Day 1 – Berlin
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Morning flight arrival at Berlin International Airport where you will be met by your tour guide who will escort you to your motorcoach. Transfer into the centre of Berlin.
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Today we will enjoy a sightseeing tour through the center of the German capital. Explore the history of the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie.
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See such sights as the Tiergarten, the government sector, the Brandenburg gate as well as the Potsdam Square, the famous shopping mall Kurfürstendamm, and Unter den Linden, as well as the magnificent Berlin Cathedral, the largest Lutheran church in Germany.
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Dinner and overnight at your hotel.
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Today we drive out to the old garrison and residence town of Potsdam situated just a stone’s throw away from Berlin that has become famous for its splendid palaces and gardens.
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Visit the palace of Sanssouci, a favourite refuge of the great Prussian king Frederick II, a flutist and composer as well as a great general. Here the “philosopher of Sanssouci,” as he was called, entertained some of the most educated men of the 18th century, among them the French philosopher Voltaire, as well as J. S. Bach, whose Musical Offering is based on a theme proposed by the king.
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The excursion includes an extensive guided tour of Sanssouci Palace, a stroll in the magnificent park and a city tour of Potsdam where you will discover among other sights the Dutch Quarter and the Russian Colony Alexandrovka.
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Free time for dinner. Overnight at your hotel.
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Drive to Wittenberg, Luther’s home for over 30 years, situated along the Shor River. The University of Wittenberg is where Luther was a professor and posted his 95 theses on the door of the church in 1517, launching the Protestant Reformation.
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We will visit the Luther House, the Schlosskirche, the church where Luther is buried, and the Town Church to see Cranach’s Triptych Altar.
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We continue on to Torgau for a guided tour including the Castle, the Castle Church and St. Mary’s Church, where Katharina von Bora, Luther’s wife, is buried. It was here in 1530 that Luther and others drew up part of the Augsburg Confession.
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Dinner and overnight at hotel.
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To Halle where Handel was born in 1685. Tour of the 300 year old “Francke Foundations,” a center of Lutheran Pietism that included an orphanage, school and Bible society. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg was sent from the Francke Foundations in 1742 to Pennsylvania, where he became the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America.
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On to Eisleben and visit Luther’s Birth House, Death House, the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, where Luther was baptized, and St. Andrew’s Church, where he preached his last sermon.
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Dinner and overnight at hotel.
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Tour of Erfurt including the Augustinian Monastery and St. Mary’s Cathedral, where Luther was ordained, St. Severin’s Church and the tradesmen’s bridge.
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Travel to Eisenach, birthplace of J. S. Bach (1685). Visit the Bach Museum, Luther House, and St. George’s Church where J. S. Bach was baptized.
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Then to Wartburg Castle where Luther lived in protective custody and translated the New Testament from Greek to German.
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Dinner and overnight at hotel.
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Explore Weimar, the spiritual and cultural centre of classical German literature and a living picture book of German history. Wieland, Goethe, Herder and Schiller, as well as Bach, lived here. It was also the site of the first democracy on German soil—known as the Weimar Republic.
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Among the highlights are the Nietzsche Archive, the Goethe and Schiller Houses, the Goethe and Schiller Archives and the art collections in the Bauhaus Museum.
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In total contrast, we will also visit the nearby Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp.
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Dinner and overnight at hotel.
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We will enjoy a walking tour with a local guide, exploring the Bach heritage of Leipzig.
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First we will visit the St. Thomas Church, where Bach was Choir Master from 1723 to 1750; he is buried here. Martin Luther preached at the St. Thomas Church; Mozart played the organ here; Richard Wagner was baptized here.
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Across from the church we’ll visit the Bach Museum displaying still more of the composer’s life, his family, and his music. During Bach’s time, the museum house was owned by the composer’s friend, Bose, and Bach often visited and played there. Today, the house also contains the Bach Archives and the Bach Research Institute.
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As Director of Music for the City of Leipzig, Bach was also responsible for music and education at the Nikolaikirche, which we will also visit.
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Rest of the day at leisure. The visit to Leipzig could be arrange to coincide with the Bachfest.
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Overnight at hotel.
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Free time and a further opportunity to explore the city Goethe called “little Paris” and is today known as “the Boomtown of the East.”
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Dinner and overnight at hotel.
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Transfer to Prague. Afternoon walking tour of the Old Town, with its cobbled streets, and the Jewish Quarter, birthplace of Franz Kafka.
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See the Gothic Town Hall in Old Town Square, famous for its astronomical clock.
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Visit the Jewish Museum which houses the largest collection of Judaica in Europe, the Old New Synagogue and the Jewish Cemetery. You may also enjoy a walk across the 14th century Charles Bridge.
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Dinner and overnight at hotel.
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Today you will enjoy a half-day sightseeing tour of Prague’s Castle District. Hradcany Castle was the seat of Bohemian kings and Holy Roman emperors.
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Visit the Cathedral of St. Vitus, one of the finest and most ornate in central Europe, and the Basilica of St. George which was founded in 905. Stroll along the Golden Lane, a row of tiny houses dating from the 16th century.
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Complete your tour with a visit to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Loreto, an important place of pilgrimage, and the Strahov Monastery, with its glorious Baroque decorations, where you will enjoy a private tour of the ornate library.
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Transfer to Prague Airport for your return flight.