Day 1: DEPART THE UNITED STATES
Day 2: Wittenberg
Wilkommen in Deutschland! Welcome to Germany! After clearing customs, meet your trip director and board your luxury motorcoach for an orientation tour of Berlin. Afterward travel through Franconia and Saxony. Upon arrival in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, join your trip director for an orientation walk through the town. Overnight: Wittenberg
Day 3: Wittenberg & Leipzig
This morning visit the Lutherhaus, home to the world’s largest collection of artifacts from the Reformation and former residence of Martin Luther and Katerina von Bora. The house has been newly renovated inside and out, and the entire house is now open to visitors. Just down the street is St. Mary’s, also known as the Town Church, which was Luther’s parish church. Marvel at the Cranach altar paintings and the grand pulpit. The nearby Castle Church was the venue for posting the 95 Theses and now serves as the final resting place of the Great Reformer and his counselor, Philip Melanchthon.
This afternoon, travel to nearby Leipzig. Stand before the Nikolaikirche, where in 1989, thousands of East Germans stood to protest the totalitarian regime, spawning the collapse of worldwide Communism. Spend some reflective moments in the beautifully restored Thomaskirche, the Gothic Church where Johann Sebastian Bach, master of the contrapuntal style, was choirmaster for 27 years and was laid to rest before the altar. It was here that Martin Luther preached on Whit Sunday, 1539, signaling the arrival of Protestantism in Leipzig. Bach’s 12 children and the infant Richard Wagner were baptized in the church’s early 17th Century font. Continue to Eisenach where you will overnight. Overnight: Eisenach
Day 4: Erfurt & Buchenwald
In the afternoon, drive through the Thuringian Forest. Only a few miles from Weimar, cradle of Humanism, the Ettersberg forest concealed one of the largest concentration camps of the Hitler regime for eight years. Established in 1937 for the internment of political opponents, the camp was subsequently used for the Jews, gypsies and religious prisoners. The camp was liberated on April 11, 1945 but not in time to save Lutheran Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was interred here before his execution. Travel to the university city of Erfurt, known in the Middle Ages as the “German Rome.” Enjoy a guided city tour and savor the architectural delights of the 43 churches and chapels, 36 abbeys and 14 castles that grace the town. The most famous student of the Erfurt University was Martin Luther, enrolled from 1501 until he entered the Augustinian monastery. Stand before the beautifully restored stain glass windows and imagine what Luther contemplated within the abbey’s walls. Walk across the exceptionally beautiful Kramer Bridge and touch walls that witnessed centuries of European turmoil. Stop in the Cathedral Square for a Bratwurst and a beer while the horse-drawn carriages whisk young couples past. Continue to Eisenach. Overnight: Eisenach
Day 5: Eisenach and Wartburg
This morning, pass through the most impressive collection of Jugendstil villas dating from the turn of the century. Our destination is the mythical Wartburg Castle, the site of national and cultural events of monumental significance. Count the steps leading to the drawbridge and imagine Bach, Liszt, Luther, Goethe climbing this rocky precipice. Built in the 12th Century, the Wartburg became known around the Western world in 1521 when Luther accomplished the tremendous linguistic feat of translating the New Testament of the Bible from Greek into German. Legend has it that Luther also encountered the devil incarnate here and cast an inkwell at Lucifer. Visit the apartments of St. Elizabeth and the Grand Concert Hall, which served as the model for the hall in Neuschwanstein. In the afternoon, visit the old town with your trip director. J. S. Bach was born here and his parents died in Eisenach. The curator of the Bachhaus, Germany’s only museum devoted to the genius of the Bach Family will be expecting us.
You are invited to a private demonstration of Baroque instruments played by a master musician. In the afternoon, explore Eisenach at your leisure. At St. George’s Church stand before the baptismal font where Johann Sebastian was christened. It’s not hard to imagine how the mighty Reformer preached to the Eisenachers in 1521 on his way to the Imperial Diet in Worms. Take time to visit the stalls in the colorful town marketplace adjoining the Church as it has since the Dark Ages. You may wish to visit the original house where Luther lived during his formative years. For a peek at 20th century history, stop into the automobile museum and learn why the BMW was first created in Eisenach. Your trip director is available all afternoon for special requests. Overnight: Eisenach
Day 6: Rothenburg ob der Tauber
This morning, check out and enjoy the beautiful drive down the Romantic Road. No other European byway rivals the scenery to be encountered along the way. Medieval villages, castles and churches are tucked between low hills, their spires and towers poking up through the greenery. Within the mellow walls of little hamlets, the modern world seems to fade away. Motor past picture-perfect Teutonic towns, admiring the architectural styles ranging from Gothic to Baroque. Stop for a lunch break in the beautiful town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Tucked along the eastern bank of the Tauber River, Rothenburg, preserved inside the stout city wall is quite simply, the most impressive medieval citadel anywhere. Take time to see the inner city with not one modern building in the entire Altstadt. It’s never too early to bring back authentic, hard-to-find Christmas gifts from one of the town’s many shops. Wander about this medieval town that even a set designer might have thought too good to be true, with gingerbread architecture galore and a wealth of fountains and flowers against a backdrop of towers and turrets.
After the lunch break, continue on to Neuschwanstein Castle. Visit the village before beginning your ascent up the mountain to Ludwig’s fairytale world. Only inhabited for a matter of days, its sole raison d’être during its entire existence was that of a glorified stage set. Modeled after the Wartburg Castle, Ludwig II staged performances of scenes from the opera Tannhäuser in the Minstrel’s Hall. Continue on to nearby Oberammergau, where dinner awaits. Overnight: Oberammergau
Day 7: PASSION PLAY
This morning, relax in the bucolic alpine surroundings or spend the morning in Oberammergau visiting the lovely shops. Lunch will be served. In the afternoon, the highlight of the week begins: the Passion Play. You will be transported to the streets of Jerusalem and to Calvary to witness this spectacle that dates back to 1634. Dinner is served during the Play’s intermission. In the evening, a comfortable featherbed awaits. Overnight: Oberammergau
Day 8: Munich
This morning, travel to Munich. The stock image of Munich is the cavernous beer hall filled with the deafening echo of a brass oompah band and rows of swaying burly Bavarians in Lederhosen being served by frumpy Fraus in flairing Dirndl dresses. Every day of the week, in different parts of the city, you’ll find scenes like this. But there are also many Müncheners who never step inside a beer hall, who never go near the Oktoberfest. They belong to the Munich of quiet charm, refinement, and sophistication, represented by two of the world’s most important art galleries and a renowned opera house, a city of expensive elegance, where high fashion shops compete with Paris and New York, a city of haute couture and haute cuisine. The ambience is always good and “the living is easy.” Spend time exploring Dallmayr’s delicatessen in the Old Town before visiting the greatest beer hall in the world: the Hofbrauhaus. Beer is part of the staple diet here, and the long tables are a meeting place. In the afternoon, travel through the vast fields of hops to the edge of the Bavarian Woods. Our destination is Regensburg where a comfortable bed awaits. Overnight: Regensburg
Day 9: Regensburg
This morning, cross over the Danube, for a walking tour of Regensburg. One of the best-preserved cities in Germany, Regensburg suffered no major damage in World War II. It is also one of Germany’s most historic cities. The key to Regensburg is the Danube, the great river being a highway for commerce and a conduit for knowledge. It was from Regensburg, for example, during the 7th and 8th Centuries that Christianity was spread across much of central Europe. Pass over the Danube at the Steinerne Brücke – Stone Bridge – to the enchanting Bridge Tower: all tiny windows, weathered tiles, and pink plaster. Built in 1141, the bridge was rightfully considered a miraculous piece of engineering at the time. Stand before the commanding Dom St. Peter, Regensburg’s cathedral. Begun in the 13th Century and not completed until 600 years later, the cathedral is modeled on the airy, vertical lines of French Gothic architecture. Next to the cathedral are the Cloisters and the All Saints’ Chapel bearing the faded remains of stylized 11th Century frescoes on its ancient walls. The oldest church in the city is St. Kassian founded in the 8th century and endowed with delicate rococo decoration. Stop into the Old Regensburg Sausage Kitchen which has been in continuous operation since the Middle Ages for a lunch break on your own. End the day at the Porta Praetoria, one of the original city gates erected by the Romans. Overnight Regensburg
Day 10: Return Day: Transer to the airport for the return flight to the United States.