Join Cindy Rollins and Dawn Duran on a Christmas Markets and Magnificent Libraries of Europe tour, including Vienna, Budapest, Salzburg, and Munich!
Join Cindy Rollins and Dawn Duran on a Christmas Markets and Magnificent Libraries of Europe tour, including Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, and more!
Cindy Rollins is an author and educator who homeschooled nine children for more than thirty years using Charlotte Mason’s educational principles. She writes and speaks about family culture, books, and the practice of Morning Time and has led a Select International Tours journey through European Christmas markets and historic libraries.
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Depart Newark International Airport on an overnight flight to Munich, Germany. Dinner and breakfast are served on the plane. Quotes for add-on flights and optional Premium Economy and Business Class upgrades are available upon request, starting 120 days before departure. Group air restrictions do not permit specific seat assignments. If seat location is important to you, we recommend purchasing your own airline tickets and booking the Land Only package with us.
We arrive in Munich, board our motorcoach, and head to the city. Our hotel is located in the city center, surrounded by the festive atmosphere of the local Christmas markets. Take a walk to the Christkindlmarkt at Marienplatz for a cup of hot chocolate or Glühwein. This market dates back to the 14th century and is considered the original Christmas Market. Settle into our hotel for our welcome dinner and a well-deserved night of rest. Overnight in Munich.
Following breakfast, we have a two-hour guided walking tour of the city center, followed by a visit to the National Law Library, where we also have a guided tour. We depart for the Christmas Village in the Kaiserhof courtyard of the Residenz city palace. The afternoon is free for lunch and for exploring Munich on your own. Munich Readery is a well-stocked secondhand English bookstore you may wish to visit. There are many markets in the city, each one with a different vibe. Dinner is at leisure, with an opportunity to taste local specialties from the food stalls at the markets. Overnight in Munich.
This morning, we depart Munich and drive to Neuschwanstein Castle for a visit to the small village and to see the inspiration for Cinderella’s Castle in Disney World (outside view). Stop for pictures and hot chocolate. Then drive to the magnificent Ettal Monastery and brewery. After a visit to the beautiful painted baroque Monastery, we tour the brewery for a taste of the brew the monks make here. Following lunch in Ettal, we drive through the woodcarvers’ village of Oberammergau, known for its painted houses and numerous Christmas stores, on our way to Salzburg. Dinner is at leisure. Overnight in Salzburg.
Following breakfast, enjoy time at leisure to explore the city on your own. We recommend trying Nockerl – a sweet soufflé served as a dessert, made from egg yolks, flour, sugar, and vanilla – a must for any visitor to the city where The Sound of Music was filmed and where Mozart was born. You may want to buy some Mozartkugeln – small sugar confections made of marzipan and nougat covered with dark chocolate. Visit the Christmas Markets, and sample the food stalls for dinner on your own. This evening, we enjoy a classical music concert in the City of Music. Overnight in Salzburg.
We travel to Admont today to visit the world’s largest monastic library hall. The Stift Admont Library, often called ‘The Beauty and the Beast Library’ because of its Baroque style and walls painted with frescoes, was the inspiration for Disney animators. Featuring towering shelves with over 200,000 books, a soaring ceiling, and a white-and-gold color scheme, many consider this library one of the most beautiful in the world. Located in the Austrian Alps, it is an 18th-century masterpiece. We have a guided tour of the library and time to visit the art museum located in the monastery, have lunch in the Abbey restaurant, and enjoy some time to shop in the gift store. Dinner and overnight in the area.
In the morning, we drive to Melk, a small town in Austria along the Danube. We explore Melk Abbey, which was the setting for Umberto Eco′s novel, The Name of the Rose. Among the treasures housed here are paintings, sculptures, and decorative art from the 9th to 15th centuries. We see the Abbey, tour the Library, and explore the gorgeous town of Melk on the Danube River, with its Renaissance homes and winding streets reminiscent of the Middle Ages. Late in the afternoon, we arrive in Vienna and settle into our hotel. Dinner is at leisure with an opportunity to visit one of the many Christmas markets. Overnight in Vienna.
Enjoy breakfast in the hotel. Our tour of the imperial city includes a panoramic tour of the Ringstrasse area, during which we can appreciate the majesty of Vienna. We walk to St. Stephen’s Cathedral (outside view), followed by a 60-minute guided walking tour of the city center, including Donners′ Fountain, Belvedere Palace Gardens, and Hofburg Palace. Our visit includes the Austrian National Library, a remarkable art collection in a beautiful setting. In the afternoon, we recommend you visit Schonbrunn Palace to see the light show and have time at the beautiful Christmas Market. Tonight we enjoy dinner in Grinzing – a part of Vienna known for its vineyards – and taste local wine together. (B. Farewell dinner)
This morning we are transferred to the airport for our flights home.
Land Only. Main trip package.
Land and Group Air. Main trip package.
Solo Room (Additional Charge). Additional supplement.
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