Eclipse '99 in Austria Travel Tour

Eclipse '99 in Austria Ten-Day Tour hosted by Bryan Brewer, author of ECLIPSE Beautiful alpine scenery, beautiful classical music ... and the most beautiful spectacle of the daytime sky. We'll tour Vienna and Salzburg, the cities of Strauss and Mozart. We'll stargaze from an exclusive planetarium and observatory high in the Alps. And on eclipse day -- August 11, 1999 -- we'll catch the Moon's shadow for two glorious minutes of totality. (We'll be on the autobahn near the centerline for last minute mobility if required.) We'll finish with two days in Munich, Germany, for shopping and sightseeing. Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance. I hope you'll join us for an experience of unparalleled beauty and adventure. -- Bryan Brewer, author of ECLIPSE

Space for Austria eclipse tour is limited. Call now for reservations before May 28th deadline.

August 6 - 15, 1999 -- Vienna, Salzburg, & Königsleiten (Austria) & Munich (Germany)
$2,704 per person double occ. ($532 single supplement). Airfare not included.
Space is limited. Call Specialty Tours at 1-800-677-9412 (or 727-796-7555) in Florida for reservations.

Deluxe Tour includes:

• 4-star hotels in excellent locations with porterage included
• Breakfast and dinner daily
• Admissions to all group activities
• Land transportation by air-conditioned motor coach
• Vienna -- city tour and concert
• Abbey at Meik
• Salzburg -- city tour and marionnette theater
• Bertchesgarten and the Eagle's Nest
• Two star parties, planetarium, observatory, and tour of Alpine areas near Königsleiten
• Oberammergau, Germany
• Munich, Germany
• And much, much more!

The complete itinerary is shown below. For more details, see the Photo Gallery of points of interest on the tour.

DAY 1 -- August 6 (Friday) -- All European tours begin with a flight across the waters so sit back and think about the adventure before you. Not only are you going to see perhaps the greatest natural event of the year, but you are also going to enjoy the sights and sounds of two of the most beautiful countries in the world, Austria and Germany.

DAY 2 -- August 7 (Saturday) -- We arrive in Vienna and are you in for a treat! Throughout the historic district, from the Opera House to St. Stephens Cathedral, from museums to palaces, each place you look brings more beauty. We will tour the city, including the Summer Palace of Maria Theresa, to give ourselves a perspective from which we can continue to explore on our own.

DAY 3 -- August 8 (Sunday) -- A free day to dig deeper into the glories of Vienna and explore those aspects of the city you want to see at greater depth; perhaps a performance by the Lipizzan horses, the art museums, the museum of natural history, or one of the great churches of the city. If we are fortunate, the Vienna Boys Choir may be in town and singing at the Hofburg Palace Chapel. This evening we will attend either a Mozart or Strauss concert (specific schedule to be determined).

DAY 4 -- August 9 (Monday)  -- We leave Vienna, traveling west toward Salzburg with an intermediate stop at the Abbey of Melk. Built in the tenth century as a fortress, it was given to the Benedictines in the eleventh century. The baroque chapel is exceptionally beautiful. The abbey now houses a modern school for the local children as well as the relics from its long and storied history. We continue on to Salzburg, the city of music, where we'll check into our hotel and then do a walking tour of the old city.

DAY 5 -- August 10 (Tuesday)  -- A day of options: you can either have a free day to explore on your own or you can go with our escort to Hitler's retreat known as the Eagle's Nest. High in the Alps, a few miles south of Salzburg near the town of Bertchesgarten, this site gives you a different perspective of the local terrain, as you see it from the top amidst the snow capped peaks of the Alps. The original buildings were destroyed after the war, so it is the site that is the attraction. A special treat is in store tonight, we attend the world famous Salzburg Marionette Theater which produces well known operas all acted out with puppets. (They have not yet published their schedule for 1999 so we cannot tell you what the production will be.)

DAY 6 -- August 11 (Wednesday)  -- The day we have all been waiting for has finally arrived. We will journey north and west a short distance from the city and into Germany to find a location where we will be able to set up and watch the late morning eclipse. We are going to stay near the autobahn so that if the clouds don't cooperate, we will be able to chase the sun. After the eclipse, which will last for more than two minutes, we'll turn south and journey high into the Alps to the little town of Königsleiten which has a state-of-the-art planetarium as well as an observatory. Located at 5250 feet above sea level, with clear air and no clouds (we hope) and a 60-cm-Cassegrain System (24 inches) as well as some smaller but also impressive equipment, it is the perfect place for a star party. And what a star party! For two nights we will have the observatory to ourselves so that everyone will be able to use the best equipment. On top of that, our hotel is on the same property, so that we can spend as much or as little time as we want, use the telescopes, go back to our room for a little rest and come back to the equipment.

DAY 7 -- August 12 (Thursday)  -- Today we tour the area around Königsleiten. It is only a few miles from the fifth highest waterfall in the world and beautiful alpine scenery. This evening we'll enjoy more "Goodies and Galaxies" or simply stated, another star party with food and drinks.

DAY 8 -- August 13 (Friday)  -- We turn north through the mountains and into the valley of the Inn River, passing through Innsbruck and back up the mountain on the other side, heading for the delightful town of Oberammergau in Germany, the home of the passion play which they produce every ten years. It is a place to delight the eye, with chalets covered with flowers and paintings of fairy tales and religious themes. Oberammergau is a great place to buy wood carvings. We will then continue our ride through Bavaria to Munich where we will surely find a beer house for dinner and an evening's entertainment.

DAY 9 -- August 14 (Saturday)  -- We will have a free day to take advantage of Munich. The shopping is excellent, but so too are the museums, including one dedicated to science and engineering. Our hotel is near the Marienplatz, so you will be able to walk to the most interesting areas in the city. The glockenspiel is there, along with the city museum and the farmers market -- all within a few blocks.

DAY 10 -- August 15 (Sunday)  -- We reach that day on every tour when it is simply time to pack up and say goodbye. But what a tour -- the eclipse, Vienna, the observatory -- all things we will carry with us for a lifetime.

Call Specialty Tours at 1-800-677-9412 (or 727-796-7555) in Florida for reservations.

(Optional 3-day extension to the Canary Islands is also available, August 15-18. You'll be guests of the Roque do los Muchachos Observatory in La Palma. $590 per person, double occ. $110 single supplement. Airfare not included.)

** For excellent educational and background information on eclipses, order ECLIPSE by Bryan Brewer ($14.95 plus S&H). ECLIPSE Book Order Form. **

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