2014 and 2015

To: Persons interested in the Journey to the Homeland Tours

From: Michael M. Miller, Director & Bibliographer
Tour Director, Journey to the Homeland Tours

We are pleased that there continues to be an interest in visiting Odessa, Ukraine, and the former Bessarabian, Black Sea, and Crimean German villages. Travel to the former Volga German, Mennonite German, Hutterite, and Volhyian villages are not included with the Journey to the Homeland Tours.

Only villages in southern Ukraine including villages in the former Bessarabia today in Ukraine and Moldova; former Black Sea German villages near Odessa and in Moldova; and former Crimean German villages are included with the Journey to the Homeland Tours.

2014 Journey to the Homeland Tour dates: (Registration deadline is 1 March 2014)

There is a minimum of 15 persons with paid registrations before a tour can be offered. We will notify you by March 2014 if the tour will not be offered.

Persons registering for the Journey to the Homeland Tour need to have airline arrangements as part of the tour package. Use of frequent flyer miles for travel to Europe are not permitted with the travel arrangements.

The Land Tour price is $3,250 to $3,500 USD per person. The tour package includes the following:

Individual tour members will be able to return from Germany at a later date if they desire. For travel adjustment dates, please contact the Sheila Anderson, Kramme Travel, 800-999-1585.

Travel insurance and other information will be provided once person has completed the confirmed tour registration forms.

Our Journey to the Homeland Tours to Odessa, Ukraine, and to Stuttgart, Germany, have been sponsored since May, 1996.

It is important that each tour member visit their ancestral German villages in the former Bessarabia or the Black Sea German villages near Odessa, Ukraine. We make every effort for this to happen. Excellent contacts in Odessa have been established with Odessa Intourist guides, drivers and translators.

E-mail messages from Odessa and Stuttgart were prepared by tour members during their memorable days in Russia, Ukraine and Germany for tours 1996 to present. These e-mail messages appear at the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection website.

Refunds
Should a reservation need to be canceled because of personal reasons of a tour member, a full refund less a $600 USD per person administrative fee will be made for a tour cancellation received on or before 1 February 2014.

If there are family members who wish to join the tour as a group, please notify them so that you can join the same tour especially for the visits to the former German villages.

To register for the May 2014 tour, please send your first payment of $500 USD per person payable to NDSU Libraries to the following address: Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, NDSU Libraries, P.O. Box 6050, Dept #2080, Fargo, ND 58108-6050. Please note that tour reservations are accepted according to the postmark on the initial check received for payment.

For the May 2014 tour, the minimum number of paid tour registrations needs to be 15 persons. We will contact persons by March 2014, regarding plans for the May 2014 tour if registrations are less than 15 persons.

Please advise if you wish to be placed on our priority list for the May 2014 tour. To be placed on the 2014 priority list, a $500 USD per person first payment fee is required.

Please print, forward and share the 2014 tour information with interested persons.

We hope that you will consider joining us for one of our future Journey to the Homeland Tours. It is truly an unforgettable experience to last a lifetime!