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Day 1 -
DEPART USA - Today, we depart our home
city to connect with our transatlantic overnight flight to
Frankfurt aboard a
wide-bodied jet. We are served complementary beverages, in-flight movies,
dinner and breakfast aloft.
Day 2 - FRANKFURT -
EISENACH -
Upon our arrival at the airport we will be met by our tour manager and
private luxurymotorcoach for the drive to Eisenach where we will visit
memorials to Luther and to Johann Sebastian Bach, who was born here in 1685. We
will visit Luther House with its collection of Bibles. Dinner and overnight in
Eisenach area.
Day 3 - EISENACH TO
LEIPZIG -
A highlight this morning will be our guided visit to Wartburg castle,
which lies just outside Eisenach.Here while in exile 1521/22 Martin Luther
translated the Greek New Testament into German and we will see Luther's room.
Continue to Erfurt where we will see the Cathedral and Severi Church. A visit
to the Augustinian Monastery with the Luther Memorial. He was a monk here for
six yearsfrom 1505. We will then depart for Leipzig - an important and
interesting city associated with Johann Sebastian Bach and Richard Wagner. Our
guided tour of the city of Leipzig includes St Thomas Church where Bach was
organist and choirmaster. Dinner and overnight Leipzig
Day 4 - LEIPZIG/EISLEBEN/WITTENBERG/LEIPZIG
-
This morning we will go to Eisleben where Martin Luther was born in
1483 and died in 1546.We will visit the house where he was born and see the
house where he died and his monument. Later we drive to Wittenberg where Luther
spent much of his life under the protection of Frederick the Wise. We will
visit the Museum of the Reformation at Luther House as well as Stadtkirche
where he preached and Castle Church, on whose door he nailed his 95 Theses
against the abuse of indulgences on October 31, 1517. Return to Leipzig for
dinner and overnight.
Day 5 - LEIPZIG TO
AUGSBURG -
Our journey takes us south past Bayreuth, famed for the annual Wagner Festival
to Nuremberg, where we will pause for refreshment and take in the views of the
Castle, pointed gables and tall church spires. This medieval Franconian city
still boasts a ring of thick walls and an interesting Old Town. Continue
southward, crossing the source of the Danube to Augsburg for dinner and
overnight.
Day 6 - AUGSBURG/OBERAMMERGAU
-
Enjoy a short visit of this city of the powerful Welser and Fugger
merchants where the Protestants, inspired by Luther, proclaimed in their
Confession a statement of their belief. Then we head south to Neuschwanstein
for a visit of 'Mad' King Ludwig's fairytale castle, inspiration of Walt
Disney. We continue to Oberammergau and check into our accommodations for
dinner and overnight.
Day 7 - OBERAMMERGAU/PASSION PLAY - Every 10
years this beautiful Bavarian village of craftsmen becomes world famous by
hosting a Passion Festival. After a black plague epidemic in 1634 that
miraculously was cut short, the inhabitants vowed to produce the festival. With
inner conviction the amateur actors, all from the village, will present again
the life and sufferings of Our Lord. The play shows the story of Christ's
Passion, beginning with the entry into Jerusalem and ending with the
resurrection and transfiguration. The structure of the play is living pictures
from the Old Testament and acted scenes from the New Testament. The Play
employs a large choir and orchestra. Our performance begins at 9:00 AM and
concludes at 5:30 PM following a three-hour lunch break. Afterwards, we return
to our hotel for dinner and overnight
Day 8 - OBERMMERGAU TO ROTHENBURG ob der TAUBER
-
North this morning on the Romantic Road, to Dinkelsbuhl with its
half-timbered, high gabled houses and cobblestone streets, past medieval towns
which still cherish appearances and customs of the 13 th and 14 th centuries.
This afternoon walk the streets of Rothenburg ob der Tauber with its sturdy
walls reminding us of the 40 years War. Dinner and overnight here.
Day
9
- ROTHENBURG /HEIDELBERG/WORMS/WIESBADEN
-
Today we leave Rothenburg ob der Tauber and reach Heidelberg, city of
the 'Student Prince'. See the Marktgasse with the Red Ox Inn and enjoy a view
of the dominant Castle before we arrive in Worms. This was the scene of the
Imperial Council that passed judgment on Luther in 1521. We shall visit Worms
Cathedral where Luther actually pleaded his case before the Elector, then on to
the Luther monument, Trinity Church and the Luther Kirche, before continuing to
Wiesbaden for dinner and overnight.
Day10
- WIESBADEN/RHINE CRUISE/RUDESHEIM/WIESBADEN
-
Cross the river to Mainz, whose Archbishop's sale of indulgences so
enraged Luther. It was here that Johannes Gutenberg invented moveable type - a
crucial instrument in the rapid spread of information and hence of the
Reformation. To Oberwesel where we board our Rhine cruise ship which will take
us past numerous castles and forts, vineyards and charming villages. The fabled
Loreley Rock, whose sirens enticed sailors to their doom and downstream to
Boppard.
We'll rejoin our coach and continue to Koblenz where we cross back to the
river's other side and proceed to Rüdesheim, famed for its vineyards, friendly
Weinstüben and the ever active Drosselgasse. After free time to enjoy the
atmosphere we will return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 11 - WIESBADEN/FRANKFURT AIRPORT/USA
- Transfer to Frankfurt airport and check in for our flight home,
cherishing the memories of our journey in the footsteps of the great Reformers.
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