Danube Jewish Heritage Riverboat Cruise with Kosherica Summer 2024

 

ITINERARY

Day 1, Thu, August 15

Budapest - Embarkation 4:00pm

Day 2, Fri, August 16

Budapest

Day 3, Sat, August 17

Budapest

Day 4, Sun, August 18

Bratislava (Slovokia)

Day 5, Mon, August 19

Wien/Nussdorf (Vienna)

Day 6, Tue, August 20

Dürnstein (Austria)

Day 7, Wed, August 21

Mauthausen Memorial, Salzburg Sound of Music Tour

Day 8, Thu, August 22

Passau (Germany)

Disembark 8:00am

 

The Danube river boat Jewish heritage cruise is one of the most spectacular vacations that we offer. Part of what makes it incredible is the huge assortment of excursions that automatically come with this experience. Our daily excursions always include a rich array of Jewish heritage sites and secular cultural sites. Our goal is to give our guests a comprehensive experience. We want you to understand all the Jewish history alongside with a full understanding of each city. Below is a very brief description of each location. Please understand that it may change as we flush out the itinerary to make it the most comprehensive experience we can.

Budapest– The star of the Danube (Budapest) is outrightly known for so many famous things. For instance, the rich culture, underground caves, Danube River, the drop-dead beautiful Parliament Building, local delicacies, and being the world’s Spa capital (we recommend visiting the thermal spa!!). We will be doing a general city tour to explore the magnificent beauty of this city. We will then explore the Jewish section which will include one of the largest synagogues in Europe, the Dohany Synagogue- the best evidence of the Golden Period-, the delicate and emotional Holocaust water Memorial, the gorgeous and ornate Sephardic Synagogue. We will have plenty of time for you to explore this city in full as we will be there from Thursday through Shabbat. The kosher restaurants are insanely good. Hungry is known as one of the best culinary cities in Europe. We highly recommend doing the thermal spas, Parliament tours or literally people watching or shopping in the main square (shopping in Budapest is one of the more affordable places to get some great deals).

Bratislava– Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, is set along the Danube River by the border with Austria and Hungary. It’s surrounded by vineyards and the Little Carpathian mountains, crisscrossed with forested hiking and cycling trails. The pedestrian-only, 18th-century old town is known for its lively bars and cafes. Perched atop a hill, the reconstructed Bratislava Castle overlooks old town and the Danube. Before Shabbat we will be visiting the grave of Moses Schreiber (1762–1839), known as the Chatam Sofer, one of the leading Orthodox rabbis of European Jewry in the first half of the nineteenth century.

Vienna (2 days)-Vienna is known for its ornate palaces, rich classical music and intellectual cafes, incredible shopping but the city isn’t all fun experiences. A walk through Vienna’s historically Jewish neighborhood tells a very different story– one of both great success and devastating tragedy. We will explore the Judenplatz, literally meaning “Jewish Square.” In the heart of Vienna’s first district, this was the center of Jewish life at the time. Today, the site is home to the Shoah memorial and the Judenplatz museum, a division of the Jewish museum.We will also go to Leopoldstadt, Vienna’s second district, which has been the historic center of Jewish life in the city since 1624, when Ferdinand II sanctioned the creation of a Jewish ghetto. We will also do a WWII walking tour of Vienna to understand the city’s influence on Hitler and see the spots that were once key Nazi offices. Guests will have the option to see the Jewish Museum of Vienna which highlights Jewish life and culture in Austria from the Middle Ages to the present day. To lighten things up we will also have a general city tour and give guests the options of visiting the SCHӦNBRUNN PALACE, shopping the fantastic stores or sitting in cafes. For younger people there is so much to choose from including incredible historical virtual reality museum, zoo, Segway tours. We also highly recommend exploring culture at night.

Durnstein – Durnstein has long history, stretching back to at least 1019, but it wasn’t actually recorded as a town until 1347. It was once the seat of the medieval Kuenring dynasty but later was acquired by the Habsburgs in 1356, after the Kuenring family died off. The town’s location was ideal during the Middle Ages.

Mauthausen – A Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with nearly 100 further subcamps located throughout Austria and southern Germany. We will spend about 1.5 hours here. This site is too intense for you we will give you the option to go to a local nearby town

Salzburg– Salzburg is the stunningly picturesque city where W. A. Mozart was born and the shooting location for “The Sound of Music”. The narrow lanes and broad squares of this baroque city have taken their deserved place on the UNESCO World Heritage List. We will do the sound of music tour and have some time to walk around the magical cobblestone city

Passau -Many guests will be arriving into Munich the day of the adventure. We will have the option of providing transportation that will pick you up from the airport and bring you to this charming town.The Riverboat departs from this city, which is on the Austrian border. It lies at the confluence of the Danube, Inn and Ilz rivers. Known as the Three Rivers City, it’s overlooked by the Veste Oberhaus, a 13th-century hilltop fortress housing a city museum and observation tower. Everything about this city is absolutely charming and quaint. We will not spend a lot of time here as a different boat needs to make its way onto Vienna.