Krakow and Auschwitz
Explore the UNESCO world heritage city of Krakow, shop for blue-glazed Polish pottery, and experience the horror of Auschwitz on this trip, brought to you by Kaiserslautern Outdoor Recreation.
Sep 2 2021, 6:30 pm - Sep 6 2021
Sep 2 2021, 6:30 pm - Sep 6 2021
Explore the UNESCO world heritage city of Krakow, shop for blue-glazed Polish pottery, and experience the horror of Auschwitz on this trip, brought to you by Kaiserslautern Outdoor Recreation.
After dropping off your luggage and having breakfast at your four star hotel in Krakow, you will be free to explore this beautiful renaissance city with countless attractions like Wawel Castle and the nearby salt mines. You will also have the opportunity to visit Auschwitz Concentration Camp* to learn of the horrors of the holocaust, and other excursions will also be available from your on site tour manager. A stop-n-shop at the pottery factories in Boleslowiac on your return trip will allow you to start or complete your Polish pottery collection.
Spaces on this trip are expected to sell out quickly. Reserve yours today with Kaiserslautern Outdoor Recreation.
Estimated Itinerary
Thursday: Check in
After settling into your seat you will lean back and relax while your comfortable coach whisks you away to Poland. Don’t forget the essentials for your overnight ride. Blankets, pillows, power banks, snacks and drinks will all help make your journey to Krakow more enjoyable.
Friday: Krakow
After breakfast in Krakow, you will tour Poland’s former capital and second largest city, which has been called one of Europe’s most beautiful cities. The Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site. In the afternoon, you will have free time to explore lively city. The horse-drawn carriage rides starting from the Main Market Square are an excellent way to see the city, and you are sure to enjoy your lunch at one of the many traditional restaurants, pubs and cafes located underneath the vaulted ceilings of the medieval cellars. No visit to Krakow is complete until you have had a ring shaped Obwarzanki.
Saturday: Free Day or Salt Mines Excursion*
Today you can continue to explore Krakow, or take an optional excursion to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. While the salt mines themselves reach a depth of 327 meters and stretch out over 287 kilometers of tunnels, the 3 kilometer tourist route will take you to four underground chapels, and past countless statues carved from the living rock salt, and an underground lake.
Sunday: Free day or visit to Auschwitz**
Auschwitz will forever remain the black hole of the entire human history, and is an important and tragic reminder of the horrors of the past which must never be allowed to happen again. Your visit to both Auschwitz and Birkenau will horrify you, but is one of the things which should be on your to-do list while serving in Europe. While nobody will ever say that they enjoyed their visit to the camps, your free evening in Krakow and a meal of Pierogi, dumplings stuffed with the filling of your choice, is sure to lift your spirits.
Monday: Pottery Shopping and return to Kaiserslautern
Hand-made ceramics with a distinctive blue glaze have been a local specialty in Boleslowiac since the middle ages, and buying directly from the factories will keep your costs low as you start or complete your pottery collection.
* Optional excursion at additional fee paid directly to tour manager
** Auschwitz visit not recommended for children under 12.
Price:
- Adults: $529 per person
- Single Supplement: $699
- Children 4-11 sharing family or adjoining rooms with 2 adults: $399 p.c.
- Children under 4 on existing bedding: $199
- Room assignments for families will be determined individually by the hotels based on their specific capacity and available room types.
- Families will be assigned to Family Rooms or adjoining double rooms by the hotels.
- Kaiserslautern Outdoor Recreation will request Family rooms upon customer request, but does not guarantee the room configuration assigned by the hotel.
Deadlines:
- Group reservation for Auschwitz will be made 30 days in advance. Trip registration on or after Saturday, July 31 will only include Auschwitz on a Space Available Basis
- Reserve your space today!
Trip Includes:
- Round trip tour bus transportation
- 3 nights lodging at a 4 star hotel
- Daily breakfast
- Guided tour of Krakow
- Guided visit to Auschwitz
- Free electronic travel guidebooks downloaded from Army Libraries
What to Bring:
- Comfortable, weather appropriate shoes and clothing
- Credit/Debit card or Polish Zloty
- Military ID and Passport
Departure: 6:30 p.m.
Return: Around 11:30 p.m. on Monday
Registration Information
All reservations must be made through Kaiserslautern Outdoor Recreation. Reserve your space today by contacting:
Army Outdoor Recreation, Kaiserslautern Community
Pulaski Barracks, Bldg. 2905
Cancellation Policy:
- 10% for cancellations made until Monday, August 3
- 40% for cancellations made on or after Tuesday, August 4
- 70% for cancellations made on or after Thursday, August 20
- 100% for cancellations made on or after Thursday, August 27
- In the event that a customer cancellation results in a fee charged to Outdoor Recreation, regardless of the date of, or reason for that cancellation, the total sum of those fees will be passed along to the customer.
COVID Precautions (Current on 17 August, 2021. May be superseded by Local/State/Federal level laws):
- Out of an abundance of caution, and to minimize the risk of a passenger being forced off a trip while crossing an international border, Kaiserslautern Outdoor Recreation is currently restricting international travel to fully vaccinated and fully recovered passengers and children under the minimum age for testing/quarantine. Minimum age for testing/quarantine is determined by the individual countries and may be lower than the German minimum age of 12.
- In the event that an individual passenger is not able to participate in a confirmed trip due to COVID restrictions placed on that passenger, full cancellation penalties may be applied based on the date of the customer's cancellation.
- All participants are required to be in compliance with the rules for their destination and all countries of transit as listed in the Travel Planner on https://reopen.europa.eu at the time of departure. For travel remaining in Germany only, all passengers are required to be in compliance with all local laws in both Rheinland-Pfalz and the destination of travel (Bundesland).
- All Travel/COVID Documentation is the responsibility of the passenger.
- PCR and RAT (Rapid Antigen Tests) are the only approved testing methods. Self tests are not authorized for international travel.
- No refunds will be offered to passengers who are denied boarding or are removed from a trip for failure to follow COVID procedures.
- Trip timelines and schedule and COVID precautions are subject to change at any time.
- All trips are departing from the Pulaski Sports Pavilion in Pulaski Park until further notice.
- Masks covering your nose and mouth are required when boarding, disembarking or inside ODR vehicles.
- Hands must be sanitized before boarding ODR vehicles.
- Enter and exit through the rear door only.
- Seats may be assigned by ODR in advance to promote physical distancing and contact tracing. Requests for specific seats are not being accepted.
Program
Kaiserslautern Outdoor Recreation-
Kaiserslautern Outdoor Recreation
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Military DSN (314) 493-4117
