11 Day Germany and Switzerland
OBERAMMERGAU PASSION PLAY 2022
DAY 01: NORTH AMERICA / FRANKFURT. Evening departure from North America. Dinner and breakfast are served on-board our trans-Atlantic flight.
DAY 02: FRANKFURT / HEIDELBERG AREA. On arrival at the Frankfurt Airport we are met by our tour escort and motor coach. We drive swiftly through the Heidelberg Area for dinner and overnight at our hotel.
DAY 03: HEIDELBERG AREA / RHINE FALLS/ LAKE LUCERNE. Our morning sightseeing tour of Heidelberg - a medieval old city - delightfully situated on the River Neckar and famous for the tale of the Student Prince. The tour will include the castle ruins home of the Student Prince, the university - one of the oldest in the world - and the stone bridge. We then drive south to the Black Forest region of Germany. Evergreen silence and breathtaking views comprise our journey through the heart of the mysterious fairy-tale country. As we drive past Hansel and Gretel villages to Schaffausen, where we pause to view the roaring Rhine Falls, the highest in Europe and the photographers paradise. We then cross to Switzerland and continue past Zurich and Lucerne to our lakeside village in an indescribably beautiful lake and mountain setting. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.
DAY 04: LAKE LUCERNE / EMMEN TAL / LUCERNE / LAKE LUCERNE. This morning we will tour the rolling hills of the Emmen Tal Valley. We will visit Trockfolwald Castle, the home of Hans Haslibacher and AnaBaptist leader, and also a cheese farm. This afternoon we will visit the world-famous resort of Lucerne, situated at the head of the great lake. It is bright and sparkling like its famous fountains. Here we will see the Lion Monument. Handsome boulevard and elegant shops side-by-side with quaint, medieval streets, old wooden bridges and peaceful flower-decked lakeside promenades. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 05: LAKE LUCERNE / MT. TITLESS / ZURICH. Our first visit this morning will be to a local farm. We will then drive the short distance through the beautiful alpine scenery to the village of Ingelberg with its famous Benedictine monastery set below towering Mt. Titless. We will take the gondola and cable cars through many changes of scenery from the green valley bottom up to the high alpine glacier region at the top of this mountain, where weather permitting, we should be able to enjoy spectacular views of glacier crevasses and ice falls. This afternoon we drive to Zurich, Switzerland's largest city and one of the worlds most important financial centers. We will see Zwingli's famous church, the Grossmunster Cathedral, the Fraumunster Church - with stained-glass windows by Chagall - and the fine lakeshore district. Of special interest today will be a visit to the Limmat River, site of the execution by drowning of Felix Manz.
DAY 06: ZURICH / LIECHTENSTEIN / INNSBRUCK. We drive today to the tiny independent principality of Liechtenstein and its picture book capital of Vaduz. Nature then steals the show with matchless viscous of 10,000 foot summits as we scale the mighty Arlberg Pass to drive through the winter sports resort of St. Anton and then into the Austrian Tyrol - Innsbruck - where we will see the famed Maria Theresiastrasse, the emperor Maximillians "Golden Roof", the Hofkirche and other points of interest. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.
DAY 07: INNSBRUCK / GARMISCH / OBERAMMERGAU. We drive this morning into the Bavarian Alps and through the winter sports resort village of Garmisch Partenkirchen. Then to the beautiful Bavarian village of Oberammergau, home of the world-famous Passion Play which is performed once every ten years.
DAY 08: 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 09: OBERAMMERGAU / LINDERHOFF / MUNICH. After breakfast this morning we continue to Linderhoffs Castle - built by mad King Ludwig - a dazzling castle set high in the Bavarian Alps. Our day finishes in Munich, the largest and liveliest city in Bavaria, where we arrive in time for dinner and overnight at our hotel.
DAY 10: MUNICH. Our morning 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. Some time at leisure for activities of your own this afternoon. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.
DAY 11: MUNICH / NORTH AMERICA. After breakfast we will transfer to the airport for our return the United States of America. The end of a most enjoyable journey.