Geneva College invites students, alumni, and friends on a 9 day inspirational tour!
Tour and Study in Germany | May 19-27, 2025
Optional Extension To Switzerland | May 27 - 30, 2025
Join me (Dr. Scott Shidemantle) and Dr. Jonathan Watt on a Study Tour of sites in Germany and Switzerland that help us remember the important work of Martin Luther and John Calvin during the Protestant Reformation! We will trace the life and ministry of Martin Luther in Germany by visiting key sites that relate to his contribution to the Reformation, and we’ll do the same thing in an optional extension to Switzerland that culminates with a visit to Calvin’s Geneva (yes the “other” Geneva!). The Germany and Switzerland Tour is hosted by Geneva College in cooperation with Pilgrim Tours.
Price per Person(based on double occupancy): $4,339* | Single Room Supplement $330
*Includes round-trip air from Pittsburgh
Switzerland Extension: $1,309 | Single Room Supplement $240
Reservation Due: January 31, 2025, Final Payment Due: March 14, 2025
Roundtrip air from Pittsburgh including current air taxes and fuel surcharges (taxes and fuel charges are subject to change), 7 or 10 nights lodging at 4 star hotels, Breakfast and dinner daily, Full time English speaking tour escort, Services of air conditioned deluxe motor coach, All guides, entrances, touring and transportation as appears on itinerary, Baggage handling at hotels (one piece), Tips to driver, guides, and hotel staff, Pilgrim Tours payment processing fee by check, Visa, Master Card, or Discover.
Not Included In Tour Price
All lunches, Optional travel insurance (7.95% or 10.85% of tour cost)
Willkommen in Deutschland! On arrival in Berlin we explore the Kaiser Wilhelm Church, the famous Brandenburg Gate, the Cathedral, view the Reichstag building and the lively boulevards, followed by visits to WW2 Topography of Terror Museum and Cold War Check Point Charlie Museum. We will then travel to Wittenberg where we will overnight for the next two nights.
May 21, 2025
This morning our local guide will take us on a tour of Lutherstadt Wittenberg. It was here in 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses and Melanchthon helped forge Reformation Theology. Here the Cranachs painted now famous portraits of Luther. We will view the Luther House Museum (closed for renovations) and visit the Augusteum where some of the exhibits are being displayed. We'll be able to view some of Luther's very own personal library, rare manuscripts, and early Bibles. The tour will also include Castle Church, Stadtkirche St. Marien (St. Mary's church) where Luther preached and where his children were baptized and the Luther Oak where he burned the edict from Rome, condemning him as a heretic. We will join the Wittenberg English Ministry for a worship service in the Town Church Chapel this afternoon.
May 22, 2025
After breakfast, we will travel to Erfurt, then have free time for lunch and a stroll around this delightful medieval town. Our local guide will then take us on a tour including St. Mary’s Cathedral, St. Severin’s Church and the famous Merchant’s Bridge. We will end at the Augustinian Monastery where Luther became a monk on July 17, 1505. We will be able to see his monastic quarters, including one cell furnished to look as it would have done when he lived there. At the end of the tour we will have a group worship service in the chapel. Overnight in Erfurt for two nights.
May 23, 2025
In 1521, while fleeing from the wrath of the Pope, Luther took refuge in the Wartburg Castle after a fake kidnapping staged by his friend and protector, Frederick the Wise. We will tour the Wartburg and see where Luther finished translating the New Testament into German in just 11 weeks. Luther spent time in the nearby town of Eisenach at as school boy and sang in the choir of St. George's Church, where the Bach family also worshiped. The afternoon we tour the Bach Museum and Luther House Museum. The bus will then take us back to Erfurt.
May 24, 2025
We travel to the Rhine River to enjoy a delightful and picturesque cruise from St. Goarshausen, past magnificent castles and the famous Loreley Rock to charming Rudesheim. We will then take a cable car over vineyards to the Germania Monument with a gorgeous Rhein view, followed by a tour at St. Hildegard Abbey. We have dinner and overnight in Rudesheim.
May 25, 2025
This morning we attend the worship service at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Worms (in German). Next our guide will take us to see the amazing Cathedral, followed by the site of Luther’s Worms Debates (Diet of Worms), now a park, with a plaque commemorating Luther’s brave stand of faith and truth. We’ll have a photo stop at the stunning Reformation Monument .We will then travel into France to visit Strasbourg, referred to as the “City of Hope” and “Refuge of the Righteous” by the Anabaptists. This is where John Calvin wrote his famous books on systematic theology and where Martin Bucer, another Reformation leader, helped bring in the Reformation. We will have a stroll around the city centre to view the Cathedral of Strasbourg, St. Thomas's Church, and charming “La Petite France” quarter.
May 26, 2025
This morning we'll tour the famous Cathedral and take a canal tour boat ride. The afternoon is free to explore on your own. We will spend a second overnight in Strasbourg.
May 27, 2025
We transfer to the Stuttgart airport for the flight home.
Optional 3 Day Extension:
May 27, 2025
Today we’ll have breakfast in France, lunch in Germany and dinner in Switzerland! In Constance, Germany we will pray on the spot where the pre-Reformer Jan Hus was martyred, see the Cathedral where the trial was held, and the prison site, which is now a deluxe hotel. Crossing over in Switzerland, we’ll meet up with our guide in Zurich, to learn about Zwingli and the Anabaptists on a tour of the key Reformation sites in Zurich. We’ll tour the Grossmünster, the Helferei (where Zwingli lived) and see the Zwingli Statue. After a stroll through the historic Auld Stadt (old city) we will dine in an authentic Swiss restaurant.
May 28, 2025
We will leave Zurich early and head high up to Grindelwald, nestled in the Swiss Alps. This is our fun Alps play day! Local leisure options that you can do on your own include bike rental, hiking, or the cogwheel railway up to Kleine Scheidigg and the Jungfrau Peak.
May 29, 2025
We will stop for coffee in medieval Murten, where we can walk atop the original city walls and explore another chapter of Swiss history. We then continue to Geneva, where Calvin, Knox, Farel and others brought Christ's teachings to eager listeners. Our tour will begin at the impressive Reformation Monument. Four statues of four Reformation leaders stand as sentinels to truth and courage inspired by godly faith. We will see Calvin’s church, the Auditoire de Calvin, (Calvin's Academy, also known as The Protestant Lecture Hall), where the inspired theologian himself taught. Next door is St. Pierre’s Cathedral, where John Calvin preached. We can see his chair and a restored section decorated as it would have been before Calvin. For the hardy, it's only 157 steps up to the top of the North Tower, where the view is worth the effort.
May 30, 2025
Transfer to the Geneva airport for the flight home.
Itinerary subject to change while touring for the best interest of the group.
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