Welcome to Prague!

Arrive at Prague’s Airport and transfer to our hotel, the Hotel Caesar Palace, a 4 star hotel in an old building done in Art Nouveau style, completely renovated and situated in the historical center of Prague. Our hotel is less than one block from Prague’s famous beer hall, U Fleku - we'll meet up here for dinner tonight!

After breakfast, we meet our guide for an informative walking tour through the heart of Prague’s Old City.  From the Powder Tower we walk along the “Royal Route” to Old Town Square. The walk will continue along Karlova Street to the famous Charles Bridge. In the afternoon, take advantage of a little free time to explore this beautiful city. Dinner is planned at Koliba U Pastyrky, with authentic Gypsy dulcimer music.

In the morning we will visit the Strahov Monastery, founded in 1140. The highlight is the Philosophical Hall with its fabulous ceiling fresco titled “The Struggle of Mankind to Know Real History.” The room is filled with valuable books rescued from a dissolved monastery.

At lunch time, we visit the nearby Strahov Monastic Brewery.  First documented at the end of the 13th Century,  a new and fully functional brewery was built on the current site in 1628. Closed since 1907, the brewery was restored in 2000 and has a modern brewpub feel about it.

In the afternoon, our guide will take you on a tour of Prague Castle and its interior - the Royal Palace, St. Vitus Cathedral, St. George's Basilica and the Golden Lane, acquainting you with all the important historical details of the Castle.

For dinner, we plan a visit to U Medvídkû. A main outlet for Budvar Beer, we have a 3 course dinner planned and you can choose from 4 entrees. After dinner we visit an unsual form of Czech Theater: Black Light.

Join us for a quick tour of crypt of the Church for the Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral located less than 2 blocks from our hotel. This was the site where the Nazis cornered the Czech patriots who had assassinated Reinhard Heydrich in Operation Anthroproid. This won’t take long and you’ll have the remainder of the morning and afternoon to explore Prague on your own.

In the evening, we plan a special evening at Folklore Garden. Here an ensemble of dancers and musicians in traditional clothing will entertain for two and half hours. A traditional dinner will be served and drinks are included!

Our bus will transport us back to Germany this morning. Along the way, we plan a stop at the home of Pilsner. The Pilsner Urquell Brewery and its Museum are located in Plzen . We’ll have lunch there, tour the brewery and have a little bit of time to explore the museum and enjoy a beer or two.

After the brewery, we finish our drive to Germany in about 3 hours. We check into our hotel in the little town of Abensberg. Our friend Robert will be there to take us on a private tour of his town, including the spooky beer cellars scattered beneath the city.

In the morning, we’ll make a quick stop at the Befreiungshalle (Hall of Liberation) in Kelheim before continuing on the short distance to Rosenburg Castle in Riedenburg. The main attraction here is the Falconry and at 11:00 AM, we’ll get to see a show of these hunting birds in action! Afterwards we will take a boat down the river back to Kelheim where we can visit the Schneider and Sons brewery before returning to Abensberg. This evening we have a special party planned with Robert’s own Bavarian brass band. It will surely be an unforgettable night!

From Abensberg, it’s a short ride through the Hallertau region on our way back to Munich. We’ll be in Munich at a decent hour and can check into our hotel, the Alter Wirt, which was Munich’s first organic hotel. Get your things settled and then we’ll head towards downtown Munich and visit a beer garden for lunch. In the evening, we’ll head to the Oktoberfest grounds for an evening of fun. We have a limited number of reserved seats in the Augustiner balcony which will be assigned in the order in which your reservations were received.

After a rich organic breakfast, we’ll head directly to the Oktoberfest grounds. At Noon, we have reserved tables in the Augustiner Tent until 4:00 PM.  Now, you’ll get to experience the great Oktoberfest feeling of Gemütlichkeit . Feast on roasted chicken and quench your thirst with 2 liters of beer while you listen to the brass band. After the reservation, you can choose to stay at the Wiesn or head to downtown Munich for dinner

Pack up your things and join us as we head down the romantic road to the town of Nördlingen. We’ll make a lunch stop in this very unusual town. Located in the center of a huge meteorite crater, Nördlingen is proud of their almost unspoiled medieval townscape.  In fact, it is the only town in Germany with walls and battlements that can be walked all the way around.

In the late afternoon, we continue on to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. We are staying inside the town walls at Hotel Glocke. Famous for their own wine production, they also make a fabulous Sauerbraten, which we will try tonight for dinner!

Sleep in and enjoy a hearty breakfast in our hotel. Our local tour guide, Martin, will meet us at our hotel and take us for a walk around this medieval walled town. As Martin tells you about the history, you'll feel transported back to the Middle Ages.

After our tour, enjoy the small Christmas Market and the famous Christmas store of Käthe Wohlfahrt.

In the evening, we will enjoy another great Franconian meal at Hotel Glocke. If there is interest among our group members, we can ask for a wine tasting. The owner makes his own wine from the Silvaner Grape of the region - he was even featured in a Rick Steve’s video. His passion for his craft is contagious - if you love wine, this is a memorable selection!

After breakfast and packing our things onto the bus, we’ll travel toward the capital of Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart. On our way, we’ll stop in the city of Schwäbisch Hall. The historical center of this 1000-year-old former Free Imperial City, with its medieval buildings and winding laneways, has one of Germany's most beautiful market squares.

After a leisurely lunch break and chance to see the city, we’ll re-board our bus and continue on to Stuttgart.  We plan a later afternoon tour of the city with a private guide followed by a dinner of Swabian specialties.

Since Stuttgart is the home to Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, it’s only right that we delve into these automotive attractions. However, you’ll have to choose which one you visit. Vonia will be going to Porsche and Scott to Mercedes.

In the mid-afternoon, we will visit the second most famous Volksfest in Germany: The Canstatter Wasen.  Attracting some 4 Million visitors in 2011, there are some 280 vendors at this fest. Today is the opening day of the 17 day-long festival. We visited in 2011 and our alumni insisted that we return to this party!

At 3:00 PM, the Canstatter Volksfest opens and we have reserved tables inside the Schwaben Welt tent at 5:00 PM. This is a crazy atmosphere and an evening filled with loud music and everyone dancing on the benches. What a way for you to say good-bye to Germany!

Today is departure day and you’ll need to make your way to the airport. We will help you make your train arrangements. The nearest airport is Stuttgart, but Frankfurt is only 75 minutes away and trains go there several time each hour. Please look at the travel notes below.