| Travel 55 offer you discount on Leger Holidays, Tours and Short Breaks To book, call Leger Holidays direct on 0844 504 6480 and quote T55 for the Travel 55 discounted price All of these Leger Holidays tours have been discounted from their brochure prices* |
| Inspirational journeys of remembrance & discovery Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times |
| Specialist Battlefield Guides: Consistently highly rated by Leger's guests for their knowledge, personal perspective and going the extra mile; your guide on tour will be one of Leger's hand picked specialists. The team of over 20 guides is headed by Paul Reed, Tony Lea and Bill McQuade, who between the three of them have a combined total of over 50 years' guiding experience! |
The Cold War, the Stasi
and the Fall of the Berlin Wall
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| The Cold War, the Stasi and the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Itinerary |
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DAY
1: Local departure by coach from your chosen local joining point, then onwards to Belgium for an overnight stay. |
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DAY
2: Möhne Dam (included) From Belgium en route to Berlin we call at the Ruhr Valley and see the huge Möhne Dam, which was heroically breached by the men and Lancasters of 617 Squadron in May 1943. You can walk on the top of the Dam and see the outline of the breach made by the ‘bouncing bombs’, dropped by the squadron under the leadership of Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC. From here we drive across the northern plain of Germany to its capital Berlin, where we stay for three nights. B |
DAY 3: Berlin Tour (included);
Secrets of Cold War Berlin
(optional) This morning join our included sightseeing tour with your Specialist Historical Guide. We look at the building of the Berlin Wall, and the reasons for it being installed. In place for 28 years, 2 months and 28 days, the Wall had an enormous effect on the political, military and personal lives of thousands of people in Germany. On November 9th, 1989, thousands of GDR citizens and East Berliners assembled, demanding entry into West Berlin at the station’s bridge and at 9.20pm, the Wall ‘fell’, as local guards opened the Checkpoint and people could pass freely into West Berlin. We later visit the world-famous Checkpoint Charlie Museum to view the artefacts and pictures of that time. We will walk through the checkpoint to view the memorial site of Peter Fechter, a young man shot while trying to escape to the West. We will see the longest remaining section of the wall at the East Side Gallery, 1300 metres of this great barrier stand beside the Oberbaum Bridge, an official crossing point for Berliners. In the afternoon join our optional ‘Secrets of Cold War Berlin’ excursion. We will visit the Stasi (East German Secret Police) Headquarters at Normannenstrasse where a superb collection of artefacts explains the paranoid attitude of the State Secret Police during the Cold War. We will then move on to the Stasi prison at Hohenschönhausen. This was the centre used to imprison many of the people captured while trying to escape to the West. B |
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DAY
4: Saschenhausen, Allied
Museum, Potsdam (included) This morning we head to Saschenhausen Concentration Camp in Oranienburg to the north of Berlin. The camp was primarily used for political prisoners and is now a memorial to the victims of Hitler’s ‘Final Solution’. In August 1945, Soviet Special Camp No.7 moved here and it was used by Stalinist Soviet occupying forces for the detention of Nazi prisoners and collaborators. We dedicate the afternoon to the Cold War. In the summer of 1945, the troops of the USA, Great Britain and France marched into Berlin as victors. Along with their war ally, the Soviet Union, they planned to occupy the German Reich, and liberate it from National Socialism. However the Western allies wanted to rebuild Germany based on the principles of democracy, whilst the Soviet Union considered its own social system to be the desirable model. Berlin became the showplace of those conflicts, which went down in history as the Cold War. We begin at the Allied Conference Centre in Potsdam, where Germany’s fate was decided by the Allies before continuing to the Allied Museum. During our visit to the museum we will see the tunnel that helped the CIA tap into the Soviet telephone system and get a real feel for the Cold War period. B |
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DAY
5: Leipzig and Stasi
Museum (included); Leipzig
Sightseeing Tour (optional) We leave Berlin and head to Leipzig. Heavily damaged during the Second World War, the city was taken by the American troops, but found itself in the Soviet Sector from 1945. The city was one of the main centres of public protests in the lead up to the fall of Communism and State control in Germany. We visit the Stasi Museum, part of the public access to the once-secret life that controlled the world of every citizen in East Germany. The museum occupies the original Stasi headquarters and has remained much as it was in the 70’s and 80’s so you will get a feel of what it must have been like when fully operational! History here is visible and palpable. After, you are free explore the city alone or join our optional guided tour with your Specialist Historical Guide. We continue to Halle for an overnight stay. B |
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DAY
6: Return to Belgium for an overnight stay. B |
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DAY
7: To Calais, then return home. B |
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Included Meals: B=Breakfast |
| Your Hotels |
In Berlin you’ll stay for three nights at the 3-star Ramada Globus Hotel, or similar. The hotel has a restaurant bar and lift. All bedrooms offer T.V. and telephone. In Halle you’ll stay for one night at the 4-star Ramada Hotel Leipzig-Halle. Overnight stays in Belgium are in city-style hotels. |
| Silver Service Coach |
| As
well as extra legroom and a spacious rear lounge, Silver
Service is much more than a coach with added comfort and
facilities. The spacious rear lounge is
the ideal place to meet your fellow travellers, relax or
simply have a change of scene. And, you’ll get extra benefits
such as porterage in your hotels and extra included excursions
on selected tours. |
| Silver Service Departure Dates & Prices 2010 Tour ref 7GWAV | |||
FREE
local joining points Visits: Möhne Dam; Berlin; Saschenhausen, Allied Museum & Potsdam; Leipzig and Stasi Museum 6 nights’ accommodation
with breakfast
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| Leger
Brochure Price in Black Travel 55 Discount Price in Red Quote Travel 55 Ref: T55 + Tour Code Tel Leger Reservations on 0844 504 6480 |
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May
24 |
£499 £475 |
August
21 |
£529 £503 |
July 24 |
£529 £503 |
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| Prices are per person, based on two sharing. Extras • Optional excursions • Single room supplement £129 • Travel insurance from £39.95 | |||
| Departure Dates & Prices 2010 Tour ref 7GWA | ||
FREE
local joining points Travel by executive coach Specialist Historical Guide Visits: Möhne Dam; Berlin; Saschenhausen, Allied Museum & Potsdam; Leipzig and Stasi Museum 6 nights’ accommodation with breakfast Note: Entrance fees to museums & places of interest are at extra cost |
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| Leger
Brochure Price in Black Travel 55 Discount Price in Red Quote Travel 55 Ref: T55 + Tour Code Tel Leger Reservations on 0844 504 6480 |
||
September 11 |
£399 £380 |
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| Prices are per person, based on two sharing. Extras • Optional excursions • Single room supplement £129 • Travel insurance from £39.95 | ||