CHRISTMASTIME IN BERLIN & EASTERN EUROPE - 2009

10 days incl. travel, or 9 days from Berlin to Vienna (XU)

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Vacation Overview

Visit Berlin as well as the popular cities of Prague, Budapest, and Vienna. Enjoy 2-night stays in each city, where sightseeing with a Local Guide is included. In Berlin, take pictures of Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church with its bomb-damaged tower and drive by Checkpoint Charlie. Also visit Prague's Hradcany Castle grounds and St. Vitus Cathedral, Budapest's Matthias Coronation Church, and Vienna's St. Stephen’s Cathedral. En route stops are also made in Dresden, once belonging to the “other part" of Germany, and Bratislava, capital of Slovakia. There’s time to enjoy the Christmas markets and festive atmosphere in each city.

Special Departure:
December 20 - Christmas Eve in Prague

Things to see on your vacation: View Vacation Photo Slideshow

A Vacation Story Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

"During World War II, Americans soldiers in occupied Germany got a booklet called the “Pocket Guide to Germany” that explained the ins and outs of occupation. In 1944, it read: “Don’t forget that you’re ordered into Germany now partly because your fathers forgot so soon what the war was about last time.” The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin’s Charlottenburg district is the eternal reminder. It was an unremarkable late 19th Century church until the allies bombed it in 1943. After the war, Berliners protested plans to demolish it. Today, the ruins are a symbol of what Germany lost by letting itself be seduced by Nazism. They could have roped it off and slapped a plaque on it. Instead, they left it open, free to the city. You can walk through it, under it, look up at the shattered bell tower."