Explore our Alpine Destinations. 

At each destination, we've chosen lodgings that reflect its history and character -- a grand belle-époque hotel in Vienna; near Linz, a bucolic Alpine resort on the shores of the Blue Danube; an elegant fin-de-siècle  hotel in the heart of Old Bolzano, and a contemporary luxury hotel in central Munich. Each carries a 4-star rating;  each provides a hearty breakfast and free Wi-Fi. Each offers a unique travel experience.

DAYS 1-7 VIENNA and LINZ, AUSTRIA

Anything one can say about Vienna will necessarily be an understatement. Here, in this jewel of a city, once home to Freud, Klimt, Beethoven and Mozart , the opulent rye breads of the Alps reach full expression. In Vienna, amid the architectural and cultural glories of the Habsburg empire, bakers like Helmut Gragger, Horst Felzl and Josef Schrott produce extraordinary rye, wheat, spelt and durum breads and pastries for which their city is justifiably famous.

DAY 1 - VIENNA

  • Check-in at Regina Hotel
  • English speaking guided walking city tour of Vienna
  • Welcome dinner featuring traditional Viennese cuisine at Restaurant Königshofer. 

DAY 2 - VIENNA

  • Breakfast at hotel
  • Bakery visit and tasting at one of Vienna's leading bakeries where we can sample the wide range of breads, rolls and pastries that typify the best of Vienna.
  • Lunch break at the Naschmarkt
  • Walking tour of central Vienna, including University district and Vienna State Opera House.
  • Coffee at Cafe Gerstner, one of Vienna's oldest and grandest traditional coffeehouses
  • Free evening 

DAY 3 - VIENNA

  • Breakfast at hotel
  • Bakery visit and tasting at Bäckerei Szihn, where owner Stefan Szihn will offer a hands-on demonstration of Kaiser roll shaping.
  • Guided tour of Schönbrunn Palace, the main summer residence of the Habsburg rulers. The 1,441-room Rococo palace is one of the most important architectural, cultural, and historic monuments in Austria.
  • Following our tour, a demonstration and tasting of apple strudel. 
  • Free evening. 

DAY 4: VIENNA-LINZ

  • Breakfast at Hotel Regina and checkout
  • Coach transfer to Linz.
  • Check-in at Hotel Donauschlinge. and free afternoon to explore the Austrian countryside or just relax and admire the breathtaking scenery of mountains and Danube.
  • Welcome buffet dinner at the hotel Donauschlinge restaurant.

DAY 5: LINZ

  • Breakfast at hotel
  • Walking tour of Linz, the third-largest city in Austria and capital of Upper Austria state. Home of the Linzer torte and Linzer cookies, as well as a fascinating blend of baroque and highly modern architecture.
  • Visits to organic bakery Honeder Naturbackstube and to the Forstner flour mill. 
  • Free evening
DAY 6: LINZ-SALZKAMMERGUT-LINZ
  • Breakfast at hotel
  • Tour and hands-on demonstrations of traditional Upper Austrian baked goods with Markus Resch, owner of Hofbäckerei Resch
  • Excursion to Salzammergut, a region of high mountains, lakes. and rivers, and home of vast salt caverns.
  • Tour of craft brewer Bierschmiede, with beer and pretzel tasting.
  • Return to Linz and free evening

HOTEL REGINA

Hotel Regina was constructed in 1877 as a city palace in the Vienna Historicism style and was converted to a hotel in 1896. Its location - in the center of the Vienna's University Quarter -is convenient to all parts of the city. Public transportation is nearby and the major shopping venues, restaurants and tourist attractions are only minutes away.
Historic luxury hotel, 4 stars
HOTEL DONAUSCHLINGE
The Danube is the only river in the world to have a 180-degree S-curve, and the Hotel Donauschlingek, in Schlögen, 30km outside Linz, offers breathtaking views of the "Danube Loop," gorgeous forest and mountain vistas, and riverside dining featuring traditional Austrian cuisine.
River resort, 4 stars

DAYS 7-9 BOLZANO/SOUTH TYROL, ITALY
The capital of Italy’s northernmost region of South Tyrol, Bolzano (Bozen in German) has only been Italian since World War I, and its character remains distinctly Germanic. At the center of the town, Piazza Walther is named for a 13th-century German minstrel. The town’s most famous resident, Ötzi the Iceman, dates from about 3300 BC and now rests at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology. 

South Tyrol's bread culture represents a blend of Alpine and Mediterranean, given the region's century-long status as an Italian state.  The region's fruited rye breads (zelten) are a perfect example, combining southern ingredients such as almonds, figs and apricots in a matrix of wholegrain rye. Spices feature prominently in South Tyrolean rye breads, especially blue fenugreek (blauklee, schabzigerklee), which grows only at Alpine altitudes and has become an important cash crop.

DAY 7: LINZ-BOLZANO

  • Breakfast at hotel and checkout
  • Coach transfer to Linzer Bahnhof railway station.
  • Train to Bolzano. 
  • Check-in at Parkhotel Laurin
  • English speaking guided walking city tour of Bolzano. 
  • Welcome "Törggelen" dinner, including traditional music, at Wassererhof, a Buschenschank (seasonal winery/inn) dating back to the mid 14th century.

DAY 8: BOLZANO

  • Breakfast at hotel.
  • Tour and tasting at local bakery, TBD. 
  • Visit to herb garden in Merano, Kräuerschlössl.
  • Free evening.

DAY 9: BOLZANO

  • Breakfast at hotel 
  • Tour and tasting at flour mill Molino Merano. 
  • Alpine ascent on the Renon cable car and coffee break at a cafe in the high plateau
  • Visit to South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology to visit Ötzi the Iceman as well as its collection of early Bronze Age artifacts
  • Free evening.

PARKHOTEL LAURIN

Parkhotel Laurin has quite a history. When it opened in 1910, tourism was just getting on its feet in South Tyrol. Soon, the imperial family from Vienna and counts from Germany were announcing their arrival. In 1937, Italy’s king Victor Emmanuel dined at the Laurin with Benito Mussolini. When the volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted on Iceland, Angela Merkel asked for 70 rooms at short notice. And more. Today, descendants of Franz Staffler, who built the hotel, continue to own and operate it. 
Historic luxury hotel, 4 stars
DAYS 10-14 MUNICH/BAVARIA, GERMANY 

As Germany's third-largest city and the capital of Bavaria, its largest state, Munich is a major center of commerce, finance, technology, culture and, of course, food and drink -- especially its meat-and-potatoes cuisine and its world famous wheat beer ("Weizenbier"). It is also considered one of Europe's most livable cities. 

With a history dating back more than 1,000 years, Munich is rich in culture and we'll be visiting many of its most important sites, including the Residenz, Marienplatz, Frauenkirche, the massive, 140-stall Viktualienmarkt, and many others. We'll also take a day to travel to Ulm, home of the world's largest museum devoted entirely to bread, with an extensive collection of bread-related art and artifacts. 

Finally, we'll also be visiting some of Munich's finest bakeries and meet with the Bavarian State Bakers' Guild for a briefing on the state of our craft.

DAY 10: BOLZANO-MUNICH

  • Breakfast at Parkhotel Laurin and checkout
  • Transfer to Bolzano Railway Station
  • Travel by train (2nd class) to Munich.
  • Transfer to Hotel Torbräu and check-in.
  • Welcome dinner featuring traditional Bavarian cuisine at Augustiner Keller. or Augustiner Bräustuben.
DAY 11: MUNICH
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • English-speaking city tour of Munich with lunch at the Viktualienmarkt, , a 140-stall a daily food market and square in the city's center established by King Maximilian I in 1807.
  • Tour and tasting at Bäckerei & Konditorei Kasprowicz
  • Free evening..
DAY 12: MUNICH 
  • Breakfast at hotel.
  • Tour and tasting at Bäckerei Traublinger
  • Bavarian State Bakers' Guild for a briefing on the bread baking industry and market developments in Bavaria.
  • Free evening.
DAY 13: MUNICH-ULM-MUNICH
  • Breakfast at hotel.
  • 90-minute coach ride to Ulm, for an extended visit to the world's largest and most comprehensive Bread Museum.
  • Time permitting lunch and walking tour of Augsburg.
  • Return to Munich.
  • Farewell dinner at Servus Heidi.
DAY 14 - MUNICH
  • Breakfast at the hotel and checkout
  • Tour concludes.
HOTEL TORBRÄU

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The first landlord of the Torbräu, next to Munich’s Isartor city gate, welcomed visitors for the first time in 1490. Today the hotel offers a fully modernized, lovingly restored building in an excellent location a short walk from Marienplatz, the heart of the Old Town (Altstadt), as well as Munich's world famous open=air food market, the Viktualienmarkt.

Luxury boutique hotel, 4 stars
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