DUE TO CORONAVIRUS THIS TOUR IS CANCELED FOR 2020.
NEW DATES FOR 2021 WILL BE ADVICED DURING JULY 2020.
Berlin may be the last place you expect to find Jewish renaissance, but it is in fact taking place in Germany’s capital this very day. Come and spend some days in Berlin, and explore its Jewish past, present and future. Learn about World War II and the Holocaust, observe the current Jewish revival taking place in the city today. Berlin is one of Europe’s cultural capitals whose vibrancy cannot be ignored.
From Berlin, continue for an unforgettable experience and unique journey through Poland, the country that was home to the largest Jewish population in Europe and served as the center for Jewish culture. The most important spiritual center for the Hasidic movement in an earlier age, Poland is the country where many of the most infamous war crimes of WWII were committed; including the extermination of over 1 million European Jews in the German Death Camp of Auschwitz.
Close thisFlight: New York – Berlin.
Arrival to Berlin. Meet our Tour Escort and begin a short orientation tour to Brandenburg Gate, Under den Linden, Potsdam Platz Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall. Overnight: Berlin.
Today we’ll concentrate mainly on the Jewish history of Berlin. We will start from the New Synagogue. Along with the Jewish Museum and the Holocaust Memorial, this synagogue is one of Berlin’s most significant Jewish landmarks.
READ MOREWe’ll continue to Otto Weidt’s Workshop for the Blind which tells the story of a shop which employed mainly blind and deaf Jews during World War II and through this saved their lives. We’ll stop at the Grunewald S-Bahn station, from where between autumn 1941 and spring 1942, deportation trains departed carrying Berlin Jews to ghettos and extermination camps in the east. We’ll continue to the Topography of Terror Exhibit, an outdoor and indoor history museum, and at the Memorial of the Jews of the Bavarian quarter. Our tour ends with the “Mirrored Wall” located on Hermann-Ehlers-Platz in Berlin’s Steglitz district which is a memorial wall encased in mirrors. It serves as a reminder of the synagogue which was once located in the courtyard. Overnight: Berlin.
Close thisMorning visit to the Pergamon museum. The impressive reconstructions of massive archaeological structures that have made the Pergamon Museum famous throughout the world.
READ MOREThen we’ll continue the tour visiting Oranienburg and the Memorial and Museum at the concentration camp of Sachsenhausen. In 1936, the SS built the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp next to Oranienburg. Until 1945, more than 200,000 people from all over Europe were imprisoned here. From 1945-1950, the Soviet Special Camp No. 7/No. 1 was located on the site. In 1961, the GDR founded the Sachsenhausen National Memorial. The present Memorial and the Sachsenhausen Museum have been part of the Brandenburg Memorials Foundation since 1993. This evening we will enjoy a boat ride on the river Spree. Overnight: Berlin.
Close thisThis morning we will depart to Poland. We will stop in Poznan for short visit. Poznan is the historical capital of Greater Poland. It carries many ages of tradition, reaching back to the 10th century, and the beginnings of the Polish nation.
READ MOREWe’ll see Old Market Square and smart Poznan Town Hall houses. After the visit in Poznan, we will arrive to the capital of Poland – Warsaw. We’ll enjoy a panoramic tour of Warsaw, and a walk through the Old Town. Overnight: Warsaw.
Close thisIn the morning we’ll travel to Lodz, where before WWII the Jewish Community was an integral part of the textile industry, including I.K Poznanski – owner of the largest textile plant in Europe at that time.
READ MOREWe’ll visit the Jewish Cemetery, Lodz Ghetto and Radagast Station, where the Jews of Lodz Ghetto were gathered for deportation to the extermination camps of Auschwitz and Chelmno. We’ll return to Warsaw to explore the Jewish Heritage sites of Warsaw – the second largest Jewish Community in Europe before WWII. We’ll visit the old Jewish Cemetery of Okopowa St, continuing to Grzybowski Sq where the Nozyk Synagogue and Jewish Theater are to be found. From there we’ll go on to see the Ghetto wall at Zlota St. In the afternoon we’ll visit the newly opened Museum of the History of Polish Jews – Polin.
Evening Services followed by Shabbat Dinner. Overnight: Warsaw.
After morning services and Shabbat Lunch we’ll enjoy a walking tour of the city. Overnight: Warsaw.
We’ll depart Warsaw early in the morning and travel to Kazimierz Dolny – one of the most beautifully situated little towns in Poland, famous for its well preserved Renaissance urban plan and appearance.
READ MOREThe Jewish Community was present in the city from the time of Casmir III the Great in 14th century. From there we’ll continue to Majdanek – the Nazi German concentration and extermination camp established on the outskirts of Lublin during the German occupation of Poland in WWII. From Majdanek we’ll continue to visit the Lublin Ghetto and Yeshiva Chachmei Lublin – one of the most important centers of Torah study in prewar Poland. Overnight: Lublin.
Close thisToday we’ll travel via Galicia to Krakow. We’ll visit Lezajsk and the grave of Rabbi Elimelech – one of the great founding Rebbes of the Hassidic movement.
READ MOREWe’ll continue to Lancut with its picturesque Baroque Synagogue and Castle of the famous Graf Potocki. Toward the end of the day we’ll arrive to Tarnow, where before WWII Jewish Community consisted 25,000 members, both religious Hasidim and secular Zionists. Overnight: Krakow.
Close thisIn the morning we’ll visit the Wieliczka Salt Mines – one of the world’s oldest salt mines, called “the Underground Salt Cathedral of Poland” and placed in 1978 on UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites.
READ MOREIn the afternoon we’ll tour Krakow starting with the Jewish Quarter of Kazimierz with its remarkable Synagogues: Temple (the largest Synagogue in Krakow), Isaac, Remah and its Cemeteries: Kuppa and Altshul (Poland’s oldest remain Synagogue). We’ll then visit Podgorze Ghetto with the Pharmacy of Tadeusz Pankiewicz and Oscar Schindler’s Factory. Overnight: Krakow.
Close thisAfter Breakfast we’ll depart to Auschwitz – Birkenau, the largest of the German Nazi concentration camps and exterminations center, where over 1 million men, women and children were murdered.
READ MOREIn the evening we’ll take a walking tour of Krakow Old Town. Overnight: Krakow.
Close thisTransfer to the Airport for our flight home.
* Price per person in USD double or twin room
** Supplement Price for single room
Round trip air fare from New York as per itinerary.
First Class hotels.
Kosher Meals daily. (For details see General Conditions).
Transportation by air conditioned coaches.
Sightseeing, transfers and entrance fees as per Itinerary.
Experienced English speaking Tour Escort.
Tips for local service providers.
* Price of tour is subject to change due to change in air fare.
Airport and security tax.
Travel Insurance (for details see General Conditions).
Personal expenses.
Tips for the Tour Escort. (Recommended: $5 per person per day)
Optional tours.
Individual transfers.
Any item not mentioned under “included in price”.
There may be changes to the order of places visited. We will make every effort to visit every place mentioned in the itinerary.
The tour organizers have no control over airline services such as seating, special meal requests, changes in departure times or delays. These remain the sole responsibility of the airline company.
Only strictly kosher food is provided to our travelers on all our tours. On some of our tours we are able to provide glatt meals. Kashrut is of utmost importance to us and we take special measures to ensure that everything served is kosher.
Breakfast is prepared using our utensils. We use local fresh fruits and vegetables, and we use milk products when they are permitted. We use kosher cereals, and bread. We usually serve hard boiled eggs and sometimes scrambled eggs or omelets. At breakfast, we prepare our lunches so that people have their choice as to what they eat for lunch. We bring food from Israel to supplement what is served in the hotel such as cheeses, peanut butter, tuna, etc.
For dinners, we serve either fish or meat (usually chicken) as our main course. In areas where meat is not available nor readily acquired, we will have fish. When possible, we acquire the meat locally from Chabad or other reliable kosher source, and in some cases we fly the meat in from Israel. We try to provide as many meat meals as possible. The main course at dinner is preceded by soup and salad and accompanied by freshly prepared vegetables. Dessert typically consists of fresh fruits.
We do not guarantee Pat Israel and Chalav Israel for all destinations.
In many destinations we have our own dishes and silverware. Where we don’t, we provide disposables at the meals. When we cook in hotel kitchens, we use our own knives, cutting boards, pots and pans, cooking implements and disposable metal trays. All food preparation is done on covered surfaces under the strict supervision of our trained staff/guides who function as our mashgichim.
We make great efforts to assure that our travelers will experience local foods first-hand, while maintaining stringent observance of Kashrut laws on all occasions.
On most of our tours, you will be accompanied by two of our staff members- one a guide for the tour who is knowledgeable about the places you are visiting and will accompany you throughout the day and the second, a person who will deal with the logistics of the tour and provide kashrut supervision in the kitchen.
It is our aim to provide the finest hotel possible in each area we visit. We require our hotels to allow us to work in the kitchen and to supervise the cooking and there are many hotels that are not willing to cooperate. They simply have no desire for us to be “meddling” in their cooking process nor are they happy about our bringing our equipment into their kitchens. We work very hard to find the best hotel in the area that will meet our requirements. Because we are not ready to compromise on kashrut, we may not always be able to use a five star hotel.
A $500 USD Deposit per person must be received at the time of booking in order to confirm your reservation. Payment in full is due 60 days before departure. A minimum number of participants are required to operate tour dates. If a minimum number has not been reached prior to tour departure and the tour is cancelled you will receive a FULL refund.
• 60 days before departure bookings are refundable less a $100 administration fee
• 30-59 working days prior to departure: 25% of total per passenger
• 15-29 working days prior to departure: 50% of total per passenger
• Less than 14 working days prior to departure: 100% of total – no refund
We strongly recommend purchasing Travel Insurance.
