Upcoming Tours
-2010 Tour-
July 9 - 20
Open Tour
$5,389
from NYC
OBERAMMERGAU 12 DAYS
Including Entrance to the World Famous Oberammergau Passion Play
July 9 - 20, 2010
$5,389 from New York City
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Day 1
Departure
Depart USA for overnight transatlantic flight to Berlin.
Day 2
Berlin
We arrive in Berlin and settle into our hotel. In the afternoon, we get together for introductions and orientation to Berlin and the background of the Reformation. Tonight, we enjoy a special welcome dinner. We stay in Berlin for two nights at a centrally-located hotel. (D)
Day 3
Berlin
We will begin our visit to Berlin with a city tour highlighting the three centers of Berlin: the west around Kurfuerstendamm Blvd and Memorial Church, the new center around Potsdamer Square and the east around Unter den Linden, Brandenburg Gate and Alexanderplatz. After lunch, we will visit the Pergamon Museum and the Dietrich Bonhoeffer house with a time of worship celebration. We will dine at our hotel this evening and enjoy a time of fellowship. (B/D)
Day 4
Potsdam, Wittenberg
We will travel to Potsdam for a palace tour of Sanssouci, former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles and is listed as a World Heritage Site (WHS). Then we will travel to Lutherstadt Wittenberg home to the most historic sights of Luther's life and work. We'll stay in Wittenberg for two nights at a centrally-located hotel. (B/D)
Day 5
Wittenberg
This morning we’ll visit Lutherstadt-Wittenberg where the Reformation officially began on October 31, 1517. Our local guide will take us to the very place Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses to the door of the Schlosskirche (Castle Church). The original door was destroyed in the Seven Years War, but was replaced with Luther’s texts of the 95 Theses cast in bronze on the new door. Inside the church, we can see Martin Luther's and Phillip Melanchthon’s graves.
Next we'll tour the Lutherhalle (Luther House) Museum. In 1508, when Martin Luther came to Wittenberg, he lived here with other Augustinian monks. Later, Luther and his wife, Katharina von Bora, raised six children in this home. We'll be able to view some of Luther's very own personal library, rare manuscripts, early Bibles, and some of the very pamphlets that Luther had printed up that stoked the fires of the Reformation. The tour will also include Stadtkirche St. Marien (St. Mary's church) where Luther preached and where his children were baptized. We’ll marvel at the amazing detail in the altar painted by Lucas Cranach in a Reformation theme. We’ll dine at a local restaurant this evening. (B/D)
Day 6
Eisleben, Erfurt
This morning we travel to Lutherstadt Eisleben to explore the birth house of Luther, which is now a Museum and contains the first translated German Bible. Other points of interest are the Church of Peter and Paul, Luther’s Baptismal site, the house where Luther died at age 62, and St. AndrewsChurch where Luther preached his last four sermons and where his body was laid in state.
In the afternoon we'll take a sobering visit to Buchenwald concentration camp and pause to remember those dark days. We stay in Erfurt for two nights at the Augustinian Monastery (if available) or a centrally-located hotel. (B/D)
Day 7
Eisenach/Wartburg Castle, Erfurt
This morning we explore Eisenach where Johann Sebastian Bach was born. A visit is planned to the Luther home which provides a glimpse of the Reformation at its earliest moments. An exhibit shows Martin Luther as a teacher of the Church and educator of the German people. Traveling on to Wartburg Castle, where Luther was in exile and hidden by Frederick the Wise, after he refused to recant his beliefs and writings in 1521-1522. During this period, Luther translated the New Testament from the original Greek into German.
Returning to Erfurt, the spiritual home of Martin Luther, we begin with a walking tour through the historical section of the city. Luther studied here from 1501 to 1505 at the Augustinian Monastery and at the 600-year old University Quarter. The Monastery has a permanent exhibit depicting Luther’s life as a monk in Erfurt. Visits will also be made to the church of St. Severus, where Luther gave his sermons. Time permitting we may have the opportunity to further explore the unique Kraemerbrueke “Merchants Bridge”, with its Renaissance dwellings. (B/D)
Day 8
Worms, Heidelberg
On our way south, we'll stop in Worms for a brief stop to see the site of the Worms Debates (Diet of Worms), now a park, with a plaque commemorating the Diet of Worms and the Reformation Monument. Our guide will also share about another Reformer, William Tyndale, who finished his printing of the English Bible in Worms, escaping persecution in England.
Our lunch stop will be in Heidelberg, a gorgeous town on the Neckar River. The stone bridge and Castle are magnificent. Heidelberg is a gorgeous town on the Neckar River. We’ll have a walking tour of the Old Town, the famous Stone Bridge over the Neckar River, and then tour Heidelberg Castle. This is where the Heidelberg Confession was written in 1563. (B/D)
Day 9
Romantic Road, Oberammergau
We will then make our way to Bavaria, via the “Romantic Road,” stopping for a tour of King Ludwig’s spectacular Neuschwanstein Castle, nestled in the Bavarian Alps. We’ll have time to stroll the old streets lined with the famous painted houses of Oberammergau and shop in the famous wood carving studios. Our journey continues to mad King Ludwig’s famous castles! Overnight in Oberammergau. (B/D)
Day 10
Oberammergau Passion Play
The morning will be free to stroll around Oberammergau and visit the woodcarvers' shops. We will enjoy lunch together and then attend the Passion Play. We will listen to the splendid chorus, view the magnificient drama, and be moved as we witness the passion of Jesus, recalling how "he who knew no sin became sin for us" so that we might be forgiven. We will also recall his resurrection and the gift of new life he offers to all. Overnight in Oberammergau. (B/L/D)
Day 11
Bavarian Castles
Our leisurely day today will include a tour of the Wieskirche, “The Church on the Meadow”, then Linderhof Castle, with its ornate suites and Venus Grotto. We’ll end the day in Munich with free time before our farewell meal this evening. (B/D)
Day 12
Munich
We leave this morning and drive to Munich. Transfer to Munich Airport for our flight home. (B)
