COST: $995 per person

DAY 1 -- Saturday, September 11 -- NEW YORK / FRANKFURT

Tour members are welcomed this evening at JFK International Airport, departing on Lufthansa Airlines via widebody aircraft, arriving in Frankfurt the next day.

Day 2 -- Sunday, September 12 -- FRANKFURT / ZURICH /LUCERNE

This morning we arrive in Frankfurt and transfer to our flight to Zurich. Upon arrival in Zurich we are met by our escort and have a panoramic tour of Zurich, the city of Swiss Reformer Ulrich Zwingli, before going to beautiful Lucerne to check into our hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 3 – Monday, September 13 – MT RIGI / LUCERNE

We begin our day with a climb to the top of one of the most storied Alpine mountains -- Mount Rigi. We will ascend by cable car to Rigi Kaltbad and then continue to the top by cogwheel train to Rigi Kulm (6000 feet) to enjoy a breath-taking, panoramic view of the Alps.

This afternoon we visit Lucerne and the peaceful Lake Lucerne. We’ll see the famous Chapel Bridge, the Lion Monument, Glacier Garden, the Hofkirche, the Musegg Towers and Weinmarket Fountain. Return to the hotel. 

Day 4 -- Tuesday, September 14 -- LUCERNE / LAKE CONSTANCE / AUGSBURG

Our morning drive from Lucerne will take us to tiny Liechtenstein, one of the smallest countries on the planet. We continue to Lake Constance where three countries share one of the largest lakes in Europe.

This afternoon we drive north to Augsburg, Germany.  Here we begin our Martin Luther tour.  It was at Augsburg that the Augsburg confession was presented in 1530. This was one of the key documents setting Luther in opposition to the doctrines of the church. Continue to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 5 -- Wednesday,  September 15 -- AUGSBURG / OBERAMMERGAU

This morning we have a walking tour to St. Anna where the Augsburg Confession was written, then to the Rathaus (Town Hall), Holy Cross Church, Barfusser Church where the document was nailed to the door and Gallus Chapel. In the afternoon we will head southeast to the Bavarian village of Oberammergau to check into our hotel for dinner and overnight.

COST: $3,295 from New York

DAY 1 -- Tuesday, September 14 -- NEW YORK / MUNICH

Tour members are welcomed this evening at JFK International Airport, departing on Lufthansa Airlines via widebody aircraft, arriving in Munich the next day.

Day 2 -- Wednesday, September 15 -- MUNICH / OBERAMMERGAU

Today we will arrive in Munich where we’re met by our Escort and taken on a short but most gorgeous drive through the Bavarian Alps to the quaint village of Oberammergau to check into our hotel.

Day 3- Thursday, September 16 -- PASSION PLAY

This is the day you’ve waited ten years for.  We’ll begin with a morning walk around this beautiful village. World-renowned, this quaint town with colorfully-painted murals on the walls of the houses is the site of the extravagant Oberammergau Passion Play – performed only once every decade. The permanent exhibition explains the tradition and history behind this spectacle. Take part in this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Beginning in the afternoon and involving almost all residents of the village, the play has a running time of approximately five hours with a three-hour intermission. It’s quite the production.  Return to our accommodation for dinner and overnight.

DAY 4 -- Friday, September 17 -- OBERAMMERGAU / WORMS

After breakfast we board our motor coach for a 4 hour drive to Worms.  We are met by our city guide for a personal tour of the town where Luther was summoned to renounce his theological views at the Diet of Worms on April 17, 1521. He didn’t.  Instead, Luther replied “Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.”  After a brief walking tour to view the site of the Worms debates, the church of the Holy Trinity and the Reformation Monument at the Lutherplatz, we will check into our hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 5 -- Saturday, September 18 -- WORMS / EISENACH

After breakfast our comfortable motor coach takes us to Eisenach where we will visit the one-and-only Wartburg Castle, where Luther took refuge while he translated the New Testament into German (in just 10 weeks).

This afternoon we visit the Bachhaus Museum to enjoy a musical performance of J. S. Bach pieces performed on historical instruments. You music lovers will be in seventh heaven.  Afterward we’ll have time to stroll the market square and sample some traditional bratwurst and other German delicacies before we return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 6 -- Sunday, September 19 -- ERFURT / EISLEBEN

After breakfast we drive to Erfurt where, after being caught in a violent thunderstorm, Martin Luther determined to give his life to God and took a vow to become a monk. We’ll see St. Mary’s Cathedral where Luther was ordained as a priest and the Augustinian Cloister where Luther lived as a monk.  Then we board our bus and travel north to Eisleben.

After lunch we’ll be joined by our city guide for a personal walking tour of quaint Eisleben including a visit to the birth house of Luther, now a museum, which contains the first translated German Bible. We’ll also visit the Church of Peter and Paul, Luther’s Baptismal site, the house where Luther died, and St. Andrew Church where Luther preached his last four sermons and where his body was laid in state.  From here we bid goodbye to the town both where Luther was born and where he died and travel to Wittenberg where he made his greatest mark. Dinner and overnight in Wittenberg

DAY 7 -- Monday, September 20 -- WITTENBERG / BERLIN

After breakfast we will visit the town of Wittenberg, the most important city of Luther’s life and work.  Here Luther taught at the university.  Here he discovered the Bible in a dusty library.  Here he tacked his 95 Theses on the Castle Church door and the Protestant Reformation began.  We will have a personally-guided walking tour to visit the Castle Church, the “Theses Doors”, the marvelous Cranach Altarpiece and the Lutherhalle and Museum, home of the largest collection of Reformation artifacts in the world.

This afternoon we will have some time to explore Wittenberg on our own. There are plenty of quaint places within walking distance of the center of the city.  Some suggestions:  Philipp Melanchthon’s house, the statues of Luther and Melanchthon in the town square or the Elster Gate where Luther publicly burned the papal bull in 1520, a site marked by an oak tree.  After our visit to Wittenberg we drive to Berlin to check into our hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 8 – Tuesday, September 21 -- BERLIN

This morning our guided tour of Berlin includes a stop at Charlottenburg Palace with its Museum, the Berlin Wall Museum, and the well known Checkpoint Charlie. This afternoon we depart for Potsdam, to view some of the most extravagant architecture of the 18th century. We will tour Sansoucci Palace and Park, built by Frederick of Prussia in 1745, before returning to our hotel.

DAY 9 -- Wednesday, September 22 -- BERLIN / NEW YORK

Well, all good things must come to an end and this Oberammergau / Martin Luther tour has certainly been a good thing.  We take our early morning transfer to the airport for our return flight to the USA, filled with the memories of this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

COST: $695 per person

DAY 12 -- Wednesday, September 22 -- BERLIN / PRAGUE

Have you ever wanted to enjoy a train ride across Europe?  Well, today you get your wish.  After breakfast we leave Berlin by train to Prague.  Upon arrival in the capital of the Czech Republic we’ll check into our hotel.

This afternoon we’ll be met by our local Czech guide and begin our sightseeing with a tour of Jewish Prague, the Jewish city hall (view from outside), Altneschul – the oldest existing synagogue in Europe, the Maisel Synagogue (which is now a Jewish museum), and the old Jewish cemetery.  And here’s a special treat.  We’ll take a dinner cruise on the Vtlava River before returning to our hotel for overnight.  What a way to end your first day in Prague.

DAY 13 – Thursday, September 23  --  PRAGUE

Today we’ll tour the historic and modern quarters of romantic Prague.  We’ll visit the Old Town, the New Town and the Lesser Town including the famous Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral. 

Prague is the home of Jan Hus, the theologian and Reformer who was summoned to the Council of Constance and burned at the stake in 1415.  We’ll see a statue in his honor and in the afternoon we’ll have time to do some last minute shopping before returning to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 14 – Friday, September 24  --  PRAGUE / FRANKFURT / NEW YORK

Today we return to the United States filled with the recollections of the Passion Play, the Martin Luther sites, and all the other places we’ve been and things we’ve done.  Once home we’ll have our memories to cherish forever.