Germany
Berlin, Potsdam, Dresden, Munich, Worms, Frankfurt
12 DAYS TOUR IN POLAND AND GERMANY MOSTLY JEWISH HERITAGE
DEPART FOR FLIGHT
Depart for overnight flight to Krakow.
Day 1 KRAKOW
Arrive in Krakow – after checking into the hotel, a walking tour of this lovely little town. Visit the Wawel Castle, historic home of the Polish kings, now an eclectic grouping embracing several periods. Walk through the Old Town Square followed this evening by our welcome dinner.
Overnight: Hotel, Krakow
Day 2 KRAKOW’S JEWISH HERITAGE
Explore the Kazimierz, Krakow’s former Jewish quarter and now living a ‘Jewish Renaissance’ – visits to the famous old Remuh synagogue, Schindler’s factory on the former Plaszow Concentration Camp site, Wawel Hill and the Cloth Hall.
Day 4 AUSCHWITZ and BIRKENAU
A sober encounter with the past at the two concentration camps where the largest numbers of European Jews were killed during the Holocaust.
Overnight: Hotel, Krakow
Day 4 WARSAW
By train, 2 ½ hours to Warsaw. We meet for a panoramic tour of the city’s mix of architectural styles, including the Old Town Square– Lazienkowski Park with the monument to Frederic Chopin. Palace of Culture and Science, Krakowskie Przedmiescie Street. This boulevard is considered Warsaw’s Champs Elysees, a Royal Street, as it is known. There is the option to visit The Chopin Family Drawing Room at The Academy of Fine Arts. It was a part of Chopin Family's House before they moved abroad. This optional excursion includes an afternoon Chopin piano concert with a glass of wine in this stunning Lazienkowski Park. There will be so much to discuss at dinner this evening!
Overnight: Hotel, Warsaw
Day 5 JEWISH WARSAW
By coach to see the great city monuments, including the Nozyk Synagogue, the only surviving synagogue in Warsaw. Walk through the ghetto area to mourn at the Umschlagplatz Memorial, site of the deportations, then to rejoice at the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes. Visit the Gensa Cemetery, resting place of Poland’s Torah scholars.
Overnight: Hotel, Warsaw
Day 6 BERLIN
By train, 5 ½ hours to Berlin. Our clients always enjoy this relaxing time to talk, read, see the scenery changes; of course, enjoy a nap with iPods in place! On arrival in this exuberant and beautiful capital city, we’ll set out for an introduction by coach to survey famous landmarks, including the Olympic Stadium (the somewhat intimidating 1936 Olympics played here); the outstanding summer palace of Schloss Charlottenburg; remnants of the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie. The grandeur of the Brandenburg Gate always touches visitors (be sure to see it during night illumination) unfolds. An unforgettable highlight this evening is our special VIP tour inside the Reichstag. The architecture of Sir Norman Foster brought an outstanding reversal of what was old and destroyed in war. View Contemporary Art of today’s Germany and the new Chancery. Our dinner here in the Reichstag will be perfect!
Overnight: Hotel, Berlin
Day 7 BERLIN
Enjoy a morning at leisure to wander and shop. Berlin’s public transportation is everywhere and excellent. We’ll gather this afternoon to tour the western sector of Berlin, a treat for your senses at the legendary KDV department store. Then the rich greenery of the Tiergarten, and the historic Memorial Church, kept as it looked on the day in WWII when all except the tower was destroyed. For Berliners, this is the true symbol of the city’s rebirth. This evening, choosing where to have your dinner will be very challenging—so many choices! Ask us!
Overnight: Hotel, Berlin
Day 8 EXCURSION TO WANSEE AND POTSDAM
By coach to Potsdam, close to Berlin and capital of Brandenburg State. Here is the palace of Frederick the Great—the enclosed park and “petit” Sanssouci, consisting of gardens, parkland, palaces and pavilions, mainly of the 18th century. This is surely one of the finest such complexes to be found anywhere. Drive through Potsdam town centre, with its Dutch quarter and cathedral by the architect, Schinkel. Leaving Potsdam, next arrive in Wannsee, calm and beautiful, but with a place in history of pure infamy. It was here that the Nazi Wannsee Conference took place, and the “Final Solution” was planned. Returning to Berlin, stop at the moving memorial to the Jews in Berlin, at Track 17, with a special Yizkor service. Rest a while, today included so much. Dinner together will be enjoyable and a good time to discuss all the highlights and photos.
Overnight: Hotel, Berlin
Day 9 BERLIN
On foot to admire the historic architecture along and around Unter den Linden: the Arsenal, Schinkel’s Guardhouse, Frederick the Great’s Opera House, the Gendarmenmarkt with twin churches and concert hall. Then to a favorite site for all visitors to Berlin: Museum Island. We’ve selected several highlights for the visit: the Babylon Gate and Pergamon Altar at the Pergamon Museum. It will be pleasurable to then board the glass boat for an afternoon cruise through the city centre on the River Spree. Again, your personal dinner choices will be exciting.
Overnight: Hotel, Berlin
Day 10 JEWISH BERLIN
A comprehensive tour of the Old Jewish Quarter, including the old Jewish cemetery, the site of the first synagogue and the brilliant Jewish Museum designed by Daniel Liebeskind. Lunch will be at Lieberman Restaurant. Then to the Oranienstrasse Synagogue and the Centrum Judaicum, restored and exquisite in brilliant colors and Moorish architecture. The final visit today is to the moving Holocaust Memorial. Walk through the disorienting maze aboveground and the subterranean place of history and tribute, designed by architect Peter Eisenman and engineer Buro Happold. We’d like to suggest and reserve your final night’s dinner in Berlin.
Overnight: Hotel, Berlin
Day 11 DRESDEN
By coach to Dresden, stopping en route to tour the Meissen Porcelain Museum. After arrival in Dresden, visit the Baroque Zwinger Palace, the splendid Frauenkirche and the Opera House—all gloriously restored from almost total destruction. Lunch together will be excellent. We’ll visit the new synagogue, unique and interesting in its total lack of windows and sober—yet brilliant—design.
We hope to attend a performance this evening at the opera! TBA
Overnight: Hotel, Dresden
Day 12 EXCURSION TO WEIMAR
By coach to beautifully restored Weimar. A walking tour through town to admire its magnificent classical architecture and the first site of the Bauhaus School. Here is Goethe’s Baroque home and Schiller’s residence. Dresden’s library is known for its Rococo hall, and we’ll enjoy the delightful market square. Of course, a visit to the Bauhaus Museum.
Relax a bit and prepare for tonight’s farewell celebratory dinner.
Overnight: Hotel, Dresden
Day 13 DEPART DRESDEN
Transfer to the airport for homeward flights or consider extending your stay in Prague. We are the experts to help for this well-chosen extension.
Tour to Central Europe:
DAY 1, Monday: We depart Toronto on our overnight flight to Berlin.
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Day 2, Tuesday: Pick up and 4 hours tour
Arrival in Berlin, where we will be met by our guide. Transfer to the hotel
In the afternoon, the guests will be picked up for a Discovery Tour of Berlin.
Brandenburg Gate and Parisen Platz, Unter den Linden, State Opera House,
Prussian Armoury (
Humboldt University, Bebel Platz, State with Ulman memorial, Royal Library, St. Hedwig's Catholic Church, Berlin Cathedral (Lutheran), Museum Island with 5 federal museums including the PERGAMON MUSEUM, Site of former and future Prussian-German Royal Palace, German and French Cathedrals, Old National Theatre (Concert Hall), Friedrichstrasse with Checkpoint Charlie.
Overnight in
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Day 3, Wednesday: Breakfast. ( Grand tour of Berlin- 4 hours)
9 a.m. Our guide will meet the guests in the lobby of the hotel and begin the tour of the city; Gendermarket, one the the most beautiful squares in Germany. New Meissler monument, next to Checkpoint Charlie, The Berlin Wall and Potsdamer Platz, what was "no man’s land." Visit to the Reichstag, seat of the German Parliament and one of Berlin's most historical—and now, unique-- landmarks. It is close to the Brandenburg Gate, and before the unification, it stood right next to the wall. The latest reconstruction started in 1995 and was completed in 1999. The design by Sir Norman Foster added a glass dome over the plenary hall. Since April 1999, the Reichstag is once again the seat of the German Bundestag.
Berlin Walls and East Side Gallery.
Lunch on own at the Kaefer restaurant on the roof of the Reichstag.
Overnight
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Day 4, Thursday: Breakfast. (Jewish
9 am: Meet to start this Jewish Heritage tour of Berlin,
Depart for the Mitte
Walking tour along Hamburger Strasse to view Residential Monument and Mendelssohn’s Grave. We will stop and visit Oranienburger Strasse Synagogue, the Neue Synagoge. In the 19th and early 20th centuries this was the main Jewish area of Berlin.The Synagogue was burned during Kristallnacht on November 9, 1938 but the blaze was put out before much damage was done. The Nazis occupied the building in 1940 and desecrated the Synagogue by using it for storage.
The Synagogue sustained severe damage by Allied bombs during the war, and for years it was left as an empty shell. Restoration began in 1988, with the reopening of the Synagogue on May 7, 1995, the 50th anniversary of the German surrender. Like many of the Synagogues in
Visit Blind Otto Weidt Workshop, where blind and deaf Jews were protected by Weidt, refusing to give them up to the Nazis. An important memorial.
Visit to Rosen Strasse Memorial. The Rosenstrasse protest took place on 27th February,1943 during the Holocaust, when the Nazis wanted to roundup the last of the Jews in Berlin during Fabrikaktion, but met resistance from the victims' relatives.
In the afternoon visit the Jewish Museum (building designed by Daniel Libeskind) The Museum is open seven days a week from 10.00 - 20.00 hours. No pre-booking is necessary.
The Jewish Museum is NOT a Holocaust Museum (that is the Wannsee Centre - see below). The permanent exhibition deals with the Jewish contribution to life in
Overnight
Day 5, Friday: Breakfast. (Wansee, Potsdam, other World War II sites- 6 hours)
Depart for Wannsee. The Wannsee Conference was a meeting of senior Nazi officials, held in this Berlin suburb on 20 January, 1942. The purpose of the conference was to inform heads of German Government Departments that had responsibility for various policies relating to Jews of Reinhard Heydrich's appointment as the sole executor of the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question," and to obtain their agreement to subordinate their policies to him. In the course of the meeting, Heydrich presented a plan, approved by Hitler, for the deportation of the Jewish population of Europe to German-occupied areas of the Soviet Union, and the use of those Jews fit for labor on road-building projects; that plan was never fully implemented, owing to the failure to achieve final victory over the Soviet Union, and most of the Jews of German-occupied Europe were sent to extermination or concentration camps, or killed where they lived.
Potsdam's fairy-tale landscapes appear as a blessing from nature, but are actually the result of hundreds of years of human endeavour, in pursuit of paradise on earth. Visit the mock-16th century
But the cruel realities of 20th century history shattered this world in 1945; we explain how the old city palace was destroyed at the end of the war. See where an American president, a Soviet dictator and a British prime minister sealed the fate of
The tour ends back in the 18th century: finish in the beautiful park of "Sanssouci," literally "Without a Care"!
In Potsdam we follow this route: Cecilienhof Palace; Dutch Quarter; Brandenburg Gate; Friedenskirche; east end of Sanssouci Park; Sanssouci Palace.
Overnight
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Day 6, Saturday: Breakfast. (Dresden: 2 hour drive and a 3 hour tour )
(For Jewish Clients, On Request) A morning Shabbat service in Ryke Strasse synagogue (Reform) or Oranienburger Strasse synagogue. Your guide will join. A morning to relax if not attending a service.
After the service, at 11:00 am or 12 noon, depart for Dresden. (Lunch can be in Berlin or in Dresden and depends on the Shabbat service’s end.
Check-in the hotel with time to rest or an introductory guided tour of Dresden. (The afternoon and evening will be free.).
Dresden is a city with a fascinating history and heritage, with its extensive collection of attractions. We visit the splendid Frauenkirche and the magnificent Zwinger Palace, then to the Burg Stolpen Fortress. Glimpse the city's rather unexpected past here, featuring a particularly gruesome torture chamber.
Overnight in Dresden
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After breakfast we will have a half day tour with our guide, enjoying the important and wonderful Opera House and Bruehl Terrace, nicknamed "The Balcony of Europe" and situated on the river Elbe. Afterwards, the Castle of Dresden is the next wonder: fascinating for its multitude of architectural styles, from the Romanesque start in 1200, through the medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and continuing.
After lunch on your own, the scenic journey to Prague starts, about two hours. On the way we stop and enjoy the Saxon Switzerland. Sächsische Schweiz is a mountainous national park in this Saxony district of Germany. It continues into the Czech Republic, the familiar title becoming the Bohemian Switzerland. This is a welcome treat, with stunning views to savor and photograph.
Afternoon at leisure upon arrival in Prague at the hotel
Overnight in
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DAY 8, Monday: Breakfast. (Jewish
After breakfast at 09:00 meet the guide in the hotel lobby to start the walking (full day)
Golden Prague commences at Hradcany Royal Castle and 1,000 years unfold. St. Vitus Cathedral, the world famous Charles Bridge, and then continue to the Old Town Square with the famous Astronomical Clock
After lunch on own the afternoon’s full highlight will be the discovery of the rich Jewish life in Prague, one of the most important Jewish centers in Europe. Documentary evidence reveals that Jews have lived in Prague since 970 C.E. By the end of the 11th century, a Jewish community had been fully established.
In the Old City the most important sites to visit are: Josefov quarter, Prague's Jewish town, with its Old Town Hall, Alt-Neu Synagogue, the Spanish Synagogue, the Pinkas Synagogue, the Jewish Cemetery dating from the 13th century and the State Jewish Museum.
By day’s end, all this incredible history and beauty will have left an indelible mark in every heart and mind.
Overnight in Prague
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DAY 9, Tuesday: Breakfast. (Terezin, 5hrs tour) This tour is suggested for any program to this part of Europe, given the historical significance. But it can also be a day of leisure for shopping, relaxing, just going off on your own.
Terezin, was the “model” Nazi Concentration camp. We visit the Fortress, Jewish Cemetery, Museum, the hidden synagogue, the
Return to Prague at about 4:00 p.m.
Overnight in
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Day 10, Wednesday: Breakfast and departures to the airport.