Jewish Europe
11-days tour
Warsaw – Krakow – Prague – Budapest
Eastern Europe offers a wide range of cultural, political and scenic variety. But also the Jewish life and culture have played an important role – and it still does. During your trip to Warsaw, Krakow, Prague and Budapest you will get an insight of these fascinating cities – from the UNESCO World Heritage of Krakow up to the beautiful capital at the Danube. Come and experience the pearls of Eastern Europe.
Day 1: Arrival in Warsaw
Arrival at the airport of Warsaw where you will be met by your English-speaking tour leader. Transfer to the hotel and check-in. Dinner will be at a restaurant in Warsaw.
Day 2: City tour Warsaw
Your first day in Europe is dedicated to the city of Warsaw with the topic “Warsaw Ghetto”. Before World War II, there were three synagogues in Warsaw. Today, only the Nozysk Synagogue still exists. You will visit Ludwik Zamenoff Street with the Monument to the Heroes of the Ghetto where Willy Brandt, the German Chancellor, in a gesture of humility kneeled down in December 1970 and asked for forgiveness. Next, you visit the Museum of Jewish History and the Umschlagplatz Memorial that commemorates the place from which more than 300,000 Jews were deported to death camps. Dinner on your own.
Day 3: Via Radomsko to Krakow
After breakfast you will leave Warsaw and drive to Radomsko for a lunch break. You will continue to Krakow and after check-in at the hotel you will have time at leisure. Dinner at a nice restaurant in Krakow.
Day 4: Krakow
The whole day is dedicated to one of the country’s most beautiful cities: Krakow. Until 1596, it was the capitol of Poland and residence of many Polish kings. At the market square you will see St. Mary’s Church with its magnificent high altar and the Cloth Hall. In 1978, the old city of Krakow has been added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage. Furthermore, you will see the Wawel Hill. A tour around the castle is like going back in time as it reflects styles of four different ages. Of course you will also visit the former Jewish Quarter Kazimierz where about 70,000 Jews lived until 1939. Until today, the Jewish influence is present and there are still seven synagogues that all have been reconstructed step by step. You will see the small Remuh Synagogue with the cemetery. Dinner on your own.
Day 5: Auschwitz-Birkenau
You will leave Krakow for visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau, the former German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp located in Oswiecim. It is the only concentration camp that is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. It was the largest of all Nazi concentration camps in Europe and more than 1,100,000 men, women and children lost their lives there. In the afternoon, you will drive back to Krakow where you will enjoy a farewell dinner before leaving Poland in the morning.
Day 6: Leaving Poland – Arrival in Prague
After breakfast you will leave Krakow and head to Prague. Dinner at a restaurant close to the hotel.
Day 7: Jewish Prague
Spend the whole day in Prague and see the highlights of the city from the Jews’ point of view: you will visit Prague Castle (home of the President and several government offices), follow the footsteps of Franz Kafka in the Old City and see the Jewish Quarter that comprises the most well-preserved complex of Jewish historical monuments in whole Europe. There, you will visit the Jewish Museum and the Synagogue as well as the Jewish Cemetery where you can find the grave of Rabbi Loew for example. Dinner on you own.
Day 8: Via Bratislava to Budapest
In the morning you will leave Prague and the Czech Republic and drive to Bratislava. You will visit the Jewish Community Museum that is located in the only synagogue of Bratislava. The visit also includes this building which is a rare cubist synagogue and has been included to the “Top 14 Sites” by the Bratislava Tourism Board for 2015. You will continue to Budapest and check-in at your hotel. After dinner at Café Kor, you will enjoy a boat tour on the Danube.
Day 9: Budapest – Szentendre
In the morning you will enjoy a sightseeing tour of Budapest including the City Park, Andrássy Boulevard with the Opera, St. Stephans-Basilika, the Buda Castle district with St. Matthias Church and the Fisherman’s Bastion. After lunch, you will visit the picturesque artists’ village Szentendre where you will enjoy some leisure time in the afternoon. Dinner at a local restaurant.
Day 10: Jewish Budapest
After breakfast you will explore the Jewish quarter on the “Pest” side of the city. You will have the chance to visit the Dohany Street Synagogue, the largest synagogue built before the 20th century. You will also visit the Hungarian Jewish Museum as well as the Rumbach Street Synagogue. Following lunch, you will visit the Holocaust Museum. As this is your last day in Budapest and Europe, you will have a farewell dinner at a local restaurant in the old section of Jewish Budapest.
Day 11: Departure
Transfer to Budapest airport and flight back to the US.
