Literary Tour to Germany – Literary Germany

Your 24-hour Tour Director will meet you at the airport in and remain with your group until your final airport departure. Your group will have a private coach and driver while touring for the next eight days. Upon arrival in Frankfurt, you’ll continue to the Heidelberg area, which will be your base for the next three nights. Breakfast will be included at the hotel.

Heidelberg stretches romantically along the River Neckar in Baden Württemberg. Its picturesque character has inspired many artists and poets, including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Mark Twain. The city boasts a world-famous castle as well as Germany’s oldest university. It also features one of the longest pedestrian zones in Europe and a Baroque Old Town, with lanes that are steeped in history.

Enjoy a meal together in a local restaurant.

"We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience." - John Dewey Every evening of the program, we’ll set time aside to update your Reflection Journal and share thoughts and impressions that have come up during the day.

During your tour, you’ll gain the knowledge and insights of five half-day local guides in Germany.

Enjoy a walking tour of Heidelberg beginning in the Old Town, and become immersed in the 16th-century surroundings as the tour passes a succession of cobbled streets, historic houses, and fountains.

A specialist guide will accompany your group on a tour of Heidelberg Castle, a dignified ruin and one of Germany’s finest Gothic-Renaissance castles. Enter the Palace of Friedrich IV, which features the gallery of the German empire’s princes and kings from the time of Charlemagne, and the Chemist’s Tower, housing the Pharmaceutical Museum.

Visit the Church of the Holy Spirit, which was built on the site of an earlier Romanesque basilica and was almost destroyed by fire in 1633. Ascend the tower for an unrivaled view of the Old Town, from Neckar up to the castle.

Enjoy a walk along the Philosophenweg (Philosopher’s Walk), built in 1871 on the slopes of Heiligenberg and offering magnificent views of Heidelberg and the castle.

Enjoy a group meal in a local restaurant.

Rothenberg ob der Tauber is a beautiful and well-preserved medieval town on the Romantic Road. Its Old Town is a patchwork of winding cobbled lanes lined with picturesque half-timbered houses. Massive towers and the intact city walls form a ring around Rothenberg and offer excellent views of the town and the Tauber Valley.

Take a walking tour around the old walled city of Rothenberg. Beginning at its entrance, you’ll explore the windy cobbled streets along to Herrngasse, which is famous for its mansions and courtyards. You’ll also stroll down the scenic and quaint streets of the Altstadt or "Old Town.” This Medieval area is seemingly untouched by time, retaining much of its traditional architecture and charm.

Visit the Rathaus (Town Hall), which is filled with Renaissance-era works, and climb the Tower for a beautiful view over the city.

Enjoy an evening meal together in a local restaurant.

Today, your group will travel from Heidelberg to Wetzlar. Your base for the next two nights will be the Wetzlar area, where breakfast and dinner will be provided at the hotel.

Located at the intersection of the Lahn River and the German Timber-Frame Road, Wetzlar is a beautiful example of the quintessential German city. The area is famous for its cathedral that was damaged in World War II and its colorful history as a former Imperial Free City.

Visit the Wetzlarer Dom (Wetzlar Cathedral). The church is not officially a cathedral since it lacks a Bishop's seat, but the German word for cathedral, "Dom," applies to large medieval churches. It has been under construction since 1230 and thus combines baroque, Romanesque, and Gothic architecture.

Spend some time near Wetzlar in the small town of Garbenheim, the inspiration for the fictional town of Wahlheim from Johan Wolfgang van Goethe's immensely popular work, "The Sorrows of Young Werther."

You’ll also spend time in the Phantastische Bibliothek Wetzlar, one of the largest public libraries dedicated to compiling all great works of fantasy including science fiction, horror, fairy tales, and more.

Continue on your journey from Wetzlar to Weimar. Your base for the next two nights will be in the Weimar area, where breakfast and dinner will be provided at the hotel.

Take a walking tour of Weimar’s Old Town, featuring several historic buildings from the Classical Weimar period that are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. See the 16th-century Marketplace, the magnificent townhouses, the Royal Stables, the neo-Gothic Town Hall, and the Baroque Duke’s Palace.

Explore Goethe’s Garden House, bought by the poet in April 1776, only a few months after his arrival in Weimar. While inside, visit his “Little Earth Room” and study.

Visit Schiller’s House, where Friedrich von Schiller lived from 1802 until he died in 1805. Schiller wrote his last works here, including Wilhelm Tell. Explore the attic rooms, furnished as they were in Schiller’s day, and the museum that depicts the writer’s life and work.

Visit the Nietzsche Archive, where the life and works of the notable German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche have been collected and documented.

You’ll have some free time to explore the area.

Your group will continue on your journey from Weimar to Berlin. For the next three evenings, you’ll enjoy the convenience of a centrally located Berlin hotel, where daily breakfast will be included. In Berlin, the cost of public transport is included for all group sightseeing. Escorted by your Tour Director, you’ll experience the city in the same manner as the local people.

From 1961 to 1989, Berlin existed as two separate cities (East Berlin and West Berlin) while the 69-mile long Berlin Wall was in place. On October 3, 1990, Berlin became a single city once more. Berlin is Germany’s national capital and largest city, home to more than 170 museums and galleries. Throughout its now vibrant and fashionable atmosphere, there are poignant reminders of World War II and the city's division.

Take a walking tour to discover some of Berlin’s sights, including the Berlin Wall. Walk through the Brandenburg Gate, and see the Television Tower, the Russian Embassy, the Neue Wache war memorial, the Berliner Dom, Checkpoint Charlie, and the Bundestag.

Enjoy an evening meal together in a local restaurant.

Enjoy walking down the famous Unter den Linden, one of Berlin’s most fashionable and important boulevards. Along the walk, view the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek, the Equestrian Statue of Frederick the Great, Humboldt- Universität, and the Deutsche Staatsoper.

Visit the Bundestag, home to the German parliament. The original Reichstag building was damaged by fire in 1933, as well as air raids and other destruction during World War II, and fell into disuse. After the reunification of Germany in 1990, it was rebuilt and renovated. The Bundestag, the new German Parliament, convened there for the first time on April 19, 1999. Take a lift (elevator) up to the stunning Glass Dome and witness dramatic views of both inside the building and Berlin outside.

Enjoy some free time to explore Berlin on your own.

Enjoy an evening meal as a group in a local restaurant.

Visit the Deutsches Historisches Museum, featuring exhibits from the Neanderthals to the Nazis. The whole of German history is presented through its collection, including extensive posters and documents of the history of the workers’ movement as well as a few remains from the former Zeughaus collection (which before World War II had been the largest collection of militaria from the history of Brandenburg and Prussia). The museum also offers a vast array of the old German Democratic Republic (GDR) communist art as well as a portrait of Martin Luther by Lucas Cranach the Elder.

Take a walking tour of Breitscheidplatz and the Kurfürstendamm, the center of former West Berlin. See the Kant-Dreieck (a building containing only right-angles), the Jüdisches Gemeindehaus, Fasanenstrasse, the Theater des Westens, the Ludwig-Erhard Haus, and the spectacular Europa Center.

Explore Potsdamer Platz, a modern area of Berlin and its financial center. In addition to the magnificent contemporary buildings, the area features theaters, cinemas, and a huge shopping center, the Arkaden.

Tonight, your group will dine in a local restaurant. After dinner, you’ll have time to explore the historic Nikolaiviertel (Nikolai Quarter), located on the banks of the Spree River and restored for the city’s 750th anniversary. This is where Berlin was born, and many of the medieval and baroque buildings in the neighborhood were authentically reconstructed after World War II.

This evening, you’ll make the final entries in your Reflection Journal and share some of the most significant observations and perspectives that have taken shape throughout your German literary tour. We’ll also discuss how these experiences may be most relevant for us all as we return home.

Your rewarding and enjoyable German literary tour comes to an end as your Tour Director accompanies your group to the airport on your final day.