10 Days – Pilgrimage to London and Germany w/ Fr. Steven Gamez

DAY 1: LONDON, ENGLAND –
We arrive in London. Your group’s tour guide and driver will greet you at the airport and transport you to your hotel. We will enjoy a warm welcome dinner at the hotel.

DAY 2 & DAY 3: LONDON, ENGLAND
We will visit many regal landmarks of England’s vibrant and cosmopolitan capital on a guided sightseeing tour. Pass the grand Trafalgar Square and Baroque-style St. Paul’s Cathedral, perched atop Ludgate Hill. We will also see Westminster Abbey, the setting for royal coronations, weddings, and funerals. View icons like Big Ben, the London Eye, Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London. Stop by Buckingham Palace, where we may catch the Changing of the Guard.

DAY 4: MUNICH, GERMANY
We arrive at the Bavarian capital. Your group’s tour guide and driver will greet you and transport you to your hotel. We will enjoy a warm welcome dinner at the hotel.

DAY 5: MUNICH – REGENSBURG – BLACK FOREST
Today’s sightseeing of Germany’s “Secret Capital” will include visits to the Olympic Stadium, built for the 1972 Olympics; the 1,000 foot high Olympic Tower; and Königsplatz, used for Nazi rallies during World War II. Drive along the Ludwigstrasse, and see the Bavarian Arch of Triumph and Field Marshall Hall. Also visit lively Marienplatz with the Old and the New Town Halls and the gothic Frauenkirche. We arrive in Regensburg for a walking tour, featuring the Stone Bridge, the oldest preserved bridge of its kind in Germany; the Porta Pretoria, built in the 2nd century by Emperor Marcus Aurelius; and St. Peter’s Cathedral.

DAY 6: BLACK FOREST – FÜSSEN AREA – NEUSCHWANSTEIN – OBERAMMERGAU
Visit King Ludwig’s magnificent Neuschwanstein Castle, one of Germany’s most famous castles and inspiration for Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle. Take a guided tour through this fairytale castle on its craggy outcrop high above a sparkling lake. We will also visit the Museum of the Bavarian Kings. Finally, we continue to Oberammergau, where the afternoon and evening are dedicated to the world-famous Passion Play, the centerpiece of our pilgrimage trip.

DAY 7: OBERAMMERGAU – NUREMBERG – EXCURSION TO BAYREUTH & BAMBERG
First, stop in Bayreuth for an orientation of this city of festival fame. Richard Wagner came to Bayreuth in 1871 and was not satisfied with the existing 18th-century theater, the Markgräfliches Opernhaus, so he had a new one built. Today, the Festival Hall is used exclusively for the Bayreuth Festival, and only works by Wagner are performed there. Continue to picturesque Bamberg, the city with the largest historical center in Germany and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Taste “smoked beer,” a type of beer with a distinctive smoke flavor imparted by using malted barley dried over an open flame. Later enjoy a guided walk along the cobblestone streets, and admire the architecture of the houses. Return to Nuremberg.

DAY 8: NUREMBERG – ROTHENBURG – STUTTGART – BLACK FOREST
A short drive delivers you to medieval Rothenburg with its ramparts and towers, cobblestone lanes, and 16th-century houses. Hear how the town survived the Thirty Years’ War. On to Stuttgart for an exciting visit to the Mercedes Benz Museum before continuing to the Black Forest.

DAY 9: BLACK FOREST – MUNICH
Today we will spend a leisurely morning with the possibility to join an optional excursion to King Ludwig’s Linderhof Castle. In the afternoon, you can return to Marienplatz and explore its many enticing shops. Tonight, we will have a very special farewell dinner awaiting your group at one of Munich’s lively restaurants to say auf Wiedersehen!

DAY 10: MUNICH
After enjoying a warm breakfast, we will make our way to the airport for our flight back home. This marks the end of our services.