- Board your flight Depart Australia and begin your journey to Berlin, Germany!
Central European History
Students discover cities torn from a war-ridden past as you wander through historical sites in Berlin and understand how the Berlin Wall divided the continent. Be amazed by Prague’s extravagant palace and witness first-hand the sombre tails of Nazi Germany as you step through the concentration camps and memorial sites of Krakow and Dachau.
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https://worldstrides.com.au/itineraries/central-european-history
Central European History
Students discover cities torn from a war-ridden past as you wander through historical sites in Berlin and understand how the Berlin Wall divided the continent. Be amazed by Prague’s extravagant palace and witness first-hand the sombre tails of Nazi Germany as you step through the concentration camps and memorial sites of Krakow and Dachau.
Request Info Request Quote12 days
Destinations
BerlinWarsawKrakówPragueMunich
Your Adventure
- Arrive in Berlin Meet your tour director, board your coach and check into your hotel.
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Berlin city walk
Alexanderplatz, Bebelplatz, Hackesche Höfe, Nikolai Quarter, Museum Island
Explore Alexanderplatz, known to locals as simply "Alex". This public square is dominated by the impressive TV Tower, built by the former socialist East German government in the 1960's as a showcase to the West. Today the tower shapes the skyline of the city. See the World Time Clock, which shows the time for various cities around the world, and the Red City Hall, once again Berlin's administrative center since reunification. Take a stroll down the boulevard "Unter den Linden" to Bebelplatz, the site of the Nazi book burnings and see the memorial to commemorate the event. Walk through the Hackesche Hoefe - a courtyard complex built in the "Judenstil" or Art Nouveau style. Pass through the medieval Nikolai Quarter, famous for its vibrant restaurants and cafes which was destroyed by Allied bombing in WWII, but has since been rebuilt. Then view Museum Island, home to a complex of 5 major museums and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A city with a rich and complex past, your Berlin City Walk will be one of the most memorable parts of your trip!
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Berlin guided sightseeing tour
Checkpoint Charlie, Potsdamer Platz, Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate
Join a professional, licensed tour guide as you discover one of the most historical cities in Germany. Although nothing remains of the mortar and cement-block barrier between East and West Berlin, the Berlin Wall (built in 1961; destroyed in 1989) is still a main “site” in Berlin. View the well-known Brandenburg Gate, once a main gate hidden behind a 10-foot barrier and now known for celebratory dancing on its flat top during the reunification. Travel to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, the most famous border crossing point. Checkpoint Charlie, once a wooden guard hut, was the most (in)famous border-crossing point between East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. All that remains of the checkpoint itself is a skeletal watchtower and a memorial of attempted escapees. Follow your guide as they lead you through the museum’s accounts of the most ingenious of these escape attempts— even a few by hot air balloon. - Typography of Terror visit
- Jewish Museum visit Located on the line that once separated East and West Germany, this stirring museum was built in the shape of a warped Star of David and focuses on the realities of Jewish life in Germany, from ancient times up to the horrors of the Holocaust.
- Travel to Warsaw by train
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Warsaw city walk
St. Anne's Church, Old town, Carmelite Church
Follow a walking tour in the Old Town and along the Royal Route, the location of some of the most beautiful streets and churches in Warsaw. Nestled between palaces and government buildings, we will see the Church of St. Anne and the Carmelite Church.
- Warsaw guided sightseeing tour
- Old ghetto visit
- Museum of Warsaw Uprising visit Visit this moving memorial museum dedicated to honouring the brave Polish soldiers who fought against Nazi occupation in Warsaw and the innocent civilians who lost their lives during the battle. Hear first-hand accounts of those dark days, visit the virtual memory wall with the names of thousands of soldiers and civilians who lost their lives and see actual weapons, video footage and pictures from the uprising.
- Jewish Institute visit
- Pawiak Prison visit
- Travel to Krakow
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Krakow guided sightseeing tour
Wawel Hill, Wawel Castle & Cathedral, Medieval Market Square, Cloth Hall, St. Mary's Basilica, Kazimierz Jewish Quarter
Untouched by bombing during World War II, Krakow has maintained much of its delicate beauty and rich history. UNESCO has declared the entire city one of the 12 most significant historic sites in the world. Its magnificent airy castle, built by Sigismund the Old in an Italian villa style, was the seat of Poland's royal government. The Rynek Glówny, medieval Europe's largest town square, dealt with more mundane concerns, and the market stalls and merchants that still congregate here carry on the old traditions.
- Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial & Museum guided excursion Travel to Auschwitz, Nazi Germany’s largest internment and extermination camp, to pay your respects and remember the millions of innocent men, women and children who were killed there during Hitler’s reign.
- Traditional Polish dinner
- Travel to Prague
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Prague city walk
Mala Strana, Jewish Quarter
Feel the inspiration for Franz Kafka’s novels as you stroll the medieval streets of the Mala Strana (Little Quarter). Stop in Josefov (Jewish Quarter), to view Europe’s oldest synagogue, dating from 1270.
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Prague guided sightseeing tour
Old Town Square, Astronomical clock, Charles Bridge, John Lennon Peace Wall, Prague Castle
Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic, built on seven hills astride the Vltava River. The beauty of Prague is legendary; Goethe described the city as “the most precious stone in the crown of this world.”. As the former capital of the Holy Roman Empire, the city was built on beauty and decadence from a wide array of architectural styles (including Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau). Wander through the courtyards of Hradcany (Prague Castle) where Europe’s grand ruling family, the Habsburgs, lived and reigned.
- Travel to Munich via Nuremberg Board your coach to Munich, stopping along the way in Nuremberg.
- World War II Art Bunker tour
- Nuremberg Trial site visit
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Munich guided sightseeing tour
Marienplatz, Frauenkirche, Residenz, BMW Welt showroom visit, 1972 Olympia Park
Join a professional licensed tour guide for a whirlwind look at Munich. Founded in the 12th century by Henry the Lion, Munich now roars with the hustle and bustle of modern German life. As you pass by Marienplatz (named after the square’s gilded Virgin Mary and Child statue), mechanical knights joust and coopers dance to the folk-music chimes of the Neues Rathaus’s Glockenspiel. The twin onion-bulb towers of the Frauenkirche Cathedral frame this whimsical display, while the scents, sounds and colors of the nearby food market attempt to draw your attention elsewhere. Resist temptation and continue on to Olympiapark, a new suburb built for the 1972 Olympic Games. Pass by several museums, such as the BMW Museum, Alte Pinakothek (home to Munich’s most precious art collections), and the Deutsches Museum of science and technology. - Dachau Concentration Camp & Memorial visit A grim glimpse into the past, Dachau was the first of Nazi Germany’s camps and a model for the 3,000 work and concentration camps to come. A chilling memorial to the 206,000 prisoners who were interned in the camp from 1933 to 1945, the museum examines pre-1930 anti-Semitism, the rise of the Nazi party, and the documented lives of prisoners.
