Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El
Eastern Europe In Depth
With Rabbi Neil & Lori Cooper
June 19 - 28, 2017


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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2 nights Intercontinental Hotel Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
3 nights Sheraton Krakow, Krakow, Poland
3 nights Kings Court Prague Hotel, Prague, Czech Republic
All touring and sightseeing per an agreed upon itinerary in a deluxe
air-conditioned vehicle with English speaking guides in each city
Professional tour director throughout
Train from Warsaw to Krakow
Breakfast daily
Welcome Dinner in Warsaw
Dinner at Beit Warsawa in Warsaw
Shabbat Dinner in Krakow at the JCC Krakow
Shabbat Lunch in Krakow
Farewell Dinner in Prague
2 Boxed Lunches
Meeting with Jonathan Ornstein at the JCC Krakow
Luggage handling at hotels
(1 piece per person upon arrival & departure)
Transfers included if arriving/departing with the main group
Entrance fees as per itinerary
Porterage

INCLUDED ON THE BUDAPEST EXTENSION:

1 night Kings Court Prague Hotel, Prague, Czech Republic
3 nights InterContinental Hotel Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
All touring and sightseeing per an agreed upon itinerary in a deluxe
air-conditioned vehicle with English speaking guides in each city
Professional tour director throughout
Shabbat Dinner Budapest
Shabbat Lunch Budapest
Shabbat Walking Tour in Budapest
Luggage handling at hotels
(1 piece per person upon arrival & departure)
Transfers included if arriving/departing with the main group
Entrance fees as per itinerary
Porterage

NOT INCLUDED - These prices do not include:

Roundtrip airfare departure taxes and fuel surcharges
(listed separately)
Flight to Budapest for the extension
(contact Ayelet Tours for assistance - estimated at $100 - $200 based on rate at time of purchase)
Any border taxes or visas
Tips to guides, driver, and dining room waiters
($15.00 per person, per day-pre-collected)
Any items of a personal nature
Travel Insurance
(Highly recommended)
Optional Classical Music Concert in Prague
(estimated to be $75 - $100 per ticket)

INTERNET ACCESS AT OUR HOTEL:

Intercontinental Warsaw - Free wifi in lobby - for a charge in rooms (no rate found online) but free for IHG members*
Sheraton Krakow - Free wifi throughout
Kings Court Prague - Free wifi throughout
Intercontinental Budapest - Free wifi in lobby - for a charge in rooms (25 Euro per day) but free for IHG members*


Tour Itinerary:

Day 1, Monday, June 19, 2017: DEPARTURE

• We depart the United States on our overnight flight to Warsaw.

Day 2, Tuesday, June 20, 2017: WELCOME TO WARSAW

• We arrive in Warsaw where we are met by our local host and transferred to our hotel.
• We begin at the only surviving synagogue from WWII in Warsaw, the storied Nozyk Synagogue, founded in 1900.
• We continue to the Gensa Cemetery, established in 1806, containing the graves of about 250,000 people and known as the largest cemetery in Poland. The cemetery tells the story of Warsaw's Jewish community, from its famous “residents”, through its Holocaust mass graves, memorials, to its continued use today.
• Check into our hotel
• Welcome dinner together this evening.

O/N Warsaw

Day 3, Wednesday, June 21, 2017: WARSAW

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We spend the entire morning at the newly constructed POLIN Museum (The Museum of the History of the Polish Jews), now opened on the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto. The museum provides a unique learning environment with a wide range of media, documents and artifacts. We will see the amazing architecture in the main hall and hear from their excellent docents.
• This afternoon, we enjoy a sightseeing tour encompassing the Warsaw Ghetto, the Jewish Resistance Bunker at Mila 18, and Stawski Street buildings (where the SS had their headquarters). We stop at the Monument to the Ghetto Fighters.
• Tonight we meet with members of Beit Warszawa, the new progressive congregation in Warsaw. We enjoy dinner and hospitality together as we learn more about the Judaism alive in today's Poland.

O/N Warsaw

DAY 4, Thursday, June 22, 2017: TO KRAKOW

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we'll walk through the completely reconstructed Old Town. We suggest a stop for a traditional Pierogi lunch nearby (on own).
• The Old Market Square was leveled and rebuilt brick by brick. We view the Mermaid statue, the legendary protectress of Old Market Square and walk by the Royal Castle.
• We depart Warsaw by train to Krakow (approx. 3 hrs).
• Check into our hotel.

O/N Krakow

DAY 5, Friday, June 23, 2017: AUSCHWITZ

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning we travel to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the infamous Nazi Concentration Camps where many Jews and others perished in WWII. Here we see the museum and pay tribute to the victims. A vegetarian boxed lunch is included today.
• Rabbi Cooper leads us in an informal discussion session to address this emotional day.
• We join together for Shabbat services at the Krakow JCC.
• This evening, we enjoy Shabbat dinner with Jonathan Ornstein, the Executive Director of the Krakow JCC, as we learn first-hand insight into the struggles and successes of the growing Jewish community in Krakow.

O/N Krakow

DAY 6, Saturday, June 24, 2017: SHABBAT SHALOM!

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Shabbat services this morning at one of the local congregations.
• Shabbat lunch this afternoon at our hotel.
• Enjoy a walking city tour including Wawel Castle, St. Mary's Church, the Renaissance Cloth Hall and other notable landmarks.

O/N Krakow

DAY 7, Sunday, June 25, 2017: TO PRAGUE

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Check out of our hotel.
• This morning, we enjoy a Jewish Heritage Tour that includes the Old Jewish District, Kazimierz, where we see the Old Synagogue (a massive fortress-like building erected in the 15th and 16th centuries), the "Temple," and the Ramuh Synagogue. We continue to the Little Museum at the Drug Store inside the Jewish Ghetto, drive by Schindler's Factory, and stop at the towering memorial for the Plaszow Concentration Camp.
• We depart Krakow for our drive to Prague, the Czech capital, also known as "the City of One Thousand Spires" with its Baroque churches, promenades, parks and ancient city walls. We stop for lunch along the way (on own.  Drive is approx. 6 hours).
• If time permits, we may stop to see the recently restored Brno Synagogue , the only remaining (and active) synagogue in the eastern part of the Czech republic, en-route to Prague.
• Check into our hotel.

O/N Prague
 
DAY 8, Monday, June 26, 2017: TEREZIN

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We depart for Terezin, where we visit Theresienstadt, the former "model" Nazi concentration camp.
• We visit the Fortress, Jewish Cemetery Museum, the hidden synagogue, the Memorial Monument and the town itself. A vegetarian boxed lunch is included today.
• Optional cultural event/concert this evening (TBD).

O/N Prague

DAY 9, Tuesday, June 27, 2017: PRAGUE

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Enjoy a sightseeing tour of Jewish interest sites, with a visit to the Old City to view the Josefov, Prague's Jewish Town with its Old Town Hall, the Alt-Neu Synagogue, the Pinkas Synagogue, the Maisel Synagogue, the Jewish Cemetery and the State Jewish Museum.
• This afternoon, we'll visit the 1,000 year-old Royal Castle of Hradcany, stroll the Charles Bridge and see the nearby John Lennon Wall, as well as the famous Astronomical Clock and St. Vitus Cathedral, the biggest and most important church in the Czech Republic, located in the heart of the city.
• Gala Farewell dinner together this evening as we recount all that we have learned during our time together.

O/N Prague
 
DAY 10, Wednesday, June 28, 2017: DEPARTURE

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Transfer to the airport for our flight back to the United States

OR JOIN AN AMAZING
OPTIONAL
EXTENSION TO BUDAPEST


DAY 10, Wednesday, June 28, 2017: PRAGUE - EXTRA DAY

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Enjoy the day at leisure in this magical city!
OR
• Join an optional tour (additional cost) to Cesky Krumlov, the most beautiful medieval Central European town & castle, starring on UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage List. Our tour includes the spectacular castle and baroque style Old Town, located on the Vltava River.

O/N Prague

DAY 11, Thursday, June 29, 2017: BUDAPEST

• After breakfast we will transfer to the airport to board our flight to 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.
• Upon arrival we enjoy an insightful tour of Budapest, including the Raul Wallenberg Memorial Statue, an inside visit to the Dohany Synagogue, the 2nd largest synagogue in Europe, and the Jewish Cemetery and Museum.

O/N Budapest

DAY 12, Friday, June 30, 2017: BUDAPEST

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, on our bus tour we see the Parliament, the largest parliamentary building in the world situated at Pest's riverbank and the symbol of Hungary's independence.
• Continue past the Royal Palace to the Castle Hill area, and Fisherman's Bastion, for some of the most spectacular views in all of Hungary!
• Enjoy time to stroll along the Vati Utca promenade.
• Option to attend Kabbalat Shabbat services at the Dohany Synagogue.
• Shabbat dinner together this evening.

O/N Budapest

DAY 13, Saturday, July 1, 2017: AT LEISURE IN BUDAPEST

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Optional Shabbat services this morning.
• Shabbat Lunch is included at our hotel today.
• We enjoy a walking tour from our hotel with a local guide this afternoon.
• Enjoy the remainder of the day at leisure.

O/N Budapest

DAY 14, Sunday, July 2, 2017: DEPARTURE

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Transfer to the airport for our flight back to the United States arriving home later today.

If you would like to extend to Israel or elsewhere, Ayelet Tours can assist with arrangements.

The Memories Last Forever!



*Itinerary subject to change