TourMagination’s third European Heritage tour in 2010 will be led by Paul M. Zehr, a retired teacher from Eastern Mennonite Seminary and retired bishop from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He taught both Old and New Testament courses as well as theology and pastoral studies. Since 1987 he has chaired the Editorial Council for the Believers Church Bible Commentary and is presently writing the commentary on the Pastoral Epistles for this BCBC series. He invites you to join him on this tour to Germany, Switzerland and Austria to explore our Anabaptist/Mennonite heritage and also attend the performance of the Oberammergau Passion Play at the end of the tour, which is performed every ten years by the villagers of Oberammergau because of a vow made in 1634. Wilmer Martin, owner of TourMagination, will co-lead the group as tour director.

Click here to read what tour participants have said about the Oberammergau experience.

Click here to read past blogs about Oberammergau.
Click here to read past blogs about our European Heritage Tours.


Sunday & Monday, September 5 & 6

The tour departs from Liberty International Airport, Newark, New Jersey, on an overnight flight to Frankfurt, Germany. It will be Monday morning when we arrive in Frankfurt and are met by our coach driver. Today we will explore the Palatinate area of Germany. We will visit the Weierhof, a semi-communal Mennonite village, where we will meet Gary Waltner who will lead us through the Weierhof. In Worms, the Reformers’ Monument will be important to see as well as other stops related to the Martin Luther story.

Tuesday & Wednesday, September 7 & 8

On Tuesday, we will go to Heidelberg and see its castle high above the Neckar River before traveling to Rottenburg to hear the Michael Sattler story and see the memorial stone to Michael and Margaretha Sattler and their faith. We will drive through the Black Forest to Offenburg, our lodging for the night. We travel through France on Wednesday on our way to Switzerland. The first stop will be in Schimack, France to visit the 300-year-old Oak Tree at Salm. The next stop will be at the Struthof Concentration where we will contemplate this sobering history. We will take the wine route through beautiful vineyards to Riquewihr, an old French farming town, before making our way through the Jura Mountains to Bern.

Thursday & Friday, September 9 & 10

In the Emmental (Emme Valley) of Switzerland, we will visit Langnau to see the oldest continuous Mennonite church and other important sites related to Anabaptist/Mennonite history such as the Dürsrütti, Sumiswald, Haslibach and Trachselwald Castle to learn more about the Anabaptist story here. On Friday in the Emmental, we will visit Erlenbach to hear the Jacob Amman story in this area. We will see the Hershey home under the cliff near Steffisburg. We will also visit Oberdesbach and the Joder Cave where early Anabaptists worshipped. We will have a worship service and contemplate how they had to worship in secret and the efforts they made to do so.

Saturday & Sunday, September 11 & 12

Today we will drive to Brienz to visit the Woodcarving Center before having a mountain-top experience! If the weather cooperates, we will enjoy a beautiful ride up the Brienzer-Rothorn on a cog rail train. In Lucerne you can walk through the wooden chapel bridge and have some time for shopping. We will travel on to Zurich where we will stay for two nights. On Sunday our coach driver needs a break so we will stay in Zurich for the day. In the morning we can gather for worship and then take an Anabaptist walking tour to learn about the important stories from this city where the Anabaptist movement began in 1525, and contemplate our history at various sites along the way. You will have free time in the afternoon to explore, visit a museum, rest, etc.

Monday & Tuesday, September 13 & 14

You will enjoy seeing the beautiful Swiss towns of Appenzell and St. Gallen as we visit there to learn of their importance. You will enjoy the magnificent scenery as we travel over the Silvretta Pass to Galtür, Austria, located in a scenic valley. On Tuesday, you will have a free morning to enjoy this beautiful town. Perhaps you will want to take the cable car up the ski slope. This afternoon in Innsbrück, we will learn about the Jacob Hutter story on the famous Maria Therese-Strasse.

Wednesday & Thursday, September 15 & 16

Wednesday’s schedule includes a visit to Rattenberg on the Inn River where we will see a lead crystal demonstration and hear the story of Pilgram Marpeck, an early Anabaptist leader from this area. We will then travel through “Sound of Music” country on our way to Salzburg where we will stay for two nights. Thursday morning we will take a guided walking tour of Salzburg and in the afternoon you will have free time to explore on your own in the city of Mozart.

Friday, September 17

This morning we will travel to the beautiful village of Oberammergau. The world-famous passion play will be performed this afternoon and evening with a break for dinner. Nearly half of the citizens of the town are involved in staging the performance. This will be a day to be long-remembered in years to come as you think about the Good Friday and Easter stories.


Saturday, September 18

It’s time to return home so we will drive to Munich to get our flight back to North America. You will have many new memories and stories to take home with you, as well as new friendships made.


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