European Christian Heritage Tour with the Oberammergau Passion Play
Departs August 30th 2010     Optional Add-On English Christian Heritage Tour   Details »

Detailed Tour Itinerary

Monday Aug 30th:  

Join your flight for Europe this evening.

Tuesday, Aug 31st:  

On arrival in Rome, you are met at the airport by your Tour Leader and transferred to your centrally located First Class hotel our home for 4 nights. This evening meet your fellow travellers for a Welcome Drink and Dinner [D] together. For those who would like to help disperse the jetlag, there will be a short stroll after dinner. The after dinner stroll - la passegiata - is an Italian tradition, part digestive, part fashion-statement.[D]

Wednesday, Sept 1st:  

Every day on the Great Trains of Europe Tours begins with a generous buffet breakfast [B]. While Rome has been the capital of the Catholic world for centuries, it was the capital of the Classical world before then. This morning's sightseeing includes elements of that Classical world - the Colosseum and Pantheon. Today is the day of the Pope's weekly midday audience in St Peter's Square, if he is in Rome. If he is not, we shall visit also the Roman Forum. The afternoon is free for the shops. [B]

Thursday, Sept 2nd:  ^ Top ^

Catholic Rome today, including entrances and a guided tour of St Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo's masterpiece. [B]

Friday, Sept 3rd:  

A optional excursion today to the beautiful Umbrian village of Assisi, forever associated with the life of St Francis, everyone's favourite saint. There is no train to the village of Assisi, so we charter a coach for our group's exclusive use. Assisi is also the home of St Clare, friend of St Francis and founder of the Poor Clares. Do the St Francis and St Clare pilgrimage trails or just enjoy a beautiful Italian hill village and watch the water sparkle in the fountains in the square. Given the commitment of both St Francis and St Clare to poverty, the churches dedicated to their memory may be considered to be a tad extravagant. Back to Rome tonight. [B]

Saturday, Sept 4th:  

Farewell to the Eternal City this morning. Our luggage is taken care of as we make our way to the Termini Station to join our Eurostar High Speed Train to Florence, the cradle of our civilization and birthplace of the Renaissance. This is our home for three nights. After lunch, on our walking tour, we tread the same cobblestones as Michelangelo, Leonardo and Cosimo de Medici, through the Renaissance city heart to the twelfth century Ponte Vecchio bridge. Put off all your shopping until you get to Florence - leather coats, handbags and shoes from heaven. Dinner in a 700 year old trattoria tonight. [B][D]

Sunday, Sept 5th:  

We begin the exploration of Florence's museums and galleries today. Two “must sees” are Michangelo's “David” at the Academy and the whole collection at the Uffizi, arguably the greatest collection of Renaissance art in the world. Florence is conducive to people watching over a coffee in the square. If you loved the movies “Room with a View” and “Tea with Mussolini”, this is your town. This afternoon it is possible to visit nearby Pisa with its Leaning Tower.[B]

Monday, Sept 6th:  

More of Florence's museums and galleries? You might like a quiet day people watching from one of Florence's many sidewalk coffee shops. There is an optional excursion today into the Tuscan countryside with its cypresses and vineyards to the walled mediaeval village of San Gimignano and the artistic gem of Siena. If you enjoyed “Under the Tuscan Sun” and “My House in Umbria”, today's excursion is a must.[B]

Tuesday, Sept 7th:  

We join our Eurostar Italia this morning for the 2.5 hour journey through the Apennines, the backbone of Italy, passing Bologna and crossing the agriculturally rich Northern Italian Plain, passing Padua, home of St Anthony, to Venice. We are lunching by the Grand Canal as our luggage arrives. This afternoon we begin to explore this magical city, by taking the vaporetto down the full length of the Grand Canal to San Marco Square, the heart of Venice. Byzantine St Mark's is considered by many to be the most beautiful church in the world. Its style and its frescoes echo the Haggia Sophia Church in Constantinople, Christendom's finest Church for a millennium.[B][D]

Wednesday, Sept 8th:  ^ Top ^

This morning we begin to explore the art of Venice. Art lovers will want to see Tintoretto's magnificent cycle of 22 paintings on the life, death and resurrection of Christ in the Scuola di San Rocco, Titian's “Assumption of the Virgin” in the Friary Church, and the collection of Venetian Renaissance art in the Academia Gallery. Venice is best taken slowly, wandering along her canals and bridges.

There is time for a gondola ride. Be sure to take your gondola ride, with your beloved, under the Bridge of Sighs as the campanile tolls and the sun sets: you will then be together forever, so the legend goes. Perhaps visit an outer island - Burano for exquisite lace and Murano for world-famous Venetian glass.[B]

Thursday, Sept 9th:  

We send our luggage on, but have a last free morning in Venice. After lunch we cross to the Station for our spectacular train journey northward, crossing the Austrian Alps at the Brenner Pass and arriving in Innsbruck. Our hotel, a chalet-styled 4 star hotel is in the pretty village of Igls, perched above Innsbruck with magnificent Alpine views. Dinner is in the hotel restaurant, one of the region's best.[B][D]

NOTE: While Innsbruck is our base for 4 days, we are required tomorrow night to stay over in the village of Oberammergau. It is mandatory to purchase accommodation with the Passion Play tickets. We may leave our luggage in our Innsbruck hotel, however, and take only an overnight bag with us tomorrow to Oberammergau. Nor is it possible to stay more than one night in Oberammergau for a Friday performance.

Friday, Sept 10th:  

With our overnight bags packed, we depart this morning (by coach) for the picturesque village of Oberammergau, in the Bavarian Alps, just across the German border. We are delivered to our accommodation, and take lunch (included) in the village before the Passion Play commences at 2.30pm. Prepare to be moved, challenged and overwhelmed. There is a 3 hour interval during which we take dinner (included) in the village before returning to the theatre for the finale. There is little chit-chat on the coach as we are returned to our accommodation, emotionally drained but inspired. [B][L][D]

Saturday, Sept 11th:  ^ Top ^

We check out of our Oberammergau accommodation this morning after a hearty breakfast, and retrace our steps to our hotel in Igls, above Innsbruck. You will welcome a quiet day after yesterday's emotional high but, should you be up for some adventure, your Tour Leader will accompany you on a visit to Innsbruck below. The journey down is half the fun. We take a local tram across farmland and through forests as we wind our way down into Innsbruck. There is an interesting mediaeval quarter, and the Winter Palace of the Hapsburgs is also worth a visit. If the day is clear we can ascend the rack railway for breathtaking Alpine views across Innsbruck.[B]

Sunday, Sept 12th:  

Choices today - potter about the village, take a walk through the Alpine meadows, or take the tram down into Innsbruck to the shops. There is an optional excursion by Austrian InterCity train to Mozart's birthplace, Salzburg. On arrival, firstly we enjoy a panoramic view of the city from the castle fortress at the top of the rack railway, and then visit the cathedral where the great man made his first acquaintance with music.

There is plenty of time to wander the narrow cobble-stone streets or visit Mozart's house, now a museum. Salzburg is also the home of “The Sound of Music”.[B]

Monday, Sept 13th:  

Our luggage is taken on ahead as we enjoy two completely different rail experiences today. Firstly, we join a small regional train and wind through the Bavarian Alps, across the German border, through the Winter Olympic ski-town of Garmisch Partenkirchen and on into Munich. Here we stroll through the historic city heart and visit a beer hall for lunch (luncheon in Munchen?) before boarding Germany's High Speed Train the ICE - Inter City Express - for our journey almost the full length of Germany to the nation's capital, Berlin. Our 5 star hotel is right on the Kurfurstendamm, the main shopping street of old West Berlin, and 100 metres from the bombed-out historic Kaiser Wilhelm Church.[B][D]

Tuesday, Sept 14th:  

This morning's sightseeing introduces us to the city which divided Europe for 45 years - the Brandenberg Gate, the Reichstag, Unter den Linden. Many of the art treasures of Europe are in Berlin, from the 3,000 year old bust of Egypt's Nefertiti to the moderns. Museum visits are the order of the day. In the museum precinct we can also visit Berlin's cathedral. We are in Protestant territory here: it is the Lutheran cathedral. There is a magnificent pipe organ and often a free lunchtime recital. Tonight - the opera or the Berlin Philharmonic?[B]

Wednesday, Sept 15th:  

Another day in the museums and shops of Berlin or an optional excursion on the ICE train, to Leipzig, hometown of both Goethe and Bach. After a walking tour of the old city heart and lunch in a Bierkeller, we rejoin our ICE train and stop off in the village of Wittenberg. Protestants, especially Lutherans, this is your spiritual home. Here it was that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the Church door and precipitated the Reformation which broke the spiritual monopoly of the mediaeval Catholic Church. We are back in Berlin in time for the shops. You haven't shopped seriously if you've not been to Berlin's KaDeWe.[B]

Thursday, Sept 16th:  ^ Top ^

Departing Berlin this morning, our EuroCity train has us in Krakow, Poland's historic capital and cultural cradle, in time for dinner - Warsaw has been Poland's capital only since the eighteenth century, and it has had to be completely rebuilt since its 1945 destruction. Krakow, on the other hand, still stands substantially intact from the 13th and 14th centuries. This is our home for 3 nights. A walking tour tonight to the floodlit Market Square sets the mood for our stay.[B][D]

Friday, Sept 17th:  

Our city sightseeing tour includes the Market Square and Wawel Hill with its castle, palace and tiny cathedral, where Pope John Paul II served as archbishop. Lunch in one of the many open air restaurants on Market Square sounds attractive. A visit can be arranged to nearby Auschwitz - not enjoyable, but possibly we owe it humanity to visit. An alternative excursion this afternoon is a visit to the sights associated with the childhood, life and ministry of Pope John Paul II. These excursions can be chosen on the day. Each costs under $100.[B]

Saturday, Sept 18th:  

Poland's High Speed train isn't quite up to the standard or speed of the German ICE or the French TGV, but it gets us quickly to Warsaw for our optional excursion today. Our sightseeing includes the reconstructed ancient centre, the Castle, the Old Town Square and the New Town Square, and the remains of the Warsaw Ghetto. Home to Krakow tonight.[B]

Sunday, Sept 19th:  

Farewell Krakow this morning: this will be difficult; everybody falls in love with Krakow. Our InterCity train takes us across the Czech border to beautiful Prague, where our luggage awaits. This evening we stroll to the Old Town Square which has a building from each century from the twelfth to the twentieth. It is magnificent under floodlight.

In this square stands the monument to Jan Huss, forerunner of Martin Luther, who was burned at the stake for heresy at the Church Council of Constance in 1415. More than 20% of Czechs are still Protestants, members of the Hussite Church.

Our stroll leads us, as we will be led often over the next three days, to Prague's best known and loved landmark, the Charles Bridge (left) which connects the Old Town with the Castle precinct. [B]

Monday, Sept 20th:  ^ Top ^

This morning we begin to discover this magnificent city. Neville Chamberlain's sellout of the Czechs to Hitler in 1938 had one positive spin-off - Prague was never bombed, and much of the Old City is untouched from the 12th century. We visit the Castle and its Cathedral with the tiny chapel on the spot where Good King Wenceslas was martyred in the tenth century. The Royal Palace within the Castle was the setting of the Defenestration of Prague, the spark of the bloody Thirty Years War which tore the heart out of Christian Europe for much of the 17th Century. Wenceslas Square, and the Jewish Quarter also feature in our sightseeing. Enjoy lunch in an outdoor café. The afternoon is free to explore. [B]

Tuesday, Sept 21st:  

An optional excursion today, across the German border to nearby Dresden, said to be Germany's most beautiful city until carpet-bombed by the Allies in 1945. The baroque city is now re-emerging from the ashes. One of Europe's most distinctive churches, the Frauenkirche (left) has finally been restored after lying in ruins for the 44 years of Communist rule. Back to Prague for our Farewell Dinner.[B][D]

Wednesday, Sept 22nd:  

The tour ends after breakfast today and the choices are many: transfer to the airport for your flight home, continue with the UK Christian Heritage Add-On Tour or simply stay on to absorb Prague's and Europe's magical atmosphere.[B]

Friday, Sept 24th:    

Costs:

Option 1. $AUD 12,950 per person Twin Share. Land Content only (i.e. join the tour in Rome and leave the tour in Prague)

Or:

Option 2. $AUD 14,950 per person Twin Share. Including return economy class airfares (but not taxes) to Europe from Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne or Perth.

Single Room supplement $AUD 2,000.

The balance is due 4 months before departure.

Enquire about Business or First Class airfare upgrades (Remember, if you don't fly First Class, your grandchildren will).

What's included?^ Top ^

All Great Trains of Europe Tours include:

• All stops 3 nights minimum (Other than Oberammergau)
• Quality, centrally located hotels
• First Class travel on Europe's Great Trains
• Full luggage handling
• Escorted by Australian historian / tour guide
• Guided orientation / sightseeing tours in all cities

European Christian Heritage Tour with Oberammergau Passion Play, departing May 4th 2010 also includes:

• Best - Category 1A - seats for Oberammergau Passion Play
• For Option 2 above: Return economy airfare - but NOT taxes - from your Australian international airport to Europe, with airport transfers if arriving and departing on group dates. Inquire about the cost of earlier departure or later return. Not included if you have opted for the “land content only” Option 1.
• Twin share accommodation with buffet breakfast in centrally located First Class / Deluxe hotels with private facilities and air-conditioning (see notes on air-conditioning in Conditions). Our one night stay in the village of Oberammergau is in the highest quality accommodation available.
• 8 Restaurant dinners (3 courses plus wine or beer) - one on the first night in each new city, except Prague where the included dinner is our Farewell Dinner on the last night. Lunch in Oberammergau.
• First Class rail travel in reserved seats on many of Europe's great trains - Eurostar Italia, Eurocity, ICE.
• Orientation / sightseeing tour in each new city.
• Entrances to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, and the Colosseum in Rome (St Peter's and Pantheon are free), the Academy (David) and Uffizi Galleries in Florence, the Doge's Palace in Venice,
• Luggage handling between cities
• 24/7 on the spot services of Tour Leader who is also the company Owner/Manager.

NOTE: There are no Optional Excursions offered on the Springtime Gardens Tour with Oberammergau Passion Play.

The TOUR COST does NOT include:

• Hotel incidentals (eg. Mini-bars, telephone calls, laundry), airport and departure taxes, local transport in any city,
• optional excursions listed or meals other than breakfast and the one restaurant dinner in each city - the first night in each new city, except London where it take the form of a farewell dinner. On other nights, the Tour Leaders are available to accompany group members to local, authentic restaurants.

European Christian Heritage Tour 2010 Optional Excursions:

Also see Christian Heritage Tour of Europe» [Departs May 31st 2010]

Note well: Booking Conditions « Tours index ^ Top ^