Rabbi Michelle Pearlman Beth Chaim Reform Congregation Central & Eastern Europe Tour Warsaw * Krakow * Prague * Berlin May 21 June 1, 2018 Version B (As of 3/31/17) DAY 1, Monday, May 21, 2018: DEPARTURE We depart the United States on our overnight flight to Warsaw. DAY 2, Tuesday, May 22, 2018: ARRIVAL IN WARSAW We arrive in Warsaw where we are met by our local host and transferred to our hotel. We enjoy a panoramic tour of Warsaw including Old Town Square and Lazienki Park. Tonight we meet with members of Beit Warsawa, the new progressive congregation in Warsaw. We enjoy a dinner and hospitality as we learn more about the Judaism alive in today's Poland. O/N Warsaw ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DAY 3, Wednesday, May 23, 2018: JEWISH WARSAW This morning we explore the newly opened Museum of the History of the Polish Jews. Through interactive multi-media, this $100 million museum tells the story of 1,000 years of Jewish History in Poland. This afternoon, we enjoy a sightseeing tour encompassing Nozyk Synagogue (the only surviving synagogue in Warsaw, founded in 1900), Chopin's Monument, the Warsaw Ghetto, the Jewish Resistance Bunker at Mila 18, Umschlag Platz, Stawski Street buildings (where the SS had their headquarters), the Gensa Cemetery (established in 1806, containing the graves of about 250,000 people and known as the largest cemetery in Poland). Early this evening we enjoy a special Chopin concert. The rest of the evening is yours to discover all the vibrant capital of Poland has to offer. O/N Warsaw
DAY 4, Thursday, May 24, 2018: TO KRAKOW Check out of our hotel and depart Warsaw by train for Krakow. Our Jewish Heritage tour includes the Old Jewish District, Kazimierez, where we visit the Old Synagogue (a massive fortress-like building erected in the 15th and 16th Centuries), view the "Temple" and visit the Remuh Synagogue. We continue with visit to the Little Museum at the Drug Store inside the Jewish Ghetto, and Schindler's Factory. We take part in a Pierogi cooking class in a local Polish restaurant. We will learn how to make Pierogi and taste polish vodka as well as get insight into Polish culture and cuisine. O/N Krakow DAY 5, Friday, May 25, 2018: AUSCHWITZ This morning we travel to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the infamous Nazi Concentration Camps where many Jews and others perished in WWII. We visit the museum for in-depth understanding of the atrocities that took place here and pay tribute to the victims. In the evening, we enjoy Shabbat Services & Shabbat dinner together. O/N Krakow DAY 6, Saturday, May 26, 2018: SHABBAT SHALOM/ARRIVAL IN PRAGUE This morning we depart Krakow and travel 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 are met by our local host and transferred to our hotel. This afternoon, we walk across the famed Charles Bridge, see the Astronomical Clock. Check into our hotel. Dinner together this evening.
DAY 7, Sunday, May 27, 2018: PRAGUE AT LEISURE Enjoy the day at leisure - spend time exploring the cobbled streets of the Old Town, shop for Bohemian crystal or visit one of Prague s many museums or galleries. Your tour escort will be able to assist with ideas for activities on own. DAY 8, Monday, May 28, 2018: PRAGUE Today we 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. DAY 9, Tuesday, May 29, 2018: TO BERLIN After breakfast we board our bus and drive to Berlin. We begin our tour of Berlin, Germany s capital, reunited in 1989, and home of Germany s largest Jewish community. Depart for the Mitte, Berlins Historic center district. We see Checkpoint Charlie, the East Side Gallery, featuring artwork painted on the Berlin Wall, the Berlin Holocaust Memorial, the Burning of the Book Memorial & more. We will stop and visit the Oranienburger Strasse Synagogue and the RosenStrasse Memorial, site of a significant peaceful protest by Aryan wives and relatives of Jewish Germans rounded up for deportation.
DAY 10, Wednesday, May 30, 2018: BERLIN We begin today at the Wannsee House where the Wannsee conference took place and the final solution of the Jewish question was decided. We continue to Potsdam. On the way, we cross the Glienicke Bridge, a famous exchange point for Soviet spies during the days of the Cold War. In Potsdam, we view the stunning Sanssouci Palace and Gardens, built by Frederick the Great. Continue to Cecilienhof Manor, site of the famous 1945 meeting between Truman, Churchill and Stalin. We stop at the Gleis 17 Memorial on our way back to Berlin. DAY 11, Thursday, May 31, 2018: BERLIN Today we visit the Jewish Museum (building designed by Daniel Libeskind). This is not a Holocaust Museum - the permanent exhibition deals with the Jewish contribution to life in Germany since the 1st century. We continue with a visit to Museum Otto Weidt s Workshop for the Blind. During the Second World War the brush manufacturer Otto Weidt employed mainly blind and deaf Jews who produced brooms and brushes here. Enjoy a walking tour of the Old Jewish Quarter, revolving and changing. Farewell dinner together this evening.
DAY 12, Friday, June 1, 2018: DEPARTURE Transfer to the airport for our flight back to the United States arriving home later today. THE MEMORIES LAST FOREVER! *Itinerary subject to change U:\ITINERARY\Pearlman Rabbi Michelle May 2018 ITIN vs B.docx