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Christmas Market Tour in Germany
By James Derheim | July 19, 2009
One of the beautiful Christmas Markets of Germany
Late November departure from USA
Mid- December return to USA
DATES for 2010 are November 29 arrival in Frankfurt and departure on December 12th from Frankfurt.
Join us for our Christmas Markets tour in the heart of Europe and in small towns in Germany where an authentic and thoroughly enjoyable experience is guaranteed. Experience history, beautiful medieval settings and the wonder of Christmas while shopping for unique gifts and souvenirs.
Limited group size! Don’t delay if you are interested in this tour. We operate a Christmas Markets tour only every three or four years.
PLEASE NOTE: European Focus specializes in custom-designed itineraries for singles, couples, families and groups of friends who wish to travel and experience authentic Europe together. This itinerary is merely an example of what can be done, and for what price. If you are interested in an itinerary created around your specific wishes, contact us please.
Get your friends and family together for this Trip of a Lifetime.
Limited group size of no more than 10 guests. (We may, depending on demand, have fewer than 10 guests. However, we can guarantee that we will have no more than 10.)
DAY 1:
DAY OF ARRIVAL in Frankfurt, Germany
Your guide, James Derheim, owner of European Focus, meets you after you exit from the baggage retrieval area of the airport.
IF we have a full group of 10 then we travel in two vans, designed to seat up to five passengers each. In this case, Jenean Derheim joins the tour as second guide and driver. We will only put five in each van to maximize luggage and personal space. If we have less than five guests then we travel in one full-sized van or in a vehicle appropriate to the final group size.
We leave the busy airport and drive east, bound for Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bavaria. We stay here three nights.
Rothenburg is Europe’s most well preserved medieval city. A wall, with towers and many buildings dating from the 1600s and 1700s and before encircles it.
Unlike bus tours, we don’t push you on your first day. Rest until 6 or “do your own thing” when we meet for dinner at one of our favorite places.
DAY 2:
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
After breakfast in your hotel, guests receive a brief orientation to the shopping opportunities and sightseeing opportunities of Rothenburg and then your group is left to explore and shop on their own. We meet up for lunch at one of our favorite little pubs near the entrance to the Burg Garden. This little place features excellent soups which will be just the ticket to keep all of you going!
Rothenburg also has a very small Christmas Market.
Tonight, we enjoy dinner in a darkly romantic restaurant has what we think is the best sauerkraut in Germany! (They will gladly make their special roasted potatoes for those who don’t care for sauerkraut)
Tonight, some of you may wish to join the Night watchman on his rounds. This one-hour long tour explains the history or the town in a fun, entertaining way. The tour starts at 8 in the market square. Note: Several of the shops in Rothenburg offer to ship your purchases home to you.
DAY 3:
Nürnberg Christmas Market
Rested and ready for Germany’s biggest and most famous Christmas Market. We leave after breakfast and travel about an hour to Nürnberg where we spend the day enjoying the market. Return to Rothenburg for the night.
DAY 4:
Seiffen and the Erzgebirge
After breakfast in your hotel, departure for Seiffen in the Erzgebirge Mountains. The trip takes most of the day. Arrival in the middle of the afternoon and check in to a country inn located just six minutes drive from Seiffen. We stay here three nights, enjoying dinner at the excellent and cozy fire-lit restaurant each night.
(Hotel information provided once guests sign their contracts)
DAY 5:
Seiffen
The entire day to shop in Seiffen. This village is where most of the Christmas Arches (called Schwibboggen), wooden ornaments, nutcrackers, “smokers” and other typical German decorations are made. We can visit a tiny workshop where you can see articles being handmade. Then, you can purchase those items right from the craftspeople.
DAY 6:
Dresden
We make a daytrip to nearby Dresden to visit Germany’s oldest Christmas Market. The Dresden market has a medieval flair, with craftspeople in 13th century costume. Crafts are excellent in quality and price. We also have time to see the famous Frauenkirche. Utterly destroyed in WWII, the church was recently rebuilt using donations from around the world. It now stands as a shining example of the almost complete rebirth of Dresden.
Dome of the rebuilt Frauenkirche
DAY 7:
Coburg
Departure after breakfast for Coburg in northern Bavaria. On the way, we stop in Plauen. This city is famous for delicate lace. We then continue to Coburg, where we stay two nights in a charming and exceptionally comfortable B&B right near the old town wall and only a five minute walk from the market square in the heart of Coburg.
DAY 8:
Coburg
After breakfast at our inn, we spend the morning at the Hummel factory and showroom in the nearby village of Rödental, about twenty five minutes from Coburg. We return to Coburg in the afternoon. There will be time for shopping at the Coburg Christmas Market. Coburg also has an excellent assortment of “normal” shops not associated with Christmas.
DAY 9:
Oberpfaelzsicher Wald and environs
There is much to see and do around our next destination. There are beautiful villages, countryside and the interesting town of Regesnsburg is just a short drive to the south. We stay two nights in a cozy country chalet surrounded by pine forest. Hopefully we have a nice of fresh snow, because then the scenery is just eye-popping! This region has not forgotten what “handcrafted” means.
We will be visiting some beautiful little markets where handmade quality can be purchased at fair prices.
DAY 10:
Oberpfaelzsicher Wald, visiting small markets.
DAY 11:
We drive overland for some of the way today as we work our way to the Heidelberg region. We stay tonight in a 16th century castle, perched high above the village of Hirschhorn in the Neckar River Valley. Guests need not worry; the castle has been recently renovated to include all the modern amenities guests enjoy on all European Focus tours. We dine in the excellent on-site restaurant tonight.
Romantic HeidelbergDAY 12:
Heidelberg
After a buffet breakfast in our hotel, a short trip along the Neckar River to Heidelberg where we make a stop to enjoy the market there and lunch before continuing on to the Rhein River town of Nierstein for our final night.
DAY 13:
Return to America
After a buffet breakfast in our hotel, a trip across the Rhein and to the airport taking about half an hour. We stay with you right to the point where you enter the security area on the way to your gate.
Including:
• Professional German-speaking tour guide with more than 21 years of experience living and working in Germany.
• Ground transportation by two full-sized vans, (if we have a full load of ten guests) with plenty of room for personal space and luggage.
• All meals with freedom of choice (within reason) from the menu including beverages. No set menus.
• Exceptional, small hotels and inns used by the Derheims for years.
• A DVD video showing the markets.
• Our usual “no surprises” price guarantee. Once you’ve paid for your trip, there is no reason for any guest to have to reach into their pocket again.
Price per person based on a minimum group size of eight: 4,950 Euro includes round-trip coach air to Germany.
We can take a maximum of 10 people on this tour. The price for ten persons is the same as for eight. This tour is a GO with as few as four guests.
Current exchange rates can be found at www.x-rates.com
Guests may pay in dollars. Payments are converted to Euros on the day those payments are received.
Visa and MasterCard accepted for those who sign up more than 90 days prior to tour start. Otherwise, personal checks accepted.
Full payment due on the date your contract is signed.
Trip cancellation or interruption insurance is mandatory. A contract obligates you to make these payments, even if you cancel your trip. Check rates and coverage plans at www.travelguard.com
Travel insurance protects your investment in case you must cancel your participation for a valid reason or, if something happens to your guide or guides.
Presented by European Focus Private Tours
James Derheim – Owner
1408 State Street
Sarasota, FL 34236
Tel: 800.401.7802
Fax: 941.330.0878
E-mail: info@europeanfocus.com
References available on request.
We have served more than 500 guests on individualized, private tours since 1996. More than a third of our tours are with return guests.
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