Four weeks' Tour from Cologne to Switzerland
| 1st day | Cologne, originally a colony of Roman veterans, was founded by the Emperor Claudius at the request of his wife Agrippina, mother of Nero. The Cathedral is probably the most magnificent Gothic edifice in the world. Its foundation stone was laid in 1248, but construction proceeded slowly, and at the time of the Reformation was wholly suspended. Not until the beginning of the nineteenth century was work on it actively resumed, and on the i5th of October, 1880, its completion was celebrated with great pomp |
| 2d day | On the Rhine. Leave Cologne by steamer, passing Bonn, Drachenfels, Rolandseck, Rem- agen, Rheineck, Andernach, Neuwied; Coblenz, the capital of Rhenish Prussia; Stolzenfels, Lahneck, Boppard, St. Goar, Rheinfels, Fiirs- tenberg, Bingen to Biebrich, where stage is taken for Wiesbaden. |
| 3d day | Wiesbaden. The fashionable German spa and popular health resort, dating back to the Roman empire. |
| 4th day 5th |
Heidelberg. The university city of Germany, on the Neckar, three hours from Wiesbaden. The picturesque castle was destroyed by Louis XIV in 1603. An interesting excursion can be made to the Palatinate cities of Spires and Worms. |
| 6th day | Frankfort (two hours from Heidelberg). A handsome city on the Main, whose financial influence is felt the world over. |
| 7th day 8th |
Eisenach (four hours from Frankfort) . The Mecca of Lutheran Germany. In the Castle of the Wartburg, Martin Luther studied and suffered. Beautiful drives in the Thuringian Forest, to Liebenstein and Ruhla. The country hereabouts is the scene of Richard Wagner's " Tannhauser." |
| 9th day 10th |
Gotha (one hour from Eisenach). A very interesting old town in the heart of the Thuringian Wald. Drives to Friedrichroda, Reinhards- brunn, Marienglas-Hohle, Schmalkalden. |
| 11th day | Weimar (one hour from Gotha). The literary capital of the grand duchy of Saxe-Weimar. The home of Goethe, Schiller, Herder and the Abbe Franz Liszt. |
| 12th day | Leipzig (two hours from Weimar). The grand^emporium of the German book trade. Three great fairs are held here yearly. At Leipzig Napoleon was defeated in 1813 by the combined forces of Prussia, Austria"and Russia. Nearly 100,000 of the combatants were killed and wounded. |
| 13th day 14th 15th |
Berlin (three hours from Leipzig). The capi- tal of the German empire, of the kingdom of Prussia and of the province of Brandenburg. The principal sight is the Unter-den-Linden, extending from the Royal Palace to the Brandenburg Gate. Here are situated the Embassies, the leading hotels, Palace of the Emperor, the Opera House and Arsenal. Art and industry have done everything for Berlin. Potsdam, where is located Sans-Souci Palace, is the Versailles of North Germany. |
| 16th day 17th |
Dresden (four hours from Berlin). The capital of the kingdom of Saxony, the German Florence ; celebrated for its picture galleries and art collections. If the traveler has the time to spare, a delightful week can be spent amid the romantic scenery of Saxon Switzerland. |
| 18th day | Prague (four hours from Dresden). The beautiful capital of Bohemia, on the Elbe, which, from the many relics of the earliest days of its history, remains one of the most characteristic survivals of the middle ages. Joseph- stadt is one of the oldest Hebrew settlements in Europe. |
| 19th day | Carlsbad (four hours from Prague). Here is the celebrated mineral-spring cure for rheumatism, but for those who do not need the treatment the place has few attractions. |
| 20th day | Beyrout (five hours from Carlsbad) is best known for its literal performances of the Wagner operas, which occur every two years. The residence and the burial-place of Richard Wagner. Franz Liszt was interred in the Roman Catholic cemetery in 1886. |
| 21st day 22d day |
Nuremberg (three hours from Beyrout). A quaint old mediaeval town, with Gothic castle built on a rock, once " inhabited by Frederick Barbarossa. The center of the German toy trade. An interesting excursion can be made to Rothenburg, a particularly interesting and least altered of the " Free " German towns of three hundred years ago. Albert Durer was born here in 1471. |
| 23d day | Ratisbon, on the Danube (three hours from Nuremberg), is a very ancient " Free " town, with mediaeval houses and a fine Cathedral. A short drive from the town is the Walhalla, built by the late King Lewis of Bavaria as a Temple of Fame, at a cost of three and a half million dollars. |
| 24th day 25th |
Munich (two hours from Ratisbon) . The capital of Bavaria. In art treasures it is one of the richest cities of Germany. The chief sights are the old and new Palaces, the Royal Library, the National Museum and the Picture and Sculpture Galleries. |
| 26th day | Oberammergau (five hours from Munich). The village where the historic Passion Play is given every tenth year. |
| 27th day | Linderhof (nine miles by carriage from Oberammergau). The Schloss, erected and splendidly decorated in the rococo style by King Lewis II of Bavaria, in 1870-1878. |
| 28th day | Hohenschwangau (six hours by carriage) . Neu-Schwanstein, on a precipitous rock overlooking the profound ravine of the Pollat, is the palace begun by King Lewis II in 1868. It is open to visitors daily in summer. |
| 29th day | Constance, on the lake, is reached by carriage to Fiissen, rail to Linden, and thence by steamer. Lake Constance, the reservoir of the Rhine, is over forty miles in length and eight in width. |
| 30th day | Schaffhausen, by steamer on the Upper Rhine, takes about three hours. Here are the famous Falls of the Rhine, and the visitor will be interested in the old Romanesque Miinster, the Cantonal buildings, the Museum and the Unnot Castle. |
