Welcome to
the Traveling Knight. Our newsletter dedicated to offering
travel information, tips, news and tour announcements.TOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS:
2002 Tours are
now posted on the web site
We have posted the complete itineraries for the 2002 castle
tours. We added two new tours for 2002. We listened to many
of your requests for a shorter and cheaper tour, thus we added a 10
day tour of the Fantasy
Castles of Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic.
The tour departs on the afternoon of Friday May 24, 2002 and returns
on the afternoon of Sunday June 2, 2002. This tour takes place
during the weekend of Memorial day (May 27, 2002). One
of the great benefits of this tour is that you only need to take 4
vacation days from work to participate in the tour. We
also reduced the cost of this tour to make it more affordable.
The total cost for the tour is $1,790.
New for 2002 is a tour of the Best
Castles of Britain and Ireland, which visits 18 castles
in England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. The tour departs on
the afternoon of Friday August 30, 2002 and ends on Saturday
September 14, 2002. The tour takes place during the labor
day weekend, again to minimize the amount of vacation time
necessary. Since many of you have asked to stay at a castle
hotel, for this tour we have requested 3 nights at a castle hotel.
We requested 2 nights at Ruthin castle in Wales, and one night at
Ballygally castle in N. Ireland. Note: since the tour will
take place during September of 2002, the hotels are not able to
confirm the reservations until early 2002. Seven passengers
from the 2000 tour have already paid their reservation to attend
this tour. Thus, make your reservation as soon as possible,
because we anticipate that this tour will be sold out.
We added early bird
specials. Those passengers that pay their deposit before Labor day 2001 (September 3, 2001) will receive a
discount of $100 on the total cost of the tour. Those that register before Thanksgiving 2001 (November 22, 2001) will receive a
discount of $50.
TRAVEL TIP:
Use Calling Cards When in Europe
Calling cards are a necessity when traveling Europe to call home or make reservations. They are easy to use
and cheaper than coins! They are also convenient, since in
many sites coin operated phones are no longer available.
TRAVEL SITE:
Munich, Germany's Secret Capital
Munich was founded by monks before the 12th.century and, consequently, received the name of “monk village”, and the coat of arms that features a monk. Now the capital of Bavaria and beer capital of the world, Munich is a city of intellectuals with some of the finest educational institutions in Germany. Because of World War II bombings, however, most of the pre-war city has disappeared, and many building were destroyed. But,
you will discover during your stay thought the city, many buildings have been restored and re replaced.
To the right is a picture of the heart of Munich, the Marienplatz.
The Marienplatz, or town hall square, features Gothic style structure built during the 19th century by Ludwig II, which houses that largest set of bells in Germany, knights in horseback and colorful folk dancers turn to the melodies of this
giant music box 280 feet above the square,
The Hofbrauhaus beer hall was founded in 1589 by Duke Wilhelm V and is now a state brewery. The bawdy atmosphere of the tap room is enthralling with people sitting along long tables, drinking large steins of beer while singing and talking.
To the right, Wendy, a tour participant from last year is dancing with the folk dancers.
This year we will have a Bavarian dinner here.
Nymphenburg Palace, was the former residence of the rulers of Bavaria,
it is located in the west part of the city of Munich. Five generations of Wittlesbach rulers were involved in the construction of this baroque castle.
King Ludwig the II was born here on August 25, 1845 he is also called the
“The Mad King of Bavaria”.
On March 10th, 1864, King Max died at the age of 53. Ludwig assumed the throne at 18 years of age. Within days of his ascension, the young King ordered his ministers to track down Wagner and bring him to Munich. He had been reading Wagner’s Operas since the age of 13 and was fully impressed. From the early 1870's until his death, Ludwig concerned himself with three major things - Building his castles, Wagner's operas and the theatre. For information on Ludwig’s castles click here,
Neuschwanstein,
Linderhof,
Herrenchiemsee, Hohenschwangau
and Nymphenburg.
NEW ADDITIONS: Castle
Videos
We have added four very interesting and educational videos:
1) On Dover
Castles; one of the largest and strongest castles in Britain.
2) Goodrich Castles in Worcester, England, where you can see a complex arrangement of a medieval castle.
3) Learn about the exciting Norman conquest of England and the Norman influence in the
Tower of
London.
4) Hear about the planning, construction and defense of a typical medieval castle and different
castles of Northumberland.
