History Tour to Central Europe—The Rise and Fall of the Iron Curtain

Your 24-hour Tour Director will meet you at the airport and remain with your group until your final airport departure. Your private coach will be waiting to transfer you to the hotel in Budapest. For the next two evenings, you’ll enjoy the convenience of a centrally located Budapest hotel, where daily breakfast will be included.

Budapest—a modern, cultural city and the capital of Hungary—consists of two parts, Buda and Pest, which are divided by the beautiful river Danube that winds through the city center. In Budapest, the cost of public transport is included for all group sightseeing. Escorted by your Tour Director, you’ll be able to experience the city in the same manner as the locals.

Enjoy a walking tour through the Old Town—highlights will include the State Archives, Lord’s Street, Mihaly Tancsics Street, and Holy Trinity Square. You’ll also visit the Budapest Hilton, which features ruins and artifacts from the 13th century, uncovered during the excavations for its construction, incorporated in its design.

Visit Heroes’ Square, or city park, in Varosliget and the Millennium Monument, built in 1896 to commemorate Hungary’s 1,000-year anniversary.

Visit the Fisherman's Bastion, a series of lookout towers built in the 19th century that offer stunning panoramic views of the city.

Enjoy dinner together in a local restaurant.

"We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience." - John Dewey Every evening of the program, we’ll set time aside to update your Reflection Journal and share thoughts and impressions that have come up during the day.

You’ll gain the knowledge and insights of one half-day local guide in Budapest.

Visit Buda Castle, the royal castle built atop a hill is famous for its medieval, baroque, and early 19th-century architecture. It was home to the long line of Hungarian kings from the Medieval Period.

Visit St. Stephens Basilica, Hungary’s largest church, which took over 50 years to build. The bust above the main entrance is of King Stephen, the country's first Christian king. Inside, in the Chapel of the Holy Right, you can see Hungarian Catholicism's most cherished and bizarre holy relic, Stephen's preserved right hand.

Visit Matthias Church, also known as the Church of the Assumption of the Buda Castle. The second-largest church of medieval Buda and the seventh largest church of the medieval Hungarian Kingdom, two Kings of Hungary were crowned within its walls: Franz Joseph I of Hungary and Charles IV of Hungary. The church was also the location of the "Mary-wonder": In 1686, during the siege of Buda city by the Holy League, a wall of the church collapsed due to cannon fire, revealing an old votive Madonna statue hidden behind the wall.

Take a boat tour on the Danube River, and enjoy a relaxing, scenic introduction to Budapest. Highlights of the trip will include Elizabeth Bridge, Chain Bridge, St. Anne’s Church, St. Elizabeth’s Church, the Centenary Monument, Margaret Bridge, and the spectacular Houses of Parliament.

Enjoy dinner as a group in a local restaurant.

Today, you’ll travel from Budapest to Krakow, Poland. Your group will have a private coach and driver while touring for the next six days.

Krakow is one of Europe's most beautiful and historic cities, with its elegant Old Town; Medieval market square; vibrant old Jewish Quarter, with inviting cafes and bars amidst reminders of a more poignant past; and where you'll find stories of cathedrals, castles, dragons, and dungeons. Your base for the next two nights will be Krakow, where breakfast and dinner will be provided at the hotel.

Explore the Kazimierz Jewish Quarter, the main cultural center of Polish Jewry with its unique Oriental atmosphere. Much of the area perished during the traumatic events of the Second World War, but many of the buildings, some still with Yiddish inscriptions, survived. Today, there is a visible revival of Jewish life and activity in Kazimierz with the number of restored buildings, fashionable cafes, restaurants, and bars filled with international tourists, seeking to discover the Jewish culture.

You’ll gain the knowledge and insights of one half-day local guide in Krakow.

Visit Wawel Castle, a royal residence and where the country's rulers governed Poland for five centuries (1038-1596). The castle is a symbol of the independent Polish state and contains a priceless collection of 16th-century Flemish tapestries, considered to be one of the largest in the world.

Visit Wawel Cathedral, which has a wonderful view of the Old Town. Here, you can touch the largest bell in Poland, the Sigismund Bell.

Today, your group will travel from Krakow to Brno, Czech Republic. En route, you’ll visit Auschwitz.

Tour Auschwitz and Birkenau, the largest and most efficient of the Nazi death camps. Your tour will include a visit to the museum and a viewing of the documentary film, followed by a short shuttle to Birkenau, where you’ll view the remains of the death camp and the moving memorial to all who died in the Auschwitz system.

Continue to Brno, which will be your base for the night. Dinner and breakfast will be included at the hotel.

The Czech Republic's second-largest city and the state capital of Moravia, Brno has a rich history that dates back to prehistoric times. While evidence of the communist era still dominates the city's outskirts, travel further in to find splendid historical sites and attractions, including the 13th-century Spilberk Castle; the Dietrichstein Palace; and the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, widely considered one of the country's most important historic buildings. Home to many of the Czech Republic's most important government institutions, Brno is also a university town, with numerous educational establishments, and an important cultural center, boasting many fine concert venues, sports halls, and racetracks, including the famous Masaryk Circuit.

Continue to Prague from Brno. For the next two evenings, you’ll enjoy the convenience of a centrally located Prague hotel, where daily breakfast will be included.

Prague is the capital of Czechia, built on seven hills astride the Vltava River. The city’s beauty is legendary; Goethe once described Prague as “the most precious stone in the crown of this world.” In Prague, the cost of public transport is included for all group sightseeing. Escorted by your Tour Director, you’ll be able to experience the city in the same manner as the locals.

Step back in time on a walking tour to explore the quaint, narrow streets surrounding the castle; cross the ancient Charles Bridge to the Old Town Square; and view the historic Town Hall, the famous astronomical clock, and the 14th-century Tyn Church.

Enjoy an evening meal together in a local restaurant.

During your tour, you’ll gain the knowledge and insights of one half-day local guide in Prague.

Stroll through Wenceslas Square, one of Prague’s main city squares, at the center of the New Town. Surrounded by many businesses and diverse communities, it’s always bustling with locals and visitors alike. The square is named after Saint Wenceslas, the patron saint of Bohemia.

Enjoy a walking tour following the route of the coronation processions of the Bohemian kings and queens, linking two important royal seats, the Royal Court and Prague Castle. Your walking tour begins on the former site of the Royal Court, now the Municipal House. Your group will pass under the Gothic Powder Gate and walk along one of Prague's most historic streets, the Celenta. You’ll then continue down the Celenta until you reach Old Town Square, an active site in Prague's colorful history.

Prague Castle is the city’s most-visited site and the largest ancient castle in the world. Constructed in the 9th century by Prince Borivoj, the castle has transformed from a wooden fortress surrounded by earthen bulwarks to the imposing form it has today—rulers chose the style of their additions, so there is a mixture. Prague Castle features three courtyards and has always been the seat of Czech rulers as well as the official residence.

St. Vitus Cathedral is the largest and most important church in Prague. Situated at the Prague Castle, it’s a burial place of former Czech Kings as well as where the Czech Crown Jewels and a large treasure are kept. St. Vitus Cathedral has two parts: the Gothic eastern tract with the main tower, built in the 14th century, and the western, neo-Gothic part with two spires, built in the 19th century.

Explore the Mala Strana, or Lesser Town, founded in 1257 as Prague’s baroque soul, the second of the royal towns. During the 17th and 18th centuries, foreign noblemen and the Catholic church engaged outstanding architects and artists to embellish what is the city’s most picturesque quarter. Full of old palaces, including the magnificent Wallenstein Palace, Lesser Town is a maze of crooked cobblestone lanes with old churches, museums, inns, wine cellars, and charming parks.

Tonight, enjoy a buffet dinner as you cruise on the Vltava River and enjoy the sights of Prague at night.

Today, your group will travel from Prague to Berlin, Germany. For the next two evenings, you’ll enjoy the convenience of a centrally located Berlin hotel, where daily breakfast will be included.

From 1961 to 1989, Berlin existed as two separate cities (East Berlin and West Berlin) while the 69-mile long Berlin Wall was in place. On October 3, 1990, it became a single city once more. Berlin is the capital of Germany, the country’s largest city, and home to more than 170 museums and galleries. Throughout its now vibrant and fashionable atmosphere, there are poignant reminders of World War II and the city's division. In Berlin, the cost of public transport is included for all group sightseeing.

Explore the Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie, and view parts of the Berlin Wall as well as an illustrated history of its creation and the division it caused. Follow the route of the Berlin Wall to view numerous crosses and wreaths and remind you of the tragedies that occurred after the wall was built.

During your tour, you’ll gain the knowledge and insights of one half-day local guide in Berlin.

Visit the Bundestag, home to the German parliament. The Reichstag building was damaged by fire in 1933 and by air raids and other destruction during World War II, then fell into disuse. After the reunification of Germany in 1990, the building was rebuilt and renovated. The Bundestag, the new German Parliament, convened there for the first time on April 19, 1999. Take a lift into the stunning Glass Dome for dramatic views of both the building and Berlin.

Spend time at the Brandenburg Gate, a triumphal arch that stood in “no man’s land” between East and West Berlin during the Cold War and became a symbol of a divided Germany.

Enjoy a walking tour down the famous Unter den Linden, one of Berlin’s most fashionable and important boulevards. Along the walk, view the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek, the equestrian statue of Frederick the Great, Humboldt- Universität, and the Deutsche Staatsoper.

Visit the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral), a cathedral destroyed during World War II that’s been fully restored to its original beauty.

Enjoy an evening meal together in a local restaurant.

This evening, you’ll make the final entries in your Reflection Journal and share some of the most significant observations and perspectives that have taken shape throughout your European history tour. We’ll also discuss how these experiences may be most relevant for us all as we return home.

Your rewarding and enjoyable The Rise and Fall of the Iron Curtain Tour comes to an end as your Tour Director accompanies your group to the airport on your final day.