Itinerary
Summer 2009 Tour: Poland and Berlin
Please click the links to the right for an updated detailed itinerary for AAYC’s 2009 tour, taking place from Sunday June 28 to Tuesday July 7, 2009.
Warsaw, Poland: June 28 - July 1
Over 75% of Warsaw, the capital of Poland, was destroyed by Hitler’s armies in 1944 and was rebuilt in the “functional” communist styles of the later decades. The historic Old Town, the Royal Castle and Ujazdowski Palace, along with other reconstructed areas of the city, are tributes to the Poles’ ability to survive and preserve their history and traditions. Since liberation, Warsaw is quickly changing into a modern European capital.
Kraków, Poland: July 2 - July 3
The previous capital of Poland and seat of its oldest university is also one of the few Polish cities to escape devastation during World War II. Today seven centuries of Polish architecture can be seen in Kraków’s fine towers, facades and churches. Listed by UNESCO in 1978 as one of the twelve great historic cities of the world, Kraków represents a great repository of Polish history, art and architecture.
Wrocław, with its facinating and complex history, is the capital of Silesia and Poland’s fourth largest city. It dates to the tenth century when the Ostrow Tumski islet on the Odra became a fortified Slav settlement. Now, over one hundred bridges span the city’s 90-kilometer network of slow-moving canals and tributaries which give Wroclaw an endearing charm. Wrocław has more bridges than any other city in Europe save Venice and St. Petersburg!
Berlin, Germany: July 5 - July 7
Berlin first became truly important under the reign of Friedrich-Wilhelm of Brandenburg. He welcomed the influx of French Huguenot craftsmen, theologians, doctors and scholars who helped transform the city and strengthen its influence on its neighbors. Berlin owes much of its economic and cultural dynamism today to the former East Germany and Federal Republic of Germany both using the city as a shop window for their respective ways of life.