Join author, lecturer and historian Gary Powers Jr. on an exciting, 10-day Cold War and espionage related tour of Germany and the Czech Republic in support of the New England Air Museum. Founded in 1960, NEAM is New England's largest aerospace museum with three large hangars, outdoor exhibits and more than 100 aircraft ranging from early airships to flying machines to supersonic jets and helicopters. Located near Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT, NEAM is committed to presenting the story of aviation, the human genius that made it possible, and its profound effects on the way we live. To learn more about NEAM, visit www.neam.org.
Day 1: Departure from the USA
Meet fellow travelers at the New England Air Museum where you will board your private bus transfer to JFK Airport. Upon arrival, you will check in for your flight and meet Gary Powers Jr. who will accompany you overseas and throughout your trip.
Day 2: Arrival Berlin
Welcome to Germany! Upon arrival in Berlin, your CHA Tour Director greets you at the airport where you board your private motorcoach. Later, enjoy an orientation drive through Berlin to get better acquainted with the German capital. See Brandenberg Gate, once the city’s triumphal arch, now a symbol of German reunification, and view remains of the Berlin Wall which once divided the city from 1961 to 1989 during a visit to the Berlin Wall Memorial. Check into your hotel and enjoy some free time to relax and unwind before enjoying a Welcome Dinner.
Day 3: Berlin-Potsdam-Berlin
Morning sightseeing of Berlin includes visits to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, located at the most well-known border crossing point between East and West Berlin, and the German Spy Museum where you will gain insight into the intriguing world of Cold War espionage. This afternoon, learn more about Germany's military aviation history as you visit the Military History Museum Gatow located on a former airfield. Proceed to nearby Potsdam to visit to Glienicke Bridge (the “Bridge of Spies”) where Gary Powers Jr. will give an overview about the exchange of his father, American pilot Francis Gary Powers, and Soviet KGB Colonel William Fisher that took place there on February 10, 1962. Return to Berlin where dinner is included.
Day 4: Berlin
Morning sightseeing of Berlin includes visits to the Hohenschönhausen Memorial, formerly the Stasi’s main political prison, the Berlin Stasi Museum housed in the former headquarters of the Minister of State Security, and the Allied Museum on Clay Allee to learn more about the important role that Western Allies played in Germany during the Cold War era. The balance of the day is yours to explore Berlin. Dinner is included in Berlin this evening.
Day 5: Berlin-Leipzig-Dresden
Travel to Leipzig to visit the Museum in Der Runde Ecke, housed in the city’s former Stasi headquarters, and the Leipzig Forum of Contemporary History Museum which chronicles the history of the GDR from the beginning of the Cold War. Continue to Dresden where to visit Dresden’s Military History Museum, located in a former military arsenal, and the Bautzner Strasse Dresden Memorial, the site of a former Stasi prison. Overnight in Dresden where dinner is included this evening.
Day 6: Dresden-Prague
Cross the German border en route to Prague, the Czech Republic's historic capital. Learn more about Cold War politics and espionage during your sightseeing of Prague. Visit the Prague Museum of Communism and explore the Bezovka Nuclear Bunker, one of Prague’s largest fallout shelters hidden beneath Parukarka Hill. Later, enjoy some free time to see the 500-year-old astronomical clock. Dinner is included in Prague tonight.
Day 7: Prague-Misov-Pilsen-Prague
Enjoy a full-day excursion from Prague today. Journey to Míšov to visit the Atom Museum, the world’s only nuclear weaponry that is open to the public. Later, drive to Pilsen to tour the famous Pilsner Urquell Brewery. Lunch will be included today. Return to Prague where you will be on your own for dinner.
Day 8: Prague–Rozvadov-Nuremberg-Stuttgart
Depart Prague for Rozvadov where you will experience what life was like in the former Czechoslovakia during the days of Communism during visit to the Iron Curtain Museum. Then cross the Czech border as you re-enter Germany. Proceed to Nuremberg to visit the Nuremberg Trials Memorial where the ground-breaking post-World War II trials took place during which former Nazi leaders were tried and convicted as war criminals by the Allies’ International Tribunal. Continue to Stuttgart where dinner is included this evening.
Day 9: Stuttgart-Speyer-Sinsheim-Heidelberg A full day of sightseeing begins with a visit to the fascinating Stuttgart Cold War Bunker. Later, marvel at the incredible collection of retired aircraft and vintage automobiles on display during your visits to the Museum of Technology in Speyer and the Technik Museum in Sinsheim. Proceed to your hotel in historic university town of Heidelberg along the Nectar River where you spend your final evening in Europe. Dinner is included this evening.
Day 10: Departure for the USA
Transfer to Frankfurt Airport to board your return flight to JFK International Airport, arriving later the same day. Upon arrival, board your private bus transfer to the New England Air Museum.