HERITAGE TOURS TO GERMANY
Dr Grams Research and Travel Tours
The beginnings of my travel writing experience perhaps began in seeking
out family roots in Germany. In the country on other business, I set
out to track down ancestors that came to America from the German Rhineland
in the 1900s, first tracing names to a research library in Kaiserslautern,
then to a tiny village along the German wine road, where a medieval church
still remained where relatives spent a part of their lives before setting
out to a new world. Others of German ancestry may have come in later
waves of emigration through the ports of Bremerhaven or Hamburg. If one
has never been to Germany before, or even if one has, finding a guide
or tour for the exploration might be more convenient than wandering haphazardly
about looking for clues - unless you want to be a travel journalist and
wander for a living.
Dr Wolfgang Grams Research and Travel started as a European research
project in Migration Studies at the University of Oldenburg in Germany.
Since 1997, the privately run institute headed by Dr. Grams has served
clients in genealogical research and cultural tourism cooperates with
the German National Tourism Office in New York and with many institutions,
genealogical and historical societies in Germany and the US. They now
organize tours for genealogical family history journeys. A number of
set tours are available, most for 9 days covering a particular region
of historical period of emigration.
Dr Grams Heritage Tours Examples
Rhineland, Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg, Black
Forest
This 9 Day trip will take a discovery journey through the Rhineland-Palatinate
and Baden-Württemberg, including Frankfurt and Heidelberg. It was
from the Palatinate Rhineland and the old principalities of Baden and
Wurttemberg that early emigration started from Germany to America, Mennonites
or Hugenots in search of religious freedom, leading to the founding of
the very first German settlement in America, Germantown in Pennsylvania
in 1683, followed by Palatine colonists before the War of Independence,
and the "Forty-Eighters" of the German Revolution in 1848.
Following World War II, the Palatine Rhineland became home of the largest
American communities outside the United States with the primary military
bases in the country. This tour program follows 300 years of a shared
history, featuring a stop at the Institute for Palatine History and Folk
History in Kaiserslautern (see Wandering
Emigrants), and includes an
excursion into France. Cost per person is €1,520.
North Germany, Oldenburg, Bremen, Bremerhaven
Many of the 7 million Germans who immigrated to America from the Revolution
onward originated from Oldenburg; Osnabrück, Westphalia; East-Frisia
and the surroundings of the former Kingdom of Hanover. Your itinerary
brings you to farms, former emigrant agencies in country side inns and
to the Baroque gardens in these less traveled areas of Germany, where
immigrants departed, sailing out of Bremerhaven. A farewell dinner in
the “Last Bar before New York” will complete this route through
some of Germany's most important areas of emigration. This tour is in
April. Price per person is €1,520.
Bavaria to Berlin
In November, mix attractive destinations and detours to learn about
the migration experience from Bavaria in southern Germany with highlights
from Munich’s charming beer gardens to Berlin, Europe’s most
exciting bustling city. The tour makes its way from the Bavarian capital
of palaces (see Nymphenburg Palace) and churches (see Munich’s
Baroque Churches) via Nuremberg, Dresden, Lutherstadt Wittenberg (see Martin
Luther’s Church Doors), and Potsdam to Berlin. Price per
person is €1,520.
These longer Heritage Tours have fixed departure dates for carefully
designed itineraries, providing for a carefree opportunity to explore
Germany’s history, culture and attractive highlights in a theme
orientated tour for English speakers. They usually start and end in Frankfurt
or Bremen and allow approx. 16–25 participants. All tours promise
carefully selected 3 and 4 star hotels, a comfortable
private tour bus, an expert tour director and guide, attractive local
programs,
and a full breakfast and one meal per day. Tours do not include airfare.
Shorter 4 days tours are available which could be added to a longer vacation
trip to Germany or elsewhere in Europe.
Short
Tours Year Round
Bremen and Bremerhaven
This four days excursion is available all year round at any time
for a minimum of 6 travelers. More than 7 million people emigrated
through
Bremen and Bremerhaven and made these the most important ports of embarkation
next to Le Havre, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Liverpool (see Liverpool
Emigration Museum) and other European cities. This itinerary follows historic
emigration patterns and routes from the peasant farms to Bremen,
then on to the
Bremerhaven port of departure, with a visit to the German Emigration
Center at Bremerhaven and a farewell dinner held in the steerage section
of a historic sailing vessel completes this experience. Price per person
is €660.
Hamburg and
the Migration Experience
Hamburg was the most important port of embarkation for millions of
emigrants from Eastern Europe and Germany. Beginning around 1900
the Hamburg America
Line, was the biggest shipping company on the North Atlantic route,
though beginning in 1889 the Hapag Line started its operations from
the port
of Cuxhaven. This 4 day tour starting and ending in Hamburg offers
an unusual itinerary to discover the emigrant experience at these
historic places. The tour covers the history of Hamburg, Cuxhaven
and the Hamburg
America Line. A visit to the Hamburg Emigration Museum Ballinstadt
(see Hamburg
Emigration Center) and a farewell dinner in the Hamburg
harbor area (see Hamburg
Harbor Tours) will complete this trip. Access to
research facilities are included. Price per person is €660.
Dr Grams Research and Travel also offers family ancestry research services on an individual basis. Check their website for details.
Find best travel and hotel deals in Germany on TripAdvisor
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Info
Dr
Grams Travel Tours
These articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel Europe and WLPV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted without permission.
See Also:
DISCOVER GERMANY IN AUTUMN TOURS
HEIDELBERG
CASTLE - THE BEAUTIFUL RUIN
INTREPID
EUROPE FAMILY VACATIONS
BADEN-BADEN IN THE BLACK FOREST
