Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary

September 16 - 30, 2010

ITINERARY

Day 1
Our journey begins in the Czech Republic as we arrive at the Prague Airport and then take a shuttle to our beautiful hotel in the historic center of the city. Having escaped serious damage during the two world wars, Prague has an enormous collection of well preserved historic buildings and medieval neighborhoods. There are actually four "towns" within this fascinating city: Castle Quarter (Hradçany), Little Quarter (Malá Strana), Old Town (Staré M?sto), and New Town (Nové M?sto). We have time to rest from our flight or explore before our first gourmet dinner in a wonderful Czech restaurant with violinists entertaining us while we dine.

Day 2
Our local Czech guide shows us around the 9th century Prague Castle, home of the Czech rulers for many centuries, high above the Vltava River. Within the castle walls are the beautiful St. Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace, the Basilica of St. George, and the fun shopping street Golden Lane. At the foot of the castle hill we explore the Little Quarter, a Baroque town of mansions and gardens built by the aristocracy who wanted to be near the king. We can stroll through the beautiful castle gardens, known for their rare and exotic plants. Not to be missed is the picturesque narrow street called Nerudova Ulice, with a splendid collection of beautiful old houses and palaces, grand Baroque buildings, and of course dozens of enticing shops. Instead of house numbers, many of the buildings have wonderful signs adorning the facades, painted or carved, made of stone, stucco or metal, indicating the profession of the former occupants. The magnificent Charles Bridge connects the Little Quarter with the Old Town, the commercial heart of Prague since the 14th century. In Old Town Square we have many restaurants and cafés to choose from for lunch. This lively, colorful square from "Old World Prague" contains a spectacular Renaissance astronomical clock, which attracts crowds of tourists for its hourly show to chime the hour. After some free time to explore on our own or relax back at our hotel, we head out for an entertaining evening of folkloric dance and music while we dine on delicious Czech cuisine.

Day 3
We continue our explorations of this magical city with a visit to the famous Wenceslas Square, which is actually a boulevard with fabulous ornate, colorful buildings showing a variety of decorative Czech styles. We also visit the old Jewish Quarter with its interesting cemetery and well preserved historic synagogues. The 18th century Kaunicky Palace houses the Mucha Museum, where we see many of the Art Nouveau works of Alfons Mucha, one of the greatest 20th century Czech artists. In the afternoon a visit to the open-air Havelská Market puts us in the right frame of mind for our gourmet Czech cooking class, a fun way to learn about the best of Czech cuisine. Tonight we dine on our creations.

Day 4
This morning we leave Prague and drive south through the regions of Central Bohemia and South Bohemia to arrive at our next Czech destination, the beautiful medieval village of Ceský Krumlov. Founded in the 13th century, the historic center of the town has been lovingly restored and is a delight to explore. The Vltava River winds like an S through the quaint streets, offering us many options for relaxing and dining with a view. Our hotel for the next two nights is a charming boutique hotel, centrally located so that we can wander freely and are never far from home. Paddling a canoe through the center of town is a popular activity we are welcome to try.

Day 5
Today we visit Cesky Krumlov's fairytale castle and have time to soak up the atmosphere of this idyllic village. It's the kind of place you'll want to return to when you can stay a few months!

Day 6
Saying goodbye to the Czech Republic, we head east through Austria to have lunch in Bratislava, capital of Slovakia. Situated on the Danube River, Bratislava has a charming Old Town with plenty of sidewalk cafés to choose from. We then drive north into the Tatras Mountains of Slovakia, where we stop for the night in a lovely country inn. We have time for a stroll or hike to enjoy the splendid mountain scenery before dinner.

Day 7
Arriving in Krakow, Poland in time for lunch, we check into our beautiful boutique hotel in the historic center of this beautiful city. A guided walking tour takes us to the highlights of the old center and gives us a glimpse into Poland's interesting history. Dinner tonight is a wonderful affair with mouth-watering Polish specialties.

Day 8
This morning is an unforgettable educational excursion to the Auschwitz death camp. Our guide is outstanding as she takes us through this black period of history, intended to shock visitors into vowing that nothing like this must ever be allowed to recur. In the afternoon we detour to an unusual experience of a tour of the ancient salt mines. This evening is another special Polish feast.

Day 9
Departing Krakow, we drive south through the beautiful Slovakian mountains and into Hungary. Our first overnight is in the picturesque town of Eger. Lying in a fertile valley between the Mátra Mountains and the Bükk Range, Eger is surrounded by vineyards and has more than 175 historic monuments, including a fabulous castle. It is a picture-book baroque town begging to be explored. Our lovely hotel is conveniently located in the old center, perfect for strolling the cobblestone streets. Here we meet our Hungarian guide, Peter, who will be with us for the remainder of our journey through Hungary. We are very lucky to have Peter, a professional travel consultant, to guide us to some wonderful and little known places throughout this beautiful country. He takes us to a special wine cellar for a unique wine tasting dinner where we begin to appreciate Hungary's ancient acclaimed reputation for excellent wines.

Day 10
Today we drive through the lovely Eger wine region and have a private visit and wine tasting lunch at a winery whose owners Peter knows. We continue our wine route into the Badacsony wine region as we head to our next destination, Hévíz. After checking into our lovely country inn, we take a dip in a thermal lake- the largest in Europe. This is a fantastic experience you must not be too timid to try! Hungary is rich in thermal traditions, dating from Roman times, with an estimated 1,300 underground thermal springs. Tonight is a special wine tasting dinner Peter has organized for us.

Day 11
A short drive from Hévíz is the largest lake in Central Europe, Lake Balaton. We enjoy a boat ride on the lake, sometimes called the Hungarian Sea and revered by Hungarians as a national treasure. The hilly northern shore of the lake is the wine region known as Badacsony, after Mt. Badacsony which majestically rises from the lake. There are vineyards everywhere and splendid wines in every inn and tavern in every village. This is a perfect place for a winery visit and a wine tasting lunch in one of Peter's favorite private cellars. This afternoon Peter has arranged a special treat he says has something to do with chocolate, pastry and Hungarian liqueurs…

Day 12
This morning we leave Hévíz and head for Budapest, where we check into our elegant boutique hotel in the historic center of Pest. (Buda is on one side of the Danube River and Pest on the other.) Peter takes us on an orientation tour of this fascinating city you are bound to love.

Day 13
This morning we visit the Great Market Hall, a colorful lively indoor market with hundreds of stalls of Hungarian made products. Here in the market we participate in a one-of-a-kind cooking class: The Grand Prix class. This fun-filled event has us compete in teams to create traditional culinary dishes: we each are given the same allocation of shopping Forints (money) and a recipe written in Hungarian, and we must scout the market for retailers who can understand our requests and sell us what we need, and then we will follow our recipe and compete for the prize! We have an afternoon to explore the glories of Budapest, and tonight have a grand farewell Hungarian dinner.

Day 14
After breakfast we drive to the Budapest Airport for the return flight.