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Your
Questions, Our
Answers
Do I have to be an antique
dealer or historian to go on the
tour?
No. Anyone who shares an interest in
antiques is welcome! You don’t have to be an expert. You do have to be an
adventurer. Our trips are for people who are newer to
antiques as well as seasoned antiquers.
I live
outside theU.S. Can I
still join one of your tours?
We are happy to accommodate fellow
adventurers from other countries. Having a mix of
travelers from different places adds a special note to our
trips. Tour prices vary, depending on where you
live. If you have decided which tour you would like, please reserve it online
and we will contact you with price
information. If you have not decided which tour is
best for you and have questions, please email or call
us. We can arrange container shipping to the
port nearest your city and ground transportation from there to
your door.
Do
you farm the tour out to an agent or a local
company?
The
planning and implementation of the trip are our
responsibility. We share your interests (we are antiques
dealers ourselves) and make it a priority to give you the
personal attention and access to great antiques that you want.
We couldn’t provide you with the opportunities and the kind of
service we pride ourselves on if we handed off the tour to a
travel agency or local company.
How
does the trip work?
Since Heart of Europe Tours takes care of
the sourcing, logistics, ground travel and will manage the
shipping, you can focus on antiquing from the first day
to the last day.
Most of our trips start and end
in Frankfurt. We pick you up at the airport (unless
you arrive before the tour starts), and bring you back to the
airport at the end of the tour. We travel by chartered bus or
minibus, depending on the size of the group, and will visit
different dealers, markets or auction houses each day.
These are active tours. You will sleep well at
night.
Since bus travel is impractical in parts of
Prague, Nürnberg
and other cities, we will be visiting some few
dealers by foot or, if necessary, by taxi or public
transportation. Of course, we’ll take the bus to shops and
wholesalers that are far afield. We schedule vists
in morning and afternoon
blocks. If you would like, sometimes you will be able
to opt out and see historical or cultural attractions or shop
for something different. We will help you make these arrangements if you
would like.
Sometimes the group will eat together in
the evening, other times, people will want to explore and find
a restaurant on their own. We don’t believe in "enforced
togetherness" and try to make space for shared and individual
experiences during the trip.
What’s
included?
- Orientation materials
- Airport transfers
- Ground transportation between cities and to
flea markets and to most antique dealers
- Welcome dinner
- Hotel (double occupancy) with private bath and
shower/bathtub
- Value-added taxes for the hotel, tourist
and resort taxes, if applicable
- Breakfast in the hotel
- Tour guide
- Ongoing professional and technical support
during the trip
- A basic amount of packing supplies including
bubble wrap
- Sourcing -- access to top dealers, markets and
auction houses
- Transatlantic container shipping (shared
container), if offered on your tour
- Management of post-trip
logistics. Individual charges may apply for
extra pick-ups, storage, warehousing, architectural
antiques, etc.
- Liaison with dealers after trip, preparation of
export documentation, translation of shipping list,
preparation of import documentation
- Management of incoming container, and
liaison with broker (if your tour includes container
shipping)
- Ground transportation to Philadelphia
- Unloading container in Philadelphia
- A 5%-preferred client discount toward your
next Heart of Europe tour is also
included.
Note: Accommodations for the last night
before your return are included in the tour, so you do not
have to worry about finding a hotel
room.
What’s not included?
- Air fare. The travel agency
we work with is
often able to find discounted fares -- You may
also make your own arrangements
- Hotel phone, internet access, minibar,
beverages, room service and other hotel charges not included
with the room
- Incidental and personal expenses, toiletries,
medicine and presecription drugs
- Lunch and the evening meal, except where noted
otherwise in the tour description
- Excess baggage charges
- The cost of your purchases, insurance and
duty if applicable
Are there other
expenses?
There are no "hidden charges," but there
might be additional expenses, depending on what, where
and how much you buy.
You will have control over
these and we will help you anticipate them.
Examples:
- Transportation of your large purchases to the
loading point if this is not handled by the seller
(container tours). Depending on the volume and
distance this could be approximately $100 - $350.
- Moving and shipping of large items such as
architectural elements, gardenware, stone figures, etc.
- Extra broker fees or related charges if
your items are difficult to import and require extra
documentation or advocacy (unlikely)
- Demurrage (short-term storage in the port) if
applicable
- Storage, re-packing, re-loading and forwarding
charges from Philadelphia
We are currently working on air cargo
arrangements with Lufthansa and hope to be able to offer this
for tours which don’t include container shipping. If you
are interested, please let us know so we can alert you when
things are finalized.
Are flights
included?
Since participants come from all over, it isn’t
practical to include air in the price of the tour.
However, Heart of Europe Tours works with a
nonprofit travel agency that is good at ferreting out special
deals and lower fares. You are free to use your own
travel agent but if you would like, we will put you in touch
with them.
It is important to reserve your tour
as early as possible to take
advantage of good fares and avoid a
fare increase.
Does the group fly together? Can I depart
earlier or stay longer?
It's not practical to fly to Europe as a
group since participants come from various cities. We
will do our best to accommodate you if you would like to fly
to Europe before the tour or
stay longer. In this case, there may be an additional
charge for your flights. (Also see question about
post-tour travel below).
Note: if you are part of a
"minigroup" that originates in one city and has the same
itinerary, it will be possible for you to fly as a
group. Please let us know if you are traveling as part
of the group.
What about business
class?
We can offer you a discount off the regularly
published business class fare by special arrangement with
Lufthansa. Contact us if you want to fly business
class.
Where
will we stay?
We feature hand-picked hotels that reflect
the flavor, history and character of the region. They are
generally smaller, family-run institutions. When possible, we
book rooms in a chateau or castle hotel, brewery, manor or
similar location. If a monastery stay is included in
your tour, the accommodations may be simpler than those of a
hotel. Private toilet and bath/shower are
alsways included.
Rooms are double occupancy -- singles are
available for a supplement. The amount of the supplement
varies depending on the our you choose. Please ask
us. We’ll be glad to help.
I am traveling solo but would like to share a
room with another participant. Is this
possible?
We are happy to match people with
others who want to share a room. Check the appropriate box on
the tour form which you will receive after to make a
reservation and we will do our best to make a
match.
This generally works well since double
rooms in Germany and the
Czech
Republic usually have a large
bed with two separate mattresses.
Do
I have to stay with the group the whole time or can I strike
out on my own?
We expect that participants will have
varied interests, so there are opportunities for getting
off on your own, especially in the larger cities and at the
markets.
Obviously, it makes sense for
the group to stick together when we have to drive to visit
dealers in small towns and the countryside and then go on to a
different city.
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How can
I be sure I will see the kinds of furniture, antiques and
collectibles I’m interested in?
The shops and warehouses we visit stock a huge
variety of antiques and collectibles. You’ll see antiques from
the Baroque period and before to the 1950s – furniture, art,
smalls, jewelry, glass, porcelain, clocks, pottery, toys,
country items, dolls, games, ephemera, textiles, and
more. We do our level best to make sure you have access to the
kinds of antiques and collectibles you are looking
for.
Do
I have to go antiquing every day?
Feel free to opt out of antiques shopping and
spend a few hours exploring a museum, taking in a
concert or going clothes shopping. There is almost always
flexibility for these sorts of choices.
Obviously, you
have to stay with the group when we are moving on to the next
city or town.
Is
this trip for people who only want to buy really high-end
antiques? Is this trip for people who only want to by low-end
antiques?
The tour is designed to encompass a whole
range of tastes, styles and pocketbooks. You will have access
to high-end, mid-range and lower-cost antiques -- and there
are good deals in all categories. Pick and choose in line with
your interests: A $12,000 satinwood Biedermeier bureau… a
$1,200 Meissen figure…a $650 Neo-Baroque commode…a $250 Loetz
vase…a $180 Art Nouveau breakfront…a $160 painted country
bench… a $45 Art Deco table…a $35 rocking horse…a $20 reverse
glass painting… a $13 wooden farm rake…a $10 zinc watering
can…an $8 amber necklace… a $5 apothecary bottle. It’s all
there.
I
don’t speak a foreign language. How will I be able to
communicate with the antique dealers we meet?
Most of the people we cross paths with in
Germany speak
English. The tour guide is fluent in German and will always be
available to help translate.
In the Czech
Republic, English and
German are spoken by many people. Most dealers speak either
one or the other language so there generally won’t be a
problem. Basically, when the seller is motivated to sell
and the buyer is motivated to buy, the language barriers fall
pretty quickly.
Why
go to
Central Europe to buy
antiques? Am I limiting myself by only going to this part of
the continent?
Central Europe is arguably one of the most
fertile if not the best source for value-priced antiques in
Europe
today.
We traverse the old kingdoms of
Saxony, Franconia and Bohemia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and
the First
Republic in
Czechoslovakia
where remarkably rich traditions
of artistry, design, craftsmanship and production converged
in the 18th-20th centuries.
This is a region known for its glass,
crystal, traditional and innovative furniture, porcelain and
pottery, textiles and lace-making, folk art, toy-making,
various kinds of applied art and more. You will have access to
an enormous, diverse supply of art, antiques and collectibles
from all periods.
Does
it really make sense to buy antiques in
Europe when the Euro is stronger than
the dollar?
Now is the right time to buy antiques in
Central
Europe, despite the
strong Euro.
Dealers’ overhead costs tend to be
lower in Central Europe than in Holland, France, Belgium
and the
UK, where
many American dealers currently go to buy antiques. Since
wages are lower and rental and real estate generally cost less
in eastern Germany and the
Czech
Republic, dealers there are
often able to charge less.
The local antiques market has suffered from the
economic downturn in Europe:
Many dealers have inventory they want to move -- they are
motivated to sell and they are glad to get new customers in
the door.
It is a delicious paradox that our
purchases are exempt from the local value-added tax
(ranging from 16%-22%) that everybody in Europe has to pay. This applies to
people who live outside the European Union and who are
exporting what they have purchased.
All this --
lower overhead, economic downturn and tax-free purchasing
--generally translates into friendly, reasonable prices.
Am
I under any obligation to buy?
No, we can’t stress this enough.
Buy what you like, what you want for your own collection
or what you think will sell well. There is no “minimum
purchase,” and you are not under any obligation.
Will
I have to pay customs?
The U.S. Customs Service considers anything more
than 100 years old to be an antique.
Since
antiques and art are exempt from import duty, most of your
purchases will enter the country duty free. You may be charged
customs for items that are less than 100 years old, depending
on what they are. This is usually a small percentage of the
purchase value.
We want to stay in Europe after the tour. Can you
help with an itinerary, accommodations and ground
travel?
We can offer you a flexible package for the
Porcelain Festival or
the Doll Festival,
including a hotel and rental car.
We also offer a
flexible one- or two-week stay in an apartment in an
historic house or small chateau in Bamberg, along with a
rental car you can use to visit shops and markets in the
region. Our strong suit: the charming "tucked-away"
places tourists rarely stay in.
You’ll have
your own comfortable suite or apartment with a kitchen.
Shop for regional specialties at the local market and cook at
home if you like. Explore antique shops, flea markets
and historical attractions and come home to your own four
walls in the evening.
Please let us know if you are interested
in an option like this.
I’m
interested in a tour. Where and how can I reserve a
spot?
Space is limited and reservations will be handled
on a first-come-first-served basis. You
should reserve your tour
as soon as possible to
secure a spot.
We offer an easy,
quick, secure online reservation option. You
do not
have to furnish credit-card information when you reserve
your tour. To reserve, click on the link in the
left-hand menu. If you don't want to register
online, you can also send the reservation by mail or
fax.
We will check availabilty and send you a
confirmation with a tour form promptly. The tour deposit
($500) is due within 5 days of confirmation. Final
payment (personal check or money order) for the
full amount is due 75 days before the start of the
tour.
I’m
interested in the trip but I have some questions. How can I
find out more?
We would love to hear from
you. Please contact us by email, phone or snail
mail. Click on “Contact” in the menu on the left side of the
page for details.
What
do I need to do before the trip?
You must have a valid passport that does not
expire before the end of the tour (or the end of your
extension if you decide to stay longer). Please let us know if
you have passport-related questions when you reserve your
trip.
Citizens of the U.S., Canada, Australia,
the E.U. and many other countries are not required to have a
visa to enter the
Czech
Republic or
Germany. If
you live in any other country, please contact us to find out
if you need a visa.
We will send you
detailed advance materials before the
trip.
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