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| Learning how to play the alpenhorn. (2012) |
After much agonizing and discussion, we have finally chosen a tour for our 2014 trip to Europe. It is always difficult to select a tour. We always try to keep a few factors in mind when making our selection. The first consideration is always enjoyment. Is this a trip that our participants are going to enjoy? What kind of new experiences are they going to have on this trip? The second factor that we consider is price. The price of air travel has skyrocketed since I started doing these trips in 2006. This has especially affected those of us looking to get to Europe from the Left Coast. Because of this, we tend to look for trips that are at least ten days long. This really gives our travelers a little more value for their travel dollar. Of course, the cost of transportation also limits our geographic reach. We try to offset this by selecting tours that offer a variety of experiences. Travel, when done correctly, is an investment in the future life of the traveler. It should be a transformative experience that opens one up to even greater experiences and opportunities in life.
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| A summer day at 10,000 feet (Switzerland, 2012) |
So, which tour have we selected? Our tour for 2014 is called "Edelweiss" (a beautiful alpine flower). This 11-day excursion is centered around Austria, Bavaria, and Switzerland. We start off with three nights in Vienna, where we will tour the Schönbrunn Palace and learn the Vienese Waltz. Then we dart off to Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart, to tour a fortress high on a hill and a salt mine deep under the mountains. After our Austrian adventures we head for Munich, the capital of Bavaria, stopping along the way to tour "Mad" King Ludwig's grand palace in the middle of a lake. Our time in Munich also includes a tour of Nymphenburg Palace (the summer palace of the Wittelsbachs) and the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. On the way to our final stop in Switzerland we will visit Neuschwanstein, Ludwig's most famous fairy-tale castle. We end our tour in the beautiful village of Engelberg, high up in the Swiss Alps.
Visit the trip site for more details:
Click Here for Trip Site
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