By adding trips to your “Wish List” (above), you can easily make a side-by-side detailed comparison of as many trips as you like.
If you haven’t done it yet, now’s the time! A climb to the roof of Africa is a “high” in more ways than one, and you’ll celebrate your achievement with a fantastic wildlife safari in Africa’s Eden.
Eastern Germany: Beyond the Iron Curtain
A Hiking & Cultural Journey
with Robert Sommer
This itinerary is no longer available
We may run this trip again in the future, please contact us if you are interested.Join veteran Trip Leader Robert Sommer for a unique hiking and cultural adventure that reveals the natural beauty and rich heritage of Germany from west to east. We hike and explore from impressive Nuremberg, with its moat and medieval city walls, to Dresden, a Baroque treasure-trove set along the Elbe River in the former East Germany. Along the way, we learn about the cultural differences that still exist between eastern and western Germany, enjoy great cuisine and world-class beer tasting, and meet people from many walks of life. Our accommodations are delightful, including charming family-run inns and stunning castles-turned-hotels. The trip concludes in Berlin, where we “walk the wall,” the path where the Berlin Wall once stood, past an array of famous sites from the Brandenburg Gate to Checkpoint Charlie. Post-trip, trip members can join in the celebration of the famed Munich Oktoberfest.
Highlights
- Hike the Iron Curtain Trail, Fichtelgebirge Mountains, Castle Road, and canyons of Saxon Switzerland
- Medieval Nuremburg and elegant Dresden, with its Baroque architecture
- Boat the canals of the Spreewald, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
- Walk the Berlin Wall from the Reichstag to Checkpoint Charlie
Details
- 10-day trip begins and ends in Munich, Germany
- 9 nights in charming inns and castles-turned hotels
- Meals included except 3 dinners
- Day hikes, 2-5 hours most days, city walking tours
This itinerary is no longer available
We may run this trip again in the future, please contact us if you are interested.Suggested Reading
Reading list, click here.
Itinerary at a Glance
Days 1-2
Munich / Nuremburg
In the historic Altmuehltal Valley, now a nature reserve, we stretch our legs with a walk along the Limes Romanus, an ancient Roman wall, and explore exquisite medieval Nuremburg, with its massive walls and brooding watchtowers.
Days 3-4
Forchheim / Fichtelgebirge Mountains / Kulmbach
After a visit to the lovely little Bavarian town of Forchheim, we hike The Castle Road (Burgenstrasse) for spectacular views of castle-topped hills. The next day, we set out for a hike up to the highest peak in the Fichtelgebirge Mountains, ending our day with beer-tasting in medieval Kulmbach, Germany’s unofficial beer capital.
Days 5-6
Iron Curtain Trail / Saxon Switzerland / Dresden
Crossing into the former East Germany, we hike a new heritage trail along the former Iron Curtain, then head to glorious Dresden, Saxony’s capital and a beautiful city of Baroque architecture along the Elbe River. On Day 6, we hike in Saxon Switzerland, now Sachsische Schweiz National Park, to enjoy its sandstone towers and buttes. Our Dresden hotel is a Relais & Chateaux property in the heart of the Baroque district.
Day 8
Meissen / Spreewald Biosphere Reserve / Lubbenau
After a visit to romantic Meissen, set on the Elbe River and known around the world for its porcelain, we board a traditional flat-bottomed punt boat for a peaceful journey through the rural waterways of the Spreewald Biosphere Reserve, home to remarkable wildlife including sea eagles and fish otters. Our boat brings us right to our accommodation, a charming 17th century castle.
Days 8-10
Potsdam / Berlin
Home to Prussian kings and German Kaisers for centuries, Potsdam retains its imperial character in its elegant castles and parks. We visit the summer palace of Frederick the Great, Prussia’s most famous king, and Schloss Cecilienhof, where Truman, Churchill, and Stalin met for the Potsdam Conference, then savor the great city of Berlin. We walk the former path of the Berlin Wall past the Reichstag, the new Holocaust Memorial and rebuilt Potsdamer Platz, along the street where the Gestapo was once headquartered, and past at the former site of the famous Checkpoint Charlie, where Russian and American tanks once faced each other at the peak of the Cold War. We then visit the bridge where on November 9, 1989, the checkpoint of Bornholmer Street opened up under the pressure of demonstrating East Berliners and thus became the spot where the Berlin Wall fell. Depart on Day 10.
This is the Itinerary-at-a-Glance. For the complete trip description, Download Full Trip Brochure