Central Synagogue Trip to Prague & Berlin March 26 April 3, 2017

Transcription

1 Central Synagogue Trip to Prague & Berlin March 26 April 3, 2017

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3 Central Synagogue Trip to Prague & Berlin March 26 April 3, 2017 PROGRAM DETAILS DAY ONE SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2017 DEPARTURE Depart the U.S.A. Overnight: Flight DAY TWO MONDAY, MARCH 27, 2017 ARRIVAL IN PRAGUE Arrive at Prague International Airport. (Please plan to arrive by 11:00 a.m.) Welcome by our representative and assistance with arrival formalities. Stop at Strahov Monastery for a panoramic view of the city. Walking tour of the Old Town Square and its vicinity. View the famous 14th century Astronomical Clock and Prague's Art Nouveau architecture around you. Visit Charles Bridge, a famous historic bridge crossing the Vltava River that was once the most important connection between Prague Castle and the city's Old Town and adjacent areas. Stroll across the bridge, decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style, originally erected around 1700 but now all replaced by replicas. Check into the hotel. LaDa'at Focus Looking at the Ever-Changing Map of Europe: Welcome dinner and orientation dialogue with your tour educator. Overview of the group journey; including reviewing the itinerary, the group themes, the different narratives. Share group and personal goals. Overnight: Prague DAY THREE TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2017 THE GLORY OF PRAGUE walking tour LaDa'at Focus An Inside Look into the Czech Republic- Politics, Economics & Society Dialogue with Mr. Peter Brod, former BBC Bureau Chief and Radio Free Europe activist. Transfer to the Prague Castle for a guided tour of the Castle, an overview of the City of 100 Spires and a walk along the Golden Lane. Walk through the Lesser Town. Cross the Charles Bridge to the Old Town. Guided visit through Jewish Prague, including the Old Ghetto and the Precious Legacy Exhibit at the Jewish Museum, which encompasses the Altneu Shul, the Maisel Synagogue, the Pincus Synagogue, the Old Cemetery and the Spanish Synagogue. Remainder of the afternoon at leisure to explore the city on your own. Dinner on your own. Optional: In the Footsteps of Kafka: evening walking tour with your tour educator through landmarks of Franz Kafka's life. Gain insight into how the city reflects in the writing of this unusual author. Overnight: Prague DAY FOUR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2017 MEMORY & CONTINUITY Breakfast at the hotel and check out. Meet your guide at hotel lobby and depart. Depart Prague and drive north. Visit to Terezin, the town that was turned into the model ghetto and concentration camp, hiding from the world the true nature of its purpose. Walk through the Historical Museum and the Art Exhibits, created by the artists who were prisoners of the camp, stop by the so-called Hidden Synagogue and end at the Crematorium. Boxed lunch. Continue the drive north to Berlin. Check into the hotel. Dinner on your own and evening at leisure. DAY FIVE THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017 BERLIN - PAST & PRESENT Explore Berlin's rich history as well as some of its hidden gems on a tour in East Berlin, including: Walk along Unter Den Linden, the grand central boulevard in the Mitte district.

4 View the famous Humboldt University and visit the Book Burning Memorial at Bebel Square. The Brandenburg Gate, originally commissioned by Friedrich Wilhelm II to represent peace. The gate was ironically incorporated into the Berlin Wall during the years of the Communist regime. Perhaps Berlin's best known landmark, it now stands as a symbol of the city's reunification. The Holocaust Memorial, the Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Designed by architect Peter Eisenman, this undulating field of reflection with thousands of concrete dark gray slabs forms a gentle wave, ankle-high in some places, designed to give visitors a sense of groundlessness and of a loss of orientation; the memorial also includes a subterranean information center at the edge of the site which houses a permanent exhibition dedicated to the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Lunch at Kafer, a restaurant on the roof of the Reichstag, the seat of the German Parliament and one of Berlin s most significant landmarks. Visit the Boros Collection, a private collection of contemporary art by international artists dating from 1990 to the present. Different facets of the collection have been on public display since 2008 in a converted WWII bunker. Visit Alexander Platz, the city center of former Socialist East Berlin. Return to the hotel. Dinner on your own and evening at leisure. DAY SIX FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2017 JEWISH LIFE IN BERLIN LaDa'at Focus An Inside Look into the German Jewish Community - Past, Present & Future: Dialogue with Rabbi Josh Spinner, Executive VP and CEO of The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation. Walk along Grosse Hamburger Strasse, once the center of Berlin Jewry. Visit the Museum of Otto Weidt's Workshop for the Blind, a safe haven for Jews during the Holocaust years in Berlin. Tour to Jewish sites in East Berlin including: The Hackescher Markt The Jewish Cemetery, including Moses Mendelsson's grave The site of the Women's Protest on Rosenenstreasse Visit the New Synagogue and the Centrum Judaicum, one of the most important locations for contemporary Jewish life in Berlin. Guided visit to the Jewish Museum of Berlin, designed by architect Daniel Libeskind. One of the most conspicuous architectural landmarks in the city, it embodies

5 remembrance, melancholy, and departure. Return to the hotel and prepare for Shabbat. Kabbalat Shabbat services at the Pestalozzi Strasse Synagogue. Shabbat dinner. DAY SEVEN SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 2017 SHABBAT IN BERLIN walking tour Optional Shabbat services at a local synagogue OR morning at leisure to explore Berlin on your own, with the opportunity to: Visit Berlin's excellent museums, such as the Gemaeldegalerie or the Neue Nationalgalerie, or any of the museums on Museum Island. Museum Island features the Altes Museum, the Neues Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie, the Bode Museum and the Pergamon Museum. Explore the city's many art galleries. Shop on the Kurfürstendamm (known locally as the Ku'damm). Visit the East Side Gallery, a part of the former Berlin Wall now serving as a memorial of 150 wall paintings from a slew of international artists. Visit the DDR Museum, an interactive museum that offers a snapshot of life in East Berlin in the days of the Soviet occupation. Explore Berlin's rich history on a walking tour in East Berlin, including: Checkpoint Charlie, one of the best known crossing points between East and West Berlin during the Cold War. Topography of Terror, where the central institutions of Nazi persecution and terror were located. Potsdamer Platz, an important public square located at the point where the old road from Potsdam passed through the city wall of Berlin. Ben Kodesh Lechol: Havdallah. Dinner on your own and evening at leisure DAY EIGHT SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 2017 A PASSAGE THROUGH TIME LaDa'at Focus Meet with a faculty member of Abraham Geiger College, the first liberal rabbinical seminary in Continental Europe since the Holocaust, for insight into Progressive Judaism in Germany today. Drive to Potsdam, the capital of the federal state of Brandenburg and the former residence of the Prussian Kings and German Kaisers. Guided tour to the city including the Glienicke Bridge, used during the Cold War for exchanging spies, and other famous sites. Guided visit to the Villa in Wannsee, site of the infamous "Final Solution" conference, including a private introduction to the house with staff of the Wannsee Conference Educational and Memorial Site. Pay a visit to Gleis 17 (Track 17), the main deportation center for Berlin Jews during the Holocaust, located in the neighborhood of Grunewald. Witness the contrast between the calm atmosphere and the tragic history of the place. Return to the hotel. Final Thoughts and Feelings: Festive farewell dinner and group reflection at a restaurant. DAY NINE MONDAY, APRIL 3, 2017 RETURN HOME Check out of the hotel. Transfer to Berlin International Airport. Departure flight to the U.S.A., arriving the same day. TO REGISTER FOR THIS TRIP ONLINE CLICK HERE LEARN MORE WHAT'S INCLUDED... ACCOMMODATION... CLICK HERE

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