16.5 Sat |
Arrival to Krakow |
11.35 |
Arrival to Krakow by plane .... Meeting with the tour leader and the driver from Ernesto Travel and transfer by a private coach to the hotel in Krakow. Early check-in at the hotel (if possible). Hotel in Krakow ****. |
13.00 |
Lunch in a restaurant or in the hotel. |
14.30 |
Departure for Divine Mercy Shrine. |
15.00 |
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy’’. Visiting Monastery in Lagiewniki. There is a Sanctuary of Divine Mercy where Saint Faustina Kowalska lived and died. This Monastery was proclaimed ’The center of Divine Mercy’ by The Pope John Paul II during his stay in Poland in 2002. On The Sunday of Divine Mercy (a week after Easter) thousands people arrive here to participate in The Mass and pray in the antique church where Saint Faustina Kowalska (founder of the cult of Divine Mercy) was buried. |
16.00 |
Holy Mass. |
17.00 |
Visiting the new sanctuary of John Paul II in Biale Morza, close to Lagiewniki shrine. |
18.00 |
Visiting the former Jewish district – Kazimierz. This part of Krakow was the centre of the Jewish community’s religious and social life until the deportations during the German occupation. |
20.00 |
Dinner in a restaurant or in the hotel.
|
17.5 Sun |
Krakow – Kalwaria Zebrzydowska – Wadowice – Krakow |
8.00 |
Breakfast at the hotel. |
8.30 |
Departure to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska. |
10.00 |
Visiting the Bernardine Monastery complex in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, the 3rd most famous sanctuary in Poland. The entire Mannerist complex (including the sanctuary and the park) is a World Heritage Site of UNESCO. |
11.00 |
Transfer to Wadowice, where John Paul II was born in 1920. |
12.00 |
Visiting the Pope’s home and the church where he was baptized.
|
13.00 |
A mass in the Pope’s parish.
|
14.00 |
Lunch at a restaurant.
|
15.30 |
Transfer back to Wadowice main square.
|
17.00 |
CONCERT.
|
20.00 |
Return to Krakow.
|
21.00 |
Dinner in a restaurant or in the hotel.
|
18.5 Mon |
Krakow – the diocese of Monsignor Karol Wojtyla |
8.00 |
Breakfast at the hotel. |
9.00 |
Guided tour of Krakow. The Wawel Hill with the castle (from outside), its beautiful courtyard and the Cathedral (sightseeing inside). Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture of the Old Town (Stare Miasto), the biggest medieval market square in Europe (Rynek Glowny), the Town Hall, Collegium Maius – an ancient building belonging to the Jagiellonian University, the Cloth Hall (Sukiennice), Saint Mary’s Church (Kosciol Mariacki – sightseeing inside) with the famous altar by Veit Stoss. A walk to the antique walls of the Old Town with Florianska Gate and the Barbican. The Archbishop’s Palace, where Karol Wojtyla lived as a cardinal and as Krakow’s archbishop. The Franciscan Church, where he prayed. His favourite pew is located there. Sightseeing Krakow’s Old Town and the Jagiellonian University, where Karol Wojtyla studied in 1938 - 1939 before World War II. Karol Wojtyla worked with students at Saint Florian’s Church school, situated at the Matejko Square. He travelled a lot with his students, who called him “their Uncle”. During sightseeing, there will be a multimedia presentation about the history of amber called “Polish Gold”. In 1978 Krakow was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. |
13.30 |
Lunch at a restaurant in Krakow’s Old Town. |
15.00 |
Departure for Wieliczka. |
16.00 |
Guided tour of Wieliczka Salt Mine – one of the oldest salt mines in the world. This Salt Mine is famous for its long tourist tradition. There are many important people who visited the place: Mikolaj Kopernik, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Dmitrij Mendeleev, Boleslaw Prus, Ignacy Paderewski, Karol Wojtyla, etc. In the year 1978 Wieliczka Salt Mine was inscribed on The World Heritage List of The UNESCO. |
19.00 |
Dinner at a traditional Polish restaurant in Wieliczka combined with a folk music concert. The last night in Krakow. |
19.5 Tue |
Krakow – Dunajec – Debno Podhalanskie – Zakopane |
8.00 |
Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out from the hotel in Krakow. |
9.00 |
Departure by coach to Sromowce Wyzne. |
11.00 |
Sailing on traditional wooden rafts down the Dunajec River, across the Pieninski National Park. Enjoying the beautiful view of the natural environment of the Pieniny Mountains. |
13.30 |
Lunch at a restaurant in Szczawnica. |
15.00 |
Transfer to Debno Podhalanskie. Sightseeing in the wooden Gothic church: one of the 6 wooden churches in southern Poland listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. |
17.00 |
A mass in Saint Michael the Archangel’s Church in Debno Podhalanskie. |
18.00 |
Departure for the capital of the Polish Mountains – Zakopane – a town filled with beautiful and unique national-style wooden houses. |
19.00 |
Arrival in Zakopane. Check-in at the hotel ****. |
20.00 |
Dinner at the hotel or local restaurant. Overnight stay in Zakopane.
|
20.5 Wed |
Zakopane and Tatra Mountains – the mountain-loving Pope’s paradise |
8.00 |
Breakfast at the hotel. |
9.00 |
Sightseeing in Zakopane: Jaszczurowka, Peksowy Brzyzek, Villa Atma, Krzeptowki – Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima. The sanctuary was founded as a token of gratitude for saving the Pope’s life after the assassination attempt on 13th May, 1983. [There will be a mass in the sanctuary]. Visiting the Krupowki promenade with many souvenir shops. Free time. |
13.00 |
Lunch at a traditional mountain restaurant. |
15.00 |
Going up to top of the Gubalowka by cable railway. Enjoying an amazing view of the Tatra Mountains. Walking downhill through a passage. Return to Zakopane. |
20.00 |
Dinner at an old-fashioned restaurant in Zakopane combined with a traditional mountain music concert. |
22.00 |
Return to the hotel. The last night in Zakopane. |
21.5 Thu |
Zakopane – Oswiecim (Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau) – Czestochowa |
7.30 |
Breakfast at the hotel.Check-out from the hotel. |
8.00 |
Departure for the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum (in Oswiecim). |
11.00 |
Guided tour of the area of the Former German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940-1945) Auschwitz-Birkenau. The camp was established by Germans in 1940, in the suburbs of Oswiecim, a Polish city that was annexed to the Third Reich by the Nazis. Its name was changed to Auschwitz, which also became the name of Konzentrationslager Auschwitz. Today there is a museum on the territory of the camp, the place is a World Heritage Site of The UNESCO. The visit includes the Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau camps. |
14.00 |
Lunch at a restaurant in Oswiecim. |
15.00 |
Departure for Czestochowa. |
17.00 |
Guided tour of the most important pilgrimage place in Poland – the Jasna Gora Monastery in Czestochowa with the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary called the Black Madonna. |
19.00 |
A mass in Sanctuary. |
20.30 |
Check-in at the hotel. Dinner. Overnight stay in Czestochowa. Hotel Mercure ***+. |
22.5 Fri |
Czestochowa – Lichen – Warsaw |
8.00 |
Breakfast at the hotel. |
9.00 |
Departure for Lichen. |
13.00 |
Lunch at a restaurant in Lichen. |
14.00 |
Sightseeing of the shrine in Lichen. |
15.00 |
Holy Mass or a celebration in Lichen and free time. |
18.00 |
Departure to Warsaw. |
20.00 |
Check in the hotel in Warsaw, hotel Sheraton *****. |
21.00 |
Dinner in a restaurant.
|
23.5 Sat |
Warsaw – the capital city of Poland |
8.00 |
Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out. |
9.00 |
Guided tour of Warsaw: Park Łazienkowski (Royal Baths Park) with the Frederic Chopin monument, the territory of the former Warsaw Ghetto, Umschlagplatz (thousands of the Jews were deported from there to the concentration camps), the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Palace of Culture and Science, Krakowskie Przedmiescie Street, the Old Town (listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO), St. John’s Cathedral. The Old Town was completely destroyed during World War II and reconstructed thanks to the commitment of the Polish nation. |
13.00 |
Lunch. |
15.00 |
Visiting Saint Stanislaw Kostka’s Church. It’s the burial site of Father Jerzy Popieluszko, who was kidnapped and brutally murdered by communist militia officers in 1984. (There will be a mass to attend there). The theme of this part of the journey is: ’The Church during Communism’. Leisure. |
19.00 |
Dinner. |
20.00 |
Departure to the airport and check-in for the flight Lot ... |