April 25-May 9, 2007

Wednesday & Thursday, April 25 & 26

The tour departs from Philadelphia International Airport on an overnight flight to Amsterdam with a connection in Frankfurt. In Amsterdam, we will meet our coach driver who will take us to 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. We will stay for three nights at Hotel Volendam.

Friday & Saturday, April 27 & 28

This morning we plan to visit a traditional cheese market in Alkmaar. Early in the morning, loads of Edam or Gouda cheeses are carefully piled up. You will enjoy watching the buyers and also tasting and comparing the different cheeses. We will take an excursion through the bulb fields. The most wide-spread species are the tulip, gladioli, narcissus, lily and hyacinth. We will follow the route from Haarlem to Noordwijk and spend time at the Keukenhof National Flower Exhibition. Bulb growers use the National Flower Exhibition to serve as a showcase for their flowers. On Saturday, in Amsterdam, we will visit the Rijksmuseum, the van Gogh Museum, and shop on the Kalverstraat. If there is a concert today, we will try to obtain tickets for those who wish to attend (optional).

Sunday & Monday, April 29 & 30

This morning we will worship with the congregation at the Singelkerk in Amsterdam, and then walk to Zon, the site of the Sun Church We will have a boat ride on Amsterdam’s canal system and visit the Anne Frank House Museum. We need to get up early Monday morning to visit the Aalsmeer Flower Auction. Flowers are shipped all over the world the same day they are sold. Then we will go to Apeldoorn and visit the flower market there. This is a wonderful time to be in Holland when the flowers are spectacular! We will go to Amersfoort for the night.

Tuesday & Wednesday, May 1 & 2

A visit will be made to the Arnhem Open Air Museum where the past is brought to life in small houses and wood-slated barns brought from all over the country and placed in a park-like setting. After visiting the Goch Museum near Arnhem, we will travel to Xanten in Germany for the night. Wednesday’s visits include Mühlheim and Krefeld, German communities related to Rittenhouse family history. We will travel to the Köln (Cologne) area where we will stay for two nights.

Thursday & Friday, May 3 & 4

You will enjoy seeing Köln’s world-famous, twin-spired cathedral and the Roman Museum, both major attractions in this city. The Open Air Museum at Kommern will be the afternoon stop. Friday will be the day for our Rhine River cruise. Relax and enjoy the scenic stretch of the river as we travel from Koblentz to Bacharach. Then we will visit picturesque Bad Kreuznach, and the vineyard-girdled village of Wolfsheim, home of the Germantown-Skippack immigrant Kolb family. Lodging in Alzey for two nights.

Saturday & Sunday, May 5 & 6

Today will be interesting as we visit Kriegsheim, home of Germantown immigrants; the Weierhof, a semi-communal Mennonite village, and its archives; and Worms to see the Reformers’ Monument and hear the Martin Luther story. Sunday morning we will worship with the Palatinate Mennonite congregation at Ibersheim. Many persons emigrated from this area to Pennsylvania. In the afternoon, we will travel to Heidelberg to visit the castle and the Heidelberg Museum of the Palatinate. Lodging in Bad Friedrichshall for two nights.

Monday & Tuesday, May 7 & 8

In the Kraichgau between Heidelberg and Heilbronn (the source of many colonial Pennsylvania immigrants), we will visit the central town of Sinsheim, the Unterbiegelhof, Bad Wimpfen with its medieval towers and churches and, if time permits, Heilbronn. Tuesday morning we will visit the walled city of Rothenburg on the Tauber. In the afternoon, we will climb the Kraichgau’s Steinsberg, learn about Anabaptist meetings that took place in Steinsfurt, and visit a small museum remembering Frederick the Great. Farewell dinner at our hotel in Alzey.

Wednesday, May 9, 2006

En route to the Frankfurt Airport, we will follow the wine road through the German countryside, making stops in small villages for a few more photos. We will have an afternoon flight to Philadelphia. You will return with many memories and new friendships.

Your Tour Leaders:

John Ruth from Harleysville, Pennsylvania, will be the storyteller on this tour. John is a minister, author and filmmaker and enjoys sharing Mennonite history through storytelling. He will have lots to tell you about the places of interest to the Rittenhouses. He has led many tours to Europe.

Mary Rittenhouse Schwartzentruber from Telford, Pennsylvania, was involved in helping to plan this tour. She has led tours for TourMagination to various places and is the tour administrator.

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.