Kirk in the Hills is pleased to announce our 2025 Pilgrimage to Germany and Switzerland, bothimportant countriesin our church’s Reformationhistory.
The pilgrimage will be led by Pastor Edwin Estevez and Rev. Dr. Chip Hardwick, transitional executiveof The Synod of the Covenant. Dr Hardwick will be lecturing on key Reformation speakersbefore we leave and assisting Pastor Edwin with daily devotions.
Please address all questions and inquiries to Ruth Reading at 248-875-1371 or.
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ITINERARY
Key:IF = In Flight Meals, B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner
Day 1: Wednesday, April 23, 2025: Depart
We will depart from the USA on our transatlantic overnight flights to Berlin. Pre-tour travel can be arranged through Reformation Tours, including a panoramic tour of Berlin’s cultural highlights. (IF)
Day 2: Thursday, April 24, 2025: Arrival in Berlin
When we arrive in Berlin, we will transfer to our hotel to check-in. Later in the day, we will begin our Pilgrimage with a visit to World War II sites in Berlin including the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, & the Topography of Terror. We will end the day with our welcome meal at the hotel. (IF/D) (1 night in Berlin)
Day 3: Friday, April 25, 2025: Wittenberg, Leipzig
After a relaxing breakfast, we will travel to Lutherstadt Wittenberg. It was here in 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses to the door of Castle Church (Schlosskirche). Although the original doors were destroyed in the Seven Years War, we can see Luther’s texts cast in bronze on the new doors. We will see St. Mary’s Church where Luther regularly preached and the Old Latin School next door. Luther’s former home, is now a Reformation Museum. We will continue on to Leipzig and dine in the famous Auerbachs Keller, a restaurant familiar to Luther and Goethe. (B/D) ( 3 nights in Leipzig)
Day 4: Saturday, April 26, 2025: Leipzig
We will begin our day at the Mendelsohn House. Our guided tour will include a chamber concert in the music salon. After some free time for lunch, we will visit the Bach House, with the option of attending the 3PM motet concert in St. Thomas, where Bach was cantor for 27 years. The afternoon will end at St. Nicholas Church, which was home to the “Prayers for Peace” in 1989, with thousands joining in candlelight prayers, leading to the fall of the infamous Berlin Wall. The evening is at leisure but concert tickets can be arranged. (B)
Day 5: Sunday, April 27, 2025: Dresden, Leipzig
On the way to Dresden, we will stop at Wackerbarth Castle for lunch and wine tasting. This Baroque palace and garden dates back to the early 1700s and serves one of the oldest sparkling wines in Europe. We will have an afternoon walking tour of Dresden, including magnificent palatial buildings around the Theaterplatz, the Zwinger Palace, Dresden Castle, Kreuzkirche, and the Brühl Terraces. At Evensong in the Frauenkirche, Germany’s largest Protestant Church. The Frauenkirche has now been fully restored after being damaged during WWII. J.S. Bach was the first to play on the Silberman organ when the church was originally built. During the service we will hear the Kern organ, which was constructed in 2005 in Strasbourg, to replace the destroyed original organ. We will return to Leipzig late afternoon. (B/L).
Day 6: Monday, April 28, 2025: Erfurt, Eisenach
We’ll drive to Erfurt and have free time for lunch. Our pilgrimage today will be on foot to view St. Mary’s Cathedral, St. Severin’s Church, and the famous Merchant’s Bridge. During our visit to the Augustinian Monastery where Luther became a monk on July 17, 1505, we will see his monastic quarters, including one cell furnished to look as it would have when he lived there. At the end of the day, we will have a group time in the chapel. We will check-in to our hotel in Eisenach and dine in our hotel. (B/D) (2 nights in Eisenach)
Day 7: Tuesday, April 29, 2025: Eisenach
While tensions flared between Luther and the Pope, Luther took refuge in the Wartburg Castle after a fake kidnapping staged by his friend and protector, Frederick the Wise. We will visit the Wartburg and see where Luther finished translating the New Testament into German in just eleven weeks. In the afternoon we will explore Eisenach, including the Luther House, where Luther lodged when he was a schoolboy in Eisenach as a schoolboy and chorister. We will also visit the Bach House, where we will hear a demonstration on period instruments, as well as St. George’s Church. In the evening we will have medieval-themed meal. (B/D)
Day 8: Wednesday, April 30, 2025: Nuremberg
Nuremberg is well known for its long tradition of toy manufacturing. Nuremberg was also the city where the Nazis held their party rallies in the 1930s, and the Documentation Center presents this history on the rally grounds where it occurred. We will see the court room where the trials took place. In the evening we will dine in a Bavarian-style restaurant. (B/D) (1 night in Nuremberg)
Day 9: Thursday, May 1, 2025: Dachau, Ettal
Our first stop this morning is a sobering visit to Dachau Concentration Camp. We will continue onto Ettal and settle into our hotel in this charming Bavarian village. Dinner tonight will be in theEttal Monasterybrewery restaurant. Ettal also has cheese tasting available and brewery tours. Vespers at 6 PM is open to visitors. (B/D) (1 night in Ettal)
Day 10: Friday, May 2, 2025: Zurich, Lucerne
Today’s drive will be through the scenic Alps, with stunning scenery. We will have a lunch break in Bregenz, a scenic Austrian town on the shore of Lake Constance. We will continue on to Zurich and have a tour of Reformation sites, such as the Grossmünster Cathedral, where Zwingli preached. We will end the day in Lucerne and dine in our hotel. This evening, we may enjoy a stroll in town to see the famous chapel bridge. (B/D) (1 night in Lucerne)
Day 11: Saturday, May 3, 2025: The Golden Pass Express, Geneva
There’s no better way to explore Switzerland than by train, so today will be spectacular. Our luggage will be taken to our hotel by bus, so we will be free to enjoy our train journey. We’ll first drive to Interlaken, passing the Sarnersee and Lungernsee lakes. We’ll board the train at 11:08 AM and arrive in Montreux at 2:45 PM. The scenery through the mountains is exceptional and we’ll have panoramic windows to enjoy the view. When we arrive in Montreux, we will have a tour of Chillon Castle, then check-in to our hotel in Geneva. (B/D) (2 nights in Geneva)
Day 12: Sunday, May 4, 2025: Geneva
Our day will begin at the impressive Reformation Monument. This wall was built to commemorate the 400thanniversary of Calvin’s birth. We then have the option to attend the morning service with the Church of Scotland in the Auditoire de Calvin. After free time for lunch, we will visit St. Pierre’s Cathedral, the archaeological site beneath the cathedral, and the Reformation Museum. We will enjoy a Farewell Meal in a Swiss restaurant this evening. (B/D)
Day 13: Monday, May 5, 2025: Geneva
We will transfer to Geneva Airport for our flights back to the USA.. (B/D)
Please note this itinerary is copyrighted.
HOTEL LIST:
VisitKirk in the Hills Pilgrimage (reformationtours.com)for hotel information.
REGISTRATION & PAYMENT INFORMATION
Price is $4,499, based on a minimum of 25 participants.
VisitKirk in the Hills Pilgrimage (reformationtours.com)for complete pricing and payment information.
