Pre-Lubliner Reunion Travel Experience

Explore the Jewish past and present in Kraków and Warsaw

Do you have ancestors from Lublin, Poland? Are you planning to attend the Lubliner reunion July 3-7, 2017? Would you like to see more of Poland than just one city? Travel with Leora Tec, whose mother and many generations before her were born in Lublin. Leora is the American Ambassador to Brama Grodzka, the organization sponsoring the Lubliner reunion. Here's what she has to say about the Bridge To Poland pre-Reunion experience:

"This five night immersive experience is both intellectually rich and intimate. We will see sites of martyrdom and deal with difficult history and witness how this history is being commemorated. On Bridge To Poland trips we take a broad view of Jewish Poland, remembering that it started hundreds of years before the thirties and continues until today. And we remember that Jews and non Jews always lived together and one history cannot be taught without the other."


 

 

Trip Itinerary:

** Note: This trip involves walking on stairs and cobblestones. Some days will entail several miles of walking, though we walk at a reasonable pace and stop for explanations along the way.    

Day 1 (Tuesday, June 27)

Arrival. (Participants are responsible for arriving in Kraków. There are flights from the United States to Balice airport in Kraków). Introductory dinner. Early to bed.

Day 2 (Wednesday, June 28)

We spend the day in the labor and death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau that is about an hour and a half outside of Kraków. On the way, we stop at the site of the camp Płaszów, the camp featured in the movie Schindler’s List.

Day 3 (Thursday, June 29)

We explore Kraków’s rich history, as we walk through Wawel Castle, the Market Square and Kazimierz, the former Jewish district. Then we tour the Galicia Jewish Museum’s collection of photographs. The museum has a wonderful bookstore to explore. In the afternoon you have free time to explore the city on your own.

Day 4 (Friday, June 30)

In the morning we visit the JCC (Jewish Community Center) in Kraków and meet some members of the Jewish community before departing for Warsaw.

In we meet our guide, who is a former journalist. We have a general tour of Warsaw, including the University area and or in the renovated Old Town. We discuss Warsaw’s eclectic architecture and the legacy of communism in Poland. We spend the eveing celebrating Shabbat with a progressive Jewish community in Warsaw.

Day 5 (Saturday, July 1)

We explore Jewish Warsaw on foot and by bus with our guide. We see the few pieces of the ghetto that remain and discuss that fact that many living on top of what was once the Warsaw Ghetto are totally unaware of where they are living. Dinner amidst an outdoor jazz fest.

Day 6 (Sunday, July 2)

We visit the award-winning POLIN Museum (http://www.polin.pl/en) and you’ll have a chance to explore on your own after lunch if you wish.

After our visit to POLIN we will make our way to Lublin.

**Stay tuned for more programming to be added to the schedule.
 

Trip Inclusions & Exclusions:

Bridge To Poland agrees to provide the following goods and services for the duration of the tour to each participant: 

  • Accommodations (5 nights total)
  • Breakfast every day
  • 5 Dinners
  • Comfortable mini-bus
  • Tour curated and led by Leora Tec
  • Highest quality tour guides, academics and “cultural animators”
  • All entrance fees, tips and taxes
  • Resource guide including suggested reading and viewing list

Not included in the trip price:

  • Flights
  • Lunch
  • Alcohol
  • Airfare
  • Airport transfers
  • Insurance*

*Bridge To Poland highly recommends that travelers purchase CFAR (cancel for any reason) insurance, baggage insurance and health insurance if they are not sufficiently covered.

For a special early bird pricing (available only until February 27) click here.