Eastern European Jewels

Welcome to the Czech Republic!

After spending Christmas with your loved ones, travel to Prague and join this group of young travellers on our Winter Eastern Europe Tour. This is the first day and depending on the time that you arrive, you will have most of the day to check into the hotel and go on a walk to get to know the city.

We will go from the Republic Square to the Gunpowder Tower and pass through the beautiful, modernist Municipal House to Wenceslas Square, universally known for being the scene of the “Prague Spring”. Our next stop will be the State Theatre where several of Mozart´s operas were premiered, after we will visit the Jewish quarter. Then you can stroll through the Clementinum, former Jesuit college, and go to Charles Bridge where you will be able to admire the 30 famous baroque sculptures. If there is time… we can go through the old market square, the “square of the old city”, where the beautiful and famous astronomical clock is located.

Before enjoying the crazy New Year’s celebrations, make sure you put on some warm clothes and enjoy walking around the old Town. We will take you through Wenceslas Square, universally known for being the scene of the “Prague Spring” and then to discover the most famous astronomical clock in the world. We will then cross the Vltava River by the bridge of San Carlos and also go to one the 30 famous Baroque sculptures. We will finally arrive at the feet of the world’s largest castle, which looks like something that belongs to the world of literature: Kafka.

Are you getting tired? You still need to go and discover the new city, which is also of medieval origin, and, of course, the old Jewish quarter.

Make sure you are not too tired because we still have to eat dinner and the New Year’s celebrations will start soon! Prague is a very popular destination for celebrating the New Year because of the charm of the city and the very cheap beer! 🙂

*Optional Activity

• For more information about the New Year activities, ask the tour leader

Did you know…

• Prague Castle, from the ninth century, is the largest in the world! And this is where the Bohemian monarchy and the Presidents of the Czech Republic lived. Although it is not a castle as such, it does bring together churches, gardens, the official residence of the president of the Czech Republic and a large number of beautiful streets.
• The Czech Republic is the country where more beer is drunk each year per capita. Beer is part of their daily culture there are so many different brands available, that it would be impossible to test them all, even if you drank 10 a day throughout the trip!

Did you know…

• One of the most impressive things that can be found in Kutna Hora are its religious temples, which are considered to be among the most incredible in the whole of the Czech Republic, therefore you cannot pass up on the opportunity to visit them!
• Kutna Hora has a bit of a morbid feel to it, a characteristic which is almost certainly due to the fact there is a chapel here that is created from the bones of 40,000 people who wanted to be burried there.

After giving it our all in Prague, we will continue our Winter Eastern Europe tour. We’ll go even further north and temperatures will drop even further! Germany and its capital, Berlin, awaits us.

Berlin, after being almost completely destroyed throughout World War II, has had to reinvent itself and achieved it mostly from the year ’89, following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unification of the West and East side of the city. Since then, because of the low living costs, it has attracted urban artists from all over Europe, and that’s why today Berlin is home to some of the best graffiti on the continent.

Weather and schedules permitting, on the way to Berlin we will make a stop in Dresden, known as “Florence of the River Elbe”. There we can try a delicious German “wurst” and also appreciate the Baroque architecture of this city.

Did you know…

• The origin and meaning of Berlin is “swampy land” given that the terrain over which this city was constructed was kind of swampy.
• The television tower of Berlin is 368m high, and is the second highest tower in Europe. But that’s not all, it’s possible to go 200 metres up the tower, to the restaurant which spins 360 degrees on its axis every 30 minutes
• Even though the only emblematic gate that still remains in the city is Brandenburg Gate, Berlin used to have 18 entrance gates.

“Ich bin ein Berliner”, which means “I am a Berliner”, is what JFK said in ’63 to show support to the people who were separated from their families due to the construction of Berlin wall. Today, it’s time for you to repeat the phrase and spend a day as a Berliner.

Today on this Winter Eastern Europe tour, you can choose whether to spend a day with us to know every last detail behind the buildings of Berlin, especially the famous Reichstag, the German Parliament, next to it you will see the icon of Berlin the Brandenberg Gate, and the famous Holocaust memorial.

From there we will continue onwards to Checkpoint Charlie, taking in a portion of the old Berlin Wall destroyed in ’89, undoubtedly the most important political event in Germany in the last 50 years. If time permits we will visit the famous Alexanderplatz, where you can climb the other symbol of the Berlin skyline, the telecommunications Tower of Berlin.

*Optional Activity:

•  Bus Tour of Berlin

Today is a travel day and we will cross the snowy plains of Europe in order to arrive at our next location, which was the setting for many battles and bombings during WW2: Poland. Almost every city in this country has been completely destroyed, and therefore very few have an old town that is still in one piece. From here we will continue travelling to the south of Poland where we will come across the cultural and tourist capital, Krakow.

Did you know…

• From a political and historic point of view, Poland has been the most unfortunate country in Europe over the past 2 centuries, having been invaded by Germany, Russia, Czech Republic and Austria.
• At the same time, they were never invaded either by the Romans or by the Turks.
• Poland is the most catholic country in europe, above all amongst the younger generation.

Today we propose getting up early for an optional activity, an essential trip if we are doing the Winter Eastern Europe tour, which is based on many of the key locations in World War II.

On the side of Krakow, an hour and a bit away, you can find the only concentration camp that was saved from the self-destruction of the Germans, who tried to erase the evidence of the existence of these camps.

Auschwitz is a place for rememberance and reflexion, in which a guide will teach us about the cruel nature of the Nazi regime and the mental, physical and moral destruction that the jews had to endure. (This tour is usually done in English).

For those who would prefer to stay in Krakow below we there is useful information about the city.

* Optional Activity:

• Trip to Auschwitz Concentration Camp

Did you know…

• Auschwitz and Krakow have been scene to many movies:  Movies set in Poland
• The famous scientist Copernicus, the first one to notice that the sun, not the earth was the centre of the solar system, studied in Krakow.
• Schindler´s factory is located on the south side of the Vistula River, where the old Jewish ghetto used to be.

For more info:

The best of Krakow

Krakow, is the cultural reference of Poland due to its history: here you can enjoy different areas developed in different eras that have not suffered significant destructions throughout the Second World War. The historic centre of medieval origin, is perfectly preserved and it is possible to walk along the royal road that goes from the North to the South of the city, starting with the Barbican, passing the market square, the largest and most beautiful in the city where the Cathedral of Santa Maria stands out and top it off with the mythical Wawel Castle overlooking the Vistula River.

The Jewish quarter, the most active and characteristic district of the city, was developed in the 19th century. This neighborhood became a ghetto under Nazi rule and is where the famous Schindler operated, a German who saved thousands of Jews by lying to the German authorities and whose story was later brought to the cinema by director Steven Spielberg.

Also, Krakow has a neighborhood of communist architecture, known to urban planners around the world as Nowa Huta, it is a highly developed industrial area.

*Optional Activity

• Wieliczka Salt Mine

Today on this Winter Eastern Europe tour we will start heading towards the impressive Tatras mountains that mark the end of Poland and the beginning of Slovakia. The route along the national road is particularly pleasant for nature lovers.

In Slovakia we will stop in small town Oravsky Podzamok, where, erected on top of a rock, is one of the most beautiful castles in Europe: the Castle of Orava (entrance optional), where they filmed the first Dracula film, “Nosferatu” (1922)

After this visit, we will continue our tour in the direction of Hungary, where we will visit the last city of our extensive list – Budapest.

*Optional Activity

• Visit to Orava Castle

Did you know…

• If we look at the statistics, we will see how the Holocaust affected Hungary, one in 10 victims of this horrible historical moment was of Hungarian origin.
• The best-known Ruin Bars are the Szimpla Kert or the Instant, all decorated with everyday objects but in a grotesque way that give the place an alternative touch.
• If you have time, and enjoy ice skating, the rink next to Heroes Square (Hősök tere) is 12,000 square metres!