Great Tractor Tour of Germany June 18 – 27, 2016
Itinerary
Tractor Friends, To celebrate our international expansion this year, Aumann Auctions is announcing The Great Tractor Tour of Germany! While we have always done a lot of business with our tractor collecting brethren from all over the world, our first live European auction is this year. We will be conducting an auction of over 180 antique tractors for Raimond and Jörg Müller in Uhldingen-Muhlhofen, Germany this June 25th. We are right on the shores of beautiful Lake Constance at the Swiss border, near one of the greatest tractor museums in the world – The Traktormuseum Bodensee. It will be an event that the European tractor community will not miss! This will be the first large antique tractor auction on continental Europe. The excitement for the event is growing by the day and it’s just something we didn’t want our tractor friends here in America to miss. We have partnered with Agrotours to bring to you a trip of a lifetime. Many people we have spoken to have been apprehensive about taking a trip abroad. There is a lot to think about – transportation, hotels, meals and the ability to communicate. All of that, coupled with the fact it’s not even easy to know where to go! All of those worries have been addressed. Our tour guide meets you at the airport in Chicago and will take you to Germany where our private coach will pick you up right at the airport. We know all the great spots to go, hotels, meals and all the details are taken care of. You’ll be traveling with a group of American tractor collectors and having the time of your life! We’ll see many cultural sights in Germany. We’ll visit Munich, castles, historic sights, museums and of course see some tractors. We’ve got tours lined up in private tractor collections, the Fendt factory and quite possibly the best tractor museum you’ve ever seen. We’ve put together this itinerary to show you all of the places, people and sights that you’ll see. There’s not a thing you have to worry about, all the details have been taken care of. It’s a carefree trip to a beautiful country and antique tractors you may not every have an opportunity to see again! We hope that you find it all interesting and will come along with us! Wir sehen uns in Deutschland! (See you in Germany!) Best Regards,
Kurt Aumann, Aumann Auctions
ITINERARY MAP Sunday, June 19 - Arrive - Munich Monday, June 20 - Munich Tuesday, June 21 - Schliersee Wednesday, June 22 - Rimbach Thursday, June 23 - Marktoberdorf - Neuschwanstein - Friedrichshafen Friday, June 24 - Uhldingen-Mühlhofen Saturday, June 25 - Auction Day - Uhldingen-Mühlhofen Sunday, June 26 - Pfronstetten Monday, June 27 - Depart to Chicago
GREAT TRACTOR TOUR OF GERMANY - TRIP DETAILS The tour will depart from Chicago O’Hare Airport. You Will Be Responsible For your own travel to Chicago and need to arrive by 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 19th. You’ll need a valid United States Passport. If you don’t have a passport, you can apply for one at your local post office. Included in the tour cost are all hotel rooms, breakfast and dinner each day, American tour guide, English speaking German tour guide, private motor coach with facilities, museum admissions. You’ll need comfortable clothes and walking shoes for a week, some spending money (we’ll help you convert to some Euros!), camera, your passport, and an adventuresome and curious attitude. We’ll take care of the rest! The flights are around 8 to 9 hours. There is a television screen in the seat in front of you with your choice of probably around 100 movies. It’s also a good time for a book or even sleeping if you are able! Cost of the Trip The Tour is $2,750/person plus airfare This price is for a double occupancy room. If you would like to room by yourself, there is an additional $710 fee. Airfare varies according to when it is booked. We have several spots reserved for around $2,000 for a non stop flight. You may book your flight through Agrotours and let them take care of all of the details. It is possible to save some money on a flight that is not non stop, but those arrangements would need to be made on your own and provide your own transportation to the hotel if you are not there to ride the motor coach. Space is limited for the tour! If you have interest, please let us know as soon as you can. Elisabet at Agrotours will be taking care of your reservations. Jodi at Aumann Auctions would be glad to answer any questions you might have about the tour. To Make Your Reservations Today! For Questions We Can Help With Agrotours Aumann Auctions Elisabet Goodwyn Jodi Reynolds 804-378-3332 office 217-563-2523 office 804-512-6339 mobile jodi@aumannauctions.com elisabet@agrotours.com email
SATURDAY, JUNE 18, 2016
Trip from Chicago To Munich, Germany The adventure begins! You will need to arrive at Chicago O’Hare International Airport three hours prior to our departure to check in for our flight to Germany. United Airlines flight 952 departs at 6:00PM for Munich. We’ll meet up with the rest of the group and our tour guide will help with boarding at the gate. Enjoy dinner on the flight and you’ll have access to dozens of movies of your choice to watch on your overnight jet flight across the Atlantic Ocean! Try to get as much sleep as you can. The first day of the 7 hour time difference is the roughest!
SUNDAY, JUNE 19 Arriving in Munich
A light breakfast will be served on board before landing at Munich Airport at 9:50AM. We’ll then assist you with clearing European Union customs and immigration formalities, and meet your coach driver and guide outside the customs hall. You’ll now meet your English-speaking German guide and we’ll board the private Aumann Auctions Great Tractor Tour motor coach to transfer to our hotel, located in downtown Munich. The afternoon is going to be kept free to rest or explore the surroundings on your own. This will give you a little time to recoup from the long flight and adjust to the time difference. Our hotel is located near the city centre on the Leopoldstrasse, and you can enjoy the sidewalk cafés of Schwabing, as well extensive shopping in different exquisite boutiques and stores. This evening we’ll have a Welcome Dinner at the hotel. Then get a good night’s rest!
MONDAY, JUNE 20TH
See the Sights and Sounds of Munich, Germany Begin the day with breakfast at your hotel. First on the agenda is a guided city sightseeing tour of Munich. This tour provides a good overview of Munich and includes sights like the medieval gates, Viktualienmarkt (the Farmer’s Market in the Town Square) , Pinakotheken (art museum), Olympic Park and Schwabing (the city’s Bohemian center). The city of Munich is one of the jewels of Germany and has a lot of attractions to offer for all ages and tastes. Whether you are interested in history, architecture, parks and gardens or art, you’ll always find something exciting in this multi-faceted city. Time will be given for some exploring and lunch on your own. In the afternoon we will visit the Traffic Centre at the German Museum. This special museum showcases all modes of land transportation in exhibitions located in three historic former trade fair halls at the Theresienhöhe facility. There are 4,500 exhibits and 500 fully functional machines from Trains down to Scooters. Trams, buses, cars, and motorcycles drive down a road through time to tell the stories of inner-city transport systems, infrastructures and transportation of every kind. We’ll all have dinner at a local restaurant, then we return to the hotel for overnight.
TUESDAY, JUNE 21ST
Traveling from Munich through the German Countryside to Schliersee Historic German Farming Village Breakfast at your hotel, and then we depart for Schliersee (60 km). Here we visit the Markus Wasmeier open-air museum. Skiing ace Markus Wasmeier is a former Olympic Champion skier. He opened his open-air museum in 2007, with the help of sponsors and shows several historic farmhouses and buildings. He has recreated what early German farmlife was like. The historic farmhouses can be visited inside as well as the beautiful gardens outside. The museum fits perfectly into the foothills of the Alps and the lake Schliersee is within walking distance (10 minutes). The museum`s visit can be combined with a boat trip on the Schliersee or with a hike around the “Josefstaler Waterfalls”. Lunch is available on the grounds with traditional German “farm food”. Later we return to Munich, making a stop in Ayingen to visit the local brewery for dinner and beer tasting. Return to Munich for overnight.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22ND
Traveling from Munich to Rimbach Lanz Tractor Musuem, Personal Sightseeing and the BMW Museum Breakfast at your hotel, and then we depart for a day trip to Rimbach (135 km). Here we will visit the private Lanz tractor museum of Leo Spear. Known in Germany as Lanz Leo, he has one of the most extensive Lanz collections in the world. There are four exhibit areas: stationary engines, steam engines, tractors and threshing carts (machines). The museum inventory includes steam engines built from 1882 to 1955; Lanz Bulldogs from 12 hp to 60 hp built from 1923 to 1958; Hanomag tractors from 55 to 60 hp, built in 1962; Schlüter tractors from 16 to 185 HP built from 1952 to 1980 and 20 threshing machines from companies like Lanz, Esterer, Mengele, Eppele and Buxheim and others. Lunch break at the museum. We return to Munich in the afternoon, and there is some free time for individual shopping and sightseeing. If you’d rather keep touring, there will be an optional visit to the BMW museum for those that would like to go. We’ll all meet for dinner and overnight in Munich.
THURSDAY, JUNE 23RD
Traveling from Munich to Marktoberdorf, Neuschwanstein and Friedrichshafen Fendt Tractor Headquarters and the Famous Neuschwanstein Castle Breakfast at your hotel, and then we check-out and depart for the Fendt Tractor museum, located at the company’s headquarters in Marktoberdorf (110 km). Here Fendt presents its newest innovations in a continually changing exhibit of the current Fendt tractor and harvesting products on more than 5,000 square meters (53,000 square feet) of showroom. You can see a history of the Fendt company as well as the current exhibition of Fendt tractors, forage harvesters and combines. Fendt is widely regarded as some of the best farm equipment in the world. We continue our drive to Füssen where we visit the famous castle Neuschwanstein. If anyone talks about a fairy-tale castle, they usually mean Neuschwanstein. This castle, built from 1869 to 1886, with its breathtaking location and fantastic interior decorations is unique in the world – and an attraction for millions of visitors. You’ll see castles dotted all over Germany like barns in Iowa. This castle is the best in all of Germany. We’ll continue on into Friedrichshafen and check-in to our hotel for two overnights. Dinner will be in a local restaurant.
Meal code: B-breakfast; L-Lunch; S-Snack; D-Dinner; -, not included; * airline meal; **-assumes with hosts.
FRIDAY, JUNE 24TH Friedrichhafen to Uhldingen–Mühlhofen The Ultimate Tractor Museum, Lake Constance and Tractor Collection Preview Breakfast at your hotel, and then we transfer to Uhldingen–Mühlhofen (25 km) on the shores of Lake Constance. We will spend the day at the Traktormuseum Bodensee. We’ve been to 100’s of tractor museums and private collections. This is the most impressive exhibit of antique tractors we’ve ever seen! Not only is the 200 exhibits showcasing tractors from all periods impressive, but the way they are shown is unbelievable! The Traktormuseum Bodensee provides the opportunity to go on a journey back in time through country life over the past 100 years. Here you can see the first attempts at motorization in agriculture and all aspects of development in the pre- and post-war periods, illustrated by tractors from all countries and continents. The exhibition shows not only tractors in their original historical settings, but also all the various aspects of a village community: many old workshops such as the clog maker’s, smith’s or cooper’s, a school, a toy shop and lots of technical implements which, through the decades that made daily life easier. Lunch will be on your own at the museum’s own restaurant and biergarten (beer garden). The afternoon we will enjoy previewing the collection of Raimond and Jörg Müller of over 180 German, Swiss, Austrian, French, Italian and American tractors. These will be the subject of the auction that Aumann Auctions will be conducting tomorrow here near museum. We return to Friedrichshafen in the late afternoon. Dinner and overnight at your hotel.
SATURDAY, JUNE 25TH
Traveling from Friedrichhafen to Uhldingen–Mühlhofenand back to Friedrichhafen Auction Day or Sightseeing in Uhldingen– Mühlhofen Breakfast at your hotel, and then we return to the Traktormuseum Bodensee in Uhldingen–Mühlhofen to attend the Aumann Auction. Although American collectors are well used to antique tractor auctions in the United States, this will be the first live antique tractor auction conducted on mainland Europe! It’s a history-making event! Another thing you probably don’t want to miss – Kurt auctioning in English and German simultaneously for the first time! There is sure to be a story come out of that! For those that would rather not attend the auction, Uhldingen–Mühlhofen is a resort type town that lies right on the shores of Lake Constance. There is a castle in town as well as many historical buildings and shops. Look across the crystal clear lake and see Switzerland and the Alps or down the lake into Austria. Many, many things to do in this historic town including it’s many outside and lakeside restaurants. We’ll return to Friedrichshafen in the late afternoon for dinner and overnight at your hotel.
SUNDAY, JUNE 26TH
Traveling from Friedrichhafen to Pfronstetten and back to Munich Free Morning and Private Collection Visit Breakfast at your hotel, and the morning is free to attend church or explore the area on your own. Check-out of our rooms, and in the early afternoon we will depart for Pfronstetten for a visit to the private tractor collection of Mr. Josef Bayer. In the late afternoon, we return to Munich and check-in for our final overnight in Germany. We will enjoy a farewell dinner at a typical brewery restaurant.
MONDAY, JUNE 27TH
Flight from Munich to Chicago Headed Home Breakfast at the hotel, and then we depart for the Munich Airport for our return flight to the USA. Check-in for United Airlines flight 953 departing at 12:20PM, and we arrive in Chicago O’Hare at 2:55PM.
Thanks for traveling with Aumann Auctions and Agrotours, and Welcome Home!!