• Airport transfers in Frankfurt if World One issues the tickets.

• Services of a professional tour director

• Hotels listed below or equivalent.. Twin-bedded rooms with private bath or shower, hotel taxes, service charges, and tips for  baggage  handling

• Welcome drink; 13 buffet breakfasts (BB); 10 three-course dinners (D)

• Private deluxe motorcoach featuring full air-conditioning, extra leg room, and emergency washroom;  Rhine River cruise; Hamburg harbor cruise

• Sightseeing with local guides: Hamburg, Berlin, Dresden, Weimar, Wartburg Castle, Munich, Heidelberg Castle

• Visits to Remagen, Cologne, Bremen, Celle, Hannover's Herrenhausen Gardens, Leipzig, Erfurt, Wurzburg, Rothenburg, Nuremberg, Lindau, Freiburg

• Scenic highlights: Luneburg Heath, Romantic Road, German Alpine Road, Black Forest

• Inside visits as shown in UPPERCASE in the tour description, including admission charges where applicable 

• Travel bag and travel documents

Day 2, Sat. ARRIVAL IN FRANKFURT, GERMANY. Time to rest or to explore the bustling metropolis on the River Main. Its beautifully restored Romerberg Square is well worth a visit. At 6 p.m, meet your traveling companions for a pre-dinner welcome drink hosted by your tour director. (D)

Day 3, Sun. FRANKFURT-COLOGNE. 'A special treat at the very start of your journey through Germany. Near Rudesheirn board an excursion steamer and cruise for more than one hour along the most scenic section of the Rhine River: castle-crested hills, terraced vineyards, pretty wine towns, and finally the Lorelei cliff. Disembark and drive to the ruins of the bridge in Remagen where American troops breached Hitler's West Wall. Spend the afternoon in Cologne with plenty of time to visit the awesome GOTHIC CATHEDRAL. Its twin 515-foot towers, five naves, and splendid stained-glass windows are eloquent testimony to the quality of medieval engineering and craftsmanship. Also included, the shrine of the Three Holy Kings. (BB,D)

Day 4, Mon. COLOGNE-HAMBURG. Glimpses of the "forge of Germany," the heavily industrialized Ruhr area. Lunchtime arrival in fascinating Bremen, for a leisurely afternoon visit. Take a stroll in the Market Square with its fine medieval buildings testifying to Bremen's importance at the time of the Hanseatic League. Admire the grand Market Square with its giant statue of Roland, and the Gothic Town Hall. A bronze statue here prompts your tour director to recount the popular Grimm Brothers' tale of The Animal Musicians of Bremen Time afterwards to explore Boettcher Street, the lively hub of the city. Then two nights in Hamburg. (BB,D)

Day 6, Wed. HAMBURG-BERLIN. Leisurely drive through the prettiest part of the Luneburg Heath around Wilseder Berg, then a break in Celle to admire its beautifully preserved, half-timbered houses. Reach Hannover at lunchtime and look forward to a stroll through the most attractive part of Princess Sophia's lavish 17th-century HERRENHAUSEN GARDENS. After lunch an easy ride on the comfortable highway to Berlin, the capital of reunified Germany. (BB,D)

Day 7, Thu. BERLIN. Guided sightseeing in the once-divided metropolis includes the elegant Ku-Damm with the bomb-damaged tower of Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, the Reichstag, monumental Brandenburg Gate, Charlottenburg Palace, and the 210-foot Victory Column in the vast Tiergarten Park. Drive along Unter den Linden Boulevard and past the German State Opera House. Then visit the famous PERGAMON MUSEUM, housing one of Europe's most precious collections of art treasures. The afternoon is free, and an optional excursion to historic Potsdam is available. Tonight is your chance to sample Berlin's in restaurants and night life! (BB)

Day 8, Fri. BERLIN-DRESDEN. South through what used to be the "other" Germany to Leipzig, an important center since the Middle Ages. See the THOMASKIRCHE where J.S. Bach worked, and the Market Square with its fine Renaissance buildings. Then spend an afternoon in Dresden, the former capital of Saxony on the Elbe River. Badly damaged by Allied bombing in February 1945, the city has since been restored to its Baroque splendor. Your local guide explains Dresden's associations with Friedrich Schiller and Richard Wagner, and the magnificent architecture of the Semper Opera and Zwinger Palace. Then admire a dazzling PORCELAIN COLLECTION and GREEN VAULT, August the Strong's famous treasury. (BB,D)

Day 9, Sat. DRESDEN-ERFURT. Morning drive to Weimar for a walking tour with a local expert. Hear about the giants of German literature as you visit SCHILLERS HOUSE and stand in front of Goethe's residence. Next is HERDER CHURCH with its wonderful painted sermons. The afternoon is dedicated to Erfurt, where the fine Gothic and Renaissance buildings bring back the days of the Dominican Master Eckhart, and Martin Luther who spent his student days here before embarking on his journey to Wittenberg. Marvel at the medieval Kramer Bridge, on which 33 dwellings are built. (BB,D)

Day 10, Sun. ERFURT-WURZBURG. Today's highlight is a guided visit to the Duke of Saxony's legendary 900-year-old WARTBURG CASTLE, where Luther translated the New Testament. In the afternoon continue to stately Wurzburg, beautifully situated on the vine-clad shores of the River Main. Your tour director accompanies you on a pleasant stroll through the lavish GARDENS of the Residenz. (BB,D)

Day 11, Mon. WURZBURG-MUNICH. Morning dedicated to the northernmost and most scenic section of the Romantic Road. Spend enough time in spectacular Rothenburg to appreciate its ramparts and towers, cobbled lanes and 16th-century houses. On to Nuremberg, the town of children's toys and gingerbread. It is also the birthplace of painter Albrecht Durer and poet and meistersinger Hans Sachs. Walk through the pedestrian area of the lively Old Town and visit ST. SEBALD CHURCH, lovingly reconstructed from the rubble of wartime destruction as a monument to peace. Overnight in Munich. (BB,D)

Day 12, Tue. MUNICH. An expertly guided tour of Germany's "secret capital" includes the Olympic Stadium, 1,000-foot-high Television Tower, Nymphenburg Palace, Marienplatz with the Old and New Town Hall, and the Gothic Frauenkirche. Also visit the OLD PINAKOTHEK with its precious collection of paintings by Durer, Cranach Rubens, and other great masters. Afternoon at leisure; ask your tour director for suggestions on how to make the most of your time. Tonight you may want to sample hearty Bavarian fare in one of Munich's typical restaurants and tackle a stein of beer at the Hofbrauhaus. (BB)

Day 13, Wed. MUNICH-FREIBURG. A scenic day! After a morning break beneath Mad King Ludwig's fanciful castle of Neuschwanstein you follow the panoramic German Alpine Road to the sunny northern shore of Lake Constance, Europe's largest freshwater reservoir. A lunch break in charming Lindau, and then a pleasant afternoon drive westward to Freiburg. There's time upon arrival for a stroll to the historic center with its splendid 13th-century Gothic cathedral and a unique system of open freshwater Bachle hugging the cobbled lanes. (BB,D)

Day 14, Thu. FREIBURG-FRANKFURT. Morning in the lush valleys and pine-clad hills of the Black Forest, famous for its cuckoo clocks. Now head north along the Hochstrasse, which offers sweeping panoramic views. Mid-afternoon arrival in  Heidelberg, Germany's oldest university town of Student Prince fame. Sightseeing here focuses red-walled CASTLE where the GREAT VAT, a 49,000-gallon 18th-century wine cask, attracts particular attention. Then back to Frankfurt for a farewell dinner with your companions of a fascinating tour. (BB,D)

Day 15, Fri. YOUR HOMEBOUND FLIGHT ARRIVES THE SAME DAY. (BB)