DESCRIPTION:

Journey through the hip and historic heart of Europe and explore the culturally-rich cities of the Czech Republic and Poland. Tour the historic cities of Prague, Krakow, and Warsaw, seeing Jewish sites as the synagogues, Yiddish Theater, and old Jewish neighborhoods. Listen to klezmer music, eat Jewish foods, and visit a Jewish Genealogy Center. Travel the shtetls of the countryside where, over time until the Holocaust, the greatness of the Eastern European Jews was realized in the shtetl, and the beauty of its lifestyle, and spiritual grandeur, were a source of strength. Pay respects at the death camps of Treblinka and Majdanek; Yitzkor services are possible. Throughout, visit non-Jewish sites as well, as you learn about the Jewish community's place within each of these countries.

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For hundreds of years Prague boasted one of the greatest Jewish communities in Europe, and in Poland, Jews minted coins with Hebrew inscriptions as early as the 1100's. Despite occasional outbreaks of anti-Semitism, life in Poland was far more pleasant for Jews than anywhere else until modern history. Today, with help from the international community, the Jewish communities are rebuilding.

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Hidden from travelers for much of the 20th century, the Czech Republic and Poland boast gorgeous countryside, congenial people, charming villages, and poignant history. Experience the old-world as you wander medieval walled towns, darkly Gothic alleyways, and vast city squares still bustling today. Steep in the sophistication of modern cities, inhale the scent of coffee wafting from the coffee houses, and stroll across bridges lined with artists displaying their visions of their architecturally rich towns. Today, these countries are changing quickly – so visit now before they become irretrievably “discovered.”

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CONSIDER:

Traveling some legs by train.

OPTIONAL EXTENSIONS & ADD-ONS:

Vilnius and Jewish Vilna.