Austria, Bavaria And The Passion Play
A journey to the Passion Play in Oberammergau plus the cities of Vienna, Salzburg and Munich.
July 17 - 26, 2020
$5958/person
This tour is priced for a minimum group of 8 people. Per person. Double occupancy. Please inquire about a single-supplement room price.
I'm partnering for this once in a lifetime (or at least once in every 10 years) experience with my long-time associate and partner in Munich, Bridget Putre. My guests who have traveled with her rave about her depth of knowledge, helpfulness and ability to create a fun experience for all ages. Together, we will be offering this special itinerary to the guests of Che Bella Tours.
This tour combines the cities of music, Vienna and Salzburg, with the quiet magic and tranquility of the Bavarian Alps. Enjoy imperial palaces in Vienna and Salzburg and enjoy the lively beer-garden culture of Munich.
Please inquire about details and pricing.
Includes 10 nights in lovingly handpicked 4-star hotels, all entrances, tickets to the Passion Play and finishing in Munich.
A journey to the Passion Play in Oberammergau plus the cities of Vienna, Salzburg and Munich.
July 17 - 26, 2020
$5958/person
This tour is priced for a minimum group of 8 people. Per person. Double occupancy. Please inquire about a single-supplement room price.
I'm partnering for this once in a lifetime (or at least once in every 10 years) experience with my long-time associate and partner in Munich, Bridget Putre. My guests who have traveled with her rave about her depth of knowledge, helpfulness and ability to create a fun experience for all ages. Together, we will be offering this special itinerary to the guests of Che Bella Tours.
This tour combines the cities of music, Vienna and Salzburg, with the quiet magic and tranquility of the Bavarian Alps. Enjoy imperial palaces in Vienna and Salzburg and enjoy the lively beer-garden culture of Munich.
Please inquire about details and pricing.
Includes 10 nights in lovingly handpicked 4-star hotels, all entrances, tickets to the Passion Play and finishing in Munich.
Every ten years …… the world’s attention is directed to Oberammergau in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Here an entire village has been re-enacting the last five days in the life of Jesus Christ since 1634. After numerous Oberammergau citizens fell victim to the plague in 1633, those who survived vowed to perform the Passion Play regularly out of gratitude. They hoped that by way of this pledge, people would no longer die at the hands of the epidemic. At Pentecost in 1634 the play was performed for the first time, in the yard next to the village church. It was so well received that they decided to perform the play every ten years. By the end of the 17th century they had moved the date to a zero year to make it easier to remember. 2020 will be the 42nd installment of the play.
More than 2400 Oberammergau citizens participated in the last performance in 2010. This is approximately half of the total number of inhabitants of Oberammergau. The roles are allocated almost a year in advance and the male actors leave their hair and beards to grow as of this point in time. Every role has two actors allocated to it, and they have to adapt their working commitments to the rehearsals and performance schedules. Children also take part in the spectacle, and likewise have to balance acting and regular schoolwork.
Over 1000 people and whole herds of animals tread the open-air stage. Since the play was first performed outside, they still honor the open-air tradition.
More than 2400 Oberammergau citizens participated in the last performance in 2010. This is approximately half of the total number of inhabitants of Oberammergau. The roles are allocated almost a year in advance and the male actors leave their hair and beards to grow as of this point in time. Every role has two actors allocated to it, and they have to adapt their working commitments to the rehearsals and performance schedules. Children also take part in the spectacle, and likewise have to balance acting and regular schoolwork.
Over 1000 people and whole herds of animals tread the open-air stage. Since the play was first performed outside, they still honor the open-air tradition.
Day 1: Welcome to Vienna
Welcome to Vienna, the Imperial City. Today we start with an orientation drive of Vienna seeing the highlights of this great city, including the magnificent edifices along the Ringstrasse (Ring Road). This imperial boulevard was developed in the second half of the 19th century by Emperor Franz Joseph on the grounds of the old city walls: the Opera House, the Hofburg palace, the twin Natural History and Art History museums, the neogothic city hall, the parliament building, the Burgtheater and the University of Vienna (founded in 1365 and now the oldest university in the German-speaking world).After check-in and some time to refresh we have a walking tour of some of the historic places in the city center, including St. Stephan’s Cathedral.
Tonight a great Welcome Dinner at a typical Viennese Wine cellar.
Overnight in Vienna
Day 2: Vienna and Schonbrunn Palace
In the morning we visit Schönbrunn Palace, Austria’s answer to Louis XIV’s Versailles. Empress Maria Theresa developed Schönbrunn into the imperial summer residence. We’ll tour the opulent palace and have time to explore some of the 470 acres of gardens, including the hilltop Gloriette. The afternoon is at your leisure. Maybe a ride at the famous fairies wheel in the Prater ( known from the movie”The Third Man” or spend some time at a landmark Vienna café for coffee and Sacher torte.
This evening we suggest a dinner concert with the music of the famous Austrian composer and Walzer King Johann Strauss.
Overnight in Vienna
Welcome to Vienna, the Imperial City. Today we start with an orientation drive of Vienna seeing the highlights of this great city, including the magnificent edifices along the Ringstrasse (Ring Road). This imperial boulevard was developed in the second half of the 19th century by Emperor Franz Joseph on the grounds of the old city walls: the Opera House, the Hofburg palace, the twin Natural History and Art History museums, the neogothic city hall, the parliament building, the Burgtheater and the University of Vienna (founded in 1365 and now the oldest university in the German-speaking world).After check-in and some time to refresh we have a walking tour of some of the historic places in the city center, including St. Stephan’s Cathedral.
Tonight a great Welcome Dinner at a typical Viennese Wine cellar.
Overnight in Vienna
Day 2: Vienna and Schonbrunn Palace
In the morning we visit Schönbrunn Palace, Austria’s answer to Louis XIV’s Versailles. Empress Maria Theresa developed Schönbrunn into the imperial summer residence. We’ll tour the opulent palace and have time to explore some of the 470 acres of gardens, including the hilltop Gloriette. The afternoon is at your leisure. Maybe a ride at the famous fairies wheel in the Prater ( known from the movie”The Third Man” or spend some time at a landmark Vienna café for coffee and Sacher torte.
This evening we suggest a dinner concert with the music of the famous Austrian composer and Walzer King Johann Strauss.
Overnight in Vienna
Day 3: Vienna and the Wachau
After a leisurely breakfast we leave Vienna and head west to board on a little river cruise along the most scenic stretch of the Danube river, the Wachau Valley. The region is one of the prettiest in Austria and is famous for wine and apricot liqueurs. We enjoy lunch at famous Melk Abbey, which once was the first capital of Austria and site of the movie ”the Name of the Rose” with Sean Connery.
Evening arrival in Salzburg with included dinner.
Overnight in Salzburg
Day 4: Salzburg
We wake up in the wonderful city of Salzburg. We will tour the old town, a UNESCO world heritage site. We see the birth house of the famous ’wonder child’ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which is on the delightful Getreidegasee, the shopping street with its iconic historic signage. Other highlights include the pretty Mirabell Gardens and the best photo spots in town. Of course we will see see many filming sites from the Sound of Music, including the convent church, where the nuns still sing on festival days. Salzburg is a city of churches, and we visit and learn a bit about the history of the impressive Salzburg Cathedral as well as Stift St. Peter’s abbey church and the neighboring cemetery.
The rest of the afternoon and evening is yours to explore at your leisure. This evening perhaps you would like to attend a lovely Mozart concert dinner at the Stiftskeller, Europe’s oldest restaurant, dating back to 803.
Overnight in Salzburg
After a leisurely breakfast we leave Vienna and head west to board on a little river cruise along the most scenic stretch of the Danube river, the Wachau Valley. The region is one of the prettiest in Austria and is famous for wine and apricot liqueurs. We enjoy lunch at famous Melk Abbey, which once was the first capital of Austria and site of the movie ”the Name of the Rose” with Sean Connery.
Evening arrival in Salzburg with included dinner.
Overnight in Salzburg
Day 4: Salzburg
We wake up in the wonderful city of Salzburg. We will tour the old town, a UNESCO world heritage site. We see the birth house of the famous ’wonder child’ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which is on the delightful Getreidegasee, the shopping street with its iconic historic signage. Other highlights include the pretty Mirabell Gardens and the best photo spots in town. Of course we will see see many filming sites from the Sound of Music, including the convent church, where the nuns still sing on festival days. Salzburg is a city of churches, and we visit and learn a bit about the history of the impressive Salzburg Cathedral as well as Stift St. Peter’s abbey church and the neighboring cemetery.
The rest of the afternoon and evening is yours to explore at your leisure. This evening perhaps you would like to attend a lovely Mozart concert dinner at the Stiftskeller, Europe’s oldest restaurant, dating back to 803.
Overnight in Salzburg
Day 5: Berchtesgaden and Chiemsee
We leave Austria and drive along a portion of the German Alpine Road, a lovely trip that takes us to the quaint town of Berchtesgaden and the influential photo stop at St. Sebastian’s Church in Ramsau.
We then reach Bavaria’s largest lake, Chiemsee, where we board a boat to do some island hopping. First we visit Frauenchiemsee, which is a small yet lovely island village with pretty gardens and craft shops. Frauenwoerth Abbey, dating back to the year 782, is still a working convent. We’ll have lunch on this charming island.
Next we visit the much larger island, Herrenchiemsee, where the eccentric, King Ludwig II, built a tribute to King Louis XIV of France – the Bavarian Versailles. Bavaria’s very first monastery was founded on this island in the early 600’s! The abbey was closed in 1803 and now houses a few museums and a restaurant. We will be able to visit both structures before our early evening arrival at our hotel in the alpine lakeside resort town of Rottach-Egern.
Dinner is included tonight.
Day 6: Bavarian Dream
Pretty villages with flower boxed windows and balconies; glacial lakes nestled in the border fingers of the Alps; pastureland and forests flowing over the rolling moraines of the alpine foothills: Bavaria is one of those places with an almost mythological reputation, and our tour today explores the Bavarian Way of Life.
We drive through the alpine backroads to the pretty alpine town of Mittenwald, famous for its frescoed buildings and violin maker tradition. A great place to soak up the atmosphere and maybe a little shopping. We then drive past two wonderful alpine lakes to a fascinating farmhouse museum, where you can go into historical grain and saw mills, smithies, workshops and even a brewery in addition to the true-to-original reconstructed farmhouses.
We then have lunch at the Benediktbeueren Abbey, now a Salesian Dom Bosco monastery. The abbey church was declared a basilica minor in 1972. Afterwards we have a short stop in Bad Tölz, a pretty town upriver from Munich, before arriving back in Rottach-Egern in mid afternoon. You can enjoy the lakeside ambiance, maybe take a boat ride on Lake Tegern or go into town for coffee and cake.
Dinner is on your own tonight.
Overnight in Rottach-Egern
We leave Austria and drive along a portion of the German Alpine Road, a lovely trip that takes us to the quaint town of Berchtesgaden and the influential photo stop at St. Sebastian’s Church in Ramsau.
We then reach Bavaria’s largest lake, Chiemsee, where we board a boat to do some island hopping. First we visit Frauenchiemsee, which is a small yet lovely island village with pretty gardens and craft shops. Frauenwoerth Abbey, dating back to the year 782, is still a working convent. We’ll have lunch on this charming island.
Next we visit the much larger island, Herrenchiemsee, where the eccentric, King Ludwig II, built a tribute to King Louis XIV of France – the Bavarian Versailles. Bavaria’s very first monastery was founded on this island in the early 600’s! The abbey was closed in 1803 and now houses a few museums and a restaurant. We will be able to visit both structures before our early evening arrival at our hotel in the alpine lakeside resort town of Rottach-Egern.
Dinner is included tonight.
Day 6: Bavarian Dream
Pretty villages with flower boxed windows and balconies; glacial lakes nestled in the border fingers of the Alps; pastureland and forests flowing over the rolling moraines of the alpine foothills: Bavaria is one of those places with an almost mythological reputation, and our tour today explores the Bavarian Way of Life.
We drive through the alpine backroads to the pretty alpine town of Mittenwald, famous for its frescoed buildings and violin maker tradition. A great place to soak up the atmosphere and maybe a little shopping. We then drive past two wonderful alpine lakes to a fascinating farmhouse museum, where you can go into historical grain and saw mills, smithies, workshops and even a brewery in addition to the true-to-original reconstructed farmhouses.
We then have lunch at the Benediktbeueren Abbey, now a Salesian Dom Bosco monastery. The abbey church was declared a basilica minor in 1972. Afterwards we have a short stop in Bad Tölz, a pretty town upriver from Munich, before arriving back in Rottach-Egern in mid afternoon. You can enjoy the lakeside ambiance, maybe take a boat ride on Lake Tegern or go into town for coffee and cake.
Dinner is on your own tonight.
Overnight in Rottach-Egern
Day 7: The Passion Play
Today is the big day! The history of the Passion Play begins nearly 400 years ago. The plague raged in many parts of Europe and did not spare Oberammergau – by 1633 pretty much every family had lost members to this ravaging disease. The surviving villagers pledged to perform the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ if the plague went away. It did, and the first Passion Play was performed in 1634. It was so well-received that the town soon decided to hold the play every 10 years.
We have the entire day for Oberammergau. The morning through lunch time is for strolling, shopping, and of course lunch.
Part 1 of the play starts in the early afternoon followed by a lengthy break for dinner and Part 2.
Afterwards it is a short ride to our hotel and overnight in nearby Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Day 8: Neuschwanstein and Andechs, then on to Munich
After a relaxed morning we head to Bavaria’s most famous landmark, world reknowned Neuschwanstein castle, built by the eccentric King Ludwig II of Bavaria. This iconic structure, perfectly perched at the base of the Alps, is Ludwig’s late 19th century tribute to the early medieval age of knights and to Richard Wagner’s operas. Perched majestically over the Lech river valley at the edge of the Alps, Neuschwanstein is an eternal testament to the power of imagination.
On the way to Munich we have a refreshing visit to the beautiful hilltop monastery at Andechs. Known as the Holy Mountain but maybe better known for its beer, Andechs is a pilgrimage destination for spiritual seekers and beer aficionados alike.
We'll enjoy an evening in Munich at your leisure.
Day 9: A Full Day in and around Munich
This morning we'll set off with our guide for a private tour of Munich’s highlights. The tour will today will be a hefty 5 hours, so we’ll enjoy a late lunchtime (not included) at the famous Vikualienmarkt, the oldest open food market in Munich, where you can enjoy the local delicacies, with the rest of the afternoon on your own.
Included dinner in Munich. Tonight we'll enjoy our Included Bavarian Evening at the famous Hofbräuhaus beer hall.
Day 10: Depart Munich
Transfer to the airport
Interested in adding an extra day in Munich or travel on to Berlin, Dresden, Bamberg, or Rothenburg ob der Tauber to your trip? Click here for more details and contact us.