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Adventure Travel invites you
to experience this legendary event
on one of the special vacations being
offered in 2010.
from
$3079.00
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The quaint village of Oberammergau is world famous
for its spectacular Passion Play, performed by the
locals just once a decade.
In 1634 the Black Death decimated Europe’s population.
Oberammergau remained untouched until a homesick
villager returned one night, unknowingly bringing
with him the dreaded plague. Almost 100 villagers
died as a result.
Frightened
survivors vowed
that if God saved them from the plague, once every
10 years they would reenact the agony and crucifixion
of Christ. From then on there were no further deaths
from the plague—and the villagers have fulfilled
their pledge ever since.
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Frankfurt
/ Munich / Oberammergau / Vienna
St.
Veit / Innsbruck / St. Moritz / Lugano
Zermatt
/ Lucerne
Itinerary:
Day 1 Board your overnight transatlantic flight.
Day 2 Arrival in Frankfurt, Germany. Time to
rest or explore the bustling metropolis on the River Main. This
evening meet your Tour Director and traveling companions for a
welcome dinner at your hotel. (D)
Day 3 Frankfurt-Rothenburg-Munich-Oberammergau.
Focus on Germany’s Romantic Road leading to the Alps. Walk through
medieval Rothenburg with its towers and cobbled lanes, enjoy an
orientation drive of Munich, then, arrive in picturesque Oberammergau.
(B,D)
Day 4 Oberammergau. Today, the highlight of your
vacation—the original PASSION PLAY, held every 10 years, and performed
by the residents of Oberammergau. (B,L,D)
Day 5 Oberammergau-Salzburg, Austria-Vienna.
Through southern Bavaria to the Austrian border and on to Salzburg.
Your walking tour with a Local Guide features the historic center
of Mozart’s hometown, exquisite MIRABELL GARDENS, the Great Festival
Hall, ST. PETER’S CHURCHYARD, and the monumental Domplatz. Evening
arrival in Vienna, once the center of the mighty Habsburg Empire.
Tonight, you may wish to try out local specialties and Viennese
entertainment. (B)
Day 6 Vienna. Meet your Local Guide and start
your sightseeing with vistas of Prater Park with its giant Ferris
wheel, and the United Nations City on the banks of the Danube
River. Drive along Ring Boulevard, pass the State Opera House,
the Jewish quarter, and stop at the Hofburg Palace. Marvel at
the courtyards and famous Heldenplatz and visit ST. STEPHEN’S
CATHEDRAL. Optional excursions to Grinzing, for a taste of Heurigen
wine, and to Bratislava, capital of Slovakia. are available. (B)
Day 7 Vienna-St. Veit. An optional excursion
Schönbrunn Palace is possible before continuing south, across
scenic Semmering Pass, through peaceful crossroad towns in Styria,
to the mountains, lakes, and popular resorts of Carinthia. Overnight
in St. Veit. (B,D)
Day 8 St. Veit-Italian Dolomites-Innsbruck. Drive
via Iselsberg Pass to the Italian border and to Cortina d’Ampezzo,
the Olympic skiing resort in the Dolomites. Then, via Tre Croci
Pass and Lake Misurina to Brunico and across Brenner Pass to Innsbruck
in the Tyrolean Alps. Stroll through its medieval lanes to Emperor
Maximilian’s GOLDEN ROOF. Why not join an optional Tyrolean song-and-dance
show?. (B,D)
Day 9 Innsbruck-St. Moritz, Switzerland. Into
the Swiss Engadine. See deep-blue lakes, airy larch forests, mountain
peaks exceeding 12,000 feet, and quaint villages with massive
white stone houses in the characteristic Grisons style. Afternoon
free in ritzy St. Moritz. (B,D)
Day 10 St. Moritz-Lugano. Descend to the Italian
Lake Como and on to the southern tip of Switzerland to the resort
town of Lugano, with time for an espresso on the Piazza Riforma,
and a walk in the shade of Parco Ciani’s magnificent old trees.
(B)
Day 11 Lugano-Stresa, Italy-Zermatt. From Lake
Lugano to Lake Maggiore for a break in elegant Stresa. An optional
boat ride to Isola Bella can be arranged. On over the lofty Simplon
Pass into the Swiss Valais, an area featuring great mountain resorts.
In Tasch, board a MOUNTAIN TRAIN to climb the last few miles up
to Zermatt beneath the Matterhorn. (B,D)
Day 12 At Leisure in Zermatt. A day to relax
or maybe ride Europe’s highest rack-railway to 10,272-foot Gornergrat.
(B)
Day 13 Zermatt-Berne-Interlaken-Lucerne. Through
the vineyards and apricot groves of the lower Rhône Valley to
Lake Geneva and via the Gruyère dairy country, to the Swiss capital
of Berne. See the monumental Federal Palace and the BEAR PIT before
continuing via Interlaken, a Bernese Oberland resort beneath the
towering Jungfrau, and across Brünig Pass to Lucerne. (B,D)
Day 14 Lucerne. On your walking tour, admire
Thorwaldsen’s LION MONUMENT and the ornate patrician houses of
the walled Old Town, then cross the famous CHAPEL BRIDGE to the
Jesuit church. Afterwards, choose from our optional activities:
climb a mountain by cable car, take a cruise on the fjord-like
lake, or sign up for a folklore party with yodeling and alphorn
blowing. (B)
Day 15 Lucerne-Heidelberg, Germany-Frankfurt.
On the way back to Germany, visit the thundering RHINE FALLS at
Schaffhausen. Enter the pine-clad hills of the Black Forest, and
enjoy a WOODCARVING DEMONSTRATION on your way to Heidelberg, known
for its red-walled castle, before returning to Frankfurt. Tonight,
enjoy a farewell dinner to celebrate the success of your vacation.
(B,D)
Day 16 Your homebound flight arrives the same
day. (B)
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