AUSTRIA AND GERMANY TOUR with York College

Today we fly from Washington

Arrive in Munich and transfer to our hotel.

Overnight in Munich.

Today we have a half-day orientation walking tour of Munich.

With its exuberant atmosphere and vitality, it is one of the great cultural centres of Europe. The city has a seductive flavour—blue and cream trams, tree-lined boulevards, fountains, parks, pavement cafes, beer halls and beer gardens. The heart of the city and its Altstadt is the Marienplatz; the pedestrian centre fans out from here in an approximate circle of one square kilometre, with the central market, the royal palace and the most important churches. Marienplatz marks the most central spot in the city. At 1100 and 1200, the square fills as the carillon in the Rathaus jingles into action, displaying two events that happened on this spot: the marriage of Wilhelm V to Renata von Lothringen in 1568, and the first Schafflertanz (coopers'dance) of 1517, intended to cheer people up during the plague.

We will also visit the astonishing Asamkirche, the ultimate statement in Rococo, with no square inch unadorned in its dark, compact interior. Officially known as St-Johann-Nepomuk, it is one of the most enchanting examples of a Rococo church in Bavaria. It is the crowning effort of the partnership of the two Asam brothers, who successfully achieved their goal of a building whose architecture was completely integrated with all aspects of its interior decoration.

Afternoon available for independent time and / or our first meeting.

This evening we suggest you have our evening meal at the Hofbrauhaus, "the most famous pub in the world", the epitome of the Munich beer hall (not included). Originally the court brewery, it boasts an uninterrupted tradition dating back to 1589, though the present building is some three centuries younger.

Overnight in Munich.
Meals Included: Breakfast

Today we have a full-day excursion to Neuschwanstein Castle. En route our guide will tell us about King Ludwig II of Bavaria, the Neuschwanstein project, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death at the age of 40.

Neuschwanstein Castle (Schloss Neuschwanstein) is a nineteenth-century Romanesque Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau. Ludwig paid for the palace out of his personal fortune and by means of extensive borrowing, rather than Bavarian public funds. The palace was intended as a personal refuge for the reclusive king, but it was opened to the paying public immediately after his death in 1886. The palace has appeared prominently in several movies and was the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle and later, similar structures. Neuschwanstein embodies both the contemporaneous architectural fashion known as castle romanticism and Ludwig II's immoderate enthusiasm for the operas of Richard Wagner.

Late morning we arrive in Hohenschwangau, the location of Schloss Hohenschwangau (lit: High Swan County Palace), a 19th century palace that was the childhood residence of King Ludwig built by his father, King Maximilian II of Bavaria. Upon arrival we’ll explore the area by bike (+/- 1¾ hours) and have an opportunity to swim in an alpine lake. After a break for lunch, we’ll bus to the gorge entrance from where we’ll begin a gentle hike (approx one hour) through the gorge up to the Neuschwanstein castle entrance. Our guided tour of the castle interior will take about one hour after which we will walk back down to the village and connect with our bus transfer back to Munich, arriving in the early evening.

Overnight in Munich
Meals Included: Breakfast

Overnight in Munich
Meals Included: Breakfast

Overnight in Munich
Meals Included: Breakfast

This morning we visit the Deutsches Museum in Munich, a fabulous science and technology museum. Covering every conceivable aspect of technical endeavour, from the first flint tools to the research labs of modern industry, this is the most compendious collection of its type in Europe.

After our visit we travel by road to Kufstein (approx one hour), a town in the Austrian state of Tyrol. On arrival, after settling in, we’ll have our first group meeting in Kufstein.

Overnight in Kufstein.
Meals Included: Breakfast

During our time in Kufstein, we will tour the Kufstein Fortress, located on a hill commanding Kufstein proper. The fortress is first mentioned in a document from 1205 as being in the property of Bavarian Duke Ludwig and the Bishop of Regensburg. As the arena of many battles, Kufstein Fortress often witnessed history in the making, especially as a fiercely fought-over object between Bavaria and the Tyrol. It first had a pivotal role in an armed conflict in 1336, when Margrave Charles of Moravia had to abandon his pursuit of the Bavarians when the fortress blocked his route.

We will also visit the Reidel glass factory, best known for its glassware designed to enhance different types of wines. In 1756 Johann Cristoph Riedel founded a glass factory in Polaun, Bohemia. After WWII the factory was expropriated, and after a 12-year hiatus from glass production 9th generation glassworker Professor Claus Josef Riedel resumed production in Kufstein and focused on high quality wine glasses. We’ll have a tour, which features various stages of the production process.

Overnight in Kufstein.
Meals Included: Breakfast

Meals Included: Breakfast

Overnight in Vienna
Meals Included: Breakfast

Walking about downtown Vienna is an absolute pleasure. The Innere Stadt, in particular, is best explored on foot. Our morning WALK takes us through some of the most well-trodden tourist routes in Vienna. We will take local transport to the Staatsoper, the premiere opera and classical music venue in Vienna, and possibly the world. From here we walk, heading north on Kartner Strasse, a pedestrian-only walkway of shops, trees, cafes and buildings of historical and cultural interest.

Instantly recognizable along this walk is the Gothic, glorious Stephansdom (St Stephen's Cathedral). This is the geographical and emotional heart of the city. Our stroll down Graben St. takes us past Neo-Classical architectural masterpieces; then we turn onto Kohlmarket and head to Michaelerplatz and its array of architectural sites. We visit the Hofburg chambers, thus getting a view of this enormous Imperial Palace from both inside and outside. Afternoon at leisure.

Overnight in Vienna
Meals Included: Breakfast

Meals Included: Breakfast

Today we travel by train to Vienna (+/- 3¾ hours), the Austrian capital.

Vienna is a true cosmopolitan center, where different tribes and nationalities have, for centuries, fused their cultural identities to produce the intriguing and often cynical Viennese. Around 1900, Vienna was a city of vibrant, stimulating, intellectual life, a dynamic capital of elites that did pioneering work in many fields. Otto Wagner remarked in 1905, "in spite of unfavourable conditions, Vienna is marching at the head of cultural nations." In a similar vein, international critics noted that Vienna was virtually unsurpassed in the sheer wealth of modern architecture that it had to offer at the time.

This afternoon we visit the Imperial Hofburg Palace, the Hapsburgs’ home for six centuries during which time changes and additions were made in every conceivable architectural style—Gothic, Renaissance, baroque, rococo and classical.

Overnight in Vienna.
Meals Included: Breakfast

Overnight in Vienna
Meals Included: Breakfast

Departure from Vienna.

GUTE REISE!
Meals Included: Breakfast