Berlin – Potsdam Leipzig – Dresden Christmas Markets Memories of the Past Visions of the Future December 13 – 22, 2015 Average Temperature Low: 30 ° F High: 37 ° F

Berlin Our flight leaves from Detroit on December 13 and travels to Berlin. Germany's capital has a population of over 3.5 million people. With 12 separate districts (boroughs), we could spend over two weeks exploring them all. To get a taste of the districts, evening meals will be from different areas such as Mitte, Neukölln, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, and Tempelhof-Schöneberg. Throughout our trip we will be meeting and dinning with many Germans who have been to Detroit. Day 2 – Arrive in Berlin

Berlin – Bus Line 100 Tour After we arrive in Berlin and check-in, we will take the iconic #100 Bus tour from Alexanderplatz to Zoologischer Garten station (East to West). This hop on hop off city bus allows us to get off at any stop and explore many historic sites such as the TV Tower, Victory Column, and Kaiser Wilhelm Church. You will learn how the regular bus system of Berlin works. Overnight in Berlin Day 2 - Berlin

Pergamon Museum and Berliner Dom The Pergamon Museum houses the Collection of Classical Antiquities (Roman/Greek). We get to see the Ishtar Gate which led to the inner city of Babylon. Next on our day trip we visit the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) which is a fabulous cathedral from the 1800s. Constantly reconstructed over the years, it is the largest church in Berlin and attracts hundreds of thousands each year to visit. The German Royal Family is buried in this Imperial Church. Finally, we will get a tour of the GDR Museum. It is a interactive museum that shows you the everyday life of East Germany during the 1980s. Day 3 - Berlin

Berlin Museum Island We then take a walk of Museum Island. An Island that is located in the center of Berlin. It is collectively a UNESCO world heritage site, with its five museums (Pergamon, Bode, New, Old, and Old National Gallery). At the end of the day we go to the city center of Berlin to visit the Christmas Markets there. Day 3 - Berlin Overnight in Berlin

Jewish Museum Berlin Wall Memorial Day 4 - Berlin Overnight in Berlin We spend the morning visiting the Jewish Museum. After, we will take a tour of the Berlin Wall Memorial and Museum. The Berlin Wall Memorial shows the divide between East and West and how it developed into the 1980s.

Potsdam In the morning, we take a short train ride to Potsdam. It is the summer capital of the German Empire. The Sanssouci Palace, a summer palace of Frederick the Great, has beautiful gardens, parks, and temples to explore. Spend the day here alongside a palace villa that rivals Versailles. We also visit the Cecilienhof Palace which in 1945 held the Potsdam Conference where Churchill, Stalin, and Truman discussed the fate of Nazi Germany after WWII. At the end of the day we go to the Potsdam Christmas Markets before heading back to Berlin. Day 5 - Berlin Overnight in Berlin

City Center Tour We start this tour with Checkpoint Charlie, a symbol of separation during between East Berlin and West Berlin. We then move onto Frederick Strasse which is a cultural and shopping street running through central Berlin. After shopping we go to Unter den Linden, named for its linden trees. This leads us to Brandenburg Gate, one of the most recognizable landmarks in Germany, this gate was inaccessible during the split of Germany and was the center of attention during the opening of the Berlin Wall in We then visit the Holocaust Memorial, followed by an iconic Berlin Café and standing lunch. We end our day at the Reichstag, the German Parliament building that was restored after the Germany reunification in It has a marvelous glass dome at the top that allows people to get a peak of Berlin from every angle. Day 6 - Berlin Overnight in Berlin

Leipzig We travel to Leipzig in the morning. Here we see the St. Nicholas Church and St. Thomas Church where the peaceful demonstrations against East Germany’s rule took place. We will have a tour of Leipzig as a whole as it was the center of the civil rights movement in Germany. St. Nicholas Church is also the location where Johann Sebastian Bach premiered St. John Passion on Good Friday in We then visit the Auerbach's Cellar where Goethe (One of Germany’s most famous playwright) spend much of his time while studying. We will also see the Stasi Museum of Leipzig. The Stasi were the secret police of the GDR. You will learn how they infiltrated the everyday life of a German. At the end of the day, we will get the opportunity to have dinner with a local German family before we head off to the Leipzig Christmas Markets. Day 7 - Leipzig

Dresden The morning of day 8 we head off to the city of Dresden. We begin with a walking tour of the city before allowing you to personalize the rest of your day. We can visit the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) which is the centerpiece in Dresden. A stop is also possible at the Zwinger Palace. The Semperoper (Opera House) is one of the most renown opera houses in Europe and there are English tours everyday at 3pm. We head back to Berlin this night before our final day. Day 8 - Dresden Overnight in Berlin

Berlin Personalized Day You get to organize your personalized final day in Berlin. Whether it be art, history, or culture we will help you do anything you want on your last day here. You get the chance to see places we didn’t have time to cover or places you want to revisit such as the Hamburger Bahnhof, the Topography of Terror, or Treptower Park. The next day, our flight leaves Berlin and travels to Detroit. Day 9 - Berlin