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12-Day Essence of Eastern Europe |
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Take
time to discover and explore the history and stories of Jewish Eastern Europe,
from the depths of Jewish despair in the concentration camps and ghettoes to the
hopes and prayers of the revived Jewish community. With the expert guidance and
knowledge of the tour educator, you will see, hear and learn of the impossible
situations facing the Jews during the Holocaust, while also viewing the rich
life and communities they had established prior to World War Two.
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Tour Highlights
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- Guided visit through the
Okapova Cemetery, one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in the world.
- Visit the Warsaw
Ghetto.
- Interactive program in the
Kazimierz Jewish Quarter, Krakow.
- The history-filled
underground memorial and tomb of Rabbi Chaim Shrieber, known as the Chatam
Sofer.
- Shabbat dinner with members
of the Jewish community of Budapest.
- Walk across the Danube and
through the Castle Hill.
- Visit Prague's old town.
Guided visit through Jewish Prague, including the Old Ghetto, the Precious
Legacy Exhibit at the “Jewish Museum” and the Jewish cemetery.
- Visit the town of Terezin
and the showcase concentration camp, including memorial service.
Trip Includes
- 10 nights
accommodation in selected hotels.
- 2 nights
Warsaw.
- 1 night
Krakow.
- 1 night Bratislava.
- 3 nights
Budapest.
- 3 nights
Prague.
- Breakfast daily
and 6 dinners.
- Sightseeing per
itinerary in a modern air-conditioned motor coach with panoramic
windows.
- Services of a friendly and
professional English-speaking Expedition Educator throughout the trip.
- Entrance fees per
itinerary.
- All hotel portage and
tipping included.
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DAY ONE:
Sunday
- Depart the U.S. to Poland.
Overnight: Flight
DAY TWO: Monday ARRIVAL IN
WARSAW
- Arrive at Warsaw Airport.
- Welcome by our representative and
assistance with arrival formalities.
- Transfer to the hotel and check in.
(Transfer from airport to hotel is included.)
- Relax, unpack and settle in.
- Meet your Expedition Educator
and fellow travelers for opening dinner.
Overnight:
Warsaw
DAY THREE: Tuesday THE WORLD THAT
WAS
Breakfast at the hotel.
1,000 Years of Grandeur: The story of Polish Jewry,
led by Expeditions Educator.
The World That Was: A guided visit through the Okapova
Cemetery, one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in the world and a testimony to
hundreds of years of Jewish life in Poland.
Guided visit through the Warsaw Ghetto, including the
remnants of the ghetto wall, the Warsaw Ghetto Memorial, Mila 18 and
Umschlagplatz, site of the deportation of the Warsaw Jewish community to
Treblinka.
Concluding of Warsaw program at the Nozyk Synagogue,
the last remaining pre-Holocaust synagogue in Warsaw.
Da'at Encounter: Dinner with members of the Warszawa Jewish community.
Overnight: Warsaw
DAY FOUR: Wednesday THE DESTRUCTION
OF EUROPEAN JEWRY
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Check out of the hotel.
- Depart Warsaw and travel to Krakow by train.
- Arrive in Krakow.
- Depart for Auschwitz.
- In This Place: Guided visit and study session in the
Auschwitz-Birkenau camps.
- Visit the Osvizem Jewish Center.
- Return to Krakow.
- Da'at Encounter: Dinner at the hotel with members of the
Tzulent Society, young Jews in Krakow.
Or
- Da'at Encounter: Dinner and dialogue with Dr. Jolanta
Ambrosewicz-Jacobs, Head of the Center of Holocaust Studies at Jagiellonian
University and an advisor to the Auschwitz Museum.
Overnight: Krakow
DAY FIVE: Thursday RECREATING
MEMORY
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Interactive program in the Kazimierz Jewish Quarter,
including:
- The Altshul, the oldest synagogue in Poland.
- The Rema Synagogue, the synagogue of Rabbi Moses
Isserles, the ‘Rema,' the great codifier of Jewish law.
- The Rema Cemetery, where many great rabbinical leaders
of Polish Jewry are buried.
- Visit to the Galicia Museum to view a collection of
photographs known as Traces of Memory, a photographic exhibition offering a
contemporary look at the Jewish past in Poland.
- The ‘Pharmacy' gateway to the ghetto, and the Jewish
Ghetto.
- The Temple, Krakow's Reform congregation.
- The Oskar Schindler factory.
- Depart for Bratislava.
- Arrive in Bratislava and check in to the hotel. Dinner
at your hotel.
Overnight: Bratislava
DAY SIX: Friday THE JEWISH RICHNESS OF BRATISLAVA
-
Breakfast at the hotel.
-
Visit the history-filled underground memorial and tomb of
Rabbi Moses Shrieber, known as the Chatam Sofer, one of the great leaders of
pre-Holocaust Ashkenazi Jewry, buried in the remnants of the Jewish
cemetery.
-
Visit the Museum of Jewish Culture to meet with local
Jewish leaders to hear about the Bratislava (known to Jewish community as
Pressburg) Jewish Community, both past and present.
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Gather for a memorial ceremony at the Holocaust Memorial,
located on the remnants of the Pressburg Central Synagogue.
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Drive to Budapest.
An Introductory Tour of
Budapest
The Jewish History of Budapest:
From the Roman Empire through the 20th Century with Professor Michael Miller
(subject to confirmation).
Explore the history of Jewish Budapest over the past 150
years:
Check into the hotel and prepare for
Shabbat.
Optional Kabbalat Shabbat/Maariv at the
Dohaney Street Synagogue.
Da'at Encounter: Shabbat dinner with members of the
Jewish community of Budapest.
Overnight: Budapest
DAY SEVEN: Saturday SHABBAT IN
BUDAPEST
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Optional Shabbat services at one of the Budapest
synagogues.
- Free time for rest, relaxation and wandering around
Budapest.
- Walk across the Danube and through the Castle Hill
area with your tour educator.
- Free time and dinner on your
own.
Overnight: Budapest
DAY EIGHT: Sunday JEWISH LIFE IN
BUDAPEST
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Guided visit through downtown Budapest, including
Heroes Square and the sprawling boulevards of Budapest.
- Da'at Encounter: Drive across to Pest for a special
program with the Budapest Jewish Youth Club or at the Jewish Community
Center.
- Visit the Small Synagogue, one of the oldest in the
area of Budapest.
- The Fake Cemetery, site of a repository of Jewish
tombstones dating from as far back as the 13th century.
- Stop in at the Raul Wallenberg Memorial
- Drive to the Danube Bend and the unique village of
Szendentaire, including its small and one-of-a-kind synagogue.
- Dinner on your own, followed by an optional cultural
event (on your own).
Overnight: Budapest
DAY NINE: Monday BETWEEN BUDAPEST
AND PRAGUE
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Depart for Brno in the Czech Republic.
- Da'at Encounter: Visit the Brno Synagogue, and meet with
one of the last Jews remaining in this once-thriving Jewish community.
- Drive to Prague.
- Arrive in Prague and ascend Metronome Hill for a brief
orientation to Prague.
- Check in to hotel.
- Free time and dinner on your own in Prague's Old
Town.
- Introductory welcome tour of the center of Prague with
your tour educator.
Overnight: Prague
DAY TEN:
Tuesday THE GLORY OF PRAGUE
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- From the Maharal to Kafka, the
Legacy of Jewish Prague, with the Da'at tour educator.
- Ascend to the Prague Castle for a
guided tour of the Castle and an overview of the City of 100 Spires, a walk
along the Golden Lane, through the Lesser Town and over the Charles
Bridge.
- Guided visit through Jewish
Prague, including the Old Ghetto, the Precious Legacy Exhibit at the Jewish
Museum and the Jewish cemetery.
- The Altneu Shul, the longest
continually used synagogue in Europe and site of the first use of the Magen
David.
- The Pincus Synagogue, a memorial
to the Jews of Prague who died in the Holocaust.
- The Klausen Synagogue, where the
Nazis first established their 1943 exhibit: “Jewish Life from the Cradle to
the Grave.”
- The Maisel Synagogue, named after
a Jewish mayor of Prague, exemplifying the Golden Age of Jewish Prague.
- The Old Cemetery, with the graves
of such Jewish luminaries as Judah Loew, the Maharal and Mordechai Maisel, and
the ceremonial hall with the well-known Hevra Kadisha paintings.
- Da'at Encounter: dinner
and wrap-up conversation with group members.
Overnight: Prague
DAY ELEVEN: Wednesday MEMORY AND
CONTINUITY
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Da'at Encounter: Dialogue with a survivor of
Terezin.
- Depart the hotel.
- Visit the town of Terezin and the showcase
concentration camp, including the new art museum and the recently discovered
synagogue previously hidden in a potato shed.
- Participate in a memorial service at Terezin.
- Return to Prague.
- Free time to wander around Prague's Old Town.
- Jewish Life in Europe: A vision toward the future,
with the Expeditions tour educator.
- Dinner on your own.
Overnight: Prague
DAY TWELVE: Thursday DEPARTURE
Breakfast at the hotel.
Depart for the Prague Airport.
Transfer to the airport for flight home. (Transfer is
included from hotel to the airport. Please allow a minimum of three hours for
check-in.)
Fly home.
Arrive in U.S. on the same
day.
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Need to Know
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- Tour prices are per person in U.S.
dollars. All hotel accommodations, motor coach transportation, special
dinners, sightseeing, admissions, luggage handling and the services of local
guides, drivers, and the Expedition Educator are included.
- Hotel Accommodations: The
tour price includes all hotel accommodations, in hotel rooms with private
baths. Our standard is to provide the best available hotels while considering
value. Although the level of the accommodations may differ slightly from hotel
to hotel, we are committed to your comfort. Two-bed rooms are reserved in most
hotels. Triples are two-bed rooms with a rollaway cot where available and are
not recommended when considering the comfort of those in the room. King-size
beds are not available in most hotels; what is considered king-size usually
consists of two single beds pushed together and made up separately, but with
one headboard. Some two-bed rooms may have two twin - not full- or queen-size
- beds.
- Meals are included as
specified in the itinerary.
- Expedition Educator: All
trips are conducted by our Expedition Educators or local guides who remain
with the group throughout the tour.
- Gratuities Included: All
gratuities for restaurant and hotel staff.
- Luggage Responsibility: All tour
packages allow one piece of luggage per person and one carry-on bag. Excess
luggage will be subject to charge of up to $100 per piece. The Travel Agent
and/or Tour Operator shall not be held responsible for any damage to or loss
of luggage/personal items. All damage/loss must be reported at time of
incident and documented in writing by local authorities for submission to your
insurance company.
Not Included
- Airfare to the tour
departure point and from the tour ending point is not included. Airfare may be
purchased from us for travel originating in the United States. Please see
Flights tab in the right-side toolbar.
- Personal Expenses: All
personal expenses such as: laundry, valet service, cables, telephone calls and
postage are not included.
- Guide and Driver
Gratuities:
- 4 seater -
$70 (i.e. 2 pax) - per day
- 7 seater - $90
(i.e. 3-5 pax) - per day
- 10 seater - $110
(i.e. 5-7 pax) - per day
- 10-19
passengers: Guide $10, driver $5 - per participant per day
- 20 passengers
and more: Guide $8, driver $4 - per participant per
day
Additional Information
- Airline Security Measures:
In the U.S., you must provide identification in the form of a passport at the
time of airport check-in for travel to international destinations. Your
passport name must match the name on your tour reservation and airline ticket
or you may be denied boarding.
- If you are traveling from an
airport outside the jurisdiction of the U.S, you will need to determine what
travel documentation and identification is required for that particular
airport.
- Due to heightened security
regulations, certain items such as a metal nail file, pocketknife, cigarette
lighter or tweezers, and some liquid, gel, or aerosol items may not be
permitted in your carry-on luggage. Please call your airline prior to
departure to obtain current information on non-permissible carry-on items and
recommended airport check-in times. You may also wish to visit the
Transportation Security Administration website at www.tsa.gov to obtain more
information on acceptable identity documentation and prohibited luggage
items.
- Holidays and Museum Closures
- Museum visits and personal shopping time may be disrupted due to unforeseen
circumstances or the many religious, state and local holidays locally observed
in the destinations being visited.
- Photography During Tours: We will
occasionally use photographs taken by fellow guests or your trip director for
promotional purposes. If you prefer that your photo not be used in any
marketing activities, please notify us at the start of your
tour.
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View Map
Accommodations
- 12 Day | The Esscene of Eastern Europe
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Day 2 - 3: Radisson SAS Centrum Hotel
Warsaw
Warsaw's Radisson SAS is located in the city center, close to the
Palace of
Science and Culture
and within walking distance to the Old
Town and most of
the city's tourist highlights, making it an ideal location for your Warsaw
stay.
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Day 4: Radisson SAS Hotel
Krakow
The
Radisson SAS Krakow is located in the city center, just two minutes away from
the largest market square in Europe. The five-star hotel is also close to the
city's main tourist attractions, shops, restaurants and entertainment venues,
making it ideal for tourists.
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Day 5: Radisson SAS Hotel
Bratislava
The Radisson SAS Carlton Hotel welcomes
visitors to its impressive historical building, situated in the heart of
Bratislava´s premier residential district. Spacious and elegantly appointed
rooms as well as suites decorated in a contemporary or classic style feature
heated bathroom floors and Nespresso coffee machines for a truly luxurious stay.
The capital's most attractive shopping areas, elegant restaurants and galleries,
as well as the Slovak National Theatre and the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra are
easily reachable on foot.
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Day 6 - 8: Novotel Budapest Danube
Budapest
Offering a panoramic view of the
Hungarian Parliament, one of the most architecturally beautiful buildings of
Central Europe, the Novotel Budapest is situated along the Danube River, with an
exterior and interior that evoke the spirit of the Danube. It is a hotel of
spirited elegance and young, retro elements.
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Day 9 - 11: Hilton Prague Old Town
Prague
Located in the heart of Prague's Old Town, the
Hilton overlooks the gates of the city and is within walking distance of Prague
Castle, Wenceslaw Square, the Jewish Quarter and Charles Bridge. The newly
refurbished interior offers luxury and comfort, from the rooms to the bar and
hotel restaurant.
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Dates & Prices
Program
The AW Added Value
AW Flights
Reading List
Need to Know
Peace of Mind
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