English

Temple Beth Elohim
Tour of Eastern Europe
with Ride for the Living
Led by Cantor Jodi Sufrin
June 23 - July 2, 2019

Tour Rates & Dates:

There are no Departure Dates available for this Package.
*Please note that all rates displayed are based on standard room double occupancy.
All rates above are in US Dollars, and are based on full payment by credit card unless otherwise noted.
If check payment discount is available for this tour, it can be selected after clicking "BOOK" above.
(Deposit can still be paid by credit card). Upgraded room categories may be available to book later in the booking process.
If Land & Air price is displayed, the air portion includes tax and fuel surcharges, which are subject to change until ticketed.

Tour Overview:

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Together we'll explore Europe not through the lens of the Holocaust, but with an eye on the long history of Europe as the center of Jewish culture, filled with periods of incredible intellectual achievement and spiritual growth. We'll interact and share with members of the modern day Jewish communities, experiencing a re-birth in these regions. Members of our group can participate in Ride for the Living, biking from Auschwitz-Birkenau to Krakow, remembering those whose lives ended in this terrible place and honoring those who lived to tell the tale.

INCLUDED:

2 nights Kempinski Hotel, Budapest
4 nights Radisson Blu Hotel, Krakow
2 nights Intercontinental Hotel, Warsaw, Poland
All touring and sightseeing in a deluxe air-conditioned vehicle with an expert English-speaking guide
Breakfast daily
6 dinners, including Shabbat dinner in Krakow
Havdallah and open-air concert at the Jewish Cultural Festival in Krakow
Train from Krakow to Warsaw
Transfer included if arriving/departing with the main group
Entrance fees per itinerary
Porterage

NOT INCLUDED:

Roundtrip airfare, departure taxes and fuel surcharges (Available during registration)
Ride for the Living Participation - (bikes, jerseys, helmets, etc.- Please contact Ayelet Tours for more details and assistance)
Any tickets for specific events at the Jewish Cultural Festival
Any border taxes or visas
Tips to guides, driver and dining room waiters ($18 per person, per day; pre-collected)
Meals not listed above
Any items of a personal nature
Travel insurance (highly recommended)

Tour Itinerary:

DAY 1: Sunday, June 23, 2019: DEPARTURE
• We depart from Boston on our overnight flight to Budapest.
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DAY 2: Monday, June 24, 2019: WELCOME TO BUDAPEST!
• We arrive in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. Situated on the opposite banks of the Danube River, the former cities of Buda and Pest are linked by a series of graceful bridges.
• We enjoy a panoramic bus tour of Budapest, including Parliament, the Royal Palace, and the Castle Hill area, Fishermen's Bastion, Coronation Church, Hero's Square and Gellert Hill.
• We check into our hotel and refresh, followed by a welcome dinner together tonight.
Overnight in Budapest
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DAY 3: Tuesday, June 25, 2019: JEWISH BUDAPEST
• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We begin our day at the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial statue erected in honor of the Swedish diplomat who saved many Jews from dying at the hands of the Nazis.
• Our next stop is at the adjacent Dohany Synagogue, the 2nd largest synagogue in Europe built between 1854 and 1859 in the Moorish Revival style.
• Within the synagogue complex, we tour the Jewish Cemetery and Museum built on the site where the birth home of Theodore Herzl once stood.
• Evening at leisure and dinner on own.
Overnight in Budapest
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DAY 4: Wednesday, June 26, 2019: BUDAPEST TO KRAKOW
• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• We depart for Krakow, driving through the lovely countryside of Slovakia, past the Tatras and into the Great Plains of Poland.
• Upon our arrival, we check in to our hotel and enjoy dinner together.
Overnight in Krakow
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DAY 5: Thursday, June 27, 2019: AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU
• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We travel together to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the infamous Nazi concentration camps where many Jews and others perished in WWII. Here, we receive a special tour with the Ride for the Living participants.
• This evening, we all enjoy a special dinner together with the Ride for the Living participants.
Overnight in Krakow
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DAY 6: Friday, June 28, 2019: RIDE FOR THE LIVING
• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Ride participants: We travel by bus back to Auschwitz and begin our 55-mile bike ride to JCC Krakow.
• Non-riders: We enjoy a Jewish heritage tour that includes the Kazimierz, the old Jewish district, where we see the Old Synagogue, a massive fortress-like building erected in the 15th to 16th centuries, the “Temple” and the Ramuh Synagogue. We continue to the Little Museum at the Drug Store inside the Jewish Ghetto, then pass by Schindler's Factory and the Plaszow Concentration Camp.
• This evening, everyone joins together for Shabbat dinner with over 500 cycling participants, including the local Jewish community and guests from around the world - the biggest Shabbat dinner in Krakow since before WWII.
Overnight in Krakow
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DAY 7: Saturday, June 29, 2019: DISCOVERING KRAKOW
• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Today we enjoy a city tour, including visits to Wawel Castle, St. Mary's Church, the Renaissance Cloth Hall and other ancient landmarks.
• This evening join 20,000 people for Havdallah and an open-air music concert featuring highlights from the Jewish Culture Festival.
• Dinner on own this evening.
Overnight in Krakow
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DAY 8: Sunday, June 30, 2019: KRAKOW TO WARSAW
• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• This morning, we board the train to Warsaw.
• Upon arrival, we have time to enjoy lunch (on own), before we drive through the Warsaw Zoo. Here we visit the Zookeeper's house, owned by the couple that saved around a hundred Jews from the Holocaust, now memorialized in the book “The Zookeeper's Wife”.
• Next, we stroll through of Old Town Market Square and Lazienki Park before continuing to the hotel for check in.
• This evening, we meet with members of Beit Warszawa, the new progressive congregation in Warsaw. We enjoy dinner and hospitality as we learn more about Judaism alive in Poland today.
Overnight in Warsaw
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DAY 9: Monday, July 1, 2019: EXPLORING WARSAW
• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we enjoy a guided visit of the New Museum of the History of Polish Jews (POLIN).
• This afternoon, we set out on a sightseeing tour of Warsaw, including, the Jewish Historical Society, Nozyk Synagogue (the only surviving synagogue in Warsaw, founded in 1900), the Warsaw Ghetto, the Jewish Resistance Bunker at Mila 18, Stawski Street buildings (where the SS had their headquarters) and the Gensa Cemetery (established in 1806, containing the graves of about 250,000 people and known as the largest cemetery in Poland).
• Tonight, we drive past Chopin's Monument and the Royal Castle on our way to a special farewell dinner where we recall all that we have experienced together.
Overnight in Warsaw
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DAY 10: Tuesday, July 2, 2019: DEPARTURE
• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• We transfer to the airport for our flight back to the United States, landing later today.


The Memories Last Forever!
*Itinerary subject to change