Day 2: Friday, March 17, 2006: Berlin, Wittenberg
Willkommen in Deutschland! On arrival at Berlin Airport, we meet our tour manager who will travel with us throughout our tour of the reformation sites of Europe. A local guide joins us for a coach tour of the German capital including highlights such as: the famous Brandenburg Gate, the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, Checkpoint Charlie, the Reichstag building and the lively boulevards. This city has undergone momentous change in the 15 years since reunification. After seeing modern Berlin, we drive south to spend our first night of the tour in Lutherstadt-Wittenberg, the birthplace of the Reformation. We stay in a youth hostel in a converted castle, next to the Schlosskirche. IF/D Back to top

Day 3: Saturday, March 18, 2006: Wittenberg, Erfurt
We begin our day visiting the church where the Reformation officially began on October 31, 1517. We see the very place Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses to the door of the Schlosskirche (Castle Church) in Wittenberg. The original door was destroyed in the Seven Years War. Luther’s texts of the 95 Theses are cast in bronze on the door. Inside the church we can see Martin Luther's and Phillip Melanchthon’s graves.
Next we tour the Lutherhalle (Luther House) Museum. In 1508, when Martin Luther came to Wittenberg, he lived here with other Augustinian monks. Later, Luther and his wife, Katharina von Bora, raised six children here. We'll be able to view some of Luther's very own personal library, rare manuscripts, early Bibles, and some of the very pamphlets that Luther had printed that stoked the fires of the Reformation. The tour will also include Stadtkirche St. Marien (St. Mary's church) where Luther preached and where his children were baptized. We’ll marvel at the amazing detail in the altar painted by Lucas Cranach in a Reformation theme. In the afternoon we make our way to Erfurt where we visit Luther’s Augustinian Monastery. B/D Back to top

Day 4: Sunday, March 19, 2006: Eisenach, Heidelberg
We begin our day with a trip to nearby Eisenach and the magnificent Wartburg Castle. In 1521, while fleeing from the wrath of the Pope, Luther took refuge here after a fake kidnapping staged by his friend and protector, Frederick the Wise. This is where Luther translated the New Testament into German in just 11 weeks (see picture on the left).
In the town of Eisenach we view the splendid Martin Luther Statue in town and St. George's Church. Martin Luther was a choirboy here and then preached here in 1521 on his journey to and from the imperial council in Worms (The Diet of Worms). Young Martin Luther lived here at Eisenach as a schoolboy while attending St. George's School.

This afternoon we drive to Heidelberg is a gorgeous town on the Neckar River. We’ll have a walking tour of the Old Town, the famous Stone Bridge over the Neckar River, and then tour Heidelberg Castle (see left). This is where the Heidelberg Confession was written in 1653. B/D Back to top

Day 5: Monday, March 20, 2006: Worms, Heidelberg
After breakfast we take an excursion to Mainz. Here we focus on the contribution of Johan Gutenberg, who developed moveable type. In the Gutenberg Museum we view original copies of the Bible. We also visit Mainz Cathedral, dating back to 975.

In Worms we’ll have a brief local walking tour to see the site of the Worms Debates (Diet of Worms), now a park, with a plaque commemorating the Diet of Worms, the Reformation Monument, St. Peters Cathedral and the Church of the Holy Trinity. Our guide will share with us the story of another Reformer, William Tyndale, who finished his printing of the English Bible in Worms, escaping persecution in England. In 1525 his New Testament was printed and smuggled back into England. It was the first translation of the Bible from the original Greek into English. Indeed, it was the first translation of a Greek book into English. We'll return to Heidelberg for dinner and and overnight. B/D Back to top

Day 6: Tuesday, March 21, 2006: Strasbourg
This morning we depart France for Strasbourg, home of the E.U.'s European Parliament, the “City of Hope,” or “Refuge of the Righteous” as the Anabaptists refer to it. This is where John Calvin wrote his famous books on systematic theology.
Martin Bucer, another Reformation leader was from Strasbourg and is buried in St. Thomas's Church, the principle Protestant Church since 1549. Also related to Strasbourg was Peter Waldo, whose followers were known as "Waldensians," "Poor in Spirit,” or "Poor Men of Lyons." In 1184 Pope Lucius III excommunicated them, and in 1211 more than 80 were burned as heretics in Strasbourg, beginning several centuries of persecution.
Due to growing persecution in Paris, Calvin settled in Strasbourg to live the life of a quiet Christian scholar and author. His first draft of the Institutes in 1536 was instantly popular as it presented Reformed doctrine in an easy to read, systematic manner. Calvin later went on to Geneva, Switzerland, where the Lord mightily used this Reformer.
We'll tour the Cathedral of Strasbourg, St. Thomas's Church, and also see the Statue of the Reformers in the University, the Astronomical clock and the historic “La Petite Strasbourg” quarter. We'll enjoy some fabulous French cuisine and stay overnight in Strasbourg. B/D Back to top

Day 7: Wednesday, March 22, 2006: Geneva
Continuing south we travel through Alsace on the wine route. This area of western France changed hands many times over the course of history as evidence by the German influence. We pass many quaint villages on this morning’s drive. We enter Switzerland and stop for lunch in the Swiss Capital, Bern. Then we continue on to Geneva. It was here in Geneva that John Calvin and John Knox brought Christ's teachings to eager listeners. A local guide joins us for a tour as we start at the waterfront, famous for its Flower Clock and English Gardens, and continue to the old town area, where we'll tour Cathedrale St. Pierre (St. Peter’s Cathedral). This is where John Calvin preached and stoked the fires of the Reformation in Geneva, winning thousands to the Lord. You can see Calvin's chair (though you can't sit in it!). It's only 157 steps up to the top of the North Tower, where the view is worth the effort. Under the Cathedral are the ruins of a Roman sanctuary, a 4th century basilica, and a 6th century church. B/D Back to top

Day 8: Thursday, March 23, 2006: Geneva, Zurich
This morning we continue our exploration of Geneva. We begin at the recently opened International Museum of the Reformation. We also visit the Auditoire de Calvin (Calvin's Academy, also known as The Protestant Lecture Hall), where the inspired theologian himself taught. John Knox also taught here for three years. Finally we go to the impressive Reformation Monument. Four statues of four Reformation leaders stand as sentinels:

William Farel (who brought Calvin to Geneva)
John Calvin (second only to Luther in the Protestant Reformation)
Theodore Beza (who succeeded Calvin as leader of the Swiss Reformation)
John Knox (who taught here before taking the Reformation to Scotland)

Later in the day we drive to Zurich, Switzerland’s commercial center and its largest city. B/D