Alpine Interlude Including Passion Play

Day 1: Arrive Zurich
A transfer is included from Zurich Airport to the Hotel Schweizerhof Zurich. With its splendid views of the Swiss Alps, Zurich is the perfect place to begin your 12-day Alpine Interlude – Including The Passion Play. Please join us this evening for our welcome reception and dinner, where you’ll meet your Tauck Director and your fellow travelers.
Meals: Dinner
Lodging: Hotel Schweizerhof Zurich, Switzerland

Day 2: Toward the Swiss Alps
Journey to Berne, Switzerland’s charming capital city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this morning. Discover the highlights of Berne with your Tauck Director before enjoying lunch at a 17-century Gasthof with great views of such peaks as the Mönch, Eiger and Jungfrau. Your Alps and Passion Play tour continues to Interlaken for a two-night stay at the Victoria Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa, one of Europe’s most famous "grand" hotels offering stunning vistas of the Swiss Alps.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Lodging: Victoria Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa, Interlaken, Switzerland

Day 3: A day of high adventure in the Swiss Alps
After a scenic drive to Grindelwald this morning, board a cogwheel train and climb to Klein Scheidegg; take a minute to admire the incredible views as you change trains, and continue your upward journey to the highest railway station in Europe at the Jungfraujoch, reaching an altitude of 10,500 feet. Here at “the top of Europe,” the spectacular views of the surrounding Swiss Alps will take your breath away. Then descend through beautiful alpine meadows to the village of Lauterbrunnen; return to Interlaken to spend the rest of the day and evening as you please.
Meals: Breakfast, dinner
Lodging: Victoria Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa, Interlaken, Switzerland

Day 4: Lovely little Liechtenstein to Bavaria
Spectacular scenery abounds as you travel from the Swiss Alps through the heart of Switzerland from Interlaken to Liechtenstein. Set amidst the Alps, the tiny Principality of Liechtenstein has much to offer. You’ll have some free time in the capital city, Vaduz, to make your own discoveries. Continue on through the Austrian Alps and into southern Germany. Arrive in the Bavarian town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen for a two-night stay at a hotel that’s been family-owned for nearly 500 years – and get set for tomorrow’s performance of Oberammergau’s legendary Passion Play!
Meals: Breakfast, dinner
Lodging: Hotel Obermuehle, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

Day 5: Oberammergau – Passion Play- in Tauck's premier seats
Today, Tauck’s alpine odyssey takes you to the Bavarian village of Oberammergau to attend one of Europe’s most beloved and venerable traditions – a performance of the 2010 Oberammergau Passion Play, or Passionsspiele, depicting the Passion of Christ. In the 1630s, the people of Oberammergau vowed to perform a play about the life of Jesus every ten years if they were spared from the devastating plague then sweeping across Europe... and they kept their promise. First produced in 1634, the Passion Play now involves the talents of over 2,000 actors, musicians and technicians – all of them Oberammergau residents – and includes dramatic scenes of the Passion (in German), as well as musical performances and tableaux vivants of Old Testament scenes. Enjoy Tauck’s premier seating – in the best category available – for the Passion Play performance, which begins in the afternoon, and continues into the evening after a break for dinner. An English libretto is provided to enhance your enjoyment of this once-in-a-lifetime experience!
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Hotel Obermuehle, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

Day 6:Inspiring Innsbruck
Your Alps and Passion Play travel experience continues to Innsbruck today, twice the host city for the Winter Olympics. Discover the Gothic Old Town, one of the most beautiful medieval city centers in Austria, and impressive imperial architecture that dates back to Innsbruck's days as the capital of late 15th-century Habsburg Emperor Maximilian I. Arrive in Strassen late afternoon for a two-night stay.
Meals: Breakfast, dinner
Lodging: Hotel Strasserwirt, Strassen, Austria

Day 7:Trans-border adventures
Part of the Alps, the Dolomites span Austria and Italy, and your travels today take you back and forth across the border many times. Inspiring mountain vistas and peaceful pastoral scenes await around every bend. Board a cable car to take in absolutely awe-inspiring alpine vistas.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Hotel Strasserwirt, Strassen, Austria

Day 8:One of the world's most scenic roads
This is what you’ve come to the Austrian, Italian and Swiss Alps to experience – a seemingly endless panorama of towering alpine peaks and mighty glaciers. Opened in 1935, Austria's Grossglockner-Hochalpenstrasse (High Alpine Road) paved the way to one of the most impressive and incomparable natural experiences on earth. The road takes you up and up and up into the most spectacular alpine scenery you could possibly imagine. From the highest point, you’ll be able to see 37 mountains higher than 9,000 feet and 19 amazing glaciers. Have lunch in Zell am See and continue on to Salzburg for a two-night stay.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Hotel Goldener Hirsch, Salzburg, Austria

Day 9: Splendid Salzburg
The Old Town of Salzburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the best-preserved city centers in the German-speaking world. A walking tour this morning reveals its Baroque charms; perhaps you’ll recognize some of the locations used in filming The Sound of Music. A visit to the birthplace of musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is an inspiring experience for Mozart fans. This evening, attend a classical music concert at Mirabell Palace and let your spirit soar as extraordinary music fills the air.
Meals: Breakfast
Lodging: Hotel Goldener Hirsch, Salzburg, Austria

Day 10: Take a first-class rail journey to visit Vienna
Feel free to hum a few of your favorite waltzes during a scenic first-class train trip from Salzburg to Vienna. Upon arrival, pause to enjoy coffee and cake at one of Sigmund Freud’s favorite cafés before exploring a bit of this glittering city on foot during a guided walking tour en route to the Hotel Imperial, your home for the next two nights. The rest of the afternoon is free to discover Vienna as you please.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Lodging: Hotel Imperial, Vienna, Austria

Day 11: Vibrant Vienna
A city tour this morning showcases the treasures of this former center of the old Habsburg Empire – today the capital of Austria – including its marvelous Baroque and Art Nouveau architecture and the famous Ringstrasse. Later, visit the extraordinary Stift Klosterneuburg, a monastery founded in 1114 by Leopold III, who eventually became the patron saint of Austria. Your tour will take you through the monastery church, with its numerous frescoes, and the medieval cloisters which house the Verdun Altar, a masterpiece of craftsmanship. Finally, taste some of the wines for which the monastery has been famous for 900 years. Return to Vienna and enjoy some time at leisure before joining us for a farewell reception and dinner, where your alpine and Passion Play experience concludes.
Meals: Breakfast, dinner
Lodging: Hotel Imperial, Vienna, Austria

Day 12: Depart Vienna
Tour ends: Vienna, Austria. Fly home anytime; your Alpine Interlude – Including The Passion Play in the Austrian, Italian, Bavarian and Swiss Alps ends with an included transfer from the Hotel Imperial to Vienna International Airport. Please allow a minimum of 2 1/2 hours for airport check-in formalities.
Meals: Breakfast

Don't miss our current specials: Special Air Savings - Learn More Hurry! Air Savings End March 26! Special International Air Savings – Europe Book and deposit summertime departures of the following Tauck journeys to Europe by March 26, 2010 and save $2,000 per couple off Business Class Air ($1,000 off per person) from select U.S. cities. Savings are valid for travel between June 29 and September 5, 2010, subject to availability: •Treasures of the Aegean – 14 days with a 7-night cruise aboard Wind Star / Wind Spirit •Sicily, the Amalfi Coast & Rome – 11 days with a 7-night cruise aboard Le Ponant •Switzerland – 11 days featuring travel along Tauck’s scenic Yellow Roads •Italian Lakes, Venice, Florence & Rome – 10 days in Italy with all multiple-night stays •Paradors of Northern Spain – 14 days exploring culturally rich Iberia •The Best of Ireland – 13 days featuring iconic cultural treasures of the Emerald Isle •A Week In… Ireland – 8 days with a 2-night stay at Dromoland Castle •A Week In… Spain – 8 days from Barcelona to Andalucía, Seville and Madrid •A Week In… Scotland – 8 days with 2- and 3-night stays in Loch Lomond, Inverness & Edinburgh •Spain and Portugal – 14 days of Iberian pleasures and culinary treasures •Normandy, Brittany, Paris & the Loire Valley – 13 days showcasing joie de vivre •A Week In… London & Paris – 4 nights at a grand hotel in London and 3 nights in Paree •Castles & Kings: London to Paris – An 8-day family vacation alive with royal traditions Deposit must be paid at time of booking and certain restrictions apply. Valid on new bookings only and not combinable with other promotions; ask for details. Tauck Tour Deals Traveling with a group of friends or family can add to the joy of any journey. Book a group of 10 on any Tauck land journey or cruise and the 11th guest travels FREE. Book a group of 8 on any Tauck Bridges family adventure and the 9th guest travels FREE Tauck Single Specials For those seeking singles tours, we are pleased to offer special values on select departures to our guests who choose to travel solo. You can travel with peace of mind, knowing that you are among like-minded travelers and will have all the day-to-day details handled for you! While everyone is welcome, on these select dates we offer special arrangements to those traveling solo at a reduced cost. Tauck Single Specials in North America Best of the Canadian Rockies Michigan's Lakes & Mackinac Island Charleston/Savannah Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia San Fransisco, Sonoma & Napa Valleys Tauck Single Specials in Europe A Week in Ireland A Week in Spain Mediterranean Discovery Istanbul and the Black Sea Treasure of the Mediterranean Cruising Mediterranean Shores The Blue Danube Holland Belgium in Spring Strasbourg to Prague Serenade The Rhine and Moselle Budapest to Amsterdam by Riverboat Budapest to the Black Sea Classic Italy Bellissima Northern Italy Italian Lakes, Venice, Florence and Rome A Week in Paris and Provence Tauck Singles Specials in Latin America Panama Canal & Costa Rica
Touring Date	Land Only	Land + Air	Single (Land Only)	Single (Land + Air)
5/30/2010 - 6/10/2010	$5,690
7/16/2010 - 7/27/2010	$5,690
7/25/2010 - 8/5/2010	$5,690
8/8/2010 - 8/19/2010	$5,690
Airfare Disclaimer A NOTE ABOUT AIRFARE: We encourage you to buy your airfare from the tour operator, because if your tour cancels then your airlines tickets will be covered. Purchasing flights separately at a lesser rate and incorporating it with a Non-Guaranteed Departure Date can result in loss of total cost of your flight investment. Depending on the fare rules, flights may be Non-Refundable and/or Non-Transferable. Neither the tour operator and/or Atlas Cruises & Tours will be held responsible for loss if a tour is cancelled for Lack of Participation. If you would like to check for discounted fares on Guaranteed Departures or for competitive pricing on air and hotel packages, we invite you to follow this link. Documents TRAVEL DOCUMENTS: Necessary Travel Documents such as Passports and Visas is the responsibility of the traveler. Passports must be valid six months from your return travel date.

The Passion Play

Swiss Alps

Train ride to Klein Scheidegg

Innsbruck

Itinerary Changes and Price Flexibility – Tauck pledges to make every effort to operate your tour as advertised. Tauck reserves the right to alter or curtail the itinerary, or substitute sightseeing, hotels, and/or conveyances as deemed necessary. Any savings realized by these changes will be refunded to you. Any resultant added expense will be covered by Tauck. Although not expected, prices on this website may be modified due to unexpected significant external factors not forecast at the time of printing.

Holidays and Museum Closures – Museum visits and personal shopping time may be disrupted due to unforeseen circumstances or the many religious, state and local holidays locally observed.

Personal Expenses - Phone calls, room service, alcoholic and bar beverages, mineral waters and soft drinks, laundry, airline excess luggage charges, vaccinations, visa fees and services, individual airport transfers, and other optional or incidental extras are not included and may be significant.

Tauck Director and Driver Gratuities -
The customary gratuities to the Tauck Director and driver are not included. Gratuities should be extended on a voluntary, individual basis and not as a group.

To reserve your space, a $700 per person deposit is required at time of booking.

Your deposit is a worry-free investment! To protect your reservation, we advise purchasing our Guest Protection Plan (GPP) to have all pre-existing conditions waived. When these journeys featuring Oberammergau are finalized and priced, you will receive an updated summary of purchase. You will then have two weeks to contact Tauck if you have to cancel; at that time, you will receive a full reimbursement of your total deposit paid as well as the cost of the GPP.

Guest Protection Plan (GPP): $520 per person

Cancellation Fee Waiver (CFW): $400 per person

Cancellation Penalties:

Guests with Guest Protection Plan or Cancellation Fee Waiver: Guests choosing to purchase Tauck’s Guest Protection Plan or Cancellation Fee Waiver (CFW) will incur cancellation penalties per person as follows: Loss of GPP or CFW per person

Guests without GPP or CFW: Guests choosing not to purchase Tauck’s Guest Protection (or Cancellation Fee Waiver/CFW) will incur cancellation penalties per person as follows:

60 days or more before departure $700 per person

59-30 days before departure $925 per person

29-1 days before departure $1,500 per person

The last time the Passion Play was performed, in the year 2000, Tauck’s journeys filled very quickly! Don’t delay in making your reservation early to guarantee your preferred departure date – book today.

Please note – itineraries and dates are subject to change until finalized.

Special Air Savings - Learn More

Tauck Tour Deals

Tauck Single Specials

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