DAY    1            DEPARTURE FROM NORTH AMERICA
Enjoy full meal service on your scheduled wide-bodied flight to Berlin.

DAY    2            ARRIVE BERLIN (6 NIGHTS)
We will be met at the airport by our tour manager/guide and transfer into the historic and modern capital city of Berlin. This afternoon we will take a Walking Tour of Breitscheidplatz and Ku' Damm, the center of the former West Berlin. The Ku' Damm is Berlin's showcase boulevard, renowned for its great cafes visited by famous writers, directors and painters. During our walk, we will see the Kantdreieck, a building containing only right angles, the Judisches Gemeindehaus, Fasanenstrasse, the Theater des Westens, the Ludwig-Erhard Haus, and the spectacular Europa Center. At the conclusion of our walk, we will visit the Kaiser-Wilhelm Gedachtniskirche (Memorial Church), where you will see the destructive power of war. The church was damaged heavily during WWII and has been left in its damaged state as a reminder of war and its consequences.

DAY    3            BERLIN (EAST BERLIN: A NEW FREEDOM)
Our morning commences with a visit to the Reichstag, a building destroyed by the Allies in WWII, which today is again the home of the country's parliament. The building still evokes the neo-Renaissance style it had when it opened in 1894, though a new glass dome designed by Sir Norman Foster crowns the modern version. We will go through the west gate for an Elevator Ride up to the dome, where a sweeping vista of Berlin opens before us on the Observation Platform. We continue to Brandenburg Gate, a triumphal arch, which stood in no man's land between East and West Berlin during the Cold War and became a symbol of a divided Germany. We will enter the Room of Silence, built into one of the guardhouses, where visitors gather to meditate and reflect on Germany's past, before continuing with a Walking Tour down the famous Unter den Linden, one of Berlin's most fashionable and important boulevards. Along the walk we will view the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek, the Equestrian Statue of Frederick the Great, Humboldt-Universitat and the Deutsche Staatsoper, before stopping for a visit to the Neue Wache, a monument to victims of Militarism and Fascism. The building houses the mortal remains of the Unknown Soldier from the battlefields and of an unknown prisoner from a concentration camp. This afternoon we visit the Pergamon Museum, where we will focus on the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, housed in the north and east wings of the museum. We will enter the central hall to view the Pergamon Altar (180-160 b.c.), which is so large that it has a huge room all to itself, and some 27 steps lead from the museum floor up to the colonnade. We will conclude the day with a visit to the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral), a modern cathedral destroyed during WWII, but fully restored to its original beauty.

DAY    4            DAY TRIP TO POTSDAM
This morning we will journey just outside of Berlin to Potsdam, home to the famous World War II conference. We will spend the morning in Sanssouci Park and Palace, occupying an area of 287-hectacres. We will begin with a visit to the Schloss Sanssouci, where we will enter via the unforgettable steps surrounded by impeccable landscaping. Upon entry we will view the Bedchamber and Study of Frederick the Great and the Hall of Marble. We will continue with a walk past the Neue Kammern and the Orangerie, en route to our next visit, the Neues Palais, ordered by Frederick the Great. Our visit will include the Palace, the Grotto, and the Theater. We continue past Schloss Charlottenhof and the Romische Bader to the magnificent Chinesisches Teehaus, a circular pavilion decorated with gilded statues. Our afternoon concludes with a visit to the Bilbergalerie, the first purpose-built gallery in Germany. Today it houses a collection of Baroque paintings once owned by Frederick the Great, including works by Caravaggio, Reni, van Dyck and Rubens. After a bit of free time to explore or shop in Potsdam, we will return to our hotel in Berlin. This evening we will explore and dine in the historic Nikolaiviertel, restored in time for the city's 750th anniversary, located on the banks of the Spree River. This is where Berlin was born, and many of the medieval and baroque buildings in the neighborhood were completely and authentically reconstructed after World War II.

DAY    5            BERLIN (THE TREASURES OF BERLIN)
This morning we visit Schloss Charlottenburg, one of the finest examples of baroque architecture in Germany. Built by Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Friedrich I, the residence was begun as a summer palace, but eventually grew into the massive structure we will view today. Our visit will include the Historical Apartments, including the apartments of Friedrich and his "philosopher queen," the Reception Chamber, decorated with frieze panels, vaulted ceilings, and mirror-paneled niches, and the Porcelain Chamber, containing a fine collection of Chinese porcelain. We will also visit the new wing, known as the Knobelsdorff-Flügel, which contains the apartments of Friedrich the Great. We will have a bit of free time to wander and explore the extensive Royal Park, including the French style Baroque garden, before continuing to the Tiergarten, the largest green space in central Berlin, with more than 14 miles of meandering walkways, canals, ponds, and flowerbeds. Among the park's monuments we will view is the Victory Column, a golden goddess of victory perched atop a soaring red-granite pedestal. Those that choose can climb the 290-step spiral staircase to the 157-ft. Observation Platform. We conclude the day with a visit to the Gemäldegalerie (Picture Gallery), one of Germany's finest art museums. Several rooms are devoted to early German masters, including the Dürer collection, as well as many of the great European masters including Raphael, Titian, Botticelli, Correggio, van Eyck, Bosch, Brueghel, and Rembrandt.

DAY    6            DAY TRIP TO LUTHERSTADT WITTENBERG
Today we will journey south of the city into the Saxony-Anhalt region of Germany, where we will explore Lutherstadt Wittenberg, the capital of the Reformation. This small town was named after its most famous resident, Martin Luther, and enjoys a scenic position on the banks of the Elbe River. We will begin with a Walking Tour, which will highlight many of the important buildings and landmarks of the town, including Schloss Wittenberg built for Frederick the Wise, the Rathaus, Cranachaus, residence of the great painters Lucas Cranach the Elder and Younger, and Melanchtonhaus, home of Luther's greatest ally. During our walk we will also visit Schlosskirche, where Luther posted his thesis in 1517, Marienkirche, where Luther preached and married, and Lutherhalle, a museum dedicated to Luther and Cranach. This afternoon we return to Berlin.

DAY    7            BERLIN (MEMORIES OF WAR & DIVISION)
We will begin our morning with a visit to Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie, where we will view parts of the Berlin Wall, as well as an illustrated history of the Berlin Wall, and the division it caused in the city and in Germany. We will continue with a visit to the Topographie des Terrors, a shocking exhibition detailing Nazi crimes, housed within the former Gestapo and SS headquarters. Our afternoon will conclude with a visit to the Judisches Museum, housed in an imaginative display of modern architecture, which itself conveys something of the tragic history of the millions of Jews who lost their lives in the Holocaust. The collection focuses on Jewish history and art, as well as everyday life of Berlin's Jewish population.

DAY    8            DEPARTURE FROM BERLIN
Our enjoyable and rewarding trip will come to an end as our guide accompanies us to the airport for the return flight home.