Bonhoeffer Tour : Advent 2007

Advent in Eastern Germany
Bonhoeffer’s Berlin
Berlin-Cottbus-Görlitz-Dresden-Chemnitz
Nov. 26–Dec. 5, 2007
St. Johns Lutheran Church, Madison, Wisconsin USA

ITINERARY
Monday November 26 Day 1: Departure Madison-Chicago-Munich-Berlin
We begin our journey traveling to O’Hare International Airport by taking the 11am Coach USA bus
from Rockford which brings us to O’Hare’s Terminal 1 at 12:30pm. There we check our luggage
through to Berlin (TXL); go through security and to the gate for a 2:45pm departure on Lufthansa
flight 435. The overnight flight is scheduled to take about eight and one-half hours. D-B airline meals
Tuesday November 27, Day 2: Berlin
On arrival—6:10am—at Munich’s International Airport we will change planes to Lufthansa flight 214
which departs at 8am. Arriving at Berlin’s Tegel International Airport--9:10am--we collect our luggage
and there are met by Simone Mihlan. We will go by taxi to our Berlin headquarters where we leave
our luggage. Our hosts are Isolde and Jan Schwarz, the owners of family Hotel D.O.M.I.C.I.L in the
heart of West Berlin. At 11:30am we have an hour-long historical and sight-seeing boat cruise on the
Spree River past such capital landmarks as the Reichstag, Museum Island, and The Berlin Cathedral.
We can visit one of the nearby 70 Christkindlemarkets in Berlin before returning to finish our check-in
at the hotel. Free time to explore this exciting capital of the German Federal Republic.
Hotel D.O.M.I.C.I.L B
Wednesday November 28, Day 3: Berlin-Bonhoeffer Program
This day in Berlin will be specifically devoted to Dietrich Bonhoeffer. We start with a guided overview
bus tour of Bonhoeffer-specific sites guided by Knut Hämmerling of the Bonhoeffer-House Memorial
and Place of Encounter in Charlottenburg. We will visit the Bonhoeffer House museum Marienburger
Alee 43, and time permitting a selection of pertinent Bonhoeffer sites and memorials such as the Berlin
State Archives with St. Matthew Church nearby, Tegel Prison, the 20th of July Memorial (Abwehr
nearby), Wannsee Conference and the Plotzensee Memorial. Mr. Hämmerling can give us additional
information on other Bonhoeffer itineraries for our free time on Thursday. Our evening is free to
discover more of what Berlin offers--revues, the cabaret scene; opera, art exhibitions, or a concert.
Hotel D.O.M.I.C.I.L B
Thursday November 29, Day 4: Berlin-Cottbus
We have over half a day to explore Berlin’s blend of old and new on our own. The city is easily
navigated by a network of bus, S-Bahn and U-Bahn. At 3:30pm we will taxi from the hotel with our
luggage to the Bahnhof Zoological Garten for our train journey on the Bahn R2 which departs Berlin
Zoo at 4:04 pm to Cottbus in the Sorbian Spreewald. Following our 5:46pm arrival, in Cottbus we will
take a short taxi ride from the train station to our centrally-located Hotel SORAT. After check in we
will have Abendessen at the family restaurant Kartoffelkiste. Thursday is also the opening evening of
the Cottbus Christkindlemarkets at the Church Square next to our hotel. SORAT Hotel B-D
Friday November 30 Day 5: Cottbus-Spreewald
Our guide will give us a city tour of Cottbus. We will go by bus through the Spreewald for a punt boat
ride on the Spree canals at 11:30am—an experience relished by vacationing Berliners. Our lunch could
possibly be at a typical Spreewald family restaurant. The remainder of the afternoon will be exploring
the Spreewald at leisure with a possible visit to the Sorbisch Museum in Cottbus on our return. Our
evening is free to explore Cottbus. The Staatstheater Cottbus has a Friday evening performance of La
Boheme, at 7:30pm. and the town is easily explored inside the city walls directly from our hotel.
SORAT Hotel B
Saturday December 1, Day 6: Cottbus-Görlitz–Kloster Marienthal, Ostritz- Zgorzelec
After a hotel breakfast in Cottbus, we journey by private coach through the Sorbisch region--Lausitz to
Görlitz. The town of Görlitz was divided into two—Germany’s Görlitz and Poland’s Zgorzelec after
the 2nd World War when German territories east of the Oder-Neisse line became part of Poland.
Today Görlitz, a trade center since Medieval Times, is a lively cultural crossroads of the lower Lausitz
as well as home to some of the best representations of Jugend Stil architecture in Europe. We stop in
the village of Ostritz and visit the Cistercian Abbey St. Marienthal Cloister. Our tour outlines the
struggle and contributions of the cloister in Christian history over the past eight centuries—in this last
century under two dictatorships; 12 years of National Socialism and 45 years of Socialism. We will
participate in the 11:30am prayer service. Following lunch in the Abbey’s Klosterschenke we can tour
the bakery and bookstore at leisure and experience more of the everyday life of the Abbey. In addition
to being an educational institute and meeting center, it serves handicapped people of the region. Time
permitting we may visit the Unity Protestant Brother’s Herrenhut and learn of their global work. After
our programming in the Lausitz we are scheduled for a walking tour of Görlitz which includes the Art
Nouveau shopping arcade. Our dinner at 7pm is at the Restaurant Dreiadenmuehle. across the Neisse
River in Zgorzelec, Poland This is one of the more heavily controlled border crossings remaining in
Europe and we will need our passports as we cross the bridge. SORAT Hotel B-L-D
Sunday December 2, Day 7: Görlitz-Dresden (First Sunday in Advent)
After breakfast we travel through the Lausitz region of Saxony and to the Florence of the Elbe,
Dresden. The capital of Saxony, this city of 500,000 is not only music, art and spiritual hub of Saxony,
but a prime business venue in the global marketplace. Dresden is the leader of German biotechnology
and headquarters of Volkswagen, BMW, and Porsche, AMD and Infineon, and GlaxoSmithKline.
Known for its Baroque architecture, the rebuilt Frauenkirche is the city’s symbol of rebirth following
the devastating 1945 Allied firebombing. We hope to celebrate the First Sunday in Advent at a worship
service at there. After church, we can explore Dresden’s Old Town. Our Hotel Steigenberger
Parkhotel Dresden-Radebeul is located just north of the city center of Dresden in the foothills of
Saxony’s vineyard region. B-D
Monday December 3, Day 8: Dresden-Chemnitz-Erzgebirge-Stracoland-Lichtenstein
Following breakfast we journey by bus to the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountain) region and experience the
magic of the holiday season at an artisan wood working center, Stracoland in the village of
Colmnitz/Sachsen. It features the woodworking traditions passed down in the same families since the
work in the silver mines ceased. After lunch at Stracoland we go to Chemnitz where our guide, Mrs.
Otto, will show us the unique Daetz Center in the village of Lichtenstein. Steigenberger Parkhotel
Dresden-Radebeul B-S
Tuesday December 4 Day 9: Dresden-Chemnitz
After breakfast we depart for Chemnitz, (Karl Marx Stadt) a vibrant city of art and commerce and a
special visit to the Sächsische Industriemuseum. The exhibits highlight Saxony’s contributions to
European and world manufacturing/commerce. A special lunch at the Chemnitz City Hall Ratskeller
has been prepared. At 2:30pm we begin a guided city tour of Chemnitz including the monument of
Karl Marx, the Chemnitz Christkindlemarket, and other important Chemnitz sites and attractions. The
art museum, Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, is featuring a current exhibit of 200 of Bob Dylan’s
paintings. We return to Radebeul/Dresden and our hotel. Steigenberger Parkhotel Dresden-
Radebeul B-L
Wednesday December 5, Day 10 Dresden-Frankfurt-Chicago-Madison
Breakfast and a morning at leisure to further explore Dresden and the region, pack and prepare for the
journey home. We will depart our hotel at noon by private coach for the Dresden Airport and our
1:40pm Lufthansa flight, Dresden to Frankfurt. Those going to Prague can take the S-Bahn from the
airport to the Dresden Haupbahnhof. Our overseas flight is Lufthansa 432 departing Frankfurt at
5:15pm. We are scheduled to arrive in Chicago O’Hare’s International Terminal at 7:55pm. After
passport control we will get our luggage off the carrousel, clear customs, and locate our Coach USA
bus to Rockford outside the terminal at the far right traffic island. B-airline meals

HOTELS
Accomodations and contact information
BERLIN: Tuesday and Wednesday Nov. 27-28 Berlin
Hotel D.O.M.I.C.I.L
Kantstrasse 111 A
10627 Berlin, Germany
��+011 49 30 32903 - 0
www.hotel-domicil-berlin.de
Cottbus-Spreewald: Thursday and Friday Nov. 29-30
SORAT Hotel Cottbus
Schloßkirchplatz 2
03046 Cottbus, Germany
��+01149 355 78440
www.sorat-hotels.com
Görlitz: Saturday Nov. 30
SORAT Hotel Goerlitz
Struvestrasse 1
02826 Görlitz, Germany
��+011 49 3581 406579
www.sorat-hotels.com
Dresden: Sunday-Wednesday Dec 2-5
Steigenberger Parkhotel Dresden-Radebeul
Nizzasstrasse 55
��01445 Dresden/Radebeul, Germany
��+011 49 351 83 21 0
www.parkhotel-dresden.steigenberger.de

EMERGENCY CONTACTS:
Simone Mihlan
Spreewald - Touristik e.K.
Parzellenstrasse 81
03046 Cottbus mobile ��0173 - 37 82 580
Heid, Brixner, Lumper GbR
Touristbüro i-vent
Obermarkt 33
02826 Görlitz
��49 173 579 55 46
+49(0) 3581 421362
+49(0) 3581 421365
info@i-vent-online.de
www.goerlitz-tourismus.de

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I John 4:11: Since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.