Welcome to Enchanting Journeys

Willkommen in Deutschland. Arrive in Berlin, the capital of Germany

After you exit in the Arrival Hall at Terminal? - Berlin Tegel "Otto Lilienthal" International Airport, subsequent to Immigration & Customs, you will be welcomed by The Journeys representative who will ensure your comfort & transfer you to the hotel. He / she will provide assistance during Check-in & also discuss the program for the next few days.

Size-wise, Berlin is pretty big but its key areas are wonderfully compact & easily navigated on foot, by bike or by using public transport. Enjoy its iconic sights, its vast swathes of green, its sky bars & chic restaurants. There is nothing static about Berlin: it's unpredictable, unpretentious & irresistible.

Berlin's combo of glamour & grit is bound to mesmerise anyone keen to explore its vibrant culture, cutting-edge architecture, fabulous food, intense parties & tangible history. Berlin is a bon vivant, passionately feasting on the smorgasbord of life, never taking things - or itself - too seriously.

Berlin dates to the 13^th century. Reminders of the city's turbulent 20^th century history include its Holocaust memorial and the Berlin Wall's graffitied remains. Bismarck & Marx, Einstein & Hitler, JFK & Bowie, they have all shaped - and been shaped by - Berlin, whose richly textured history stares you in the face at every turn.

This is a city that staged a revolution, was headquartered by Nazis, bombed to bits, divided in two & finally reunited - & that was just in the 20^th century!

Berlin is a big multicultural metropolis but deep down it maintains the unpretentious charm of an international village. Locals follow the credo 'live & let live' and put greater emphasis on personal freedom & a creative lifestyle than on material wealth & status symbols. Cafes are jammed at all hours, drinking is a religious rite and clubs keep going until the wee hours or beyond.

Forget about New York - Berlin is the city that truly never sleeps. Sometimes it seems as though Berliners are the lotus eaters of Germany, people who love nothing more than a good time. The city's vast party spectrum caters for every taste, budget and age group. From tiny basement clubs to industrial techno temples, chestnut-canopied beer gardens to fancy cocktail caverns, saucy cabarets to ear-pleasing symphonies - Berlin delivers hot-stepping odysseys, and not just after dark and on weekends but pretty much 24 / 7.

When it comes to creativity, the sky is the limit in Berlin, Europe's newest start-up capital. In the last 20 years, the city has become a giant lab of cultural experimentation thanks to an abundance of space, cheap rent & a free-wheeling spirit that nurtures & encourages new ideas.

Top international performers grace its theatre, concert & opera stages; international art-world stars like Olafur Eliasson & Jonathan Meese make their home here and Clooney & Hanks shoot blockbusters in the German capital. High-brow, low-brow & everything in between – there’s plenty of room for the full arc of cultural expression.

Check-in at hotel.

Balance of the day at leisure or perhaps opt for one of the many options available (we will be happy to offer suggestions & make arrangements).

Morning, start early & proceed to the Meeting Point (unguided - on your own) to discover the city at your own pace with a regular city tour.  

Hop on / Hop off bus ticket is valid for full day, giving you the opportunity to get off at any place you find interesting & get on the next bus. Suggestions below are “just suggestions” you can match with the Hop on / Hop Route / Itinerary, wherever possible.

Listen to an introductory overview (audio-commentary via headphones) of the strange, winding history of Berlin, covering the city’s founding & continuing with stories about the turbulent years of war & modern era as the tour moves forward.

Take a walk back in time as you explore the many layers of history found in Berlin, covering everything from its Prussian period, to its violent 20^th century & the present period of rebirth. Visit landmarks from the city’s Prussian, Imperial, Nazi, Cold War & modern eras, offering insight into the evolution of this fascinating German capital.

Travel beneath the monumental18^th century Brandenburg Gate, which has become a symbol of reunification & which forms the beginning of Unter den Linden. Check out the rebuilt Reichstag, home of Germany’s parliament, just nearby.

Head next to Museum Island, pausing at the Berlin State Library (once the workplace of Albert Einstein) and the Neue Wache memorial as you continue.

Unter den Linden boulevard, is a thoroughfare that links Stadtschloss royal palace & Pariser Platz & Brandenburg Gate. By the 19^th century, this elegant street was among the most famous in the city, growing even more grand as Berlin’s boundaries pushed further west.

Walk along remnants of the Berlin Wall, marvel at the splendour of a Prussian palace, hear the amazing stories of Cold War Berlin at Checkpoint Charlie or stand in the very room where the Holocaust was planned. Berlin is like an endlessly fascinating 3D textbook where the past is very much present wherever you go.

Then explore Pariser Platz, the location of Hitler’s bunker and the Holocaust Memorial, commemorating the many Jews that lost their lives during the Nazi regime. The city is also known for its art scene & modern landmarks like the gold-colored, swoop-roofed Berliner Philharmonie, built in 1963.

You may want to stop at the Topography of Terror Museum, situated at the former Gestapo and SS Headquarters. Hear from your guide about the significance of the museum’s location, which the city’s leaders consciously chose to help confront and reconcile the awful moments of Berlin’s past. Look down into the building’s excavated cellars, a haunting spot where political prisoners were once tortured and killed.

If you have time, visit the iconic Fernsehturm de Berlín TV tower, the tallest building in the city, built in the 1960s by the German Democratic Government to demonstrate the strength & efficiency of the socialist party system. Today, the tower shapes the skyline of Berlin, a landmark of a reunited Germany

The elevators to the top only take just 40 seconds. Get a 360-degree panorama of Germany’s capital & cultural centerpiece and discover Berlin from a height of 666 feet. See sights like Berlin Cathedral, Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg Gate, Olympic Stadium, Reichstag, to name just a few. Take pictures in every direction & check out the informational displays for more information about the sights & scenery of Berlin. Hungry? Bar 203 has the solution, offering light snacks & drinks (own expense) with a stellar view.

Wrap up your Berlin walk on a lighter note with a stop at the modern area of Potsdamer Platz, a one-time “dead zone” between East & West that has since been rebuilt.

Return to the hotel on your own, whenever you prefer (unguided - on your own).

Balance of the day at leisure or perhaps opt for one of the many options available (we will be happy to offer suggestions & make arrangements).

Morning, meet the Tour-guide in the Lobby at 08.00 am & start the 8 hour full day excursion to Potsdam

Potsdam - a city on the border of Berlin, on the Havel River, is the capital & crown jewel of the federal state of Brandenburg. The former Prussian royal seat, the UNESCO Heritage listed Potsdam’s palaces with heir large, beautifully landscaped parks & splendid gardens, lures visitors.

First mentioned in 993 as a Slavic settlement known as Poztupimi, it received its charter in 1317. It became Brandenburg’s electoral residence in 1640 under Frederick William (the Great Elector) & the Prussian royal residence under Frederick II (the Great), during whose reign (1740 - 86) it was an intellectual & military centre and virtual capital of Prussia. In the 18^th century, a colony of Dutch immigrants gave their quarter of the city, & some other parts as well, a distinctly Dutch flavour.

The city was once an industrial centre, but its economy is now dominated by services, including administration, retail, education, film production & tourism. The incorporated suburb of Babelsberg is one of the centres of the German film industry. The city is the seat of the University of Potsdam (founded in 1991) & the site of several Observatories.

Headlining the roll call of royal pads is Schloss Sanssouci, a masterpiece of German Rococo architecture with grounds that extend for more than 700 acres. It was the private summer retreat of King Friedrich II (Frederick the Great), who was also the mastermind behind many of Potsdam's other fabulous parks & palaces. On the grounds of the complex, the Renaissance Orangery Palace overlooks Italian-style gardens with fountains. Historic Mill offers city views. English gardens surround neo-classical Charlottenhof Palace. The 19^th century Roman Baths were built in several architectural styles.

Other landmarks include the Neue Kammern (New Rooms); the Bildergalerie (Picture Gallery) & the Neues Palais (New Palace).

Potsdam suffered severe damage in World War II, but many monuments survived & others have been restored. Miraculously, most survived WWII with nary a shrapnel wound. When the shooting stopped, the Allies chose Schloss Cecilienhof in July - August 1945, to host the Potsdam Conference of the Allied leaders of 1945 to lay the groundwork for Germany’s post-war fate. It now houses a museum & a memorial, as well as a hotel.

After spending time touring Schloss Sanssouci, enjoy free time to walk around the lovely historic city centre.

In time, depart back to your hotel.

Balance of the day at leisure or perhaps opt for one of the many options available (we will be happy to offer suggestions & make arrangements).

Today, you leave for Munich.

In time, you will be met by The Journeys Rep & transferred to Berlin Hauptbahnhof to board your non-stop train to Munich.

On arrival at Munich Hauptbahnhof, you will be welcomed by a Journeys Rep & transferred to the hotel.

The natural habitat of well-heeled power dressers & Lederhosen-clad thigh-slappers, Mediterranean-style street cafes and Mitteleuropa beer halls, highbrow art & high-tech industry, Germany’s unofficial southern capital, Munich is famous for its beautiful architecture, fine culture & the annual Oktoberfest beer celebration.

Tall tankards and high-tech cars, edgy art & Lederhosen - Munich is a city where traditional & modern sit side by side like few places on earth.

Munich’s various quirks, the things that make the city the place it is, might be what stick in the memory most. Whether it be the inebriated oompah band, that special knife for eating monster radishes, the Bavarians outrageous dialect, the mad hat traditions of the Oktoberfest or the surfers on the Eisbach wave - you are sure to discover some freakish aspect of Munich life every day. And then there is the local garb - nowhere else in central Europe do the locals don their traditional costume - the famous Lederhosen & Dirndl - as readily as the Munchners, so why not join them?

Munich has long been known as the ‘city of art & beer’, so before you head off to the pub, take some time to savour the local art scene. The Kunstareal, Munich’s art quarter, is the place to start, with four major venues displaying everything from Dutch masters to 1960s design.

The locals have a word for it - Gemutlichkeit - that untranslatable intermingling of cosiness, well-being & laid-back attitude. In Munich, you will sense it most under the fairy lights of a summer beer garden, people-watching in the English Garden & behind the wheel of a BMW heading south. It may be just the local character, but a large share of Gemutlichkeit must come from the fact that the Bavarian capital is one of the most affluent cities on the planet, it’s economy larger than most small countries, its infrastructure well-tended.

Check-in at the hotel.

Balance of the day at leisure or perhaps opt for one of the many options available (we will be happy to offer suggestions & make arrangements).

Morning, meet the Tour-guide at 08.00 am & start the 8 hour full day excursion today with a visit to Neuschwanstein Castle, built by Ludwig II, the notorious “Mad King“.

Schloss Neuschwanstein is a 19^th century Romanesque revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Fussen (Entrance ticket not included, to be paid directly).

The setting of Neuschwanstein could not be more idyllic. Today, it is one of the most popular of all the palaces & castles in Europe.

Appearing through the mountaintops like a mirage, Schloss Neuschwanstein was the model for Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle.

King Ludwig II planned this fairy-tale pile himself, with the help of a stage designer rather than an architect. He envisioned it as a giant stage on which to recreate the world of Germanic mythology, inspired by the operatic works of his friend Richard Wagner. The most impressive room is the Sangersaal (Minstrels’ Hall), whose frescos depict scenes from the opera Tannhauser.

Built as a romantic medieval castle, work started in 1869 & like so many of Ludwig’s grand schemes, was never finished. For all the coffer-depleting sums spent on it, the king spent just over 170 days in residence.

Completed sections include Ludwig’s Tristan & Isolde themed bedroom, dominated by a huge Gothic-style bed crowned with intricately carved cathedral-like spires; a gaudy artificial grotto (another allusion to Tannhauser); &  the Byzantine-style Thronsaal (Throne Room) with an incredible mosaic floor containing over two million stones. The painting opposite the (throneless) throne platform depicts another castle dreamed up by Ludwig that was never built (he planned many more). Almost every window provides tour-halting views across the plain below.

Seven weeks after the death of King Ludwig II in 1886, Neuschwanstein was opened to the public. The shy king had built the castle in order to withdraw from public life - now vast numbers of people come to view his private refuge. Every year 1.4 million + people visit "the castle of the fairy-tale king". On a single summer day, around 6,000 visitors stream through rooms that were intended for a single inhabitant.

The Castle Tour ends with a 20 minute film on the castle & its creator. There is reasonably priced cafe & the inevitable gift shops.

For the postcard view of Neuschwanstein & the plains beyond, walk 10 minutes up to Marienbrucke (Mary’s Bridge), which spans the spectacular Pollat Gorge over a waterfall just above the castle. It is said Ludwig enjoyed coming up here after dark to watch the candlelight radiating from the Sangersaal.

Drive on to the nearby Linderhof Palace.

Linderhof Schloss is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria & the only one which he lived to see completed.

Ludwig II, who was crowned king in 1864, began his building activities in 1867 / 68 by redesigning his rooms in the Munich Residenz & laying the foundation stone of Neuschwanstein Castle. In 1868 he was already making his first plans for Linderhof. However, neither the palace modelled on Versailles that was to be sited on the floor of the valley nor the large Byzantine palace envisaged by Ludwig II were ever built.

Instead, the new building developed around the forester's house (designated as the "Royal Lodge") belonging to his father Maximilian II, which was located in the open space in front of the present palace & was used by the king when crown prince on hunting expeditions with his father.  Linderhof Palace, the eventual result of a long period of building & rebuilding, is the only large palace King Ludwig II lived to see completed.

There are plenty of walking trails & scenic spots perfect for lingering on the palace grounds. There are also a few food options near the parking lot where you can get pretzels, small flatbread pizzas, beer & pastries. 

Drive back to the hotel in Munich.

Balance of the day at leisure or perhaps opt for one of the many options available (we will be happy to offer suggestions & make arrangements).

Morning, Check-out & reach any of the designated Pick-up Point for the regular Bus tour & explore Munich (on your own) on a full day tour with an audio commentary

Check-out of the hotel by 12:00 noon (if the departure time is later in the evening, we will request the hotel to allow the use of the hotel facilities & to leave the luggage at the Bell Desk if you have the time to walk out). 

Enjoy Munich in an open air double-decker buses. You may hop on & hop off at the stops of your choice (Buses depart from 10:00am to 5:00pm, every 30 minutes) & take your time getting around the city (we will be happy to offer suggestions).

You may hop on & hop off at the stops of your choice & take your time getting around the city (we will be happy to offer suggestions).

Munich is rich in history, continental & local, and the architecture, streets, churches, gardens & public spaces reflect the best of centuries of competing cultures.

Munich’s walkable centre retains a small-town air but holds some world-class sights, especially art galleries and museums. Throw in royal Bavarian heritage, an entire suburb of Olympic legacy and a kitbag of dark tourism and it's clear why southern Germany’s metropolis is such a favourite among those who seek out the past but like to hit the town once they’re done.

Munich's cultural scene is second to none in Germany, with the Museums even considered by some to outrank Berlin in quality & many travelers to Munich are absolutely stunned by the quality of the architecture. If you are looking for Alpine cliches, they are all here, but the Bavarian metropolis has many an unexpected card down its Dirndl.

You will discover sights such as the Pinakotheken art museum, the world famous Hofbrauhaus, the National Theater with the Royal Palace, Marienplatz & the Viktualien market with its colorful outdoor stalls. You will have a fantastic panoramic view from the top of the 290 meter high Olympic Tower.

Continue to the Palace of Nymphenburg, the former summer residence of the Bavarian elector princes & kings with its beautiful and spacious gardens. To get an impression of modern Munich, you will also visit the Olympic grounds where you will find other attractions like Sea Life, the BMW museum and the new BMW Car World.

Return to the hotel & relax.

Finally, it is time to say good-bye.

In time, you will be met by a Journeys Rep, who will ensure your comfort & transfer you to Terminal? - Munich International Airport, for your onward journey.  B

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