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Price Per person double occupancy
| Dates | Land Only No Transfers |
Early Reservation Discount (6 Mo. Adv.) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | ||
| June 10-18 October 28-November 5 |
$3,099 | $2,999 |
|
Single Supplement: 2025: $750 |
||
Price Includes: 7 nights lodging with breakfast and dinner daily, full time English speaking tour escort, city step on guides as needed, all touring and entrances as listed in itinerary, transportation by deluxe motorcoach.
Please Note: Germany gratuities will be paid in advance ($85 per person will be added to your final invoice for gratuities to be paid to drivers, guides, cruise and hotel staff).
Not Included: Airfare, lunches, transfers (unless airfare is purchased through Pilgrim Tours), tips to tour escort, city guides, driver and hotel staff, optional travel insurance.
Airport transfers are included only when airfare is purchased from Pilgrim Tours. Taxi service is available for those purchasing their airfare elsewhere.
Deposit Required: A $300 per person US Dollar deposit (which includes a $100 non-refundable service fee) is required to secure a reservation.
Day 1: Depart USA
Today we depart for our overnight flight to Munich, Germany. Sit back, get some rest and enjoy the in-flight service.
Day 2: Arrive in Munich
We arrive in Munich this morning and enjoy an orientation city tour of Munich this afternoon. Our sightseeing begins with a driving tour of Munich including outside views of the Olympic Stadium, Pinakotheken art museums, Royal Palace (Residenz), National Theater, and the world famous Hofbräuhaus. Time permitting, take a walking tour of the Marienplatz which lies at the heart of the Alstadt in the city center. These lively, attractive square houses the Gothic New Town hall (Neue Rathaus) with its famous Glockenspiel and the Old Town Hall. We transfer to our Munich hotel for our dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Neuschwanstein Castle, Oberammergau
This morning we head south to explore the Bavarian countryside with our first stop at the fairy-tale castle, Neuschwanstein Castle. We take a guided tour of Ludwig II's most luxurious former residence where the interior styles range from Byzantine to Romanesque to Gothic. This castle, built between 1869 and 1886, has a most impressive view with the Alpsee Lake below and the Alps towering above. We continue to the Pilgrimage Church of Wies to visit this oval Rococo style church which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. From here we continue to the delightful village of Oberammergau which has been the home of the Passion Play performance since 1680. We return to Munich later this afternoon and enjoy our dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Augsburg, Rothenberg
This morning we travel north to the ancient city of Augsburg, the place where the Augsburg Confession was presented. Our morning drive will allow for time to rehearse this important document and digest the tremendous meaning it has as the basis for much of our doctrine today. It was also here in 1518 at St. Anne's Church that Luther met the papal legate, Cardinal Cajetan, who demanded that Luther submit to the pope. Augsburg was also the site of another Imperial Diet (1530). This afternoon we travel the panoramic "Romantic Road" and visit the best preserved medieval town in all of Europe, Rothenberg ob der Tauber. We see the quaint Rathaus (town hall) with its impressive tower and have free time for coffee and shopping in the many delightful shops. You may choose to visit on your own the Kriminal-museum, housing all manner of Medieval instruments of torture. Overnight in Rothenberg.
Day 5: Heidelberg, Worms, Mainz
This morning we travel to one of the most charming cities in all of the world - Heidelberg, ancient capital of the Palatinate and home of Germany's oldest university. But most importantly, it was a stronghold of German Reformed Protestants beginning in 1560. One of the great confessional statements of the Reformation, the Heidelberg Catechism was produced here in 1563. We tour Heidelberg Castle, a most impressive historic landmark of Germany that stands majestically overlooking the Neckar River. The structure, now largely in ruins, preserves numerous examples of Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque German architecture. Our next stop is in Worms. It was here, during the Imperial Diet in 1521, that Martin Luther challenged the entire Roman Catholic establishment by his refusal to recant the great doctrines of Protestantism. It was also here that William Tyndale completed the printing of his English version of the New Testament in 1525 which he had begun in Cologne. After seeing St. Peter's Church and the symbolic Luther memorial near the town square, we transfer to Mainz. In Mainz we view the Gutenberg Monument and then visit the Gutenberg Museum to learn about printing from the moveable metal type and see a Gutenberg Bible. We overnight in Frankfurt.
Day 6: Eisenach & Wartburg Castle
This morning we depart Mainz and drive to Eisenach, the birthplace of Johann Sebastian Bach and the childhood home of Martin Luther. Luther recognized that his failure to recant at the Diet of Worms (April, 1521) had put him in very serious danger. For this reason, after his defiant confession of faith before the emperor, he was rushed away back to Wittenberg by coach. On the way back, he was overtaken by a group of Frederick the Wise’s guards disguised as highwaymen. They escorted the Reformer back to Wartburg Castle where he would remain for the next ten months. Wartburg Castle was a hunting castle that belonged to the ducal family of Saxony. To the present day, it lies in the Thuringian forest in north-central Germany. It was here at the formidable Wartburg Castle that Luther, under "house arrest", translated the New Testament into the German language in 1523. We visit the castle and see where Luther spent his time. We end out day in Erfurt where we enjoy our dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Erfurt, Eisleben
This morning we spend time in Erfurt where Luther attended the university. A highlight will be the Augustinian Monastery where he spent his early years as a monk. Leaving Erfurt we visit Eisleben which is noted among the most significant in Luther's history; he was born here in 1483 and died here in 1546 and old manuscripts indicate that he felt a special affinity to Eisleben. We will see the house of his birth and death, St. Andrews Church where he preached his last sermon, the Luther Monument, and St. Anne's Church with the famous Biblical scenes hewn in stone and many other sites. We continue to Wittenberg for dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Wittenberg, Berlin
We continue the Reformation Trail today with a visit to Wittenberg where Martin Luther lived and taught for 36 years. You will see the Castle Church door where Luther posted his 95 Theses, giving birth to the Reformation and the Town Church where he preached. We see the Luther House which is the greatest museum of Reformation History in the world. This afternoon we transfer to Berlin for a short tour of the Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate, and Checkpoint Charlie. Overnight in Berlin.
Day 9: Departure
We transfer to the airport for our flight home.
*The tour itinerary is subject to change or be slightly modified in order to best meet the interests of the group.