LEA are partnering with the Lutheran World Federation Study Centre in Wittenberg for the study program. They will be the hosts in Wittenberg which will be the main base for the tour. Wittenberg is located on the Elbe River and is a lovely village to spend time in. You can find a preview at https://lutherstadt-wittenberg.de/en/.
The tour will start in Berlin and rooms have been booked at a Berlin Airport hotel to allow everyone to gather there that night and be ready to start the study tour first thing the next morning. The tour route will go through central Germany from East to West giving ample opportunity to explore reformation, art, music and Jewish sites as well as the breadth of Germany. The tour will end in Mainz with a dinner on the final night. Everyone can then make their own way to their next destination (home or elsewhere) on 7 October. Mainz is only a 30 minute train trip from Frankfurt airport with trains every 15 minutes so it is a very convenient spot for getting to the airport or elsewhere.
The itinerary is:
| Check in | Check out | Sleep |
| 22 Sep 2023 Fri Arrive | 23 Sep Sat | Berlin: Holiday Inn Berlin Airport |
| 23 Sep Sat | 29 Sep Fri | Wittenberg: Colleg Wittenberg |
| 29 Sep Fri | 2 Oct Mon | Leipzig: Motel One Leipzig-Nikolaikirche |
| 2 Oct Mon | 4 Oct Wed | Eisenach: B&B Hotel Eisenach |
| 4 Oct Wed | 7 Oct 2023 Sat Depart | Mainz: Novotel Mainz |
The cost of the tour is AUD$3,900 per person for the 15-night, 14-day tour (includes accommodation, all breakfasts and study program; excludes air travel, travel connections and transfers, incidentals and some meals). The accommodation ranges from basic to 4-star.
Partners are welcome to join as long as they are full participants in all aspects of the study program including worship, devotions, readings, lectures and guided tours. To ensure full participation in the study program only adults will be eligible to join the tour. A cap of 18 participants will apply (plus myself and our chaplain so we’re a nice small group of 20). Employees will be given preference for places over partners.
The study themes are:
- Theology of the cross
- Singing the gospel (the role of the arts and music in particular)
- Jewish-Lutheran relations
Please contact me by email on leadirector@lutheran.edu.au if you have any queries or wish to discuss the opportunity of joining the tour.