Germany in Depth
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Explore:Germany
Customizable Itinerary - 14 Days (from $7,824 / person)
Day 1: Depart USA
You board your aircraft for the overnight flight to Frankfurt, a major commercial city but also the gateway to many scenic areas in Germany.
Day 2: Welcome to Germany
You arrive in Frankfurt and meet your guide who will be taking you to the Romantic City of Heidelberg, Germany’s oldest seat of learning. You check into your hotel which is over 500 years old and has hosted such notables as Mark Twain and Count von Bismarck. The rest of the day is at leisure to explore this charming university town.
Dinner
Day 3: Baden-Baden and the Black Forest
Today you will head to Baden-Baden where royalty and aristocracy have been “taking the waters” since Roman times. After a tour of the city you drive into the Black Forest for a drive through some of the quaint villages reminiscent of “Hansel and Gretel”. Finish your tour and enjoy dinner at your romantic country hotel.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 4: Journey to Lake Konstanz
After breakfast you head south through the heartlands of the wine region of southwest Germany. Your destination is Lake Konstanz (Constance) which shares its shores with Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Your hotel is located on an island formerly owned by Count Zeppelin inventor of the airship. The hotel is connected to the old town by a small bridge and in the afternoon, you are encouraged to take a walk through this well-preserved medieval city.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 5: A Visit to Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Your guide will be ready to take you into the Bavarian Alps for some spectacular scenery. You will be going to Garmisch-Partenkirchen which were, for over 1,000 years, two separate towns but were amalgamated by Nazi Germany to provide the support base for the 1936 Winter Olympics. You will take a cable car to the top of the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain. When at the summit you have the chance to enjoy the stunning views of Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy while having lunch. Descend to the town in the afternoon and finish the day at a picturesque hotel with excellent views of the Zugspitze.
Breakfast and Lunch
Day 6: Munich and its Beer Gardens
This morning you will drive to the city of Munich, the country’s third largest and home to 1.2 million people of whom 20% are non-Germans. Since Munich was once the capital of the Kingdom of Bavaria, the city has numerous boulevards and palaces, many of which were restored or rebuilt after World War II. You have an orientation tour of the city including the famous glockenspiel in the Marienplatz, the centre of the city. The city is also famous for its beer gardens (this is the home of Oktoberfest after all) and you will have dinner at one in the evening.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 7: The Fairy Tale Castles of King Ludwig
A Bavarian king by the name of Ludwig was considered to be “eccentric” (if he was not King, crazy) who liked to build outlandish castles. Today you will visit two of them the first is Linderhof which, while one of the smallest, was Ludwig’s favorite. The other is Neuschwanstein castle which is far more famous. In addition to serving as the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty’s Castle it also had a starring role in “Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang.”
Breakfast
Day 8: Dachau, Nuremberg and Weimar
In the morning you will leave Munich and head for Dachau for a somber visit to this most infamous of Nazi death camps. After a poignant visit, you leave the camp and head north to the city of Nuremberg where many, but not all, the Nazi leaders stood trial before the world and were sentenced for their crimes. Despite its association with the start of the Nazi movement and the trials, the town of Nuremberg offers a glimpse of medieval life built around canals and reminiscent of Bruges. You’ll have a chance to explore before heading to your destination for today, the town of Weimar.
Breakfast
Day 9: Birthplace of a Movement and a Government
After breakfast you will take a tour of the city credited as the birthplace of modern architecture as manifested in the Bauhaus style. You will see examples of the school during your tour. Weimar is also known as the site of the ill-fated government that was created and based here following the exile of the Kaiser at the end of World War I. That government was replaced by the Nazis in the early 1930’s. In earlier times Weimar was known for its cultural ambiance with Goethe, Liszt and Bach having called it home at one time.
Breakfast
Day 10: Dresden: the Phoenix of Germany
Late in World War II as Nazi Germany was collapsing, allied bombers conducted raids on Dresden creating firestorms that engulfed the city and its population. More people died in Dresden than in Hiroshima. Thanks to restoration, however, the city has been rebuilt and reborn and offers a charming glimpse into the Baroque. After arriving in the city, you have lunch followed by a privately guided tour of the Royal Palace including superb works of art from the Renaissance, Baroque and Classicist periods. You then check in to your hotel.
Breakfast and Lunch
Day 11: On to Berlin…
Channeling George Patton, you and your guide head for Germany’s capital, Berlin. Before arriving in Berlin you stop in the town of Potsdam and the Cecilienhof Palace which was the site of the 1945 meeting between Churchill, Stalin and a new President Truman, who had replaced the recently deceased Roosevelt. It was here that many of the ill-conceived decisions begun in Yalta were codified, creating the Iron Curtain and the Cold War. As a reminder of this you enter Berlin across a bridge that was used during the cold war to exchange espionage agents from both sides. Today however there are no checkpoints.
Day 12: Imperial Berlin
After breakfast you meet your guide for a tour of the city as it was before the First World War and for a decade or so after. This period was dramatized in the play and movie “Cabaret”. On your tour you will see the Deutscher Dom and the Franzosischer Dom, the Schauspielhaus and the rebuilt Reichstag, one more the parliament of a unified Germany. After lunch the rest of the afternoon is free. If you like we can make arrangements for you to have lunch at a special restaurant on the roof of the Reichstag. Berlin has many museums for you to visit in the afternoon.
Breakfast and Lunch
Day 13: Cold War Berlin
This morning you will see reminders of like in a divided Berlin. You will visit the Brandenburg Gate which was the dividing line during the time of the wall and in front of which Ronald Reagan challenged Mr. Gorbachov to “Tear down this wall”. You will also see Checkpoint Charlie, a reminder of the access point to the American Sector of Berlin. Yu will also visit a museum and see remainders of the wall left standing as a constant reminder. After lunch you have more time for shopping on the Kurfurstendamm (where your hotel is located) or the delightful park, Unter der Linden. This evening you may want to have dinner in the former East Berlin since that is where all the trendy restaurants are. We would be happy to make recommendations.
Breakfast and Lunch
Day 14: Return to USA
Your driver will be waiting to take you to Berlin airport for your flight back to the USA arriving back the same afternoon.
Breakfast
You board your aircraft for the overnight flight to Frankfurt, a major commercial city but also the gateway to many scenic areas in Germany.
Day 2: Welcome to Germany
You arrive in Frankfurt and meet your guide who will be taking you to the Romantic City of Heidelberg, Germany’s oldest seat of learning. You check into your hotel which is over 500 years old and has hosted such notables as Mark Twain and Count von Bismarck. The rest of the day is at leisure to explore this charming university town.
Dinner
Day 3: Baden-Baden and the Black Forest
Today you will head to Baden-Baden where royalty and aristocracy have been “taking the waters” since Roman times. After a tour of the city you drive into the Black Forest for a drive through some of the quaint villages reminiscent of “Hansel and Gretel”. Finish your tour and enjoy dinner at your romantic country hotel.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 4: Journey to Lake Konstanz
After breakfast you head south through the heartlands of the wine region of southwest Germany. Your destination is Lake Konstanz (Constance) which shares its shores with Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Your hotel is located on an island formerly owned by Count Zeppelin inventor of the airship. The hotel is connected to the old town by a small bridge and in the afternoon, you are encouraged to take a walk through this well-preserved medieval city.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 5: A Visit to Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Your guide will be ready to take you into the Bavarian Alps for some spectacular scenery. You will be going to Garmisch-Partenkirchen which were, for over 1,000 years, two separate towns but were amalgamated by Nazi Germany to provide the support base for the 1936 Winter Olympics. You will take a cable car to the top of the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain. When at the summit you have the chance to enjoy the stunning views of Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy while having lunch. Descend to the town in the afternoon and finish the day at a picturesque hotel with excellent views of the Zugspitze.
Breakfast and Lunch
Day 6: Munich and its Beer Gardens
This morning you will drive to the city of Munich, the country’s third largest and home to 1.2 million people of whom 20% are non-Germans. Since Munich was once the capital of the Kingdom of Bavaria, the city has numerous boulevards and palaces, many of which were restored or rebuilt after World War II. You have an orientation tour of the city including the famous glockenspiel in the Marienplatz, the centre of the city. The city is also famous for its beer gardens (this is the home of Oktoberfest after all) and you will have dinner at one in the evening.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 7: The Fairy Tale Castles of King Ludwig
A Bavarian king by the name of Ludwig was considered to be “eccentric” (if he was not King, crazy) who liked to build outlandish castles. Today you will visit two of them the first is Linderhof which, while one of the smallest, was Ludwig’s favorite. The other is Neuschwanstein castle which is far more famous. In addition to serving as the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty’s Castle it also had a starring role in “Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang.”
Breakfast
Day 8: Dachau, Nuremberg and Weimar
In the morning you will leave Munich and head for Dachau for a somber visit to this most infamous of Nazi death camps. After a poignant visit, you leave the camp and head north to the city of Nuremberg where many, but not all, the Nazi leaders stood trial before the world and were sentenced for their crimes. Despite its association with the start of the Nazi movement and the trials, the town of Nuremberg offers a glimpse of medieval life built around canals and reminiscent of Bruges. You’ll have a chance to explore before heading to your destination for today, the town of Weimar.
Breakfast
Day 9: Birthplace of a Movement and a Government
After breakfast you will take a tour of the city credited as the birthplace of modern architecture as manifested in the Bauhaus style. You will see examples of the school during your tour. Weimar is also known as the site of the ill-fated government that was created and based here following the exile of the Kaiser at the end of World War I. That government was replaced by the Nazis in the early 1930’s. In earlier times Weimar was known for its cultural ambiance with Goethe, Liszt and Bach having called it home at one time.
Breakfast
Day 10: Dresden: the Phoenix of Germany
Late in World War II as Nazi Germany was collapsing, allied bombers conducted raids on Dresden creating firestorms that engulfed the city and its population. More people died in Dresden than in Hiroshima. Thanks to restoration, however, the city has been rebuilt and reborn and offers a charming glimpse into the Baroque. After arriving in the city, you have lunch followed by a privately guided tour of the Royal Palace including superb works of art from the Renaissance, Baroque and Classicist periods. You then check in to your hotel.
Breakfast and Lunch
Day 11: On to Berlin…
Channeling George Patton, you and your guide head for Germany’s capital, Berlin. Before arriving in Berlin you stop in the town of Potsdam and the Cecilienhof Palace which was the site of the 1945 meeting between Churchill, Stalin and a new President Truman, who had replaced the recently deceased Roosevelt. It was here that many of the ill-conceived decisions begun in Yalta were codified, creating the Iron Curtain and the Cold War. As a reminder of this you enter Berlin across a bridge that was used during the cold war to exchange espionage agents from both sides. Today however there are no checkpoints.
Day 12: Imperial Berlin
After breakfast you meet your guide for a tour of the city as it was before the First World War and for a decade or so after. This period was dramatized in the play and movie “Cabaret”. On your tour you will see the Deutscher Dom and the Franzosischer Dom, the Schauspielhaus and the rebuilt Reichstag, one more the parliament of a unified Germany. After lunch the rest of the afternoon is free. If you like we can make arrangements for you to have lunch at a special restaurant on the roof of the Reichstag. Berlin has many museums for you to visit in the afternoon.
Breakfast and Lunch
Day 13: Cold War Berlin
This morning you will see reminders of like in a divided Berlin. You will visit the Brandenburg Gate which was the dividing line during the time of the wall and in front of which Ronald Reagan challenged Mr. Gorbachov to “Tear down this wall”. You will also see Checkpoint Charlie, a reminder of the access point to the American Sector of Berlin. Yu will also visit a museum and see remainders of the wall left standing as a constant reminder. After lunch you have more time for shopping on the Kurfurstendamm (where your hotel is located) or the delightful park, Unter der Linden. This evening you may want to have dinner in the former East Berlin since that is where all the trendy restaurants are. We would be happy to make recommendations.
Breakfast and Lunch
Day 14: Return to USA
Your driver will be waiting to take you to Berlin airport for your flight back to the USA arriving back the same afternoon.
Breakfast
