Antique Quilts, Early Printed Fabrics & Christmas -    European Christmas Market Tour 2008
December 1-11, 2008
Only $2,995  including round-trip air
Registrations received after August 20, 2008 are subject to availability.
Airfare cannot be guaranteed after this date.

Space is limited, register early to avoid disappointment.

Spend 10 enchanting days visiting some of continental Europe’s finest  museums and Christmas Markets. Exclusively on this tour, you will have the opportunity to see exquisite antique Dutch quilts, incredible early Indian chintzes and wander the streets of the Christmas Markets of France, Germany and the Netherlands.  We will be making our way through the highways and byways through some of Europe's finest museums including the Musée de l'Impression sur Etoffes in Mulhouse, the Netherlands Textile Museum in Tilburg, the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden and the National Open Air Museum in Arnhem, and others.  The curators and docents at these museums are preparing special tours for our group and as always, we will have archival treasures that are not often seen by the public available for our viewing. Along with the museum visits, the festivity of the markets will bring back all the magic of Christmas, with their log cabins, hand-craft gifts, delicious smells of mulled wine and regional savories. Not only will you be seeing and learning about exceptional textiles, but you will give yourself a welcome break from the usual Christmas stress and no doubt find some beautiful, original gifts. 

Itinerary

êDay 1 - December 1:   This evening we depart on our overnight non-stop flight from Newark, NJ to Zurich.  Relax during the onboard services for dinner and a light breakfast before our morning arrival in Zurich, Switzerland.

êDay 2 - December 2:   Upon our arrival we will be met by our guide and taken to our coach for a morning drive to Basel.  Here we will have the remainder of the day free for lunch, museum visits and/or Christmas shopping at our first outdoor Christmas Market. Basel is a city humming with activity, one will surely want to visit the Old Town, one of several art museums and partake of one of the mulled spice drinks offered at the markets.  We will depart Basel in the late afternoon for Colmar, about an hour’s drive away.  Colmar will be our home for the next 3 nights, and is an enchanting little town founded in 823 AD.  Full of spirit and interesting Holiday activity, its history is rich and one can easily lose time wandering the narrow streets of the downtown area.

Christmas in Old Town Colmar

êDay 3 – December 3:  Our Colmar Hotel just down the street from the railway station giving us ample opportunity to explore the Alsace region.  Today, after breakfast we have an appointment just a short 20 minute train ride away in Mulhouse at the Musée d’Impression sur Étoffes.  It is very exciting that during our visit the museum will be hosting an exhibit of early Indian Chintz.   This is a very special exhibit as it not only will contain samples from the extensive Mulhouse collection, but also pieces which are from the archives of the French East India Company.  Included will be quilts, palampores, garments and fabrics. It is amazing to me to know that the Comagnie des Indes has stored away a rich collection of treasures from its founding.  These fabrics will represent the best of those exported from India to the European Markets during the 17th and 18th centuries.  Having this opportunity in Mulhouse will prepare us to see the chintzes in the Netherlands later in the tour; comparing those that were prepared for the different French and Dutch markets should be a fun challenge.  I have been assured by the curator that this will be the finest exhibit of Indian chintz ever assembled, and one not to be missed.  The museum also holds what is considered the world’s largest collection of printed textile sample books in their document room, the SUD, and we will also have the opportunity to study fabrics in this collection.  Once you have completed your day at the museum, the remainder is free for you to explore Mulhouse on your own. 

You will not want to miss the Mulhouse market square where you will find the Christmas Markets.  Each year, the city selects a fabric and reproduces it for the Christmas Market celebration and one will see it draped from the city buildings including the train station, city hall and downtown shops.  It is impressive to see this outdoor tribute and remembrance of what has made this city famous.  You will be free to return on the 20 minute train ride to Colmar at your leisure.

Mulhouse city hall - draped in 2007's Christmas reproduction fabric.

êDay 4 – December 4:  Today is a free day.  You may choose to explore Colmar, return to Mulhouse for further textile study or perhaps try an attempt to block print your own fabric.  You may alternatively choose to travel to any number of nearby villages and towns to enjoy the Alsace charm and countryside.  If anyone wishes to have further study time or to print fabric today, an appointment will be necessary as the printing classes take a limited number of participants. Appointments will be taken on a first come basis so be sure if you choose to do this you indicate your preference on the registration form.  Another stop of interest may be the Wallpaper museum in nearby Rixheim.  Any who go will be welcome with open arms as the curator there is the husband to Jacqueline - our curator in Mulhouse.

Sample Book study in the Musée Sur Etoffe SUD

êDay 5 – December 5:  After a leisurely breakfast, we depart for Cologne, Germany by way of a stop in Strasbourg, France, the capital of the Alsace-Lorraine region.  Strasbourg was built around a magnificent Gothic cathedral which dominates the old part of town.  We will have an opportunity to visit the cathedral as well as explore the winding cobbled streets of the area known as “Petite France”, where tanners and weavers once resided.  There are five Christmas markets in Strasbourg, and as one wanders from market to market you will be fascinated by enchanting holiday decor found on the old timbered structures throughout the city. We will gather in the late afternoon to head toward Cologne, our home for the next 2 nights.

The Strasbourg Cathedral

êDay 6 – December 6:  Today is a day of leisure in Cologne.  Cologne is at once a Romanesque city of great historical beauty, a modern vibrant metropolis and a European centre for Modern Art.  Along with the magic Christmas Markets, you will want to visit the DOM, a gothic cathedral that took over 600 years to complete.  It is one of the largest Gothic structures in existence and its position next to the Rhine makes it a breathtaking site.  There is ample time to explore, take in the costumes a the Cologne Museum of Art, or enjoy the German scenery.

êDay 7 – December 7: After breakfast today we will depart for the textile museum in Tilburg, NL.  Tilburg used to be a thriving textile town where monumental textile factories dominated the city. The Dutch Textile Museum is situated in one of the most imposing old textile factories in Tilburg: the former woolen fabrics factory of Mommers & Co.  The structure dates from the nineteenth century. In 1986 the building was restored and now is a museum which holds textiles from around the world and provides a glimpse back in time to the life of the former textile laborers.  This afternoon we will head toward Arnhem home of the Netherlands Open Air Museum.  The remainder of the day is ours to explore the area - visit the museum or the historic town of Arnhem.

êDay 8 – December 8:  This morning we will be joining the textile curators in the storage areas of the Netherlands Open Air Museum for a talk and  private showing of the museum's renowned collection of antique Dutch quilts and costumes.  The curators area already preparing for our visit and will have some exciting pieces for us to see as well as provide viewing of pieces that those in our group express interest in seeing.  In the afternoon, we will depart for Amsterdam.  You will find that our hotel is in the centrally located historic area also known as the Museum Quarter.  This puts us in a great location to see some of the city’s finest museums and attractions, and the tram stop is just outside our door for further exploring of the city or nearby Dutch towns.  We are within walking distance of many of Amsterdam's finest museums and attractions.  Nearby are the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gough and the Anne Frank Museums. The remainder of the day is yours to  explore the sites of this exciting city.

Chintz costume -  Den Haan & Wagenmakers: - Amsterdam

êDay 9 – December 9:  We will be off today to Leeuwarden and the Fries Museum where they are hosting an exhibit of antique Dutch quilts collected from the finest collections in the Netherlands just for this exhibit.  Here, they also have what is reported to be one of  the Netherlands' finest chintz collection and we have been invited to the storage area to see some examples from this collection as well as other textiles including costumes, quilts and any other related items which may be of interest to those in our group. This afternoon we have been visiting a private Costume Museum called "De Gouden Leeuw" and also as time permits, the Museum Hindeloopen, full of costumes and loose chintz pieces.   We will return to Amsterdam for the evening.

18th century Indian painted chintz

Day 10 -  December 10:  Today is a day of leisure to do with as you please – there are so many things to see and do in Amsterdam and in the surrounding towns.  For example you might decide to go to the Zaanse Schans heritage village, which is just a few miles north of Amsterdam.  Here you can see the traditional buildings and wind-mills alongside a selection of historical architecture from the 17th and 18th centuries, or you might go to Alkmaar, the Dutch cheese capital.  No matter your choice, you day will be full.  We will gather this evening for a farewell dinner at the hotel.

êDay 11 - December 11:  Today we depart for home with memories and treasures that will long be with us.

Space is limited, and filling rapidly. Register early to avoid disappointment

Download Registration Materials

Dutch re-enactors in full chintz costume

êTour Price - $2,995.00, per person double occupancy (includes non-stop round trip air from Newark, NJ) fare excludes air taxes.
êLand Only - $2,650.00
êSingle Supplement - an addition of $985 per person will be added to the above for those wishing their own room - limited single rooms available.

êPrices which include air do not include airport departure fees, taxes and gasoline surcharges which are added on at the time of ticketing and are subject to change.

Optional Insurance Coverage - click here for policy information ECopy of Insurance Certificate
    Full tour including air - $190
    Land only - $160
    Single supplement, full tour including air - $245

TOUR INCLUDES

ê  Roundtrip non-stop airfare from Newark, New Jersey to Zurich/Return from Amsterdam
ê  All transfers to/from airports and between designated cities and venues by deluxe motor coach unless otherwise indicated.
ê  Services of a full-time multi-lingual tour director
ê  Deluxe First Class Hotels - 3 or 4 ê
ê  Open train pass per itinerary 
ê  Museum entrances and tours per scheduled itinerary 
ê  Full buffet breakfast daily
ê  Porterage of one bag per person (hotels and coach)
ê  All non-optional gratuities
ê  Tour Tote-bag and surprise gifts.

NOT INCLUDED IN TOUR COST

ê  Personal Insurance 
ê  Optional porterage
ê  Public transportation for free time activities
ê  Optional excursions
ê  Optional gratuities
ê  Passport fees
ê  Airport transfers for land only participants
ê  Travel to/from your home city to departure airport
 

Download Registration Materials

Terms and Conditions apply when registration is received

Due to circumstances out of our control, itinerary is subject to change without notice.

 

 

 

Send mail to textiletours@aol.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2008 Deb Roberts' Quilt and Textile Tours
Last modified: 08/12/08