Christmas and New Year in Europe, December 2025 and January 2026

18 December:

And now for my tenth and final tour (and the fifth in Europe) for Hayllar Music Tours in 2025. The Christmas/New Year tour I've done twice before, taking in Berlin, Prague and Vienna. I'm leaving Adelaide, where it was 41° today, and due in Berlin, where it's predicted to be 10° tomorrow.

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20 December:

Tonight's office: Philharmonie Berlin.

Program: Bach Mass in B minor, Berlin Philharmonic, RIAS Chamber Choir, soloists, Raphaël Pichon.

State: Excited.

After the performance:

Day 1 of the Hayllar Music Tours  Christmas/New Year tour has set the bar very high.

I started my worship of the Bach Mass in B Minor when I discovered the piece in high school. I've worshipped it, and its composer, ever since. As I've often said, I love Handel but I worship Bach.

Tonight's performance of the Mass in the Philharmonie here in Berlin was all this devotee could have asked for. Raphaël Pichon, making his Berlin Philharmonic debut, conducted a luminous, beautiful, deeply moving account of one of western music's greatest treasures.

The RIAS Chamber Choir, who I've hitherto only known from recordings, was astonishing. The soloists - drawn from those regularly used in Pichon's performances with his group Pygmalion - were wonderful. And the famed Berlin Philharmonic, pared down to chamber orchestra size, played so stylishly and sensitively, seemingly unafraid of Bach's terrifying challenges.

But what shone most of all was Johann Sebastian Bach. What a man. I felt everyone on stage was worshipping too.

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21 December:

Today's office: the Gemäldegalerie, a magnificent gallery of roughly 1,000 works of art from the 12th to the 18th centuries. This is a regular component of this tour and I was glad to come back for what was my third visit.

We had a guided tour this morning of some of the collection's highlights and then some free time to explore, but as is always the case, a whole week wouldn't be enough to do the entire collection justice.

I didn't take pictures of the art this time around; the collection is well-documented online. But it is a magnificent collection and one not on many people's radar.

The rest of the day is free until our official welcome dinner tonight.

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22 December:

Monday in Berlin on this Hayllar Music Tours tour started with a guided tour of the Philharmonie, the home of the Berlin Philharmonic and the venue of the Bach concert we attended on Saturday. It's a fascinating building with a fascinating history.

On our return to the hotel I gave my second talk, in preparation for the performance we attended that evening.

That performance was Rossini's The Barber of Seville at the Deutsche Oper. This opera has special significance for me, being the last opera I conducted (State Opera of SA, 2021).

As one often says in Europe, and especially in Germany, the performance was excellent musically but the production...not so much. Opinion was divided among the group - and there's nothing wrong with that - but for me it was too busy, with too many supers doing too many distracting things. I think with comedy it's easy to cross a line into slapstick, to have sight gags for their own sake which distract rather than enhance the plot. There was a lot of that.

That aside, Rossini's music shone through and the cast (in particular tenor Kieran Carrel as Almaviva) met the huge challenges of the score with apparent ease. That's what really matters to me.

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23 December:

Tuesday was our last full day in Berlin on this Christmas/New Year tour. Our morning not only included my third talk for our travellers but we also welcomed Australian-born but now German-resident conductor Dan Carter for a delightful Q+A chat for our guests.

Dan is now Music Director of the German National Theatre and State Orchestra in Weimar, one of the leading musical posts in Europe. In our conversation he shared remarkable insights into the unique world of German music-making, especially with regard to opera.

After this we made the relatively short walk from our hotel to the Reichstag building, the home of the German parliament. Alongside its famous glass dome on the roof is an excellent restaurant, Käfer, where we had a wonderful lunch.

In the evening we visited another of Berlin's opera houses, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. There we saw their current production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake (reminding us that most German opera houses also have resident ballet companies).

The production was really beautiful and mostly traditionally presented, although there was a slight twist in the traditional plotline. The dancing was stunning and the orchestra, under Alevtina Ioffe, gave a rich and powerful account of this beautiful score.

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24 December:

Wednesday (Christmas Eve) on this Hayllar Music Tours tour was a busy one.

We left a chilly Berlin on our coach before 09.00, heading for Dresden. The traffic was kind and we arrived in Dresden on time for our guided walking tour. I've done this walking tour three times previously (on the last two Christmas Eves and on the Leipzig Mahler Festival tour in 2023) but the city is so beautiful and fascinating I didn't mind at all.

What was tricky was the cold. Weather apps vary, but The Weather Channel said it was -2°, feeling like -7°. For most of us that was...challenging.

Still, we survived, thawed out in a Dresden cafe for lunch, then resumed our journey to Prague in our comfortable, heated coach.

We arrived in Prague on time and the day concluded with drinks and canapes in the hotel foyer.

Over the previous visits to Dresden I was fascinated to see the ongoing restoration work on the Zwinger, a huge 18th rectangular complex of galleries and gardens. Today I saw that it was finished! It's so beautiful and I'm very keen to spend time in Dresden exploring this and so much else.

Just maybe not in winter.

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25 December:

My third consecutive Christmas Day in Prague, thanks to Hayllar Music Tours. The day started with my fourth talk of the tour, after which we walked to a nearby restaurant for lunch. The restaurant is a local landmark, U Modré kachničky (The Blue Duck) and we've had a glorious Christmas lunch there on each of the tours I've led. Today's was wonderful, with a convivial atmosphere among glorious antiques in a historic building.

After a little more than an hour to recover we were being swept away to attend a performance of Puccini's La bohème at the State Opera. I took a couple of photos of the sumptuous interior before we settled into a lovely performance of a timeless classic.

(Like Die Hard, there's some discussion as to whether La bohème is a "Christmas opera". It's hardly a laugh a minute when the heroine dies of consumption, but the first two acts are set on Christmas Eve, so...?)

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26 December:

Friday in Prague on this tour has been very low-key. The one thing on the agenda was a morning visit to the Obecní dům or Municipal House. This staggeringly beautiful building dates from the period immediately before the first world war. It's a temple to Czech language, history and culture, a riot of art deco and art nouveau, created by some of the finest Czech artists and designers.

The guided tour started with the mighty Smetana Hall, home of the Prague Spring Festival and the spiritual epicentre of Czech musical life. Thereafter we were taken through room after room, gorgeously designed, every room different to the last.

We visited this building on this tour last year and I posted a large number of pictures then. I'm so glad I got to see it again and I took many more pictures. I couldn't resist; this is a very special place.

You can read more about it here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_House

The rest of the day is free and I'm just going to rest and read. Tomorrow: Prague Castle.

Later in the day:

I think my brain is full. When I was watching last night's La bohème at the State Theatre here in Prague I kept feeling like it looked familiar, but I couldn't remember seeing the production before.

It turns out that we actually saw the production in the same theatre a year ago but I'd forgotten. A quick scan back over my Facebook posts showed that I even mentioned it in my daily reports.

My excuse is that over ten tours this year, I've seen a few operas!

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27 December:

Saturday was our last full day in Prague on this Hayllar Music Tours tour and started early with a guided tour of Prague Castle. This epic complex, complete with its own cathedral and palace (not to mention the residence and offices of the Czech president) never fails to impress.

I've posted many pics of the place on my past two visits but that didn't stop me taking many more today.

A few free hours in the early afternoon followed, after which I gave my fifth talk to our guests. We then headed off to the glorious Prague National Theatre to see a ballet.

This was one I had seen here before on my first Christmas/New Year tour two years ago (and I actually remembered it this time!). Called The Nutcracker - A Christmas Carol, the choreography was based on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, but it was danced to Tchaikovsky's entire Nutcracker score.

It was charming and clearly a hit with the families with children who attended. The dancing was excellent and the rare opportunity to hear Tchaikovsky's complete score (as opposed to the famous suite) was very welcome. Whether it did justice to Dickens is debatable, but that's probably a minor quibble.

And tomorrow we're off to Vienna.

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28 December:

Sunday saw us travel to Vienna, the third and final city on this Christmas/New Year tour. The drive from Prague is several hours and we diverted to the tiny town of Moravský Krumlov to see one of the treasures of Czech art.

Alphonse Mucha is a famous name in the world of Art Nouveau painting and design. We had already seen some of his work at the Municipal House in Prague and in St Vitus' Cathedral at Prague Castle.

Over 18 years (between 1910 and 1928) he created twenty gigantic canvases called The Slav Epic. Intended as an expression of Slavic pride and unity, these paintings are a magnificent statement of the artist's passions and his hopes for his people.

They've had a chequered history in terms of where they should be displayed (see the Wikipedia article for more on that) but for now they're housed in a ruined castle in Moravský Krumlov which is slowly being restored by the town.

This was my third visit here and the castle seems to have had more restoration work done on it each time I've seen it. For my part I was glad to see the paintings again as I find something new in them each time.

I was also pleased to see again among the other items on display Mucha's famous poster for Sarah Bernhardt's performances in Victorien Sardou's play La Tosca. The play (and the actress) of course inspired the creation of Puccini's opera.

We then went on to Vienna and in the evening had a magnificent dinner in a lovely French restaurant, Le Salzgries.

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29 December:

Our Hayllar Music Tours Christmas/New Year adventure continued in Vienna on Monday with a tour of Schönbrunn Palace in the morning. I didn't go on this excursion as my foot was giving me some trouble and I needed to do some physio exercises on it and rest. But the group who went had the same excellent guide that we had last year and the reports were very positive.

After a free afternoon I gave my sixth talk to our intrepid travellers before we were whisked off to the Vienna State Opera. As you do.

There we saw Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel, a seasonal favourite in this part of the world. This was, I think, the third time I'd seen this beautiful production and, again, it didn't disappoint. This is a magnificent opera, written by a disciple of Wagner who, unlike Wagner, had the common touch. I've always loved it and seeing it done so well as it is here makes it a joyous experience.

Many of our guests were unfamiliar with the composer, and the piece, and might have been expecting a "kids' show". I was thrilled that they were bowled over by it, with one guest describing it as "a revelation".

That's why I do this stuff.

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30 December:

Tuesday in Vienna was a quiet one, appropriately so considering tomorrow is New Year's Eve, which is massive here. Our quiet Tuesday consisted of just a morning walking tour of this part of central Vienna.

It was cold (but not as brutally so as our walking tour of Dresden), and dazzlingly sunny. Our excellent guide took us past various important landmarks on the Ringstrasse and through the gardens of the Hofburg Palace. After this we were plunged into the central shopping district, with the tour ending outside St Stephen's cathedral.

I didn't take any photos for two reasons. One is that I wanted to keep my hands warm so didn't want to take my gloves off to take pictures on my phone. The second is that after the tour ends I'll be staying on for three days to be a tourist on my own. I intend to take plenty of pictures then.

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31 December:

New Year's Eve in Vienna on this Hayllar Music Tours adventure was a busy day. After my seventh talk in the late morning we headed off to the Vienna State Opera for a guided tour of the fabled building. We had seen Hänsel und Gretel there a couple of nights before but this excellent tour opened up areas we hadn't seen and gave us a much deeper insight into the building and the way it runs.

After a quiet afternoon we made our way to the Vienna Konzerthaus for the annual New Year's Eve performance of Beethoven's ninth symphony. The Vienna Symphony Orchestra gives this performance each year with the Vienna Singakademie (a wonderful choir), guest soloists and a guest conductor.

This was the third successive performance of the symphony I'd heard here over three years. This orchestra can definitely play this piece but I had real issues with some of the results this year. The conductor, Dima Siobodeniouk (new to me) was very good, but it was clear that many in the orchestra took exception to some of his tempos. There were ensemble issues in many places (notably in the notorious scherzo) where the music simply wasn't together for long stretches.

Fortunately the excellent choral and solo singing in the finale made us forgive much, but I felt that in Vienna of all places we should have heard a more coherent reading of this magnificent score.

After the concert, in a Hayllar Music Tours tradition, we had a wonderful dinner at EssDur, the Konzerthaus restaurant, before returning to our hotel around 11.15 pm. Despite light snow showers earlier in the evening the streets were full of revellers, but I repaired to my hotel room to hear the noises of midnight from indoors.

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1 January:

Thursday, New Year's Day, was the last full day of this Hayllar Music Tours Christmas/New Year visit to Europe. Berlin, Prague and Vienna: it's been wonderful.

Our day started at noon with my eighth and final talk for our guests. After this we walked to a nearby restaurant for our farewell lunch, a lovely meal and a lovely occasion to reflect on two marvellous weeks.

A quiet afternoon to recover and then in the evening it was off to the Vienna State Opera one more time to see their annual New Year's Day performance of Die Fledermaus. This revered production by the late Otto Schenk is one I've seen twice before on previous tours and it really is beautiful. A lavish set, gorgeous costumes and exemplary singing; a lovely (and very Viennese) way to end our time together.

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2 January:

It's now Friday morning and our guests have already started dispersing to all parts of the world, either to continue their travels or return home. For my part I'm continuing my travels by staying right here for another three days. I'm just going to be a bit of a tourist and see a few things I've not had the chance to see before.

Today was the first of three days on my own post-tour in Vienna. I just did lots of walking this morning with my main focus being to actually step inside the famous St Stephen's Cathedral in the centre of the city for the first time.

It occasionally comes about that I finally get to experience a place I've often written about, and St Stephen's is one such place. Apart from its connection with Mozart's final years (his wedding and his funeral took place there), other big musical names have had some connection with this church. Joseph Haydn, and his younger brother, Michael, were boy choristers here, and Joseph Haydn's wedding also took place in St Stephen's.

Some articles also state that Antonio Vivaldi's funeral took place there in 1741. (Grove differs.) Vivaldi came to Vienna the preceding year but circumstances conspired against him and his financial situation became desperate. His funeral seems to have had no music, so it's unlikely the nine year old Joseph Haydn, then in the choir, was involved.

Entry to the cathedral is free but to get into the centre of the nave and near the altar, as well as go up the towers and see other things, a ticket is needed. I'd organised this beforehand so went straight up the north tower, which has an elevator, and saw some great views of Vienna.

I then explored the body of the church before deciding to skip the catacombs tour because the crowd was just too much.

This left the south tower. No elevator, just 343 spiral steps. I made it. Just.

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3 January:

My second-last full day in Vienna was set aside to visit one of the great art galleries of the world: the Kunsthistorisches Museum. The title translates as Art History (or Historical Art?) Museum, but in English it's often referred to as the Museum of Fine Arts. Whatever you call it, it's stunning.

Getting there required a 20 minute walk from my hotel in dazzling sunshine but biting wind. I arrived ten minutes or so before opening and found the expected queue (there's a lot of those in Vienna I've discovered) but things moved quickly once the doors opened.

The building is totally gobsmacking. It's a vast, late 19th century palace, but a palace purpose-built in the Renaissance revival style to be an art gallery from the start. It was designed to house the Habsburgs' art collection and make it accessible to the public, opening in 1891.

The collection is eye-wateringly wonderful. Masterpieces of European painting from the middle ages to the 18th century are at its core, but there are also Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities, coin collections, and more. After two hours my feet were sore and my brain was full, an amazing experience.

I can only share a few highlights here: the Breugel Tower of Babel (and all manner of other Breugels), the Caravaggio David and Goliath, the Holbein portrait of Jane Seymour, the Duplessis portrait of Gluck, two of Rembrandt's self portraits...

There was a plethora of decapitations, either Judith beheading Holofernes (a popular subject) or Salome dispatching John the Baptist, as well as the aforementioned Goliath.

I was fascinated by ancient Greek vases but by that stage it was all becoming a bit much. I didn't even make it to the coins!

An amazing place, so much wonderful art for the mind to feast upon. I'll have to come back.

PS: As I walked back to my hotel I managed to score a table (without queuing!) at the famous Cafe Landtmann. A coffee (Wiener Melange, new to me, basically a strong cappuccino) and a Mozart torte (rolls eyes) later, I could at least say I'd been there.

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4 January:

Sunday was my last day in Vienna and it was a pretty quiet one. In the morning I visited the Mozart Museum in Domgasse, where the composer lived for a couple of years and in which he wrote some of his greatest works (including my favourite opera, The Marriage of Figaro).

This is spread over three floors, with the upper two presenting displays on Mozart's life and times. The lowest - the actual apartment in which he and Constanze lived - presents a conjectural suggestion as to how the various rooms were used. It's well-presented and really interesting.

I took a couple of photos before being told I wasn't allowed to. Oops.

I then went to the Dom Museum nearby, the museum connected with St Stephen's Cathedral. This is very small but contains some beautiful vestments, books and church items such monstrances and reliquaries.

Otherwise it was a restful day in my hotel. Tomorrow I'm up early to start the long journey home.