Included Features:
- Round-trip air on Austrian Airlines from JFK to Krakow and return from Vienna (supplement may be applicable depending on US departure city)
- Transportation by private air-conditioned motorcoach as per itinerary
- English speaking tour escort throughout
- 9 nights first-class hotel accommodations in the cities of Krakow, Wroclaw, Prague, and Vienna
- Buffet breakfast daily
- 7 dinners including the special meals as outlined per the itinerary
- 1 lunch as per itinerary
- Entrance fees to all sightseeing programs as outlined in itinerary
- All taxes, service charges and tips at restaurants
- Information kit and luggage tags
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Detailed Itinerary
Depart on Austrian Airlines from JFK Airport at 6:30 pm for Krakow. Dinner and breakfast will be served on board; audio and video entertainment is complimentary.
Arrive in Vienna at 9:15 am. A local guide will pick you up and take you to the 19th district of Vienna. See the Carmelite Convent and Church of the Holy Family. The church is also a pilgrimage church with the shrine of Our Lady with the Bowed Head. The church and the convent were built in the 19th century in the neo-roman style. A private mass will be celebrated in the church. There will be time for lunch at the airport before you board Austrian Airlines flight # 5597 departing Vienna at 1:30 pm and arriving in Krakow at 2:35 pm. Meet your tour escort in the arrivals hall; transfer to the hotel. The rest of the afternoon is at your leisure to relax and recover from the trip. A welcome dinner will be served at the hotel.
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After breakfast discover the beauty of the ancient capital of Poland. See the Royal Castle and the Cathedral on the Wawel Hill, the place where Polish kings were crowned and buried. Pending on confirmation, a private mass will be celebrated in the Cathedral. Another option for the private services is St. Mary's Church, the main altar of which is worthy of admiration. It was made in the 15th century from gilded and polychrome linden wood. It is Europe's largest wooden Gothic altar. See also Market Square with the Cloth Hall and the 14th century Collegium Maius. The University of Krakow, founded in 1364, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. Lunch is on your own and the afternoon is at your leisure to discover more of Krakow on your own. We all meet again in the evening and the guide will take you to a local restaurant for dinner.
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After a leisureley breakfast private mass will be celebrated in a church close to the hotel. After an early lunch on your own, your local guide will take you to the former concentration camp of Auschwitz. Oswiecim, was a complex of camps, the largest Nazi concentration camp where four million Jews perished. Auschwitz consisted of several units, the largest one at Birkenau. See the National Museum of Oswiecim, situated on the site of the former camp. Return to Krakow for dinner on yoru own and overnight at the hotel.
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Day 5 |
Krakow - Czestochowa - Wroclaw |
After breakfast at the hotel, depart for Wroclaw, once described as 'the holy blossom of Europe'. It has always been a bone of contention and has belonged in the past to Poles, Czechs, Austrians, Hungarians and Germans. The first stop will be in Czestochowa, one of the oldest places of religious worship in the Christian world. Pilgrimages date back to the 14th century. The tour includes the Basilica with the Black Madonna Shrine as well as the exhibition devoted to the 600-years of the Monastery. We will arrange for a private mass in the Basilica. Have lunch on your own in Czestochowa before continuing on to Wroclaw. After check-in you have time to freshen up and the local guide will take you on a walking tour of the old town before dinner at the hotel.
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Today travel southwest to Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. Stop in Hradec Kralove, the historical an cultural center of East Bohemia. After the death of King Wenceslas II it was the seat of the King's widow, Queen Eliska and she built the Cathedral of the Holy Ghost. Since the beginning of the 20th c. the city has been designed and rebuilt, becoming one of the most beautiful Czech cities. Continue on to Prague where you will arrive in the afternoon. After check-in to your centrally located hotel, time to relax and to freshen-up. In the early evening the tour escort will take you to the outskirts of Prague for an evening with local entertainment, music, dances and samples from the Czech cuisine.
Location for mass is to be determined.
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Join your local guide for an overview tour of Prague. The tour includes a walking tour of the Old Town with the Old Town Square and the Astronomical Clock, the Prague Ghetto with the Old-New Synagogue and the Jewish Cemetery, and Charles Bridge. The bus will then take you up to Prague Castle and the Church of Our Lady Victorious, housing the Spanish wax effigy of the Infant Jesus of Prague, which was brought to Prague by the Spanish at the end of the 16th century. You will have time for private devotions. A private mass will be celebrated either at the Church of our Lady or at St. Vitus Cathedral. The afternoon is at your leisure and dinner tonight is on your own.
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After a leisurely morning in Prague, depart for Vienna, Austria. Stops will be made en route and lunch will be on your own in Znaim. This town has preserved a medieval system of fortification and numerous splendid examples of sacred architecture. Arrive in Vienna in the early afternoon. After check-in to your centrally located hotel, you have plenty of time to relax and settle in. Mass will be held in one of the neighborhood churches, and dinner tonight will be served in a local restaurant, serving traditional Austrian food.
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This morning your tour escort will take you to St. Stephen's Cathedral, the landmark of Vienna. A private mass will be offered at Austria's most important building in Gothic style. Built in the 12th c. and completed in 1433, the church was virtually gutted by fire at the end of WWII. The cathedral was reconstructed and reopened in 1948. After mass you will see the various masterpieces during a guided tour. Continue your tour of the of Vienna, which will also include a visit to Schoenbrunn Palace. See the State Apartments during a private guided tour. The rest of the afternoon is at your leisure and dinner tonight is on your own. Your tour escort will be more than happy to help you plan this afternoon and we will provide you with sufficient material and information.
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Optional: we will provide you with a list of all cultural events scheduled in Vienna that day and tickets can be obtained in advance.
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Day 10 |
Abbey of Melk, Wachau Valley, Vienna |
Today you will discover a very scenic part of Austria as you travel East to the Abbey of Melkl. Travel through the most beautiful stretch of the Danube Valley, the Wachau to Duernstein. Stop in Duernstein where Richard the Lionhearted was held for ransom during the crusades. Continue past vineyards, ruins and rolling hills to Spitz/Weissenkirchen. Board a vessel that takes you on the Danube to Melk where you can have lunch on your own at the Abbey Restaurant. Enjoy a guided tour of the Abbey of Melk, a masterpiece of Baroque Architecture, with its impressive library. The church stands high on a bluff overlooking the Danube Valley. A private mass will be celebrated at the Abbey. Return to Vienna via the Abbey of Goettweig, a Benedictine Abbey originally founded by Bishop Altmann of Passau. Upon arrival in Vienna, you will have some time to relax and freshen-up. Tonight we take you to one of the wine-growing villages surrounding Vienna for a typical Heurigen (= the young wine) dinner. Enjoy local food and wines while being entertained by strolling musicians. A late return to the hotel is planned. Is there a better way to bid farewell to Austria?
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After breakfast you will have your transfer to the airport for the flight home. Austrian Airlines departs Vienna at 11:40 am and arrives back at JFK airport at 2:50 pm. Lunch and a snack will be served on board.
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