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Explore Germany |
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Culture, History, Heritage, Folk life, People |
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| NONSTOP TRAVEL | |||||||||||||||||
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An introductory seminar and guiding services by university experts together with access to research facilities, passenger lists, databases and other archival holdings as well as a RESEARCH AND TRAVEL service package are provided. With pleasure, we design personal itineraries for customized extensions of your visit to Germany. |
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Day 0 - Transatlantic Flight from USA to Germany | ||||||||||||||||
| Depart via any gateway city and arrive in Germany at Frankfurt airport the next day. All major airlines have nonstop or connecting service to Frankfurt. Intercity Express trains from all major German cities arrive at Frankfurt Central station every hour. Contact Nonstop Travel for the best fares to Germany as well as for any rail rates. | |||||||||||||||||
| Day 1 - Welcome to Germany, Rhine River Cruise | |||||||||||||||||
| The tour starts at Frankfurt airport. Incoming flights from the US arrive early morning. Meet with your tour-director at the arrival gate and board private tour bus to start your tour through Germany. Your meeting point and possible transfer/pick-up arrangements will be advised with confirmation of tour and flight information.
Alternative meeting points are.
Hotel: Boppard (alternatively: Koblenz) |
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| Day 2 - Cathedral in Cologne and on to East Frisia | |||||||||||||||||
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We leave Boppard and
continue to Bonn, former capital of Germany, where you are invited
to a welcome reception at the 'Haus der Deutschen Geschichte' with
its outstanding exhibits and collections. Next on our agenda is
Cologne's breathtaking cathedral followed by free time in the city's
old district for a time out. Then on to the German Autobahn to head
north. After a ca. 3 hours ride the landscape changes and an endless
sky meets the land at the North Sea. Windmills and canals,
redbrick-houses and green pastures lead the way to the town of Leer
to explore East Frisian history and the land behind the dikes.
Dinner with local specials at your hotel. B, D Hotel: Leer |
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| Day 3 - From East Frisia to Bremen | |||||||||||||||||
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Your today's excursion
brings you to the small town of Rysum to visit one of the wonderful
Romanic churches in East Frisia. It is here that you will see and
hear the oldest playable organ in Europe (1534). After a visit to
the nearby windmill and a typical welcome-tea-ceremony the route
continues through typical marshlands. You will learn about the
turbulent history from the early "Peasants Republic" of the Frisian
clans to the Prussian province and today's German neighbor of
Holland. Many people from here emigrated to America and plowed the
Western Plains and the Mississippi valley. The afternoon brings you
to Bremen where we have arranged a guided walking tour of the Old
Town to explore both its Hanseatic past and dominant role in
transatlantic emigration and travel. B, tea ceremony, D Hotel: Bremen. |
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| Day 4 - Bremen to Berlin | |||||||||||||||||
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We leave Bremen en route
to the Lüneburg Heath land and on to Dömitz, a 14th century fortress
and town located at the river Elbe. As a symbol for Germany's
reunification a new bridge spans the river that for 40 years had
formed the border to the German Democratic Republic. We visit the
fortress overlooking the former border. Continuation of the tour is
on smaller roads through rural areas along the river Elbe. During
the trip you will experience the recent history of the German
unification. Arrival in Berlin will be early evening. As a fitting
climax to your days program a visit to the new and spectacular
architecture of the Reichstag is planed. Enjoy Berlin from the roof
top of the new German parliament. B, D Hotel: Berlin |
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| Day 5 - Berlin and Potsdam | |||||||||||||||||
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A full day of
sightseeing starts with a visit to Potsdam and the world famous
Sanssoucci Palace and the terraced gardens built by King Frederic
the Great of Prussia. Included is a tour inside the Old Palais. Time
permitting a visit to the Cecilienhof Palace will be scheduled. It
was here where the Potsdam treaty was discussed by Churchill, Stalin
and Truman in 1945. The afternoon presents highlights of Berlin -
East and West, Old and New - including the Brandenburg Gate,
Check-Point Charlie, Potsdamer Platz, the site of "The Wall" and the
Berlin Airlift to name just a few. If you prefer a time off you can
visit the world famous Pergamon Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie or
go shopping in the gigantic KaDeWe department stores. The evening is
free to browse through the many restaurants, bars or visit theaters
and concerts in the most exciting city of present-day Germany. B, D Hotel: Berlin |
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| Day 6 - Lutherstadt Wittenberg and Dresden | |||||||||||||||||
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We continue our way to
Lutherstadt Wittenberg. A guided walking tour is planned from the
Schloßkirche incl. Luthers and Philipp Melanchthons grave and the
famous door where the 95 thesis were said to be posted. We will
learn about this legend and the religious, social and political
conflicts of the Reformation while visiting this symbolic place. At
the end of the tour we visit the Luther-house and museum with its
permanent exhibit before we continue to Dresden. Enjoy the historic
settings at the Brühl Terraces on the banks of the river Elbe, the
Frauenkirche construction site, the Baroque castle, the famous
Semper Opera house on an leisure promenade. B, D Hotel: Dresden |
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| Day 7 - To Munich | |||||||||||||||||
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We have an early start
today and travel Saxony and Bavaria en route to Munich. A brief
sightseeing tour introduces the Farmers Market, Marienplatz Square,
City Hall and other sites of interest of the Bavarian capital to
you. In the evening a visit to the famous "Hofbräuhaus" is a must
for all beer and fun-lovers. B, Dinner at Hofbräuhaus Hotel: Munich |
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| Day 8 - Alpine Scenery and the Kings Palace | |||||||||||||||||
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A wonderful scenic drive
waits for you to see the Bavarian Alps and our first destination of
today: King Ludwig's picture perfect romantic castle of
Neuschwanstein. A guided tour is scheduled before the bus tacks you
through the lovely Allgäu to Lake Constance and on to the Black
Forest. We visit the source of the Danube river at Donaueschingen
before we gather for a special Black Forest dinner at our hotel
tonight. B, D Hotel: Titisee, Black Forest |
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| Day 9 - Black Forest, the Palatinate and Frankfurt | |||||||||||||||||
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Another scenic drive
passes Triberg, Germany's highest waterfalls, and brings you back to
the Rhine river and on to Hambach in the Palatinate. It was from
around here that early emigration from Germany to America started
with Mennonites in search of religious freedom and with Palatine
colonists in the War of Independence. Later it was from the walls in
Hambach, that the revolutionaries from the Palatinate and the
neighboring Baden demanded democracy and national unification. The
„Hambach-People“ as many others in the course of the German
Revolution so called „Forty-Eighters“ found shelter as emigrants to
the USA. Many of them gained reputation in politics and public life
like Carl Schurz one of their most prominent companions. Before we go back to Frankfurt we have scheduled a visit to the Gutenberg-Museum in Mainz. A tour and practical demonstration inside the museum will acquaint you with the history and the art of printing and the genius of Johannes Gutenberg who is considered to be "Man of The Millennium" by many historians. Among the museum's precious holdings are the first ever printed Luther-Bibles. B, Farewell Dinner Hotel: Frankfurt |
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| Day 9 - Farewell and Homebound Flights or optional extension | |||||||||||||||||
| Airport-Transfer and homebound flights or individual extension of your tour. | |||||||||||||||||
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Included (land only):
Not included: Airfares, transfers upon arrival and departure, beverages others than coffee, tea, juice with breakfast, possible individual cost for research, use of archives, databases etc., customary gratuities to tour directors / drivers.
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Minimum of 18 participants is required. Should we need to cancel a tour we will send out a revised mini-group arrangement at least 4 month prior to departure or a full refund of any deposits paid. Detailed information and a consumer protection plan is available along with reservation/confirmations. |
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Optional extension - Your Personal Itinerary We have designed a special service for the individual traveler who wants to benefit from pre-travel research and arrangements: „Your Personal Itinerary“:. Based on your advance information, we check your request and start preliminary research about the possible origin of your family. A dossier with all relevant information and professional tourist service allows you to find your way to the places, records and people you like to see. Day 9 Visit your forefathers place of origin Day 10 Local Heritage program Day 11 Home Costs |
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