| European Heritage Tour with John Ruth |
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June 23 - July 6, 2011 
With tour leaders John Ruth & Audrey Voth Petkau This is TourMagination’s classic European Heritage tour which includes the countries of The Netherlands, Germany, France and Switzerland and features many sites of Anabaptist/Mennonite heritage such as the Menno Simons story in Friesland, the Weierhof in Germany, the Emmental and Zürich in Switzerland. Prepare for many other highlights including an afternoon cruise on the Rhine River, a cog rail mountain experience, climbing into the foothills of the Swiss Alps to the Cave of the Anabaptists. John Ruth, our premier Anabaptist/Mennonite storyteller for almost 30 years, and Audrey Voth Petkau, TourMagination staff person who will look after the tour logistics, promise you an unforgettable tour experience. Don’t miss out on this wonderful journey of discovery and fellowship. Thursday & Friday, June 23 & 24 The tour departs from Liberty International Airport, Newark, New Jersey, on an overnight flight to Frankfurt, Germany, before connecting to Amsterdam, The Netherlands. It will be Friday morning when we arrive in Amsterdam and are met by our coach driver. Our first stop will be Zaanse Schans, an unspoiled village with typical Zaan Region houses, where we will see a working windmill and a craftsman making wooden shoes. Before going to our hotel, we will make a stop in Volendam. We will spend the night near Volendam.  View from an Amsterdam canal boat In Amsterdam this morning, we will take a canal boat ride on Amsterdam’s famous canal system and visit the Rijksmuseum. Then we will cross the 22-mile Afluitsdijk that has linked North Holland and Friesland since 1932. We will learn about the Menno Simons’ story in Friesland as we visit Pingjum and Witmarsum. Tonight we will be hosted by families in their homes in Berlikum. After worshipping with our new friends on Sunday morning, we will travel on to Münster where we will take a walking tour to hear a darker side of the Anabaptist story. We will spend the night in Köin.  Along the Rhine River This morning we will visit the famous cathedral in Köin and see Roman ruins. We will also enjoy a relaxing, scenic cruise on the Rhine River between Boppard and Bacharach. The mountain stretch along which we will travel is overlaid with legend. Castles and ruins of castles are perched on rugged mountain tops with vineyards sunning themselves on both sides of the river. We will disembark in Bacharach, a medieval walled town, only meters from the river’s banks. On our way to the hotel, we will stop in Bad Kreuznach. Tuesday & Wednesday, June 28 & 29 Today we will explore the Palatinate area of Germany, visiting the Weierhof, a semi-communal Mennonite village, before going to Worms to see the Reformers’ Monument and hear the Martin Luther story. We will travel through the Black Forest to Offenburg, our destination for the night. On Wednesday we will visit Strasbourg, France, with its magnificent cathedral, and learn about the Anabaptists in this city. We will enjoy strolling through the quaint town of Riquewihr which is located in the wine-growing area of France, before a scenic drive through the Juras in Switzerland to a farm where ancestors of Neuenschwanders lived.  An Emmental Home On Thursday, the coach driver needs a break so we will stay in Bern for the day. In the morning, we will enjoy an Anabaptist walking tour, while in the afternoon, you will have free time to explore, visit a museum, shop, rest, etc. On Friday in the Emmental (Emme Valley), we will visit Langnau to see the oldest continuous Mennonite church in the world and other important sites related to Anabaptist history including the Trachselwald Castle, the Dürs Rütti, and Sumiswald, before going to Erlenbach where Jakob Amman was born and where we will learn about the Amish story. Saturday, July 2 We hope to have a mountain-top experience today! If the weather cooperates, we will board a cog rail mountain train in Brienz and ride to the top of the Brienzer-Rothorn. After lunch in Meringen, we will walk through the scenic Aareschult gorge to see a different kind of natural beauty. Prepare for stunning vistas as we cross the Sustenpass. Sunday & Monday, July 3 & 4 On Sunday morning, John Ruth will take us on a walking tour of Zürich to visit Anabaptist sites and hear the stories that took place here. Then we will hike to the Cave of the Anabaptists (Täuferhöhle) in the foothills of the Alps and have a worship service together. Then it’s on to Einsiedeln where we hope to hear the monks sing in the cathedral. You will enjoy the beautiful Swiss towns of Appenzell and St. Gallen on Monday before we travel on to the Ammer Valley in Germany to the village of Oberammergau for the night.  Dachau Concentration Camp This morning we will have a sobering visit to Dachau, one of Hitler’s notorious concentration camps. The memorials, film and visual displays will remind us of what happened in these camps. Many Mennonites came from the Kraichgau area of Germany and we will spend time there today to learn about the history in this area on the east side of the Rhine River. You may wish to climb the Steinsberg Tower for an overview of the Kraichgau. This evening we will have our farewell dinner. All too soon on Wednesday, it will be time for our early-morning departure from Frankfurt as we return to Newark and our homes. You will return with many memories of your journey together with persons who have become your friends. For further information regarding the complete tour fare, please This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it . We would be happy to be of assistance. |
