Oberammergau’s Passion Play
With Tauck In 1633 residents of the small German village of Oberammergau pledged to stage a reenactment of the events surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus Christ once every ten years. They had powerful motivation for doing so: Bubonic plague was ravaging the village’s population, and they hoped that the promise of a once-per-decade performance of the “Passion Play” would win God’s favor and spare them from further suffering. Whether the promise did indeed inspire divine intervention, or whether the plague simply ran its natural course, the village was largely spared from further deaths following the first performance of the Passion Play in 1634. And although the villagers certainly enjoyed the positive outcome, they had no way of knowing that they’d also launched a rich cultural tradition that would eventually draw travelers from around the world. Today, the Oberammergau Passion Play is a major event involving over 2,000 local residents who participate as actors, singers, costume-makers, musicians, technicians and more. Preparations for the Passion Play begin on Ash Wednesday a full year before the first performance, when actors begin growing the long hair and beards required for their roles (no wigs are used in the production). And when the time finally arrives to perform the play, it’s a marathon effort. Each performance is approximately six hours long, and the play is performed five days each week for a full five months. In 1674 villagers rescheduled the Passion Play to occur every ten years at the start of each new decade, beginning in 1680. Nearly 330 years later, the next Passion Play performances in Oberammergau are scheduled for 2010 – or less than a year away.
PLANNING GROUP TRIPS TO OBERAMMERGAU For most travel planners, organizing a group trip to see the Oberammergau Passion Play is a serious challenge. Because the Passion Play is only performed once each decade, it’s difficult to accumulate a meaningful base of experience to draw from. Put another way, a seasoned group travel planner with 25 years experience has, at most, just two prior Passion Play seasons to guide them when planning trips for the 2010 performances. And of course, the lessons learned from the most recent Oberammergau season are now a full ten years old! Luckily, tour operators such as Tauck World Discovery offer a great solution for those organizing Passion Play trips to the Oberammergau region. An 84-year-old global leader in upscale, escorted travel, Tauck has over 100 land journeys, ocean and river cruises, safaris and family travel packages in more than 60 countries worldwide. What’s more, Tauck enjoys one of the industry’s best reputations for quality and service. The company has been voted the “World’s Best Tour Operator” three times by the readers of Travel + Leisure magazine, and earlier this year it won a WAVE Award from TravelAge West magazine as the travel industry’s “Best Tour Operator – Europe.” For 2010 Tauck is offering three escorted land journeys featuring Oberammergau, as well as four and five-day escorted Oberammergau “extensions” that combine well with Tauck river cruises in Europe. Each of Tauck’s Oberammergau packages includes premier reserved seating in section 1A of the Passion Play theater – the best possible seating from which to see the play. All of Tauck’s Oberammergau programs also include local accommodations, either within the village of Oberammergau itself or in the charming and nearby (12 miles) alpine village of Garmisch.
Tauck’s three land journeys featuring the Passion Play are: “A Week In… Bavaria, The Dolomites & Venice” • 8 days from $4,490 per person, double occupancy, plus air • Itinerary includes Munich, Oberammergau, Innsbruck, Bolzano, Lago di Garda and Venice • Includes two nights at the five-star Hotel Maximilian in Oberammergau “Romantic Germany” • 14 days from $6,190 per person, double occupancy, plus air • Itinerary includes Wiesbaden, Heidelberg, Baden-Baden, Lake Constance, Oberammergau, Munich, Weimar, Dresden, Potsdam and Berlin • Includes two nights at the five-star Hotel Maximilian in Oberammergau “Alpine Interlude” • 12 days from $5,690 per person, double occupancy, plus air • Itinerary includes Zurich, Bern, Interlaken, Oberammergau, Innsbruck, Salzburg and Vienna • Includes two nights at the Hotel Obermuehle near Oberammergau (12 miles)
Group Travel With Tauck
Tauck welcomes group travel on all of its 100+ itineraries, and the company has even sold entire departures out to larger groups. Best of all, for every ten guests booked on a Tauck group the eleventh guest travels FREE. For more information on group travel with Tauck, contact their group travel experts at (800) 241-1365.
TAUCK RIVER CRUISING Tauck’s popular European river cruises combine the “unpack just once” convenience of ocean cruising with the multiple-destination variety of motorcoach tours. In addition, all shore excursions are included in Tauck’s pricing, so river cruisers are able to explore the historic cities that dot Europe’s rivers at no added cost while enjoying the expert knowledge and insights provided by Tauck’s guides. Tauck is offering two different Oberammergau extensions that include a performance of the Passion Play, and are designed to combine seamlessly with a number of Tauck river cruise departures. In particular, the extensions work well with Tauck’s 10-day “The Blue Danube” cruise, which explores the scenic Danube and takes in Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Durnstein, Linz, Salzburg, Passau and Regensburg.
Tauck’s two river cruise extensions featuring the Oberammergau Passion Play are: Four-Day Extension • Four days from $2,290 per person, double occupancy, plus air • Itinerary includes Munich and Oberammergau • Includes one night at the five-star Hotel Maximilian in Oberammergau Five-Day Extension • Five days from $2,490 per person, double occupancy, plus air • Itinerary includes Munich, Oberammergau and Salzburg • Includes two nights at the Hotel Obermuehle near Oberammergau (12 miles) If you’re planning group travel to see the Passion Play in Oberammergau, why not rely on Tauck’s experience and expertise? Tauck has already done all the work for you, and remember – you only get one chance every ten years to do the Passion Play right! For more information on Tauck’s packages to Oberammergau, contact their groups department at 800-241-1365.
Tauck’s Reputation For Quality
As a leader in upscale escorted tours and cruises, Tauck enjoys one of the travel industry’s best reputations for quality and service. Besides being voted the “World’s Best Tour Operator” three times by the readers of Travel + Leisure magazine, the company takes special pride in the fact that over half of its guests each year are return Tauck travelers. With the kind of repeat-guest rate (believed by many to be the highest in the tour operator industry), Tauck must be doing something – or several things – right! Company officials point to a number of reasons for their guests’ incredible loyalty: Value. By leveraging its purchasing power with hoteliers and other suppliers, Tauck is able to negotiate rates that simply aren’t available to the average traveler. Tauck bundles these savings and passes them along to its guests, delivering unsurpassed value. In fact, independent travelers attempting to duplicate a Tauck itinerary on their own would spend as much as 40% more than they would by traveling with Tauck. Tour directors. Tauck’s tour directors, or “Tauck Directors,” aren’t freelance guides, as they are with many tour operators. Instead, Tauck Directors are bona fide employees with an average tenure of over 10 years with the company. By attracting and retaining the best, Tauck has built a team of incredibly knowledgeable travel professionals who accompany every Tauck journey. Besides providing expert commentary in each destination, each Tauck Director serves as an on-tour or onboard concierge to ensure that each guest enjoys a superior experience. Inclusions. Each Tauck cruise or tour is virtually all inclusive, with accommodations, transportation, most meals, entertainment, taxes, sightseeing, admission to attractions and much more all built into the tour prices. With everything paid for upfront, Tauck guests can enjoy their vacation without worries about mounting out-of-pocket expenses.
Only A Select Few At Oberammergau’s Passion Play Enjoy Better Seating Than Tauck Tauck World Discovery has three premium packages (and a four-day optional river cruise extension) that include exclusive Oberammergau tickets in the theater’s best viewing section, so your group can fully savor all the majesty and inspiration that the Passion Play offers. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to sit closer to the action, but that’s only part of what makes Tauck’s Oberammergau packages special. Each in-depth exploration of the region also provides the kind of special Tauck experiences that have earned us the industry’s highest repeat-guest rate. From an exclusive four-course dinner at a historic castle in the Tyrolean Alps to a private tour of Linderhof Palace near Munich, they’re the kind of signature travel experiences that will leave you and your group happy that you put your faith in Tauck.
For more information, call 1-800-241-1365, or visit www.tauck.com