Catholic Germany & Alps plus Oberammergau 2010

Day 1
(Sat.) Board your overnight transatlantic flight.

Day 2 - Arrive in Munich
(Sun.) Transfer to your hotel. Balance of the day is at leisure. At 6 pm, meet your Tour Director, then enjoy this evening’s welcome dinner with your traveling companions. (D)

Day 3 - Munich - Neuschwanstein - Oberammergau
(Mon.) Orientation features MARIENPLATZ with the Old and New Town Hall. Visit the FRAUENKIRCHE. Then, enter the Bavarian Alps and drive to Neuschwanstein to visit KING LUDWIG’S CASTLE. Stop for pictures of the baroque CHURCH OF WIES before you enter picturesque Oberammergau. (B,D)

Day 4 - Oberammergau
(Tue.) Today the highlight of your vacation: the original PASSION PLAY, held every 10 years and performed by the community of Oberammergau. (B,L,D)

Day 5 - Oberammergau - Innsbruck, Austria - Liechtenstein - Einsiedeln, Switzerland - Lucerne
(Wed.) Into the Tyrolean Alps and to Innsbruck to take pictures of the GOLDEN ROOF. Then, continue to Vaduz in the Principality of Liechtenstein for a lunch break before you enter Switzerland. Stop in Einsiedeln, the most famous pilgrimage destination in Switzerland, where the Great Festival of the Miraculous Dedications is held. Visit the impressive baroque ABBEY CHURCH. On to picture-book Lucerne, the center of Catholic resistance during the time of the Reformation. (B,D)

Day 6 - Lucerne
(Thu.) Your walking tour this morning features the LION MONUMENT and the famous CHAPEL BRIDGE. Also visit the CATHEDRAL OF ST. LEGER and the baroque JESUIT CHURCH. Afternoon is at leisure to relax, shop for Swiss watches, cruise on the lake, or join an optional excursion to one of the nearby mountains. In the evening, why not experience a Swiss folklore party with yodeling and alphorn blowing? (B)

Day 7 - Lucerne - Karlsruhe, Germany
(Fri.) On the way back to Germany, visit the thundering RHINE FALLS at Schaffhausen, a 70-foot cataract of the River Rhine. From here, head north into the pine-clad hills of the BLACK FOREST, famous for its cuckoo clocks. (B,D)

Day 8 - Karlsruhe - Trier - Aachen - Cologne
(Sat.) First stop today is in Trier, Germany’s oldest town and second in importance to Rome in the Western Roman Empire. Orientation features the PORTA NIGRA and visits to the romanesque CATHEDRAL and the DREIKÖNIGENHAUS. Continue to Aachen and visit the CATHEDRAL where 30 Holy Roman emperors were crowned between the 10th and 16th centuries (UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site). In the evening you are in “Holy Cologne.” (B,D)

Day 9 - Cologne - Rüdesheim - Frankfurt
(Sun.) This morning, enjoy a guided visit of the gothic CATHEDRAL. Next, a scenic RHINE CRUISE to Rüdesheim, capital of Riesling wine. Here, enjoy WINE TASTING and a farewell dinner. Afterwards, continue to Frankfurt for your overnight stay. (B,D)

Day 10
(Mon.) Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (B)

Munich:
Welcome dinner; orientation, visit Marienplatz and the Frauenkirche

Neuschwanstein:
Guided visit of King Ludwig’s castle

Wies:
Take pictures of the baroque church

Oberammergau:
Passion Play

Innsbruck:
Take pictures of the Golden Roof

Vaduz:
Visit the capital of Liechtenstein

Einsiedeln:
Visit the baroque abbey

Lucerne:
Walking tour including the Lion Monument, Chapel Bridge, the cathedral of St. Leger, and the baroque Jesuit Church

Rhine Falls

Black Forest

Trier:
Orientation, visit Porta Nigra, the cathedral, and the Dreikönigenhaus

Aachen:
Visit the cathedral

Cologne:
Guided visit of the gothic cathedral

Rhine Cruise

Rüdesheim:
Wine tasting and farewell dinner

Start your vacation in Munich, Bavaria's capital, with a welcome dinner. After an orientation featuring Marienplatz and the Frauenkirche, travel into the Bavarian Alps and visit King Ludwig's magnificent Neuschwanstein Castle before arriving in Oberammergau for two overnights and the highlight of your vacation: the original Passion Play. Via Innsbruck in Austria and Vaduz in the Principality of Liechtenstein, stop in Einsiedeln, the most famous pilgrimage site in Switzerland, to visit the baroque Abbey Church. Then, enjoy two nights in picture-book Lucerne, the center of Catholic resistance during the time of the Reformation, and visit the Cathedral of St. Leger and the Jesuit Church. On the way back to Germany, visit the thundering Rhine Falls, with stops in the Black Forest, Trier, and in Aachen, home of the cathedral where 30 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned between the 10th and the 16th centuries. Arrive in "Holy Cologne" and enjoy a guided visit of the gothic cathedral, then a Rhine cruise, a wine tasting, and a farewell dinner in Rüdesheim, capital of the region’s famous Riesling wines. Continue to Frankfurt for an overnight stay and the end of an unforgettable vacation!

• Buffet breakfast daily (B); 1 lunch (L); 7 three-course dinners (D), including a welcome dinner in Munich and a farewell dinner in Rüdesheim
• Professional tour director, local hosts, and local guides
• Twin-bedded rooms with private bath or shower, hotel taxes, service charges, and tips for baggage handling
• Private deluxe motorcoach with air-conditioning, extra leg room, and emergency washroom while touring
• Convenient Globus travel bag and travel documents

Hotel information to be determined.

* The prices shown are U.S. dollars per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to availability. Prices quoted for land arrangements are subject to increase without notice. Once we have received your deposit, land prices are guaranteed. Whenever air-inclusive tour prices are displayed, these prices do not include government taxes and fees, which are additional. Air prices are subject to increase and are guaranteed only from the time that full payment is received. Air-inclusive prices include air from a major U.S. gateway; air from other U.S. airports is available at an additional cost. Sorry, we are unable to offer air from countries other than the U.S. However, for those international customers who are able to arrange their own transportation to the tour origination city, we are able to offer the land portion of the package or tour, at the price quoted.