An
Invitation to a Spiritual Journey
To
the Netherlands, Kevelaer (Germany) and
Belgium
with Spiritual
Leader Father Frank Wagner, CSC
and Hostess Ineke Brinkman
April 30 –
May
10, 2012
Dear
Pilgrims:
I
have been the spiritual guide for nine pilgrimages organized by Brinkman
Travel. I am delighted to accompany you on this pilgrimage to the
Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. Pilgrimages are wonderful experiences of
"thin places", where the presence of the Divine seems to break
through and touch us, very often in unexpected ways. It is my hope that as
we begin our pilgrimage in Amsterdam in the Begijnhof, now a quiet place
of prayer, we will place our pilgrimage under the prayerful guidance of
Our Lady. We will encounter countryside and urban sites hurt by religious
strife and twentieth century war. However, by recalling these events, for
example in the Attic Chapel and Anne Frank house in Amsterdam, we will all the more be urged
to pray for peace as we hear the message of Our Lady in the shrines of
Banneux, Beauraing, Kevelaer, Brussels, Bruges and Maastricht. May it be a
journey of personal reconciliation for us pilgrims, as well as one more
fruitful act of prayer for reconciliation of the Christians who throughout
the world have been nourished from the roots of the Faith in Holland and
Belgium. We will celebrate the Roman Catholic Mass each day and pray
for peace and for Christian unity.
Fr.
Frank Wagner CSC, St. Ann's Parish, Toronto Tel: 416.466.2127
Itinerary
Day
1: Monday, April 30, 2012
Depart
Toronto
request)
We gather at the Toronto airport for our overnight flight to
Amsterdam. If time permits, we will have a prayer service in the airport
terminal's chapel before take off.
Day
2: Tuesday, May 1
Arrive in Amsterdam
Upon arrival at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, we
transfer to our hotel. After a little rest, we visit the nearby Begijnhof,
a quiet place of prayer. The Begijnhof was founded by the Beguines in the
13th century. After the Alteration (Protestant takeover) of
1578, when Amsterdam came under Calvinist rule, the Begijnhof was the only
Roman Catholic institution to be allowed to remain in existence. Dinner
and overnight in Amsterdam.
Day
3: Wednesday, May 2
Amsterdam
After breakfast we get on the Canal Hop on, Hop
off bus and stop for a visit to the Anne Frank House and St. Nicholas
Cathedral, constructed in the late 19th century and one of the
main Roman Catholic practicing churches in Amsterdam. Rising above the
rose window is a statue of St. Nicholas who is Amsterdam's Patron Saint.
We then visit the Oude Kerk (Old
Church), Amsterdam's oldest parish church, which was consecrated in 1306
and became a Dutch Reformed church during the Reformation. Last but not
least we have in our program a visit to the Church in the Attic, a
beautiful Catholic
Church which was hidden for secret masses at a
time when it was forbidden to celebrate Mass in the Netherlands. Dinner
and overnight in Amsterdam.
Day
4: Thursday, May 3
Kevelaer
–
Venlo
After breakfast we leave for Venlo, where our
focus is a visit to the Floriade, a World Horticultural Expo staged once
every ten years in the Netherlands. We experience the influence
nature/horticultural has on the quality of our lives through sight,
hearing, taste, touch and smell. On the way to Venlo we visit St. Mary's
Basilica in Kevelaer, Germany. More than 800.000 pilgrims visit Kevelaer
every year to honour the icon of the Virgin Mary
"Consoler of the
Grieving."
Dinner and overnight in Venlo.
Day
5: Friday, May 4
Venlo
–
the Floriade (a Floral Wonderland)
After breakfast we shuttle to the Floriade and
embrace flora from around the world and celebrate nature's best. We
stroll through green-inspired pavilions and garden exhibits of 30 countries
and be inspired through the five themed areas: the Environment, Green
Engine, Relax & Heal, Education & Innovation, and World Show
Stage. Dinner and overnight in Venlo.
Day
6: Saturday, May 5 Thorn
–
Maastricht
Today we continue the journey and stop first in
Thorn to visit the Benedictine church dating from the 14th
century and enjoy a pancake lunch in this pretty town of all white houses
before moving on to Maastricht to visit St. Servatius Basilica. As today
the entire Dutch population of 16 million people celebrate the 67th
Liberation Day, we especially remember in our prayers all those who gave
their lives for the Freedom of the Netherlands. Dinner and overnight in
Maastricht.
Day
7: Sunday, May 6
Maastricht
–
Banneux
–
Brussels
Music
to our ears to wake up in the beautiful city of Maastricht, often the
stage for world renowned musician Andre
Rieu. We attend Mass in the Church of Our Lady and then depart for the
Banneux Shrine of Mary, Virgin of the Poor. The poor today
–
and there
are many ways of being poor
–
feel at home in Banneux where they find
comfort, courage, hope, and union with God in their affliction. Pope John
Paul II, in reference to our Blessed Mother, Virgin of the Poor,
proclaimed during his visit to Banneux
"I encourage the pilgrims
who come here to pray for her, who, always and everywhere in the Church,
reflects the face of the Mercy of God."
Dinner and overnight in
Brussels.
Day
8: Monday, May 7
Brussels
A great way to explore Brussels is by city tour.
Afterwards, we visit the National
Basilica of Sacred Heart. It is the largest Art
Deco church in the world, an astonishing work of art, inspired by the
Basilique du Sacre-Coeur in Paris. Our Lady of Finistere Church houses the
miraculous statue (object of numerous pilgrimages in the past) of Our Lady
of Finistere that, as tradition says, was transported from Cap Finistere
in Spain. The Lady Chapel has another famous statue of Our Lady
–
Our
Lady of Good Luck
–
brought to Finistere from Scotland at the time of
the Reformation. Today's last visit is to the Cathedral of the archangel
St. Michael and martyr St. Gadula, patrons of the city. Dinner and
overnight in Brussels.
Day
9: Tuesday, May 8
Brussels
–
Bruges
From Brussels we make a day trip to Bruges and
enjoy a guided tour of the Church of Our Lady, which took two centuries
(13th-15th) to build. Among the many art treasures
is a beautiful Carrara marble Madonna and Child sculpture by Michelangelo.
We will also visit the Basilica of the Holy Blood, built between 1134 and
1157, which houses a venerated relic of the Holy Blood allegedly collected
by Joseph of Arimathea and brought from the Holy Land by Thierry of
Alsace, Count of Flanders. Dinner and overnight in Brussels.
Day
10: Wednesday, May 9
Brussels
–
Beauraing
Another side trip today leads us to Beauraing to
visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Beauraing –
also known as the Virgin of
the Golden Heart –
and the title of 33 Marian apparitions between
November 1932 and January 1933 witnessed by five children whose ages
ranged between 9 and 15. Dinner and overnight in Brussels.
Day
11: Thursday, May
After a last fine breakfast in Brussels, we must
pack and prepare ourselves for a flight from Brussels to Toronto with a
same day arrival home.
Package price including airfare
from Toronto in Canadian dollars: $3535
per
person based on double occupancy; a few single rooms are available for a
supplement of $1000. Airport taxes and related airline surcharges are
extra and subject to change; as of November 15, 2011: $405
Your
pilgrimage includes:
- Daily mass/prayers and services of Father Frank
Wagner, CSC
- Air Toronto
– Amsterdam/Brussels
–
Toronto
- Nine nights first class hotel accommodation:
Amsterdam (2), Venlo (2), Maastricht (1), Brussels (4) including
service charges and taxes
- Daily breakfast and dinner and one pancake lunch
- All transportation, sightseeing and entrance fees
as per itinerary
- Services of hostess Ineke Brinkman, providing we
have a minimum of 32 pilgrims on board
In
addition you will receive a complete information package during our social
night on a date, place and time to be advised later. This will be your
opportunity to meet with your spiritual leader Fr. Frank Wagner, CSC and
with your travel companions.
Not
included:
- Airport taxes and related airline surcharges
- Lunches except for pancake lunch in Thorn
- Travel insurance (highly recommended and can be
obtained through Brinkman Travel)
- Any items of a personal nature
Travel
Extension:
Important
to know
Booking Complete the booking form and mail/deliver along
with a copy of your valid passport and a $300 per person cheque made
payable to Brinkman Travel Inc, 8 Duke Street, St. Catharines, ON
L2R 5W3. The day of our receipt confirms your registration. To
avoid disappointment, we recommend you book soon. The premium for the
optional but highly recommended insurance is also due at time of booking.
A second deposit in the amount of $1500 is due no later than Friday
December 30th. Final payment is due Thursday March 1, 2012.
Insurance Brinkman Travel strongly recommends you
purchase insurance protecting you from penalties in the event you would
need to cancel due to medical reasons to yourself or someone in your
immediate family. You will be advised of the premium upon receipt of your
registration, as the premium is pending upon your needs, the duration and
price of your package as well as your age.
Cancellations and refunds All cancellations, changes or
refund requests must be received in writing and shall be considered in
effect as of the date notice is received.
Cancellation fees Cancellations
are subject to the following cancellation penalties:
-
Deposit is non-refundable
-
Cancellation fee for cancelling between date of registration and December 30th is $300
-
Cancellation fee for cancelling between December 31 and March 1 is $1800
-
Cancelling on March 2, 2012 or after: 100% non refundable
If you need to cancel, Brinkman Travel Inc will
refund all money paid towards the tour less the applicable cancellation
fee and the insurance premium. These charges apply to the purchased tour
only and do not include cancellation charges for any other arrangements.
Pricing All
prices are based on November 15, 2011 exchange rates, supplier quotations
and a minimum of 32 passengers. In the event significant changes take
place due to circumstances beyond our control, Brinkman Travel reserves
the right to adjust the prices.
Itinerary International travel is, by its very nature,
unpredictable. Brinkman Travel reserves the right to withdraw all or part
of the tour should conditions warrant and to make alterations in the
itinerary and/or accommodation, as well as places of worship, as may be
found desirable for the convenience of the tour members or proper
execution of the tour and/or to meet local conditions at the time of
travel. We appreciate your understanding.
Currency The
Netherlands, Belgium and Germany use the same Euro, easily obtained
through Continental Currency in the Pen Centre, St. Catharines or through
ATM machines in Europe. Debit and credit cards are widely accepted.
Weather and what to wear May
–
the month of Mary
–
is the most beautiful and my most favourite time to
visit the low countries. Expect balmy weather with temperatures hovering
in the low to mid twenties degrees Celsius. We recommend you travel light,
wear and pack clothing that can be layered and combined and include a
light poncho and a fleece.
Shared and single accommodation Passengers must indicate
at the time of booking whether they want to share a hotel room or if they
prefer a single room; there are a very limited number of single rooms
available. Your roommate, if known, should also be indicated. Triple
rooms, while not recommended, can usually be arranged for. Should it not
be possible to find a compatible room mate, then the single person must be
prepared to pay the single supplement no later than six weeks prior to
departure.
Unused tour arrangements
Portions of tour arrangements, or any other service or feature of the
package, which are not used, are neither refundable nor exchangeable.
Passport
Canadian and U.S. citizens must be in possession of
a passport valid for at least six months from the return date and do not
need a visa to enter the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.
Travel
documentation Tour
documents (detailed itinerary, airline ticket, passenger list, hotel
information, suggested packing list etc.) will be mailed and/or handed out
three weeks prior to departure.
Brinkman Travel Inc, 8 Duke
Street, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2R 5W3
Phone: 905.988.9100 Email: mail
[at symbol] brinkmantravel.com
Website: brinkmantravel.com
TICO Reg. 4396230
© 2012 Brinkman Travel Inc.
All rights reserved.