgia, 29 April - 7 May and 6-14 May. Every year we go to Georgia in May, when the mountains are already emerald green, and have not yet faded from summer heat. Over the period of a week, we travel through almost every beautiful region of this extremely diverse country, from Svaneti, the northernmost valley of the Great Caucasus, and the fifteen-centuries-old residential towers of Ushguli through the medieval quarters of Tbilisi to the monasteries of the Kakheti wine region. Here we have collected our posts on the Caucasus. • Participation fee 600 euros, single room surcharge 100 euros. • The second tour is full, but for the first one we have some free places left.

Odessa and the South Galician world of the shtetls, 22-28 May. The great tour de force that we do every other year, inspired by Jonathan Safran Foer’s Everything is illuminated. A three-day trip by bus through the important – and partly still living – Jewish settlements of the former Polish-Russian region, Czernowitz, Kamenets-Podolsk, Uman, Mezhibozh, the cradle of Hasidism, and many other Hasidic towns and cemeteries, down to Odessa, where we discover, in the wake of Isaac Babel, the sophisticated culture of the “Paris of the South” and the memories of the former Jewish gangster’s world in the Moldavanka. From Odessa, we return home by plane. We have collected our posts on Odessa here, and our writings on the Jewish heritage here. • Participation fee 600 euros. • Full.

Unknown Albania, 30 May - 6 June and 6-13 June. In this unexplored country, we first visit the least known – because it has only recently been provided with an asphalt road – part, the northern mountains, the valleys of Theth and Valbona. We sleep in traditional farm houses converted into modern family pensions, and we make a long boat tour on the Drin river among the mountains. We visit the Ottoman merchant town of Berat, and the ancient Greek settlements of Byllis and Apollonia. We make a detour to Kosovo, to the beautiful Serbian monastery of Dečani and the Ottoman town of Prizren, and finish our journey at the pristine bay and beach at Vlora, next to the monastery of Zvernets. Our Albanian posts are available here. Participation fee 600 euros. • The second tour is full, but for the first one we have some free places left.

Long weekend in Sarajevo, 16-19 June. The original Persian-Ottoman name of Sarajevo, located in the high mountains of Bosnia, is Saray Bosna, “the Bosnian caravanserai”, and it really feels like time has stopped since the centuries of the Ottoman Empire. In the vast bazaar and in the tortuous streets of the mountain slopes, full of small mosques, Ottoman cemeteries and old houses, the atmosphere of the Ottoman period is still so present, to an extent which persists not even in Turkey. At the same time, during the period of the Austrian Monarchy, a beautiful Art Nouveau district was added to the old town, and the city was one of the intellectual centers of the former Yugoslavia. Today, Sarajevo has largely recovered from the destruction of the siege of 1992-1996, and it is considered to be one of the most important centers of contemporary architecture in the Balkans. In our long weekend, we explore this unique ensemble, and make a one-day bus trip through the wonderful valley of Neretva River to Mostar. • Participation fee 350 euros. • We have some last free places.

Adventure tour in Georgia, 2-10 July. In contrast to the Georgian round trip in May, in which we travel comfortably by bus through the most beautiful regions of the country, in this tour we invite our more adventurous readers. We embark on a great hike among the amazing mountains of Svaneti, ride on horseback from the medieval village of Ushguli to Mount Shkhara on the Russian border and back, and then we go rafting on Rioni River from Ambrolauri almost as far as Kutaisi. To participate, you need no previous training in riding or rafting: we will get and learn locally everything necessary. Participation fee, which includes all equipment and full board: 700 euro. • We have some free places.

2019 second semester

The program of the second semester is still in development. The following list is not complete yet: it only includes the already organized tours (thus it does not have some that are in preparation, such as Scotland, Morocco and Anatolia). As the organizating of a new tour is completed, it will be added to the list. Where we do not have exact dates yet, which will be added later, and you can also propose your preferred dates. It is not yet certain that all these tours will actually take place: it depends on the number of registrations. If you register now at wang@studiolum.com, you will both secure your place, and simultaneously increase the chance of the tour taking place.

Subotica Art Nouveau, 12-14 July. In one of the most important centers of Hungarian Art Nouveau (now in Serbia), we visit one of the most beautiful synagogues of pre-war Hungary as well as the gorgeous town hall – both chef d’oeuvres of the Marcell Komor - Dezső Jakab architectural duo –, and the entire old town, which, in late 19th century, became one of the most exciting architectural centers of the country. On the way there, we stop at the most beautiful old Hungarian library, of the Archdiocese of Kalocsa, where I did research for many years, and on the way back, in the Art Nouveau Spa of Palić, whose buildings were also designed by Komor and Jakab. See our posts on Szabadka/Subotica here. • Travel from Budapest by bus, participation fee ca. 200 euros.

Iran’s historic cities on the feast of Ashura, 6-14 September. Ashura is the greatest Shi’ite religious feast in Iran, celebrated with huge parades and street performances. For the fourth year, we have been taking part: up until now in Kashan, but thsi year we will participate in the city of Yazd, the epicenter of the celebrations. At the same time, we visit all the important historic towns of Iran, from the formerly Zoroastrian town of Abyaneh, through Isfahan, Pasargade, Persepolis and Shiraz, from which we return by plane to Tehran. • Flight from Budapest to Tehran via Istanbul and back, ca. 250 euros, participation fee 1200 euros.

The route of the Jewish wine from Tokaj to Galicia, mid-September. The cultivation and trade in the wine of Tokaj was, from the early 18th century, largely in the hands of Hasidic Jews, who delivered it through a well-established route, Kassa/Košice, Eperjes/Prešov and Bártfa/Bardejov to the towns of Galicia, Nowy Sącz, Kraków, Tarnów, and, beyond that, to the Russian Empire. And as the wine went north, so the offspring of the Galician rabbinic dynasties came down on the same route south, to these towns, and created flourishing Hasidic communities. On our week-long journey, we follow this route from Tokaj to Galician Lublin. And as we become familiar with the specific culture of these merchant communities and the Galician cradles of Hasidism, we will also have an ongoing Tokaj wine tasting, thanks to our co-organizer, wine expert Dániel Ercsey. • Exact date, program and participation fee to be announced later.

Odessa and the South Galician world of shtetls, late September. The tour of May was so overbooked, that we will repeat it at the end of September. The great tour de force that we do every second year, inspired by Jonathan Safran Foer’s Everything is illuminated. A three-day trip by bus through the important – and partly still living – Jewish settlements of the former Polish-Russian region, Czernowitz, Kamenets-Podolsk, Uman, Mezhibozh, the cradle of Hasidism, and many other Hasidic towns and cemetery down to Odessa, where we discover, in the wake of Isaac Babel, the sophisticated culture of the “Paris of the South” and the memories of the former Jewish gangster world in the Moldavanka. From Odessa, we come home by plane. We have collected our posts on Odessa here, and our writings on the Jewish heritage here. • Participation fee 600 euros. • Exact date later.

Ethiopian tour, early October. In this ten-day tour, we visit the most important scenes of the three-thousand-year-old Ethiopian civilization and two-thousand-year-old Ethiopian Christianity, from the monasteries at Lake Tana through the palaces of Gondar, through Aksum and Tigray to the magnificent monastery ensemble of Lalibela (all World Heritage sites). We also make a short excursion into the stunning Simien Mountains, also included in the World Heritage list. The diary of our Ethiopian preparatory tour is available here. • Exact date, program and participation fee later.

The route of Journey at moonlight from Venice through Umbria to Tuscany, mid-October. In this one-week tour – which on its first being announced in 2016, was considered as the best Río Wang tour of the year – we follow the path of Antal Szerb’s 1937 cult novel, considered by Nicholas Lezard as “one of the greatest works of modern European literature.” From Venice, we travel by bus through Ravenna, Urbino, Umbria and Tuscany, Gubbio, Assisi and Arezzo, the centers of early Renaissance art, to as far as Siena and San Gimignano. During the journey, like the figures of the novel, we encounter the surviving traditions of the pre-Christian world, the many thousand-year-old Oscan towns built on hilltops, the magnificent view of the Apennines, and the renowned “Sienan primitives.” • Participation fee ca. 700 euros, including several dinners. • Exact date later.

A long weekend in Florence, mid-October. A detailed art historical and historical tour in the capital of the Renaissance and the cradle of the Medici House. We visit the most important monuments in the triangle of the Duomo, the Signoria and the Santa Croce and beyond, the left bank of Arno, the churches, palaces, squares and historical sites, everywhere explaining in detail the history and history makers, art and artists. • Participation fee ca. 500 euros. • Exact date later.

Unknown Venice, 23-27 October. Visitors to Venice are mostly satisfied by visiting the Rialto and St. Mark’s Square. This weekend, however, we go beyond and explore the whole labyrinth of Venice, from alley to alley and house to house, from the Lido to the still living Jewish quarter, and we become familiar with its everyday history. For details, see the announcement of last year’s Venetian tour, and check our posts on Venice. • Participation fee 450 euros.

The churches of Maramureș and Bukovina during the “lighting”, 1-6 November. On the long weekend around the first of November, we return, as we have so many times, to this particularly beautiful and archaic mountainous region on both side of the Carpathians. In the valleys of Maramureș, we visit the centuries-old wooden churches, in Bukovina the Renaissance painted monasteries: both groups are included in the World Heritage list. But we also travel by steam train into the Ukrainian border mountains, visit the multiethnic market of Sighetu Marmației and the Merry Cemetery in Sapănța, as well as some abandoned Hasidic cemeteries: and all this in the annual days of “lighting”, when the archaic cemeteries overflow with candlelight, and every visitor is generously treated. Our accommodations will be in exclusive locations converted from old farmhouses. • Travel by small bus from Budapest. Participation fee 600 euros, which, apart from the usual items, also includes extraordinary dinners with free slivovitsa. • Still there are some free places.

Journey along the tea-horse-road in Yünnan province, China, 8-19 November. Last year, we started with this tour to explore China, with whose language and culture I have been engaged for a quarter of a century. In 2017, this was our most successful tour. Our road leads through one of the most beautiful and most archaic regions of China, rich in historical monuments and natural beauties, the region of Yünnan under the Tibetan mountains, homeland of Chinese tea, and the towns of several ethnic groups. Picturesque tea lands and rice terraces, deep canyons and still untouched historic towns (check the photos of my Yünnan guide, purchased there about ten years ago). Read the description of last year’s tour here. • Participation fee 1400 euros. • Still there are some free places.

Historic cities of Andalusia, late November. Due to great interest, we will repeat our early March tour. Andalusia is one of those special sites of the Mediterranean, on which many great cultures left their mark. Starting from Málaga, we go through the historic cities of Seville, Córdoba, Granada and Ronda, getting to know in detail their Roman, Arabic, Jewish and Christian past, monuments and still living traditions. • Participation fee 600 euros. • Exact date later.

Sicilian grand tour, early December. During a one-week tour we visit the most important sites of an island with a rich historical heritage, almost all of them World Heritage sites, from the Jewish quarter and fish market of Catania through the Greek old town of Siracusa, the valley of the ancient temples in Agrigento, the Norman harbor town of Cefalù, the Norman basilicas of Palermo and Monreale, decorated by Arab and Greek masters, and the ancient Greek and Roman theater of Taormina. • Participation fee 700 euros. • Exact date later.

Whenever we announce a tour in detail, and when we include a new tour in this calendar, we will also send out a circular e-mail, for which it is worth signing up at wang@studiolum.com.