Poland

Arrive any time before late afternoon today. You will be picked up from the airport and taken to our hotel. Our first activity will be a welcome dinner.

The next day, our first full day in Krakow, we’ll visit the Wawel Hill with its Royal Cathedral–the resting place of Polish kings and heroes–and the fabulous courtyard of the Royal Castle, then stroll through historic streets passing by medieval churches and townhouses in Old Town, and walk into the biggest medieval square in Europe. Next, we’ll visit the University Quarter with some original buildings where students and professors have been struggling to find a common language for the last 650 years, and admire one of the most exquisite medieval altars in Europe, inside St. Mary’s Basilica.

After a group lunch you will have some free time. You may want to visit Calik for stunning glass Christmas ornaments, or Bonobo for vegan cakes and coffee. Krakow has some wonderful museums including the Banksy Museum Krakow and Eagle Pharmacy, which heartrendingly describes life in the Krakow Ghetto. Later we’ll reconvene for a group dinner.

Meals Included
Day 1: Dinner
Day 2: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day three, we will have an early lunch in Krakow and then visit the incredible UNESCO-designated Wieliczka Salt Mine. The Wieliczka Salt Mine has been operating since Neolithic times. Sodium chloride was formerly produced there from the upwelling brine. The mine, excavated from the 13th century, produced table salt continuously until 2007, as one of the world’s oldest operating salt mines. Commercial salt mining was discontinued in 1996 owing to falling salt prices and mine flooding. The mine’s attractions include the shafts and labyrinthine passageways, displays of historic salt-mining technology, an underground lake, four chapels, numerous statues carved by miners out of the rock salt, and more recent sculptures by contemporary artists. Literally everything inside is made of salt. It’s amazing! Upon return to Krakow we’ll have a group dinner.

The next day will be a very somber one, as we tour Auschwitz-Birkenau, the world’s largest and most harrowing concentration camp.

Meals Included
Day 3: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Day 4: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Krakow’s Jewish Quarter Kazimierz is the best preserved Jewish town in Europe, and we will explore it today. During World War II it was left untouched and currently, this district is a great background to present the flourishing life of the largest Jewish Diaspora in the World living in pre-war Poland. In the early 1990s Kazimierz was filmed by Steven Spielberg in his Oscar-winning Schindler’s List.
We will start in Krakow’s Jewish Quarter, visiting an operating Remuh Synagogue and Cemetery, as well as many other synagogues. We will also see the most recognizable sights from Schindler’s List. Crossing the River Vistula we will then walk to the previous Krakow’s Ghetto in Podgorze section and finish with a guided tour of the Oskar Schindler Factory. After lunch, you will have free time before our group dinner.

On day six, we will take the train to Warsaw. We’ll have lunch upon arrival and then take a walking tour of all the must-see spots in the historical part of Warsaw, as well as some nice places with narrow streets with beautiful views, the Vistula River bank, and some places off the beaten track. You will hear the story of the rich beautiful city almost destroyed by the Nazis during World War II, and learn how the Old Town was reborn in just a few years. We’ll then check into our hotel and enjoy a group dinner.

Meals Included
Day 5: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Day 6: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

The next day a tour of Warsaw takes you on a discovery of Poland’s socialist past as we drive around the city in an original socialist-style van. We’ll learn about Poland’s socialist history as we tour around Warsaw in a Nysa 522, an original socialist-style van; explore the famous communist sites in Warsaw, including Constitution Square and the Ministry of Agriculture; visit the heart of socialism at the old seat of the Central Committee of the Polish United Worker’s Party; discover the insides of the Palace of Culture and Science; experience what it was like to live in Poland during the Communist era by visiting the Communism Times Museum; and watch some post-1950s propaganda films.
After lunch, we’ll visit the Warsaw Uprising Monument and Museum. The Warsaw Uprising, which broke out on 1 August 1944 and lasted until 2 October 1944, was one of the most important and devastating events in the history of Warsaw and Poland. Up to 90% of Warsaw’s buildings were destroyed during the hostilities and the systematic destruction of the city carried out by the Germans after the uprising. The monument was unveiled in 1989 and is the most important monument of post-war Warsaw. The museum is a tribute of Warsaw’s residents to those who fought and died for independent Poland and its free capital.
The second part of the permanent exhibition presents the story of Allied airdrops. Its highlight is a replica of a Liberator B-24J bomber. We’ll then have a group dinner.
The next morning will be free. You may wish to visit The National Museum of Ethnography, a joy of a museum that showcases and highlights all that’s best about Poland’s cultural heritage. There are costumes, handicrafts, furniture, Polish inventions, art, and photographs; most of it is beautifully presented in what is a superb building. There are so many more museums to discover including the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, the Frederick
Chopin Museum, the Neon Museum, the Copernicus Science Center, and the Marie Curie Museum. After lunch we will depart for Gdansk via train. Upon arrival we’ll check into our hotel and then meet for a group dinner.

Meals Included
Day 7: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Day 8: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

On our last full day, we will have a walking tour of Gdansk, a former medieval Hanseatic city and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mostly destroyed during World War II, its Main Town has been reconstructed.
After lunch, we will visit the European Solidarity Centre, showcasing the history of Solidarity, Poland’s trade union and civil resistance movement, which led to the fall of Communism. We will then enjoy our last group dinner together, and our tour will end after breakfast on day ten.

Meals Included
Day 9: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Day 10: Breakfast