Czech Heritage Tours 2012

EUROPEAN TOUR 2012 July 8 - 20, 2012 - 4 European Countries in 13 Days - Germany, Czech Republic, Poland and Austria

Sunday, July 8

Depart Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport to Munich, Germany.

Monday, July 9

Arrive in Munich, the center of Southern Germany.  Our luxury bus and English-speaking tour guide will await us at the airport and transport us to the Munich city center.

Munich is a beautiful German city that is hom e to the largest beer festival in the world, Oktoberfest.  We will enjoy a walking tour of the historic city center, including the main square (Marienplatz), town hall built in the neo-Go thic style, as well as the Church of Our Lady, the vast late Gothic church that has become the symbol of the city.  We will have lunch at the famous Hofbrauhaus, which has been serving delicious food and beer since 1589.  This is a favorite place where every day 17,500 pints of beer are served in one-pint tankards.

After lunch, we will depart for Nuremberg and check in at the hotel.  If circumstances permit, we will enjoy an evening German tent party, complete with German music, s ausage and beer.

Tuesday, July 10

Today we will have a guided tour of the modern part of Nuremberg, the Nazi center and the judicial building where the WWII trials occurred.  You will be able to view the actual courtroom where the WWII trials were held.  The courtroom was recently opened to the public as well as an extensive 2-floor WWII exhibition and museum.

We will also view the unfinished Coliseum that Hitler ordered to be built as a grandiose copy of the Coliseum in Rome as well as Zeppelin Field where Nazi parades took place.  We will round out today’s tour in the medieval part of Nuremberg where we will see the ancient castle overlooking the city, the Church of Our Lady on the main market square, etc.  You will have leisure time in the afternoon and dinner at the hotel.

Wednesday, July 11

Today we will depart for the famous spa town of Karlovy Vary.  Home to numerous natural springs, Karlovy Vary has historically been featured as a relaxing retreat to soothe medical ailments.  This is also the home to a variety of garnet and amber shops – these are two of the most beautiful and famous natural stones found in the Czech Republic.  Karlovy Vary is a great place to purchase beautiful Czech jewelry as well as crystal.  You will have time to shop, tour the promenade and enjoy oplatky – typical spa round wafers.  Dinner will follow at our hotel.

Thursday, July 12

We will depart early in the morning for Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic.  En route, we will stop in Lidice, a village that was razed to the ground by the Gestapo on June 10, 1942.  There is a museum and memorial here for the victims.  This Nazi extermination was in retaliation for the alleged participation of the people in assassinating the high-ranking German Nazi official Reichsprotektor, Reinhard Heydrich.  Intelligence falsely linked the assassins to the town of Lidice.  All males over the age 16 (192 in total) were shot by firing squads and all women and children were transported to Nazi concentration camps.  This offers insight into the horrors that occurred at the hands of the Nazis during WWII.

Upon arrival in Prague, we check in our hotel and have a dinner cruise along the Vltava River, where you will be able to view the beautiful sights of Prague illuminated at night!

Friday, July 13

In the morning, we will have a guided walking tour of Prague beginning with Prague Castle and then on to St. Vitus Cathedral, Hradcany and the Church of Our Lady Victorious, which houses the famous Infant Jesus of Prague.  We will walk across the famous 14^th century Charles Bridge and continue on to Old Town Square to see the Astronomical Clock.  You may enjoy lunch at one of the many quaint sidewalk cafes.

After lunch, we will end the tour at Wenceslas Square, which has historically been the sight of many significant events, including the 1989 Velvet Revolution demonstration.  You will have free time for sightseeing and shopping at the numerous stores lining the square.

In the evening, we will enjoy dinner, accordion music and beer at an authentically Czech folklore program.

Saturday, July 14

Head east for the Moravian region of the Czech Republic.  We will visit Roznov pod Radhostem along the way, where we will experience one of the most popular tourist destinations in Moravia – the Wallachian Open Air Museum.  You will be able to see the original furnishings of century old buildings and will get a taste of how our Czech ancestors lived before coming to America.  We will then take a picturesque cable car ride overlooking the scenic views of the Moravian countryside.

We will check in our hotel and finish the day with an evening party at Koliba Vlcina with Moravian wine, music and grilled chicken.  This is everyone’s favorite party!

Sunday, July 15

Depart for Poland early this morning.  Arrive in Auschwitz to tour the infamous Nazi concentration camp.  The largest of all the German concentration camps, Nazi transport trains delivered Jews to the camp’s gas chambers from all over Nazi-occupied Europe.  Rodolf Hoss, the Auschwitz First Commandant, testified at the Nuremberg Trials that up to 3 million people died there – 2.5 million gassed and 500,000 from infectious disease/starvation.  The museum we will tour today has seen over 30 million visitors pass through the iron gates crowned with the infamous motto, Arbeit macht frei ("work makes free").

After our tour of Auschwitz, we will stop briefly in Wadowice, the birthplace of Pope John Paul II, and tour the church and museum there.  We will continue on to Bielsko-Biala, a charming Polish town, where we will check in to our hotel and have leisure time.  Dinner at the hotel.

Monday, July 16

In the morning, we will depart for Wieliczska to tour one of the world’s oldest operating salt mines.  Large deposits of salt and potassium were discovered here in the year 1252.  Here you will see beautiful chapels and chambers covered with sculptures and statues carved from salt.  The oldest sculptures were carved out of rock salt by miners; more recent figures have been fashioned by contemporary artists.  Even the crystals of the chandeliers are made from rock salt that has been dissolved and reconstituted to achieve a clear, glass-like appearance.

After our tour of the salt mine, we will continue to Krakow, where we will have a short sightseeing tour.  Krakow is the 2nd largest city in Poland with a beautiful historic center, including the Old Town, Kazmierz and the Wawel Castle.  It was included as the first of its kind on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1978.  You will have leisure time to shop in the main square for typical Polish crafts, including amber jewelry, lace and carved wooden objects.  Dinner at the hotel.

Tuesday, July 17

Return back to the Czech Republic today stopping in the quaint town of Kromeriz – also known as “Moravian Athens.”  We will have a tour of the Archbishop’s Wine Cellar built for the Archbishop in the 17^th century.  Here we will also have the opportunity to taste several delicious Moravian wines.  After our tour of the wine cellar, you will have free time to enjoy the sights and shop in Kromeriz.  Depart a short distance to our hotel in Buchlovice and check in.  In the evening, we will be treated to dinner and special live entertainment by the Veselanka band that has toured Texas numerous times.  This is sure to be a fun night!

Wednesday, July 18

In the morning, we will tour Chateau Buchlovice, an architecturally significant estate erected in the 18^th century by the Hapsburg monarchy.  We will continue on to Velehrad, the village popularized particularly by The Basilica of Assumption of Mary and St. Cyril and Methodius, the most popular pilgrimage site in the Czech Republic.  The Basilica was visited by Pope John Paul II in 1990 and is the third largest church in the country.

We will then travel a short distance to Luhacovice, a Moravian spa town.  Here you will have time for shopping and sampling the mineral water from local natural springs.  Later in the afternoon, we will travel to the ancestral home of Steavy’s grandfather, Alois Holy, where we will visit a typical Czech working farm.  You will be treated to a traditional dinner of klobase (Czech sausage), pivo (beer) and kolace (Czech pastries).

Thursday, July 19

Today, we will travel through southern Moravia on our way to our last night’s stay in Vienna.  Along the way, we will stop in Lednice, where we will tour an authentic 17^th century castle and extensive garden park, including a greenhouse, aquarium and Minaret.  We will enjoy Moravian wine in one of the local cellars.  The southern region of Moravia is known for its wine production, particularly around the towns of Velké Pavlovice, Mikulov and Znojmo.  This area provides 94% of the Czech Republic's vineyards.

Once in Vienna, we will have a half-day sightseeing tour of this beautiful Austrian capital - and former Hapsburg imperial city for more than 6 centuries.  Our tour of Vienna will include both walking and driving by bus.  We will visit the popular Ringroad, constructed in 1857 and surrounded by the representative buildings of the National Opera House, the New Town Hall, the National Theater, Parliament, museums, universities, hotels and shops.  We will conclude our tour on the Main Square, where we will see St. Stephen's Cathedral, the seat of the Archbishop and the largest church in Austria.  We will check into our hotel, have dinner and prepare for the flight back to the USA!

Friday, July 20

Leave for the airport for our flight from Vienna back to the USA.

*** Itinerary subject to change based upon availability.  Optional cancellation insurance is available. ***