Short review of this Fabulous trip and well worth taking!
I recently returned from this trip and can give it a 5 rating all around. The itinerary has been modified from the regular itinerary that Tauck runs on a regular basis to include many synagogues, concentration camps and a comprehensive view of Jewish life in Central Europe over the last 1,000 years. If you love history and want to learn how the rise of the Nazis could have possibly happened, then this is the trip for you. Tauck did a super job of interspersing great concerts and art events after the visits to the camps to lighten our spirits.
I arrived 3 days early to Warsaw so I could see some of the places that Tauck includes in the regular itinerary. I hired a private guide who was great.
At the end of the trip I stayed one extra day to see The Prague Castle complex and the Jerusalem Synagogue.
I was a bit concerned about this itinerary being too heavy or sad, but it was poignant and very educational. All the guides were top notch and our tour Director Joeri Happel was fantastic.
I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.
Comments
Can you explain what things were modified from the regular itinerary? We were considering this tour for next year.
The focus of this trip is Jewish history. Especially from WWI through the end of WWIi. On the regular itinerary there is an option to go to Auschwitz, on our itinerary it was the afternoon. Each city we visited Synagogues, cemeteries and learned a lot about how each country handled what Hitler’s goal of the “final solution to the Jewish question”. We always ended the day with music and dancing on the days we visited concentration camps. In Vienna we went to the Belvedere which is a fabulous art museum. The other tour its the Schoenberg Palace. Look in this year’s catalog and Tauck will give you a summary of what’s included in this tour. I’d talk to them too. If you will PM me and give me your email address I’ll send you the day to day itinerary.
By the way, this is not a religious tour. It is a history tour. Our guide was very familiar with Jewish history and runs this tour frequently. He was fabulous.
We took the regular tour years ago. There was still some focus on Jewish history. Our Tour director gave us a full history of the Jewish religion throughout the tour. In fact, it was him who enthused us to take one of Tauck’s tours to Israel, which we managed to do just before the war broke out and enjoyed it very much. I think I would have found more than one concentration camp too depressing. Most of our Jewish friends say they could not manage one.
Hi British. I’m Jewish as was everyone else on this tour-28 in all. Most everyone is religiously observant and there were several survivors children on the tour. They all had fascinating stories to tell of their parents. I’m very grateful to Tauck for the debth of information that was offered on the trip. We said Kaddish (mourners prayer) at both Auschwitz Birkenau and Terezin. Yes, we were all crying, but it was an honor to be there also. I certainly recognize this tour is not for everyone, but we all felt it was very enriching.
I’ve been to Israel with Tauck as well and loved that trip!
Thanks for your thoughts Fran. We all certainly cried. Even my hubby!
I cried at Dachau and Auschwitz/Birkenau, it is a very moving sight and and so hard to believe that such a horrible thing happened but visiting the camps make it very real.