Pilgrimage to Poland

CHICAGO- CRACOW

Check in at the airport. Meet with your tour guide. Flight to Cracow

CRACOW- KAZIMIERZ

After arrival we will  see Cracow’s Kazimierz, which is a special place, shaped by the several centuries old Christian-Jewish neighborhood. The narrow, cobble streets have retained their former names: Szeroka, Wąska, Izaak or Estera. Some synagogues have changed their purpose – the High Synagogue is a place of concerts, promotional meetings and exhibitions, and you can learn about the history and culture of Cracow’s Jews at the Museum in the Old Synagogue. The church and the museum’s functions are combined in the church on Skalka which, according to a legend, is the sanctuary of the martyrdom of St. Stanislaw and plays the role of the National Pantheon with the crypts of distinguished Poles. Free time in the evening. Return to the hotel. Accommodation.

WADOWICE- CRACOW

After breakfast we will departure to the city of Wadowice, the place of birth of Pope John Paul II. After visiting Wadowice transfer to Cracow. City tour of  Poland’s historic capital including: Wawel Royal Castle and Cathedral –venue of the coronations and burials of the Polish kings, and site of the relics of St Stanislaus the bishop, patron saint of Poland, the Old Town with Europe’s largest market square, St. Mary’s Church with its famous altarpiece, the Gothic masterpiece by Veit Stoss, the medieval Jagiellonian University, and the streets of the Old Town. Possibility of attending Mass at one of the churches in Cracow.

LAGIEWNIKI- WIELICZKA. Morning visit at the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Łagiewniki for the Holy Mass in front of the image of the Merciful Christ or the grave of St. Faustina Kowalska. Transfer to Wieliczka Salt Mine situated on the outskirts of Cracow for a tour of its salt mine, a unique, UNESCO-listed relic of the European medieval technology.
Several kilometer walk through the chambers and chapels hollowed out from the rock salt, foremost among them in terms of its ornate beauty and size is the world-famous St. Kinga’s
Chapel. Evening transfer to the so-called winter capital of Poland – Zakopane for dinner and overnight.

TATRA MOUNTAINS- ZAKOPANE. Morning trip by cable car to Kasprowy Wierch, one of the highest picks in Tatra Mountains situated on the border with Slovakia. Afternoon sightseeing of Zakopane, the winter capital of Poland. First, we will see Krzeptówki Sanctuary dedicated to Fatima Mother of Good. Then, we will visit the Old Town and the main street- Krupówki. Holy mass in Krzepówki Sanctuary.

AUSCHWITH- CZESTOCHOWA

After breakfast we will go to Auschwitz – Birkenau Memorial Museum for the tour of the former concentration camp Auschwitz I, including the starvation cell where St. Maksymilian Kolbe died a martyr’s death, and the death camp of Auschwitz II –Birkenau, where the Nazis murdered over a million people in the gas chambers, most of them Jews. Among them was the Christian-Jewish patron saint of Europe, Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross). Visiting Auschwitz will be followed by transfer to Czestochowa, where at 9pm we will join the famous ” Closing of Black Madonna Icon” Dinner and overnight in the hotel in Czestochowa.

CZESTOCHOWA- WARSAW. Morning visit at the Pauline Monastery at Jasna Gora in Częstochowa with the miraculous image of Our Lady of Częstochowa (the Black Madonna). It is one of the foremost Marian sanctuaries in the world, and the Poles’ national sanctuary. Tour of the monastery, prayer in fron of the icon, and Mass in the basilica, the main monastery church. Transfer to Warsaw. Afternoon sightseeing of Warsaw. We will start at the Old Town, rebuilt from the ruins in which it was left at the end of World War II. Sites on our route will include the reconstructed Royal Castle, the Sigismund Column, St John’s Metropolitan Cathedral, the Old Town Square, and the Barbican, and we will take a walk along the imposing Krakowskie Przedmiescie Street. Dinner and overnight in the hotel in Warsaw.

WARSAW. Morning Mass in the Church of St. Stanisław Kostka, site of the grave of Blessed Fr Jerzy Popiełuszko, a priest involved in the resistance movement against the Communist dictatorship who was murdered by the political police in 1984. His grave is now the foremost destination of pilgrimage in Warsaw. This day we will also have a tour to National Stadium in Warsaw where polish squads play their games and where famous events also take place. For afternoon activity we propose  visiting Willanow Palace – Former summer kings palace and garden. Overnight in Warsaw. 

WARSAW- TORUŃ. Breakfast followed by tour to Museum of Warsaw Uprising and Royal Łazienki Palace and Garden. Afternoon we will take a ride to northen part of Poland. After arriving to Toruń and checkin in hotel we offer to You evening walk thru the ancient part of the City with English speaking local guide. During that short walk we will see The Old Town
in Torun, with its historic buildings from several different eras, is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Of particular interest are its Gothic churches of St John and the Assumption, the Town Hall, the surviving sections of the town’s defensive walls. Overnight in Toruń city.

TORUN-MALBORK. After breakfast in the hotel and departure we will have our walk though the Old Town in Torun. With its historic buildings from several different eras, it is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Of particular interest are its Gothic churches of St John and the Assumption, the Town Hall, the surviving sections of the town’s defensive walls, and the museum in the house where the famous astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was born. Transfer to Malbork. Tour of Europe’s largest Gothic castle, the former seat of the Teutonic Order. Transfer to Gdańsk.  Dinner and overnight in the hotel in Gdansk.

GDANSK. Tour of Gdańsk. For several hundred years Gdańsk was the biggest port and the richest city on the Baltic Sea. It was in Gdańsk, too, that the first shots of World War II were fired, and it was here that Solidarity, the mass movement under Lech Wałęsa that fought the Communist dictatorship
in Eastern Europe, was born. Sites in our program include the Old Town, with its Renaissance and Baroque townhouses, town hall, Artus Court, former quay, and the Gothic Basilica of Our Lady, Europe’s largest brick church, all reconstructed after the destruction of World War II. Dinner in the Old Town and overnight in the hotel in Gdansk.

SOPOT-CHICAGO. Breakfast in the hotel followed by departure and the trip to the cathedral in Oliwa for an organ music concert. Free time in Sopot, a well-known seaside resort. Time for a stroll along the Baltic’s longest pier. Transfer to the Lech Wałęsa Airport, flight to Warsaw followed by the connection flight back to Chicago.

The program and the order of the particular items may change due to unexpexted events. Holy Mass every day if possible in chosen sanctuaries. The terms and conditions of taking part in the trip and resignation available at www.rektravel.com and www.stjosephtravel.com