13 Day Early Christian Heritage and Passion Play
OBERAMMERGAU PASSION PLAY 2022
DAY 01: USA / EUROPE. Tour members will depart our international airport for Europe. Dinner and breakfast will be served aboard the flight.
DAY 02: MALTA. Arrive at Malta International airport, meet your English speaking guide and transfer by coachto St. Paul Anglican Church in Valletta. Return to Malta for dinner and overnight.
DAY 03: MALTA.
"Once safely on shore, we found that the island was called Malta." Acts 28: 1-2
After breakfast, departure for a full day excursion to Rabat and Mdina. First stop at Mosta, which today is a busy market town. At its center is the magnificent domed church called the "Mosta Rotunda". On the way to Rabat, next stop will be at Ta' Qali, where visitors are able to enjoy seeing the local craftsmen at work. Continue towards Rabat and stop to visit St. Paul Church and Grotto. The church was founded in 1575 . Beneath the church is St. Paul's Grotto, where, according to tradition, the Apostle Paul was held captive by the Romans for three months following his shipwreck on the Islands in AD 60. The group will then stop at a local restaurant for lunch, included. After lunch break, group will visit The Roman Domus. This museum houses remains of Malta's roman period. Finally the group will walk through the streets of Mdina, Malta's first capital. Today it is known as the Silent City. Group will the Cathedral dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul which is the masterpiece of the Maltese architect Lorenzo Gafà. Group will return to hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 04: MALTA.
"After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered on he island. It was on Alexndrian ship with the figurehead on the twin gods Castor and Pollux. 12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there for three days . . ." Acts 28:11
Early morning transfer to the port( 05.30 ) to embark the ferry to Sicily. Arrive in Pozzallo, east of Sicily at 08:30. Upon arrival, meet coach and depart for visit to city of Siracusa , site of St. Paul's arrival in Sicily en route from Malta to Rome. Today Siracusa is the site of well preserved Roman ruins as well as a vibrant Italian seaport. Circumnavigating the base of Mt. Etna, we will continue to Taormina. A hillside sea resort on the Eastern coast of Sicily. Time at leisure to explore this beautiful destination . Dinner at hotel and overnight.
DAY 05: TAORMINA / SORRENTO.
"Fram there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium, The next day the south wind came up, and on the followind day we reached Puteoli....14There we found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them . . ." Acts 28:13
Early morning departure to cross the Straits of Messina via ferry for a trip north along the western coast of Italy, through the regions of Calabria and Campania. En route to Sorrento, stop for a visit at the beautiful city of Amalfi on the Amalfinata Coast. Arrive in Sorrento for dinner at hotel and overnight.
DAY 06: NAPLES / GAETA. Breakfast and departure towards Naples. Orientation tour ofthis picturesque city, sloped down from the hills towards the sea like an amphitheatre. Bounded on one side by Vesuvius and on the other by the Phlegraean fields, the result is a scenario of extraordinary beauty, sung by poets and writers down through the ages: Virgil, Boccaccio, Milton, Shelley, Cervantes, Goethe, Byron... Free time to taste the best "pizza" and "espresso café" of the world. Continue towards Pozzuoli.
" . . . and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli". Acts 28:13
Stop at the old port where Paul landed on the ship from Alexandria by the Three Taverns. Continue north to the city of Gaeta. Dinner and overnight
DAY 07: ROME.
"And so we came to Rome. 15 The brothers there had heard that we were coming and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us . . ." Acts 28:14
Breakfast and departure towards Rome. First stop will be in Minturno to visit the ruins of this well preserved romanvillage located along the Appian Way , which is the same thatSt, Paul would have seen during his trip to Rome. Continue north passing along the sites of Foro AppioandTres Tabernaes , still on the Appian Way. Arrive in Rome in the late afternoon, dinner and overnight.
DAY 08: ROME.
""When we got to Rome. Paul as allowed to leave by himself with a soldier to guard him . . ." Acts 28:16
Breakfast at hotel and transfer to St, Peter's Basilica for a visit. Board your bus and transfer to central Rome for awalk through the very core of Roman antiquity. We see Trajan's Market, Nero's Golden House, Trajan's Forum and Column, Arch of Costantine, House of Knights of Rodhes. We visit the Mamertine Prisons, where St. Peter was held prisoner, we continue our visit with the Roman Forum, that was the civic heart of Republican Rome. Proceeding then along Via Fori Imperiali, to see Arch of Titus the Emperor who destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70. We will also visit St. Peter in Vincoli - see the Michelangelo's Moses - and Coliseum. Thendrive through the Ancient Appian Way and visit the St. Sebastian's Catacombs where the bodies of St. Paul and St Peter werelaid before moving themto St. Peter's and St. Paul's churches. Return to hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 08: ROME.
"Salutate Prisca and Aquila, my collaborators in Christ Jesus in order to save life to me they has risked theirhead(4) and to they I am not only pleasing, but all the Churches of the Kind ones... (5) greeted also the community that gathers in their house . . ." Letters to Romans 16, 3 - 5
After breakfast, transfer to the Churchof St. Paulwithin the wallsto attendthe Anglican Sunday ceremony. The tour continues with a visit tothe chuch of St. Paul "Alla Regola" where Paul lived and worked as a "leather tanner" during his second stay in Rome or the "Mitreo" in the church of "Santa Prisca", where St, Paul lived with his Greek friends Aquila and Prisca. After lunch, transfer to the Basilica of Saint Paul outside the walls built on the remembered tomb of San Paul. Rest of the day at leisure. Dinner and overnight at hotel.
DAY 09: ROME. Morning breakfast at hotel and day at leisure. It would be possible to visit the Vatican Museums with Sistine Chapel and the Basilica of St. Peter. Dinner at hotel and overnight location. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.
DAY 10: ROME / MUNICH. This morning we fly to Munich, Germany. Upon arrival we are met and drive to Linderhoff. and Linderhoffs Castle - built by mad King Ludwig - a dazzling castle set high in the Bavarian Alps. Then on to Oberammergau, home of the world-famous Passion Play which is performed once every ten years. Dinner and overnight.
DAY 11: PASSION PLAY. The entire day is devoted to attending a performance of the world famous Passion Play which is held once every ten years in this charming small Bavarian village. Dinner and overnight.
DAY 12: OBERAMMERGAU / MUNICH. This morning we return to Munich. Our sightseeing tour of Munich includes the gothic Rathdus (town hall) with its famous glockenspiel, the awesome twin-spired Frauenkirche, Marienplatz, imperial residence Alte Pinakothec and other principle places of interest. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.
DAY 13: MUNICH / USA. After breakfast, we are transfer by coach to the Munich Airport for your return flight to the States. The end of an unforgettable pilgrimage.