Day 1, April 15th, 2027 (Thursday): Departure
- We depart from Detroit on an overnight flight to Germany, pilgrims bound together for a sacred journey. Together, we step into a shared story that stretches across continents and centuries.
Day 2, April 16th, 2027 (Friday): Frankfurt arrival – Mainz 2H – Worms 2H
- Arrive at Frankfurt International Airport and meet our professional English-speaking tour escort
- Board the coach and transfer to Mainz.
- lunch en route on your own
- Visit the Gutenberg Museum and see one of the original Gutenberg Bibles in one of the oldest museums of printing in the world.
- Then take part in a guided city tour through the old town of Mainz (time permitting).
- Transfer to Worms.
- Enjoy a guided tour of Worms that includes the Luther Monument, St. Peter’s Cathedral, and the site of the Diet of Worms, where Luther defended his beliefs.
- Check into the hotel upon arrival.
- Dinner at a local restaurant.
- Overnight at the hotel in Worms (D)
Day 3, April 17th, 2027 (Saturday): Worms – Heidelberg 2,5 H Tour – Worms
- Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to Heidelberg.
- Meet your local guide for a guided tour of Heidelberg Old Town and Castle. The combined old town and castle tour brings history to life. With a tour through the winding alleys of the old town, you can get to know the many different faces of Heidelberg – dreamy squares, the oldest university in Germany, the Heiliggeistkirche (Church of the Holy Spirit), and the Jewish Quarter. And then it’s up to the castle with the funicular railway. On a tour of the inner courtyard and the castle garden, you can discover the ruins of the electoral residence and visit the famous giant barrel (no interior access).
- Lunch on your own
- Visit a local family-run winery located south of Heidelberg, on the slopes of the Badische Bergstraße, right in the vineyards of the Heidelberg Dachsbuckel. From up here, enjoy breathtaking views over the vineyards and the entire Rhine Plain. Taste up to five wines plus one fine spirit from the estate’s own distillery.
- Return to Worms.
- Dinner at a local restaurant.
- Overnight at the hotel in Worms (B,D).
Day 4, April 18th, 2027 (Sunday): Worms – Wartburg Castle – Eisenach – Erfurt
- Breakfast at the hotel and check-out. Board the coach and depart for Wartburg (approx. 3,5 hrs driving)
- Tour of Wartburg Castle, where Luther translated the New Testament in exile.
- Have some free time for lunch on your own.
- Visit the Luther House Museum, which showcases Martin Luther’s life and work, featuring exhibits on the Reformation, his theology, personal artifacts, and the period’s historical context, all within the 16th-century house where he is believed to have lived as a student.
- Continue for Erfurt.
- Check in to the hotel for dinner and overnight in Erfurt (B, D).
Day 5, April 19th, 2027 (Monday): Erfurt 3H Tour – Leipzig
- Breakfast at the hotel and check out. Enjoy a tour of Erfurt, nicknamed “Thuribian Rome” because of its many churches, chapels, and Monasteries. Enjoy a guided walking tour through the beautiful medieval city, visiting where Luther studied at the university, visiting the Cathedral , and the church of St. Severi’s with a view of the Kramer Bridge lined on each side with timber-framed houses restored to their original condition. Then pay a highlight visit to the important Augustinian Monastery built in 1277 and now beautifully restored. The Monastery contains an exhibition of Martin Luther, who was a monk here from 1505 until 1511.
- Lunch on your own.
- Depart for Leipzig.
- Check in to the hotel.
- Dinner at a local restaurant with traditional Gose Beer tasting.
- Overnight at the hotel in Leipzig (B,D).
Day 6, April 20th, 2027 (Tuesday): Leipzig 2H Tour – Eisleben 2H Tour – Leipzig
- Breakfast at the hotel. Meet a local guide for our guided sightseeing, which will include St. Thomas Church, where Bach was organist and choirmaster, and the Renaissance Town Hall (exterior views).
- Depart for Eisleben.
- Lunch on your own.
- Meet the local guide and take a guided city tour of Eisleben. Among others, we will visit Luther’s house of his birth and see the house where he died; St. Andrew’s Church, where he preached his last sermon, and where his body was laid out; the Church of St. Peter and Paul, where he was christened, and see the Luther Monument (exterior views).
- Return to Leipzig.
- Dinner at a local restaurant.
- Overnight at the hotel in Leipzig (B,D).
Day 7, April 21st, 2027 (Wednesday): Leipzig – Dresden 2H – Elbe Cruise 2H – Wittenberg
- Breakfast at the hotel and check-out. Depart for Dresden.
- Enjoy a guided tour of Dresden’s Old Town, including Zwinger Palace and Semper Opera (exterior views).
- Lunch on your own.
- Enjoy a boat ride (approx. 2 hrs) on the Elbe River, focusing on Dresden’s bridges, including the Blue Wonder and Augustus Bridge, plus riverside landmarks (subject to confirmation when schedule for 2027 is known / weather permitting).
- Continue for Wittenberg.
- Check in to the hotel for dinner and overnight in Wittenberg (B,D).
Day 8, April 22nd, 2027 (Thursday): Wittenberg HD
- Breakfast at the hotel. Meet the local guide for a walking guided tour, the birthplace of the Reformation, the city of Frederick the Wise, who was patron and protector of Luther. Luther lived here from 1508 until his death. We will see the town square with statues of Luther and Philip Melanchthon. Visit All Saints Castle Church, where Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door, and which contains the graves of Luther and Melanchthon, and the Stadtkirche of St. Marien, where Luther used to preach, and see the Luther monument and the Renaissance Town Hall (exterior views). Visit the special exhibition “Literally Luther. Facets of a Reformer” that is open in the nearby Augusteum .
- Lunch on your own.
- Visit to ELCA Wittenberg Center
- Free afternoon at leisure.
- Dinner (Luthermeal) and overnight at the hotel in Wittenberg (B,D).
Day 9, April 23rd, 2027 (Friday): Wittenberg – Potsdam – Berlin
- Breakfast at the hotel and check-out. Depart for Berlin.
- Stop in Potsdam to visit the Sanssouci Palace which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage and one of the famous sights in Potsdam. Potsdam, Germany’s charm blends countless historical sights and the great nature around Potsdam, Germany. Also, the Prussian rulers have been impressed by that city just next door to the metropolis of Berlin. In the 17th century, Elector Friedrich Wilhelm of Brandenburg began creating a unique cultural landscape, with castles and parks that represented the glory of Prussia. The town was expanded, representative buildings were constructed, and Potsdam got its own nice flair. The Dutch Quarter, formerly a settlement for Dutch immigrants, has become a special attraction for tourists. His son Friedrich II, ‘Frederick the Great,’ continued his work and started in 1745 his most famous creation – the park and palace of Potsdam Sanssouci. The palace, with 12 glamorous rooms, including a concert hall, is located atop a terraced vineyard and is beautifully decorated in the rococo style. He called it Sanssouci – in French, “without worries”- because here he could leave the formalities of the royal court behind and make time for his hobbies, music, and philosophy.
- Lunch on your own.
- Continue for Berlin.
- Check in to the hotel.
- Dinner at a local restaurant, where you taste traditional Berliner Currywurst with Berliner Weisse .
- Overnight at the hotel in Berlin (B,D).
Day 10, April 24th, 2027 (Saturday): Berlin FD
- Breakfast at the hotel. Start with a visit of Berlin Cathedral, built in the early 1900s and the main Protestant church in Berlin. It reflects the lasting influence of the Reformation and Lutheran tradition in Germany. Continue to Marienkirche and St. Nicholas’ Church, which are significant in the context of the Reformation, as both became centers of Protestant worship following Martin Luther’s teachings. Their transition from Catholic to Protestant churches reflects the broader religious transformation that swept through Berlin during the 16th century. Before lunch break, visit Alexanderplatz – a central public square during the Reformation era, where Protestant ideas spread through public gatherings and sermons. It remains a symbol of Berlin’s historical transformation during the Reformation.
- Lunch on your own.
- Following lunch, we will visit Checkpoint Charlie, one of the most famous crossing points between East and West Berlin during the Cold War.
- Passing by Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag, we will get to Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Strasse – a preserved section of the original wall in Berlin that honors the victims and tells the story of the division and reunification of Germany.
- Return to the hotel.
- Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Berlin (B,D).
Day 11, April 25th, 2027 (Sunday): Berlin departure/ continue for extension in Prague
- Breakfast at the hotel and check-out.
- Board the coach and transfer to Berlin International Airport (B,-).
OPTIONAL PRAGUE EXTENSION:
April 25 – 28, 2027 PACKAGE PRICE: $1190
Day 11, April 25th, 2027 (Sunday): Berlin – Torgau – Prague
- Breakfast at the hotel and check out
- Board the coach and depart for Pague
- Stop in Torgau, a historic town in Germany (approx. 2,5 h drive).
- Lunch on your own.
- Step into the heart of Reformation history with a guided tour (2h) through Torgau’s charming old town. Discover St. Mary’s Church (entrance fee included), where Katharina von Bora, the wife of Martin Luther, is buried. Visit the castle chapel (entrance fee included), the only church consecrated by Luther himself, designed to reflect his vision of a renewed faith. As you stroll through the narrow streets, you’ll learn about Luther’s work in Torgau, and the significant role his wife played in the city’s story. The tour concludes in the impressive courtyard of Hartenfels Castle, a jewel of Renaissance architecture (exterior views).
- Continue to Prague (approx. 3,5 h drive).
- Check in at the hotel for dinner and overnight at the hotel in Prague (B,D)
Day 12: April 26th, 2027 (Monday): Prague FD Tour
- Breakfast at the hotel
- Visit Prague Castle (entrance fee included), and the site of the 1618 Defenestration, where Protestant nobles threw Catholic officials out the window. Hear both interpretations: manure pile (Protestant version) vs. angels (Catholic version). The visit includes entrance to St. Vitus Cathedral, the Royal Castle, St. George’s Basilica, and the Golden Line.
- Later, cross the Charles Bridge to the Old Town
- Lunch on your own
- Visit the Bethlehem Chapel (entrance fee included), from where Jan Hus’ personality and mind were formed; it is considered to be the cradle of the Reformation movement. Continue to the Market Square, “Astronomical Clock”, and visit the Jan Hus monument of stone and bronze, one of the most significant Art Nouveau and Symbolist works of Czech Monumental Sculpture.
- Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Prague (B, D)
Day 13: April 27th, 2027 (Tuesday): Prague – FREE DAY
- Breakfast at the hotel
- Free day at leisure
- Dinner at Medieval Tavern “U Krále Brabantského” – one of the oldest pubs in Prague, set in the most attractive part of the “Royal Way”, directly under Prague Castle. Many myths and legends are related to this pub. Rudolf’s alchemists, the executioner Mydlář, W.A. Mozart, and Jaroslav Hašek all used to drink here, but it was also where rogues and fraudsters drank their fill (incl. special medieval show).
- Overnight at the hotel in Prague (B, D)
Day 14: April 28th, 2027 (Wednesday): Prague – departure
- Breakfast at the hotel and check out
- Morning transfer to Prague Airport
- Depart Prague for home (direct or connecting flight) (B)
