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We used Kroke Jewish Tours in Krakow. See my review on TripAdvisor. Adele K Oct. 2017. Tomasz Cebulski was our tour guide for Auschwitz. Truly outstanding! Polin Travel Guide and Genealogy.
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Thank you
Thank you for all these conversations! This is very helpful.
what did you finally decide and would you be able to share how much did it finally cost? |
Just want to chime in with an endorsement of Prague, since so many folks on this chain seemed disenchanted with it. I LOVE Prague, even when there are a lot of tourists - its medieval architecture is truly magical.
However, if it's truly overrun and you'd like to get away from the tourists, here are a few less well-known spots you can check out: Vysehrad - peaceful park/cemetery/church with great views The quirky Zizkov neighborhood and its baby tower Up and coming Holešovic neighborhood and beautiful Stromovka park Letna park And great day trips include the medieval village of Cesky Krumlov (gorgeous), Karlstejn castle, and Brno - which is a great, lesser known Czech city. |
Originally Posted by Fleur_de_Lis
(Post 17594829)
Just want to chime in with an endorsement of Prague, since so many folks on this chain seemed disenchanted with it. I LOVE Prague, even when there are a lot of tourists - its medieval architecture is truly magical.
However, if it's truly overrun and you'd like to get away from the tourists, here are a few less well-known spots you can check out: Vysehrad - peaceful park/cemetery/church with great views The quirky Zizkov neighborhood and its baby tower Up and coming Holešovic neighborhood and beautiful Stromovka park Letna park And great day trips include the medieval village of Cesky Krumlov (gorgeous), Karlstejn castle, and Brno - which is a great, lesser known Czech city. |
We have been in all three of those cities and I agree that Krakow was the most unexpected positive surprise and Prague was too overrun with tourists. Also, Prague was the only place in all of our travels that we were robbed. My husband was pickpocketed on a crowded tram. Since then he has used a Rick Steves' recommended money pouch around his neck.
We took a train from Prague to Krakow and I remember it being slow and pleasant. From Krakow, we took a train to Berlin and, although we had purchased train tickets, we neglected to reserve seats. It was a fully booked train. Luckily other passengers squeezed together in a compartment and made room for us. Otherwise, we would have had to stand up the entire trip. In Prague, we had a personal tour booked through Context Tours (which we had also used in Rome) to the Old Synagogue, New Synagogue, Spanish Synagogue, Terezin art exhibit, Jewish cemetery, memorials. It was very interesting and informative; our guide was very knowledgeable and provided a good history and context of Prague, including its Jewish and overall history. The guide also took us on the tram to the grounds of the castle, a huge, impressive structure. Having a local person to ask questions of really improved our experience. From Krakow, we spent a day at Auschwitz. Our hotel arranged a car service and all visitors go on a guided tour. That is a profound and draining experience. A highlight in Krakow was the Schindler Factory, which is a very good museum, documenting Krakow history from 1930s to the end of the war. The exhibits are very well done, providing a comprehensive history, with artifacts and lots of personal stories. It is adjacent to a modern art museum, which has large spaces and interesting, quirky exhibits. We loved the food in Krakow, which is like the food I grew up with and very affordable. The first night we found a small, cozy restaurant with very eclectic furnishings in the Jewish quarter, Dawno Ternu. Klezmer musicians – violin, accordion - were performing. The four of us shared a chopped liver appetizer and our mains included lamb sausage with couscous and fried liver. The next night we had a dinner reservation at Starka Restaurant and Vodka Bar, where the four of us had a great meal, including herring appetizer, salmon with beets, and lamb. We shared a bottle of wine and at the end of the meal had vodka shots. (When in Krakow!) There was a folk singer and overall a great ambiance and very affordable. Another night we had dinner at Klezmer Haus, an old house with different dining rooms. They have klezmer music, but we had neglected to make a reservation so were seated in a different room. We shared gefilte fish and also had matzo ball soup and white fish. Again, good food and ambiance. Budapest was also much grander and interesting than I had expected. It reminded me of Paris, with wide boulevards and beautiful parks. There are historic cafes, both grand ones and more bohemian ones. Of the three cities, Krakow is the one I would love to return to. I have no interest in going back to Prague. And I would hesitate to go to Budapest now because of the political situation. |
Thank you for your recommendations for our time in Prague. We leave on September 15th from Toronto, Canada. Will spend 4 nights in Prague, 5 in Krakow, 5 in Budapest and then get on the train to end up in Paris for 4 nights. I will sent a report once we return and give a summary of our costs.
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Originally Posted by joduhl
(Post 17594946)
We have been in all three of those cities and I agree that Krakow was the most unexpected positive surprise and Prague was too overrun with tourists. Also, Prague was the only place in all of our travels that we were robbed. My husband was pickpocketed on a crowded tram. Since then he has used a Rick Steves' recommended money pouch around his neck.
We took a train from Prague to Krakow and I remember it being slow and pleasant. From Krakow, we took a train to Berlin and, although we had purchased train tickets, we neglected to reserve seats. It was a fully booked train. Luckily other passengers squeezed together in a compartment and made room for us. Otherwise, we would have had to stand up the entire trip. In Prague, we had a personal tour booked through Context Tours (which we had also used in Rome) to the Old Synagogue, New Synagogue, Spanish Synagogue, Terezin art exhibit, Jewish cemetery, memorials. It was very interesting and informative; our guide was very knowledgeable and provided a good history and context of Prague, including its Jewish and overall history. The guide also took us on the tram to the grounds of the castle, a huge, impressive structure. Having a local person to ask questions of really improved our experience. From Krakow, we spent a day at Auschwitz. Our hotel arranged a car service and all visitors go on a guided tour. That is a profound and draining experience. A highlight in Krakow was the Schindler Factory, which is a very good museum, documenting Krakow history from 1930s to the end of the war. The exhibits are very well done, providing a comprehensive history, with artifacts and lots of personal stories. It is adjacent to a modern art museum, which has large spaces and interesting, quirky exhibits. We loved the food in Krakow, which is like the food I grew up with and very affordable. The first night we found a small, cozy restaurant with very eclectic furnishings in the Jewish quarter, Dawno Ternu. Klezmer musicians – violin, accordion - were performing. The four of us shared a chopped liver appetizer and our mains included lamb sausage with couscous and fried liver. The next night we had a dinner reservation at Starka Restaurant and Vodka Bar, where the four of us had a great meal, including herring appetizer, salmon with beets, and lamb. We shared a bottle of wine and at the end of the meal had vodka shots. (When in Krakow!) There was a folk singer and overall a great ambiance and very affordable. Another night we had dinner at Klezmer Haus, an old house with different dining rooms. They have klezmer music, but we had neglected to make a reservation so were seated in a different room. We shared gefilte fish and also had matzo ball soup and white fish. Again, good food and ambiance. Budapest was also much grander and interesting than I had expected. It reminded me of Paris, with wide boulevards and beautiful parks. There are historic cafes, both grand ones and more bohemian ones. Of the three cities, Krakow is the one I would love to return to. I have no interest in going back to Prague. And I would hesitate to go to Budapest now because of the political situation. |
Originally Posted by annienan
(Post 17594948)
We leave on September 15th from Toronto, Canada. Will spend 4 nights in Prague, 5 in Krakow, 5 in Budapest and then get on the train to end up in Paris for 4 nights. I will sent a report once we return and give a summary of our costs.
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If seniors, public transportation is free in Prague.
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