July 10-25, 2007

Tuesday & Wednesday, July 10 & 11

The tour departs from Liberty International Airport, Newark, New Jersey, on an overnight flight to Amsterdam, The Netherlands. It will be Wednesday 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 at the Volendam dike. Lodging at Volendam for two nights.

Thursday & Friday, July 12 & 13

This morning we will visit the Aalsmeer Flower Auction. Flowers are shipped all over the world the same day they are sold. The rest of the day will be spent in Amsterdam visiting the Rijksmuseum, the Singel Mennonite Church which dates back to 1608, shopping, and taking a canal boat ride on Amsterdam’s canal system. Saturday morning we will cross the 22-mile Afluitsdijk that has linked North Holland and Friesland since 1932. Onijdes Sijtsma from Friesland will join us as we go to Pingjum and Witmarsum to learn about the Menno Simons’ story in Friesland. Tonight we will be hosted by families in their homes in Berlikum.

Saturday & Sunday, July 14 & 15

Today we will travel to Münster where we will take a walking tour to learn about a darker side of the Anabaptist story. Then it’s on to Köln on the Rhine River to visit its famous cathedral and see Roman ruins. Sunday morning we plan to worship with the Mennonite congregation at Neuweid (Aussiedlers). In the afternoon, we will take a cruise on the Rhine River. 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.

Monday & Tuesday, July 16 & 17

This is the day to explore the Palatinate area of Germany. There will be interesting stops including the Primmerhof; the Weierhof, a semi-communal Mennonite village; and Worms to see the Reformers’ Monument and hear the Martin Luther story. Lodging in Bad Friedrichshall. Many Mennonites came from the Kraichgau area of Germany and we will spend time there on Tuesday learning about the history in this area. Then we will go to Dachau, one of Hitler’s notorious concentration camps. The memorials, film and visual displays will remind us of what happened in these camps.

Wednesday & Thursday, July 18 & 19

We will take the Achenpass into Austria. The entire Inn Valley was an important Anabaptist area. We will visit Rattenberg where Pilgram Marpeck became an Anabaptist and Innsbrück to see the Jakob Hutter memorial and the Goldenes Dach’l (golden roof). Lodging in St. Anton. On Thursday, we will leave Austria and travel over the Silvretta Pass into the Principality of Liechtenstein where we will make a stop before entering Switzerland. We want to stop at St. Gallen and Einsiedeln before going to Brunnen where we will stay for the night.

Friday & Saturday, July 20 & 21

Today we will have a walking tour to see points of Anabaptist interest. We will then go to the hills and climb through the cow pasture to the secret cave of the Anabaptists (Täuferhöhle) where we will have a worship service. Later in the afternoon, we will see the Rhine Falls at Neuhausen. Saturday morning we will travel to Rottenburg on the Neckar River to hear the Michael Sattler story and see the memorial to him and his wife Margaretha. Enjoy the afternoon as we travel through the Black Forest to Freudenstadt where we will stay for the night.

Sunday & Monday, July 22 & 23

On Sunday, we plan to worship with the Mennonite congregation in the Deutschof. In the afternoon we will travel on to France and visit the lovely town of Hunspach with its half-timbered houses and beautiful flowers. Then it’s on to Strasbourg with its magnificent cathedral. We hope to have conversation with Mennonite World Conference staff at their office in Strasbourg. We will visit Riquewihr, an old French farming town, on Monday and travel through other picturesque villages as we drive through the France’s wine region to Colmar. Here we will visit the museum to see the Issenheimer Altarpiece by Grünewald. Our destination is the Bienenberg Theological Seminary and Conference Center at Liestal, Switzerland, where we will be lodged for the night.

Tuesday & Wednesday, July 24 & 25

In the Emmental (Emme Valley), we will visit Langnau to see the oldest continuous Mennonite church and other important sites related to Anabaptist history. In Bern, we will take a walking tour to learn about how the Anabaptists were treated in this city. We will enjoy our farewell dinner together in Bern. We will have a morning flight on Wednesday from Zürich International Airport by way of Frankfurt for North America.

Optional 4-day Extension (July 26-29)

2007 has been designated as the year dedicated to Täufer (Anabaptist) history in Switzerland. There will be exhibitions, lectures, readings, theatre, concerts, films, conferences, symposiums and other activities during the year to impart the historical/cultural/religious aspects of the origin of the Täufer community, its development over the years and current life in the Emmental area. We will have more information regarding the schedule for these four days later in 2006. This is an opportunity that will only be available in 2007.

Your Tour Leaders

John Ruth, from Harleysville, Pennsylvania, is a minister, author, and filmmaker who enjoys sharing Mennonite history through storytelling. You will enjoy his stories and the information he provides.

Audrey Voth Petkau is from Waterloo, Ontario, and works in the TourMagination office as a tour consultant. She will look after the administrative details while on tour and will make sure that your needs are met.

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.