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Austria, Bavaria and Switzerland - 14 Day Extended Tour - (Tour No. AGS) |
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Day One - Sunday Please note that there will be significant walking on this tour, and
we'll be using local public transport (trams etc. ) to get around in
the major centre enroute where parking is difficult for our tour bus,
or access prohibited by local laws. Leaving Munich, we drive towards the Alps and the Allgau region with a first stop at Landsberg, a historic city on the Romantic Road. The local prison was where Hitler wrote Mein Kampf. The Romantic Road was fortified to defend the old trading roads which explains why, when we're travelling along this route, we'll see so many fairytale castles. The Romantisch Strasse takes us through rolling countryside towards the Alpine foothills and eventually to Fussen, gateway to the Tyrol. For final highlights of the day, we'll try to include the Bishop's Castle and some shopping opportunities. Day Three - Tuesday Discovering Bavarian royalty at their fairytale castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau will be the focus of the day. The fit may enjoy walking the short distance from our accommodation to the castles through stunning woodlands. Bicycles are also available for hire while we're at this three-night stop. We're surrounded by grand scenery and will see much of the rural village life in the district around Fussen and Ruette. This evening, if scheduled, there'll be an optional opportunity of enjoying a folk evening featuring local amateur performers. Day Four -Wednesday We'll feature a circular tour today, highlights of which will include Wieskirche, masterpiece of Bavarian rococo in the meadows of the Ammergau Alps, Oberammergau, place of pilgrimage, passion plays and local wood carvers. We'll also decide on some of the following potential sights; Garmisch-Patenkirchen, the Olympic city at the foot of Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze which we can ascend by train or cable car (optional, and depending on the weather). Then there's Linderhof castle, King Ludwig's favourite residence in a remote valley. We'll return via Tyrolean lakes and Reutte. Day Five - Thursday Leave the Tyrol towards Vorlarlberg, Austria's smallest province, we'll take a brief visit to the Principality of Liechtenstein. Don't blink or you've missed Euroland's smallest country! Then it's through 'Heidi's' homeland of Glarus to Lucerne. There will be time to explore Lucerne from our base in the old town. This truly is one of Europe's most beautiful cities overlooking the lake and in its turn overlooked by the Alps. Day Six - Friday Leave Lucerne we tour either via Berne, the Swiss capital, or via the founding cantons of the confederation through dramatic Alpine scenery via the Susten Pass Road (highest elev. 7,296ft, 2,259m) to Interlaken and our nightstop high above Lake Thun. Here we promise the unbelievable and breathtaking views of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau peaks, three of the highest in the Swiss Alps. Walkers will enjoy our accommodation stop, too, as there are some lovely
local walks to be taken of varying lengths from the hotel. A day of 'organised independence' and the experience of three different transportation methods (four if you count walking!). We'll travel by exciting funicular railway to Lake Thun, then via lake steamer to Interlaken, where you'll enjoy some independent sightseeing and shopping in this accessible town. We return to our high Alps accommodation at Beatenberg by the most enduring of Swiss travel methods, the post bus. This is a true Back-Roads style day and it should be noted that it will call for a measure of mobility on your part. Those with mobility problems or concerns should perhaps not be considering this tour. Alternatively, you may simply prefer to spend your day with your feet
up and enjoy the view or stay on the mountain for a hike through Swiss
Alpine meadows. Day out in Alpine scenery: to Trümmelbach Falls, Lauterbrunnen and the Staubbachfälle, which Lord Byron likened to "the tail of the pale horse ridden by Death in the Apocalypse" and/or Wengen, a fashionable resort devoid of all car traffic, accessible by train from the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Day Nine - Monday A longer drive today through dramatic Alpine scenery and three countries: travelling via the Paso di San Gottardo we enter the Italian speaking part of Switzerland, the Ticino, briefly visit Lugano and experience the Mediterranean flair so typical for the southern Alps, then on to Lago di Como in Italy before we return to the Engadin region of Switzerland. Our route then follows the valley of the river Inn into the The Tyrol is host to some of the great ski races in the winter calendar. We'll be passing through Tyrolean villages bearing names known the world over. The countryside of the Salzburgerland also served as the setting for the story of the von Trapp family in the 'Hills are Alive'. If interested, we can visit one or two of the film's shooting locations in and around Salzburg. Another famed (perhaps infamous) town is Berchtesgarten. The source of its notoriety is that it was Hitler's private base and retreat. One can still see the 'Eagle's nest' overlooking the pretty Bavarian village. Day Eleven - Wednesday Your choice today of: staying a full day in Salzburg, exploring this magnificent city on foot, or joining a day trip to the ancient community of Hallstatt deep in the salt mining area of the Salzkammergut, including a visit to a salt mine. Day Twelve - Thursday Leaving the Alps we head west towards the great Bavarian Lakes. King Ludwig's 'Versailles' was built on an island in Lake Chiemsee. The Wendelstein, a 230 million year old coral reef has been designated a Geo-Park and offers a fascinating insight into the change the Alpine countryside has undergone through the ages. Our route takes us through rolling hills, past many lakes and forests against the backdrop of the high Alps towards the Ammersee and our overnight stop Herrsching, beneath the 'Heiliger Berg' (Holy Hill) home to the Benedictine monastery of Kloster Andechs. Famed not only for its religious significance, Kloster Andechs' own brewery has been a favourite with Bavarians and visitors from all over the world. Day Thirteen - Friday A flexible day's touring: the Dachau concentration camp recalls the dark past of the Nazi era, another visit to Munich is possible (this can also be done independently as our Lakeside accommodation base is just 40 minutes on the famed German railway system from Munich city centre), or we can explore the lakes Starnberg and Ammersee and their quaint villages and scenery. In the evening we'll ascend the Holy Hill to enjoy 'liquid bread' and Bavarian monastery hospitality. Day Fourteen - Saturday Today you return home so we'll transfer you to the airport at Munich or, alternatively, for those extending their stay, we'll transfer you to Munich city centre. |
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