Journey through the Germany with Rev. Meinhardt
May 10 ~ 19, 2017Day One, May 10, 2017 - Departure Day
Today, board the transatlantic flight from Canada to Europe. (The flight is an option. Travelers may choose to meet the group in Europe.)
Day Two, May 11, 2017 - Munich
Welcome to Europe! After clearing customs, meet your Goodspeed & Bach trip director before boarding your luxury motorcoach. Transfer to Munich and enjoy a walking tour of the city. 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 waitresses 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. Explore the Maximilianstrasse, the city's most elegant shopping street, and view the Residenz, the royal palace of Wittelsbach rulers for more than six centuries. Visit the delectable Viktualienmarkt bursting with fresh produce, fish, meats and Wurst. Stop into the famous Hofbrauhaus. Afterward depart by coach for Augsburg where dinner awaits.
Meals Included: Dinner - Overnight Augsburg Day Three, May 12, 2017 - Augsburg and Coburg
After breakfast, take a city tour of beautiful Augsburg. It was here that the Augsburg Confession took place and where the powerful Fuggers oversaw commercial control over much of Central Europe. Travel to nearby Franconia to visit the town of Coburg where Dr. Martin Luther preached on Easter Sunday in 1530. Visit the Veste Castle perched above the town. One of the best-preserved castles in Europe, the Ducal Apartments were safe haven for Luther. In the afternoon, cross the former East German border at a point where the Iron Curtain was at its most impenetrable at the Thuringian Forest. Our destination will be the town of Eisenach where dinner awaits.
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 St. Elizabeth, Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Liszt, and Wolfgang von Goethe climbing this rocky precipice. Built in the 12th Century, the Wartburg became known around the Western world througElizabeth of Hungary. Richard Wagner also paid homage to the castle in his opera Tannhaeuser. Stop into the tiny rooms where Martin Luther translated the New Testament of the Bible from Greek into German. Visit the apartments of St. Elizabeth and the Grand Concert Hall, which served as the model for the hall in Neuschwanstein. In the afternoon, join the private guide for the visit of the old town. J. S. Bach was born here and his parents died in Eisenach. At the St. George's Church stand before the baptismal font where Johann Sebastian was christened and Luther sang in the choir. Hear the organ and imagine how the mighty Bach family dominated the European musical world. The curator of the Bachhaus, Germany's only museum devoted to the genius of the Bach Family will be expecting you. You are invited to a private demonstration of Baroque instruments played by a master musician.
Meals included: Breakfast - Overnight Eisenach Day Five, May 14, 2017 - Erfurt
In Erfurt stop in the Cathedral Square for a Bratwurst and a beer while the horse-‐drawn carriages whisk couples past. Enjoy a guided city tour and savor the architectural delights of the 43churches and chapels, 36 abbeys and 14 castles that grace this town, known in the Middle Ages as the "German Rome." 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. Continue on to Lutherstadt Wittenberg where dinner awaits.
Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner -‐ Overnight Wittenberg Day Six, May 15, 2017 - Wittenberg
This morning enjoy a guided walking tour of Wittenberg. First mentioned as a fortification in a document dating from 1180, Wittenberg was given City status in 1293. The favorable location of the town by the River Elbe, as well as the junction of two important trade routes, contributed to the development of the town. Visit 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. Visit The Castle Church was the venue for posting the 95 Theses and now serves as the resting place of the Great Reformer and his counselor, Philip Melanchthon. At the end of the tour we’ll 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.
Day Seven, May 16, 2017 - Leipzig and Luetzen
Today, enjoy a city tour of the second-‐largest city in Eastern Germany and an historical center of printing and bookselling. Goethe, who was a student in Leipzig, called the city
‘Little Paris.' See the completely restored
Renaissance Alte Rathaus and pass examples of the town's famous Jugendstil architecture. Stand before the Nikolaikirche, where in 1989, thousands of East Germans stood to protest the totalitarian regime, spawning the collapse of worldwide Communism. Spend time in the beautifully restored Thomaskirche, the Gothic Church where J. S. Bach 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 were baptized in the church's early 17th Century font. Bach's job required him to instruct the students of the Thomasschule in singing and to provide weekly music at the two main churches in Leipzig, St Thomas and St. Nicholas. In an astonishing burst of creativity, he wrote up to five annual cantata cycles during his first six years in Leipzig (two of which have apparently been lost). Visit Luetzen site of two important battles in separate conflicts: the Thirty Years’ War and the Napoleonic Wars.
Meals included: Breakfast - Overnight Wittenberg Day Eight, May 17, 2017 - Berlin
After breakfast, travel to Berlin. Embracing nearly one hundred square miles, this resilient city is affectionately called Prussia's Athens, a fitting testimony to the city's abundant culture. Composers such as Karl Maria von Weber, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Kurt Weill called Berlin their home. View the stunning parts of the re-united city with its grand boulevards and monumental buildings, the classical Brandenburg Gate, and the stately tree-lined avenue of Unter den Linden. Visit Checkpoint Charlie, the hottest spot in the Cold War. Feel the spirit and bounce of the city; here is life on the edge and the energy is invariably attributed to the bracing Berlin air, the renowned Berliner Luft. Dinner is planned at the hotel restaurant. Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner ~ Overnight Berlin
Day Nine, May 18, 2017 - Berlin
After breakfast, explore more of Berlin. A cultural event will be organized by Pastor Cornelia Kulawik with her congregation in Berlin-Dahlem.
Meals included: Breakfast - Overnight Berlin Day Ten, May 19, 2017 - Departure
Depart Berlin for the return flight to the Canada.
TOUR INCLUSIONS:
8 nights accommodation in comfortable hotels Daily buffet breakfast
4 Dinners at local restaurant in Augsburg, at hotel in Eisenach
“Luther-Dinner” at hotel restaurant at Wittenberg and at hotel restaurant at Berlin Guided panorama city tour of Munich
Guided walking tour of Augsburg Entrance fee of Fuggerei in Augsburg
Entrance fee of Golden Hall at town hall Augsburg Entrance fee and guided tour of Veste Coburg Entrance Wartburg and tour
Guided walking tour of Eisenach & Erfurt
Entrance fee and guided tour of Augustinian Monastery in Erfurt Guided walking tour of Wittenberg
Entrance fee of Town Church in Wittenberg Entrance fee of Castle Church in Wittenberg Entrance fee of Luther House in Wittenberg Guided walking tour of Leipzig
Entrance fee of St. Thomas Church in Leipzig Guided panorama city tour of Berlin
Full time motorcoach with professional driver Tour cost per person sharing a double room:
Based on a minimum of 30 travelers: $1,919 USD* per person
*$2,639 CAD based on rate of current exchange as of February 2016 and subject to change, price will increase slightly if group falls below 30 travelers.
Single room supplement: $319 USD per person
ITEMS NOT INCLUDED:
Gratuities for local guides and bus drivers
Drinks such as wine and beer with planned lunches & dinner unless noted. Passport services
Flights round trip to Germany
Travel coverage is highly recommend and available from Goodspeed & Bach. Any other items not mentioned above.
TOUR DEPOSIT SCHEDULE:
$250 USD ($350 CAD) deposit per person to confirm space on the tour Final payment due: 65 days prior to departure
TOUR Booking Conditions and Refunds Booking Conditions and Refunds
The Deposit of $250 USD is refundable if written notice of cancellation is received before 91 days prior to departure.
89 days prior to departure: $250 USD is non-refundable 66 days prior to departure: $750 USD is non-refundable 65 days prior to departure: No refund
TOUR REGISTRATION FORM Germany Tour May 10 ~ 19, 2017 Please reserve_________________place(s) for the following.
A tour deposit of $250 USD deposit payable to Goodspeed & Bach is enclosed—balance due on March 5, 2017.
NAME as it appears on valid passport:
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Travel preferences (please check all that apply) ____Double room with traveling companion ____I would like a single room - space is limited
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I (we) have read the itinerary and terms and conditions as found below and also available on www.goodspeedandbach.com and agree to abide by all the stipulations contained therein.
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Please make tour checks* payable to Goodspeed & Bach, Inc. and mail registration to:
34 Church Street # 5, Burlington, VT 05401 USA
Call 1-802-652-0245 or email [email protected] *Visa or Mastercard accepted.
