Early afternoon scheduled flight by British Airways from Heathrow to Frankfurt. Transfer by road (approx. 1h 30m) to Fulda where we check into our hotel for dinner and a two-night stay.

Fulda is the town best known for its links with Boniface. After breakfast we shall have a guided tour of the town which was renowned for its monastery founded in 744 by Boniface who did much to establish true religious life in this and other monasteries in Amöneberg and Fritzlar. After his martyrdom in Friesland his remains were taken to the Abbey of Fulda as he had requested. Mass will be celebrated. Dinner will be in our hotel.

Mass will be celebrated in one of the churches in Fulda, with the rest of the morning at leisure and lunch at choice. This afternoon, we travel by train to Erfurt (approx. 1h 20m) where we check into our hotel for dinner and a two-night stay.

The medieval town of Erfurt has connections with England, and the West Country, since Wynfrith (later St Boniface), arrived here from England as a missionary in 742 and later became Bishop of the town. Nearly seven and a half centuries later, Martin Luther entered the university as a student of Philosophy, a department known for its radical leanings. In 1505, Luther entered the Augustine Monastery at Erfurt, and the town thereafter became his spiritual home, even after he left for Wittenberg in 1511. We have a whole day to explore the town, starting with a guided tour of the Augustiner Kloster, where we visit the 13th century church, and walk through the cloister to the monastery where Luther lived as a monk. We must also visit the 12^th century cathedral once the Augustinian Abbey Church, built on the site of a church founded by Boniface in the 8th century. Mass will be celebrated here, as it was by Pope Benedict on his visit in September 2011. Lunch and dinner will be at choice today.

Mass will be celebrated this morning in Erfurt. After some time at leisure and lunch at choice, we depart by afternoon train (approx. 2h 46m) to Dresden, where we check into our hotel for dinner and a three-night stay.

Known as ’Florence of the Elbe’, originally because of its wonderful art collections, and bombed to near-destruction during World War II, this beautiful city has now been lovingly restored to a great city of art and culture and a World Heritage Site. Our first visit will be to the Catholic Cathedral, the Hofkirche which is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, originally the last important baroque building in Dresden and, after its destruction in World War II, rebuilt over a 40 year period. This afternoon we will have a guided tour of Dresden which will include a visit to the wonderful Old Masters Gallery, and the Frauenkirche, the protestant church. Dinner will be in our hotel this evening.

Today, we take a boat trip on the Elbe to Pillnitz, which contains beautiful park and gardens which are part of a Summer Palace. We will be able to stroll through the gardens for almost two hours before returning by boat to Dresden. The rest of the day will be at leisure, with dinner in our hotel or a local restaurant.

Transfer by coach to Berlin Brandenburg Airport for our return British Airways flight to Heathrow.