Krakow – The Cultural Capital Of Poland

DAY 1, [D]
WARSAW

Arrival in Warsaw. Transfer to hotel for check-in. Then panoramic city tour, see historical monuments: Ghetto Memorial, Monument to the Warsaw Uprising, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, stroll the picturesque the Royal Lazienki Garden. Welcome dinner.

DAY 2, [BLD]
WARSAW
Lecture: „Between Tradition And Modernity” – a thorough study of Poland including political, economic, sociological aspects.

Walk through the Old Town, rebuilt after WW II, with the Barbican, St. John’s Cathedral, Warsaw’s oldest and most distinguished church, connected to celebrations of proclamation of Poland’s Constitution of May 3, the first constitution in Europe and only the second in the world. View „Warsaw Remains”, documentary movie at the Warsaw Historical Museum presenting pre and post the WW II history of Warsaw. Visit to the Wilanow Palace. What makes it valuable is that it was not destroyed during World War II. On the upper floor there is a Gallery of Polish Portraits which boasts an extensive collection from the 16th to 19th centuries. Some time free. In the evening enjoy Frederic Chopin music piano recital to be held in one of beautiful palace interiors of Warsaw. No-one else in the history of Polish music has so creatively used folk rhythms polonez, mazurek, oberek, kujawiak for concert pieces, and no-one else has achieved such international recognition.

DAY 3, [BLD]
WARSAW-MALBORK-GDANSK

Drive to Malbork to see the best in Poland, classic fortress, with multiple defensive walls, a labyrinth of rooms and chambers and some exquisite architectural detail and decoration. It represents one of the largest, defensive, medieval systems in Europe and was put on the UNESCO list of unique monuments in the world. The Museum’s highlight is also the exhibition of amber, the largest in Poland and one of the world’s most interesting collections of the type. The main part of the collection are amber masterpieces, made in 17th and 18th centuries, in the days of the greatest splendor of the amber art. Lunch in the castle moat, with early music concert.
Gdansk overnight.
Gdansk, the old Hanzeatic city. From the 15th to 18th century, Gdansk represented Poland’s gateway to the world, with the city holding a monopoly on the maritime trade in grain and timber, the legacy of those days includes the city’s huge granaries and the Old Crane by the river Motlawa.
A stroll around Gdansk, also provides vivid testimony to Poland’s more recent history, from the heroism of the defenders of Westerplatte in September 1939 to the Monument to the Murdered Shipyard Workers, which stands at the gates of the Gdansk Shipyard, birthplace of „Solidarity”.

DAY 4, [BLD]
GDANSK
Lecture: „Gdansk, Communicational Junction – Past, Present, Future”.

See the characteristic features of Hanzeatic architecture in Gdansk. Artus Court – where for several centuries, the wealthiest local merchants, held their meetings, banquets and general revelries, the Main Town Hall, the Neptun Fountain – dominated by the sea god, trident in hand.
We continue to the St Bridget’s Church – a record of the Solidarity period. We will find here the tombstone of the murdered priest J.Popiełuszko, the Katyn epitaph, a collection of crosses from the 1980-88 strikes and a door with bas-reliefs of scenes from Solidarity’s history, all in the right-hand ( northern) aisle. Pay attention to amber altar which is being built in the church.
Stop by the Monument to the Shipyard Workers, a document of recent history, erected in memory of the workers killed in the riots of 1970. Time free.

DAY 5, [BLD]
GDANSK-KARTUZY-CHMIELNO-WDZYDZE KISZEWSKIE-TORUN

Escapade through Polish folklore of Kaszuby Region. Excursion to Kartuzy. The Kashubian Regional Museum will introduce you to some of the intricacies of Kashubian domestic, cultural and religious traditions. Highlight of the curator’s guided tour, is his performance of a Kashubian folk song, complete with dramatic accompaniment. Another attraction is a display of snuff-boxes.
We continue to the village of Chmielno, known for its more than a hundred-year-old potter’s workshop of the Necel family and the Museum of Kashubian Pottery.
Stop in Wdzydze Kiszewskie with the oldest in Poland ethnographical open-air museum, picturesquely located within the Wdzydze Landscape Park The skansen includes buildings collected from the central and southern Kashubia region .Enjoy organ recital in the 18th century church, which is used for Sunday mass and is also the site of regional organ concerts, which are held here every summer . Watching this irreplacable archival resource apart, we will meet local artists and see the process of making embroidery and wickerwork of pine root. Lunch with folk entertainmment. Try dishes of regional cuisine: golce, ruchanki. Observe dumplings making.
Drive to Torun for overnight.

DAY 6, [BLD]
TORUN-POZNAN

Sightseeing of Torun, one of the magnificent historic cities of Poland, the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus. Stroll the lovely Old Town listed on the UNESCO List, along one of the charming, narrow streets uncovering Toruń’s past glory.
Visit the Museum of Copernicus, with a studiously assembled collection of the outstanding astronomer’s artefacts: priceless first edition of the momentous De Revolutionibus, models of gyroscopes and other astronomical instruments, original household furniture, early portraits.
Continue to Poznan for overnight. For dinner we will visit one of the agro-tourist farms, nearby Poznan. You will have an opportunity to discuss the agro-tourism as the chance for development of rural areas.

DAY 7, [BLD]
POZNAN
Lecture: „Modernization Of Polish Agriculture, New Reforms And Evolution Of Polish Village Through The Ages”

A half day tour of Poznan. Visit to the Musical Instruments Museum with rich collection of instruments, from whistles to concert pianos, dating between 15-20th century.
A walking tour of the Old Town Square. See Town Hall with fine arcades and the splendid, monumental Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul at the Ostrow Tumski, lined with 15 chapels built from 13th till 19 th century. Some time free.

DAY 8, [BLD]
POZNAN-KORNIK-CZESTOCHOWA

Excursion to Kornik. Visit to the castle one of the most unsual stately homes in Wielkopolska.
Its present-day appearance dates from the mid-19th century, when its owner of the day Tytus Działynski, a fervent patriot and art. collector, gave the castle a somewhat eccentric, fortified, mock-Gothic character, partly based on a design by the German architect, Karl Friedrich Schinkel.
The castle happily survived the war and miraculously, so did its contents. It is now open as a museum. You can wander through its fully furnished and decorated 19th century interiors, some of which have family collections on display.
Overnight in Czestochowa.

DAY 9, [BLD]
CZESTOCHOWA-ZAKOPANE
Lecture: „Church in Poland during the communism and nowadays”

See the Jasna Gora Monastery with the Black Madonna picture. The enormous role of Jasna Gora in the religious and cultural life of the nation, can be seen from the names commonly used for this place: the Capital of the Kingdom of Poland, the Confessional of the Nation.
Arrival in Zakopane, which together with its vicinity is something of a mountain folklore reserve, picturesquely situated at the base of the Tatra Mountains in the valley between Gubałówka and Giewont. Check in and time to refresh. We recommend a walk along colorful Krupowki Street and shopping on a local bazaar. Highlander’s market is gathering hundreds of local craftsmen, artists and folk ensembles. Picnic dinner with highlanders’ folklore entertainment. Taste regional specialties: highlanders’ tea and shepherd cheese. Presentation of regional costumes, dances and unique musical instrunments. Learn a highlanders’ song, try dancing.

DAY 10, [BLD]
ZAKOPANE-CRACOW
Lecture: „Current Zakopane – People, Initiatives, Development Prospects”.

Visit Wladyslaw Hasior Gallery, displaying amazing, quirky, nevertheless enjoyable assemblege by this contemporary avant-garde artist, closely associated with Zakopane. Excursion to Sromowce Niżne. Shooting the rapids off the Dunajec River gorge in the Pieniny Mts, requires no special qualifications, yet there are few such attractions in all of Europe. Highlanders’ rafts take passengers on an unforgettable journey on a swift-flowing mountain river, through a sheer rock canyon, with cliff faces towering up 300 metres on each side.
No visit to Poland is complete without a look at Cracow, the city which retains the largest in Poland concentration of historical monuments and cultural treasures.
Overnight and dinner in Cracow.

DAY 11, [BLD]
CRACOW
Lecture: „Monument And Nature Protection In Poland”/ Cracow, the city of tradition with cultures of different nations coexisted.

Stroll the Market Square considered to be one of the largest town squares in Europe. The surroundings of the square have remained unchanged for almost 700 years. See the St. Mary’s Church with the famous wooden altar, the Town hall Tower, the Cloth Hall and the burgher’s houses. Our touring of Cracow continues to the Wawel Hill with its Castle and Cathedral where Poland’s kings were once crowned. See the Royal Chambers, the largest and most impressive exhibition, restored in their original Renaissance and Baroque style and the most valuable items, the magnificent 16th century Flemish tapestries, probably the largest collection of its kind in Europe.
Balance of the day, to explore as you please.

DAY 12, [BLD]
CRACOW-WIELICZKA-CRACOW

Excursion to the Wieliczka Salt Mine, a world-class tourist attraction. Over 700 years, many generations of Polish miners created the underground world, exceptional in its beauty, with the rich interior decoration of the chapels, the original linings of the galleries and workings, and the underground salt lakes. Return to Cracow, time free.

DAY 13, [BLD]
CRACOW-ZELAZOWA-WOLA-LOWICZ-WARSAW

Transfer to Warsaw via Zelazowa Wola, the birthplace of the great Polish composer Frederic Chopin. The tranquillity and charm of the old traditional manor house of the Chopin’s family, now a museum as well as the park around adorned by over a 100 speciments of plants donated by different countries, make for a pleasant stop. The nobleman’s manor is a typically Polish landed proprietor’s residence, unknown in any other country. Here, national and patriotic traditions were carefully cultivated during difficult times for the nation. The importance of the manor in the history of the nation, is best illustrated by the inscription on the entrance to the manor in Pecice: „I am the Polish manor, which fights bravely and defends faithfully”.
Passing through the Mazovian countryside you will discover the scenery where Chopin took inspiration from to compose polonez, mazurek, oberek, and which let his Polish national style crystallised. Stop in Lowicz, known for cultivating folk traditions in music, dress, embroidery and paper cut – outs. Traditional Polish welcome with a loaf of bread and salt and the regional folk Lowicz band. Folk music entertainment and presentations of paper cut-outs from colored paper. Dinner will be served at the Lowicz Castle ruins, and will let you taste traditional dishes of Polish national cuisine, served in stylish old-polish table service. Completion to atmosphere of this site are the owners of the castle ruins, young married couple, uncommon passionate types. Their extraordinary hobby combined with skills results in amazing collection of regional landscape paintings and jewellery made of materials that had been dug out from the ruins. Farewell cannon shot.
Continue to Warsaw for farewell dinner and overnight.

DAY 14, [B]
WARSAW

Transfer to the airport for departure.