Poland, Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg & Prague
YOUR TRIP INCLUDES:
Round-trip air from New York
15 nights in 4-star hotels as follows: (or similar)
2 nights: Radisson SAS, Warsaw 1 night: Mercure Patria, Czestochowa 1 night: Kasprowy, Zakopane 3 nights: Radisson SAS, Krakow 2 nights: Hotel Korona, Budapest 2 nights: Hotel Marriott, Vienna 2 nights: Hotel Dorint, Salzburg 2 nights: Hotel Diplomat, Prague Breakfast and dinner daily All transfer by private motor coach Sightseeing tours and entrance fees Local guides and tour escorts Luggage handling and hotel taxes Catholic Priest and Mass daily Flight bag & portfolio of all travel documents
Not Included: Lunches, Beverages with dinners, Airport tax (approx. $200-$380). Travel Insurance optional at $99-$219. Tips to your guide & driver ($6 per day). Items of a personal nature.
Sample Day-by-Day Itinerary:
Day 1 – USA- Warsaw
Board a transatlantic flight bound for Poland. Dinner served on board.
Day 2 – Warsaw
Your tour director is at the airport to warmly greet you and soon you’re comfortably settled at your hotel. Upon arrival Mass at St. James Church, the church St. Faustina went when she arrived in Warsaw. The rest of the day is to relax. This evening enjoy welcome dinner and a show at a local restaurant.
Day 3 -Warsaw
After breakfast we visit all the landmarks of Warsaw: Old Town, Market Square, the Barbican, the Warsaw Ghetto monument, Lazienki Park, the Chopin statue, and the magnificently restored Royal Castle. Visit and Mass at Visit 3-9 Zytnia Street where Faustina entered the convent. Dinner and overnight.
Day 4 Warsaw – Swinice Warckie -Niepokalanow Czestochowa
After breakfast, we travel to Czestochowa, with a stop in Swinice Warckie to visit the parish church St. Casimir where St. Faustina was baptized Helen Kowalska. Continue to Niepokalanow, see a franciscan Monastery founded by St. Maximillian Kolbe and home of Basilica of Virgin Mary. Next stop is the site of Poland’s greatest pilgrimage shrine, Our Lady of Czestochowa. Dinner and overnight
Day 5 – Czestochowa – Wadowice – Zakopane
Mass and Visit Jasna Gora Monastery with the Black Madonna picture. One of the most important places of religious worship in the Christian world, with tradition of pilgrimages that goes back to the 14th century. Our Holy Father has frequently visited Jasna Gorna Monastery, known as the Shrine of the Black Madonna. We celebrate Mass at the Pauline Monastery and venerate the priceless treasures contained within, including the Miraculous Icon. Next travel to Zakopane, with a stop along the way in Wadowice, the birthplace of Karol Wojtyla. Visit the house where the Pope, John Paul II, was born. It has since been turned into a shrine-like museum. We will also visit the church he was attended and was baptized as a child. Next we continue on to Zakopane, a resort village nestled in the splendor of the Tatras region. This afternoon we take a cable car ride to the nearby mountaintop for extraordinary views. Dinner and overnight.
Day 6 – Zakopane – Krakow
Before we leave beautiful Zakopane, for the great city of Krakow, we invite you to follow a short distance on one of John Paul II’s walking trails of the Zakopane region, a beautifully situated place within Tatras Mountains in the valley between Gubalowka and Giewont. Zakopane and its vicinity is something of a mountain folklore reserve, with many pearls of typical wooden architecture. Horse-drawn carriages will take you to Kalatowki (optional). Admire picturesque landscapes of Polish highest mountains and visits the Hermitage of St. Brother Albert, founder of the Albertines Order. A short walk along colorful Krupowki Street for some last minute shopping in the local bazaar. On route to Krakow we will stop at the Tieliczka Salt Mines. Upon arrival in Krakow, settled in, then perhaps a short stroll in the old city before or after your dinner..
Day 7 – Krakow – Auschwitz – Krakow
After breakfast we explore Market Square and hear the silver trumpet of the bugler from St Mary’s Tower. Within the Cathedral you may pray before the extraordinary Wit Stwosz altar. The surroundings of the square have remained unchanged for almost 700 years and contain buildings of historic value such as St. Mary’s Church with the famous wooden altar, the Town Hall Tower, the Cloth Hall and the burgher’s houses. Tour the Cathedral, Coronation Chapel and the Royal Chambers where a superb collection of Arras tapestries is on view. In the afternoon we go to Auschwitz, the notorious Nazi concentration camp. We will see the cell that imprisoned St Maximillian Kolbe and the Martyrdom Museum recalling the horrors of the Holocaust. Return to Krakow for dinner and overnight.
Day 8 – Krakow – Full Day Visit to Lagiewniki
After breakfast we depart for our day’s excursion to Lagiewniki. The capital of the Divine Mercy. It was here that originated the message of the Divine Mercy, which Christ Himself wished to pass on to our generation, through the mediation of St. Faustina. The Sanctuary houses grace-working image of Merciful Jesus and the relics of St. Faustina. We will visit the Shrine of Divine Mercy, St. Faustina’s convent chapel, and we will visit St. Faustina’s Tomb. Return to Krakow for our farewell dinner.
Day 9 – Krakow – Budapest, Hungary
After breakfast we depart for our flights or motor coach journey to Budapest. Upon arrival in Budapest enjoy free time to explore before dinner. Often compared with Paris, this glamorous city has something to offer every visitor. Overnight.
Day 10 – Budapest
After breakfast we will tour the older section of the city. After celebrating Mass at the 13th-century Cathedral of St Matthew, we will see the Citadel on Mount Gellert, the Royal Castle, Fisherman’s Bastion, the Parliament, Heroes’ Square, and the Church of St Stephen. Dinner and overnight.
Day 11 – Budapest – Vienna, Austria
After breakfast we motor through the lush Austrian countryside to Vienna, Austria’s capital. We will celebrate Mass at St Stephen’s Cathedral, an imposing structure dating to the 13th century. We’ll have time for Viennese pastry and coffee before seeing the State Opera House, home to the Vienna Boys’ Choir, and Schonbrunn Palace. This sprawling, royal ‘summer house’ has 1,441 rooms including a Hall of Mirrors where Mozart performed at the age of six before a young Marie Antoinette. Dinner and overnight.
Day 12 – Vienna
After breakfast we visit Prince Eugene’s Belvedere Palace and the seemingly endless Hofburg Palace. Later we’ll get a different look at Vienna, from the seat in the Prater’s enormous Ferris wheel. Dinner and overnight.
Day 13 – Vienna – Salzburg
After breakfast we motor west through Austria to the lovely birthplace of Mozart, Salzburg. Upon arrival we will enjoy an afternoon tour includes Salzburg’s great houses, mansions, Festival Hall, and the Mirabelle Gardens. We also get to hear the bells of the great Glockenspiel Tower, performed to a melody of Mozart’s. Dinner and overnight.
Day 14 – Salzburg
After breakfast, our full day tour begins with Mass at St Peter’s Churchyard. Salzburg is compact and best explored on foot. Narrow, winding lanes and secluded passageways are evidence of its medieval roots. The heritage of the Catholic Church is evident in the Archbishop’s Residence and the decoration of the State Rooms, available for viewing. Visit the mighty Romanesque Cathedral, the Nonnberg Convent of Benedictine nuns, and the Fortress Hohensalzburg. We stop at Hellbrunn Palace to enjoy its gardens and hidden trick fountains. Dinner and overnight.
Day 15 – Salzburg – Prague, Czech Republic After breakfast we depart for our scenic motorcoach ride to the enchanting city of Prague, a city of domed rooftops, soaring steeples, and countless spires. Dinner and overnight.
Day 16 – Prague
After breakfast, we begin our tour of beautiful Prague. We will celebrate Mass at the Church of Our Lady Victorious and see there the renowned statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague. We visit Old Town by way of Golden Lane and then go to the Lesser Town to see the medieval Charles Bridge that is adorned with many baroque statues. We will also see St Nicholas Church, the Astronomic Clock, and the Prague Castle district where we tour St Vitus Cathedral, St George Basilica, Loreto Church, Strahov Monastery, and Wenceslas Square. Dinner and overnight.
Day 17 – Prague – USA
We depart from Prague Airport for our return flights to the USA.
*2009 Travel Dates:
Feb 01 – 18 Mar 01 – 18 Mar 15 – Apr 15 Apr 12 – 29 Apr 26 – May 13 May 10 – 27 May 24 – Jun 10 Jun 07 – 24 Jul 19 – Aug 05 Aug 16 – Sep 02 Aug 30 – Sep 16 Sep 13 – 30 Sep 27 – Oct 14 Oct 10 – 28 Nov 01 – 18
2010 Travel Dates:
Jan 31 – Feb 17 Feb 28 – Mar 17 Mar 14 – 31 Mar 28 –Apr 14 Apr 11 – 28 Apr 25 – May 12 May 09 – 26 May 23 – Jun 09 Jun 06 – 23 Jul 18 – Aug 04 Aug 15 – Sep 01 Aug 29 – Sep 15 Sep 12 – 29 Sep 26 – Oct 13 Oct 09 – 27 Oct 31 – Nov 17
In categories: Tours for Groups
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