"Fall of the Berlin Wall" Anniversary Tour

Days 1-2

Your group will take an overnight flight to Berlin, where your Joshua Expeditions tour director will meet you at the airport after your group passes through security. You will transfer to the city center and check into your hotel then begin your exploration of Germany's capital by visiting Alexanderplatz, East Berlin's most famous square and witness to the 1989 Peaceful Revolution. Your group will stop at The Fernsehturm (Television Tower), which was built during the Cold War to outshine East Berlin's cathedrals and serve as a symbol of Communist power. On a sunny day you can see the reflection of a cross on the steel dome, a phenomenon referred to as "The Pope's Revenge." After taking some time to view the city from the tower your group will enjoy lunch and free time for shopping. Your group may also choose the optional activity to visit the small DDR Museum to learn about life and culture in East Germany. (Fees for optional activities are not included in the price of the trip.)
 
During the afternoon you will visit the Berlin Cathedral, Germany's largest Protestant church that was built as the Imperial Church during the German Empire. Heavily bombed during World War II, the cathedral was not rebuilt until the 1980s but now shines in new splendor while an empty meadow is all that remains of the Communist Palace that stood next door. The cathedral's impressive crypt displays the rich caskets of centuries of German royalty, and seeing them often brings a challenge to put one's trust and faith into a Kingdom that will last. Later, your group will stroll along the famous Allee Unter den Linden, passing Berlin's Humboldt University and the Bebelplatz, where the famous Nazi book burnings took place. You will also visit the Gendarmenmarkt, one of Europe's most beautiful squares that is surrounded by such famous landmarks as the Concert Hall and the German and French Dome. Arriving at Gethsemane Church, which was the starting point of the 1989 prayer marches, your group will meet with an East Berlin pastor to hear about the Peaceful Revolution that began in the East German churches and contributed to events that brought down the Berlin Wall. Following dinner in the city center, your group will take time to visit the romantic Nikolai Quarter before concluding the day with devotions at the hotel.

Day 3

This morning your group will visit the Berlin Wall Memorial at Bernauer Strasse, a street that is located where the wall literally divided people's houses and backyards. You will take some time for reflection at the Chapel of Reconciliation, which reminds visitors of the Reconciliation Church that was destroyed by the Communists to make room for barbed wire and security towers, and then your group will continue to the East Side Gallery, a mile-long stretch of the original Berlin Wall that is now covered with artists' paintings. You will also travel to Checkpoint Charlie, the American checkpoint during the Cold War that is known for a dramatic standoff of American and Russian tanks during the 1961 Berlin Crisis. After taking some time for lunch, your group will continue to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum to shop for souvenirs or take photos, and then you will transfer to the Palace of Tears, an East German border station named for the tearful goodbyes that occurred when West Germans had to part from their East German relatives. As you continue along the Lindenallee, your group will reach the Brandenburg Gate, which was once a symbol of the Cold War and division but now stands as one of the most celebrated symbols of freedom. As you stand at the place where, in 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan called out to the leader of the Soviet Union, "Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!," you will learn about the deciding moments that changed history and you will likely come to appreciate freedom and liberty in a new way as you cross through the Brandenburg Gate from East to West. A nearby memorial serves as a reminder of the many people who were killed as they attempted to cross the wall into freedom. During the afternoon your group will see the Berlin Reichstag, the Soviet War Memorial, and the Victory Column, and then you will pass the Holocaust Memorial en route to Potsdamer Platz, one of Berlin's most famous squares that has been transformed from a barbed wire no man's land to one of Berlin's most modern and lively places. You will have time during this evening to relax in a street café or visit the futuristic Sony Center while enjoying free time and shopping before dinner at a nearby restaurant. The evening will close with devotions back at your hotel.

Day 4

The morning will begin with breakfast at your hotel before your group takes a guided tour of the former Stasi headquarters, which is now a museum that educates visitors about the famous East German State Security, one of the most effective and repressive secret police agencies in the world. Afterward, you will head out for lunch in West Berlin at the place of celebrations when East Germans streamed into the West after the fall of the Wall. During the afternoon your group will visit the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church that is now an impressive ruin and Berlin's most powerful reminder of World War II. Though it was once used for coronations and weddings of German emperors, only the bombed out steeple remains today. The afternoon will allow some free time to visit the Europa Center, once known as Europe's most modern shopping mall, or you may choose to stroll along the prestigious Kurfürstendamm, considered Berlin's Champs-Elysees. Later, you will visit nearby Tiergarten, one of Berlin's most beautiful parks where you will enjoy local cuisine for dinner. The day will conclude at the hotel with a time of reflection and discussion about your experiences.

Day 5

This day will introduce you to the Jewish experience of Germany. Your group will first travel to the concentration camp of Sachsenhausen where you will learn of the atrocities during World War II and the Holocaust. Following this sobering tour, your group will return to Berlin and spend some time at Hackescher Markt, East Berlin's artist district, where you will have a chance to stroll through a series of connected courtyards known as the Hackesche Höfe. After taking some time for lunch, your group will visit the Jewish neighborhood followed by a walking tour to the Jewish Synagogue, school, and cemetery, as well as the Nazi deportation place for the Jews, which is the site where Steven Spielberg filmed his documentary, The Lost Children of Berlin. You will also visit the Anne Frank Centre to learn about her life and possibly have a chance to view her original diary (if on display). In the early evening your group will stop at the Jewish Museum and then enjoy dinner at the city center before returning to your hotel for a time of devotions and discussions.

Day 6

Today your group will travel to Potsdam, the capital of the German state of Brandenburg, and you will visit the famous Sanssouci Palace, which was the magnificent residence of Germany's kings and emperors until World War II and is now the largest World Heritage Site in Germany. You will have time to tour the castle grounds as well as the beautiful parks and the New Palace. If time permits, you may also have a chance to view Cecilienhof Palace, where the Potsdam Conference was held between the victorious Allies after World War II. Afterward, your group will head over to the Glienicker Brücke, also known as the Bridge of Spies, which is one of the few places in the world where the Soviet Union and Western powers stood directly opposite each other during the Cold War. Connecting Potsdam in East Germany to West Berlin, the bridge was used for the exchange of spies and prisoners between the superpowers and is most known for an exchange that took place in 1960 when the Soviet spy Rudolf Abel was swapped for U.S. spy-plane pilot Francis Gary Powers who was captured by the U.S.S.R. during the U-2 Crisis.

Following lunch in the area, your group will have the option to return to Berlin for an afternoon of local service ministry or to visit the Potsdam-Babelsberg Filmpark and Studios, which is known as the world's oldest large-scale film studio. Having already featured actress Marlene Dietrich on its stage, The Filmpark became East Germany's "Hollywood" and was known for many productions by Hitler's propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels. Today, it remains an operational studio and has been the filming site for such movies as The Pianist. At the conclusion of the afternoon in Potsdam, your group will return to Berlin for dinner and devotions at the hotel.

Day 7

Your week in Germany will conclude this morning with a return to the airport for the flight back to the States.