Catholic Germany & Alps 2010

Day 1: Depart
Board your overnight transatlantic flight.

Day 2: Arrive in Munich
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
Orientation features MARIENPLATZ with the Old and New Town Halls. Afternoon and evening at leisure. (B)

Day 4: Munich
Full day at leisure in Munich. (B)

Day 5: Oberammergau–Innsbruck, Austria–Liechtenstein–Einsiedeln, Switzerland–Lucerne
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
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
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
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, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where 30 Holy Roman emperors were crowned between the 10th and 16th centuries. In the evening you are in “Holy Cologne.” (B,D)

Day 9: Cologne–Rüdesheim–Frankfurt
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
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
• Innsbruck: Take pictures of the Golden Roof
• Vaduz: Visit the capital of Liechtenstein
• Einsiedeln: Visit the baroque abbey church
• 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 Catholic Germany & Alps vacation in Munich, Bavaria's capital, with a welcome dinner. After an orientation tour of Munich featuring Marienplatz and the Frauenkirche, enjoy plenty of leisure time to enjoy the city. Stop in Oberammergau and then travel into the Tyrolean Alps for a stop in Innsbruck.

Via Innsbruck 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. You also have leisure time in Lucerne to relax, shop for Swiss watches, cruise on the lake, or join an optional excursion to one of the nearby mountains. On the way back to Germany, visit the thundering Rhine Falls and the Black Forest. Also visit Trier, Germany’s oldest town. In Aachen, visit the cathedral where 30 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned between the 10th and the 16th centuries.

Back in Germany, arrive in "Holy Cologne" and enjoy a guided visit of the gothic cathedral. Then enjoy 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!

• Full buffet breakfast (B); 1 lunch (L); 7 three-course dinners (D), including a welcome dinner in Munich and a farewell dinner in Rüdesheim.
• Inside visits as shown in UPPERCASE in the tour description, including admission charges where applicable
• 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

Munich: Holiday Inn City Centre (F)
Oberammergau: Böld (F)
Lucerne: Astoria (F)
Karlsruhe: Renaissance (SF)
Cologne: Barcelo City Center (F)
Frankfurt: Sheraton Congress (F)

* 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.