Berlin, Prague & Munich

Follow your Tour Director on an intimate introduction to Western Berlin. Along the journey, meet a German melting pot of crumbling pre-war buildings, sleek new office complexes, flashy designer boutiques and a metropolitan skyline blinking with neon lights. Sense the blending of east and west as you wander the center of the wall-free city to Tiergarten, the government’s quarter where Imperial parliament and Congress Hall reside. Step inside a vast English-style park originally landscaped in the 1830’s. Now a retreat for walking and boating, Tiergarten Park was formerly used by Prussian monarchs as a hunting ground, hence the name’s meaning, animal garden. Highlights include: Siegessaule, a towering victory column topped by a gilded statue celebrating Prussia’s defeat of France in 1870. (Climb all 285 steps, for panoramic vistas of the city.) Continuing along, pass the train station Bahnhof Zoo, the sole point of arrival for Westerners traveling by train in the Cold War era. End your journey in the buzzing upscale shopping mecca, Kurfürstendamm, Berlin’s version of Champs-Élysées. Between designer boutiques and haughty real estate, you’ll find pre-war coffeehouse traditions that live on.

Join a professional, licensed tour guide as you discover one of the most historical cities in Germany. Although nothing remains of the mortar and cement-block barrier between East and West Berlin, the Berlin Wall (built in 1961; destroyed in 1989) is still a main “site” in Berlin. View the well-known Brandenburg Gate, once a main gate hidden behind a 10-foot barrier and now known for celebratory dancing on its flat top during the reunification. Travel to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, the most famous border crossing point. Checkpoint Charlie, once a wooden guard hut, was the most (in)famous border-crossing point between East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. All that remains of the checkpoint itself is a skeletal watchtower and a memorial of attempted escapees. Follow your guide as they lead you through the museum’s accounts of the most ingenious of these escape attempts— even a few by hot air balloon.

Visit the museum that documents the history and significance of the most famous crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War.

Stop in Dresden for a visit to the Baroque-style Zwinger Museum where Bavarian Princes once lived and collected master art works. The museum’s exterior, framed by statues of gods and goddesses, boasts 6 linked pavilions surrounding a vast esplanade embellished with pools and fountains. Tucked safely inside, you’ll find masterpieces such as Raphael’s Sistine Madonna and great works by Van Eyck, Vermeer and Veronese. The grand collection of Meissen (European porcelain) is a flattering ode to fine china.

Explore the massive hallways and high-vaulted rooms of the grand Zwinger Palace in Dresden, which is considered a major landmark for German Baroque architecture. Housed inside this impressive building is a collection of artifacts documenting Dresden’s cultural heritage, including old master paintings, medieval weaponry and armor and old scientific instruments.

Follow a professional licensed tour guide on a sightseeing adventure through the most prized city in Eastern Europe. As the former capital of the Holy Roman Empire, the city was built on beauty and decadence from a wide array of architectural styles (including Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau). Visit Hradcany (Prague Castle) where Europe’s grand ruling family, the Habsburgs, lived and reigned. Wander into the castle’s courtyard to view the richly textured flying buttresses of St. Vitus Cathedral, the sacred structure that took 600 years to complete. End your exploration among the brightly colored houses in Golden Lane, the short, narrow street named after the artisans who practiced goldworking there.

Feel the inspiration for Franz Kafka’s novels as you stroll the medieval streets of the Mala Strana (Little Quarter). Cross the Charles Bridge (lined with 30 lifelike baroque statues) to 13th-century Old Town to see the 15th-century astronomical clock in Market Square. Stop in Josefov (Jewish Quarter), to view Europe’s oldest synagogue, dating from 1270.

Nuremburg is perhaps best known for its role in German politics. The city was the site of many Nazi rallies from 1933 to 1938. Unfortunately, 90% of the city was destroyed in 1945. The Allies chose Nuremberg as the site of the war crimes tribunals because of the city's ties to Nazi power.

Join a professional licensed tour guide for a whirlwind look at Munich. Founded in the 12th century by Henry the Lion, Munich now roars with the hustle and bustle of modern German life. As you pass by Marienplatz (named after the square’s gilded Virgin Mary and Child statue), mechanical knights joust and coopers dance to the folk-music chimes of the Neues Rathaus’s Glockenspiel. The twin onion-bulb towers of the Frauenkirche Cathedral frame this whimsical display, while the scents, sounds, and colors of the nearby food market attempt to draw your attention elsewhere. Resist temptation and continue on to Olympiapark, a new suburb built for the 1972 Olympic Games. Pass by several museums, such as the BMW Museum, Alte Pinakothek (home to Munich’s most precious art collections), and the Deutsches Museum of science and technology.

A grim glimpse into the past, Dachau was the first of Nazi Germany’s camps and a model for the 3,000 work and concentration camps to come. Your Tour Director will lead you through the gas chamber (although never used) and crematorium, which have been restored as a chilling memorial to the 206,000 prisoners who were interned in the camp from 1933 to 1945. The museum examines pre-1930 anti-Semitism, the rise of the Nazi party, and photographed and documented lives of prisoners.

This elaborate castle was built atop a rock ledge over the Pöllat Gorge in the Bavarian Alps by order of Bavaria's King Ludwig II, referred to as "Mad Ludwig," whose favorite pastime was midnight sleigh rides through the countryside. This stronghold was the crowning jewel of the king’s building spree across Bavaria and was the inspiration for Cinderella’s castle in Disney World. Begun in 1869 and left unfinished at Ludwig's death in 1886, this lavish palace is an eccentric reconstruction of a medieval castle, and it boasts major technological and architectural achievements for the time, including running water, flushing toilets, a hot water system for the kitchen, and bathrooms with warm-air heating systems.

Visit a typical Bavarian dwellings in Oberammergau, a charming Alpine village. When the black plague spread through Europe, wiping out thousands of people, the residents of Oberammergau prayed for their village to be spared. Every 10 years during the summer days, the thankful town puts on the Passion Play, celebrating the blessing they were granted as they were passed over by the Black Death.