Trip: Following footsteps of Polish Saints
x Arrival to Warsaw by plane or coach. Meeting with the tour leader from Ernesto Travel and transfer by coach to the hotel in Krakow. Check-in the hotel. Dinner in a restaurant of the hotel or in the restaurant in the centre of Warsaw (it depends on the arrival time). [This program can begin in Krakow, Katowice or another city according to the flight schedule]. Stay in Warsaw.
14.00 Lunch at the hotel.
15.00 Guided tour of Warsaw: Lazienkowski Park with the monument of Frederic Chopin,The Warsaw Ghetto and Umschlagplatz – from here thousands of The Jews were deported to the concentration camps, The Tomb of The Unknown Soldier, Palace of Culture and Science, Krakowskie Przedmiescie Street, Old Town (inscribed on The World Heritage List of The UNESCO). The Castle (without entrance) and The St. John’s Cathedral. The Old Town was fully destroyed during The II World War and reconstructed thanks to the commitment of Polish nation.
18.00 Free time in The Old Town.
20.00 Dinner with the concert of music in one of the local restaurants (optional). The last night in Warsaw.
22.00 Return to the hotel.
8.00 Breakfast at the hotel.
9.00 Visiting Saint Stanislaw Kostka Church. There is Father Jerzy Popieluszko's grave, kidnapped and brutally murdered by militia functionaries in 1984. ( The Mass inside) Theme: 'Church in Communism Period'.
11.00 Deparutre for Niepokalanow.
12.00 Visiting Sanctuary of Immaculate Virgin Mary founded by Father Maximillian Kolbe.
13.30 Lunch in Sochaczew near Niepokalanow.
14.30 Departure for Plock.
16.00 Arrival to Plock and visiting XII century Cathedral Basilica, X century Benedictine Abbey and Congregation House (where Faustina worked and had her first revelation of Divine Mercy in 1931).
18.30 Departure for Warsaw.
20.00 Arrival to Warsaw. Dinner at the hotel or restaurant in the city center. Stay in Warsaw.
7.00 Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out the hotel.
8.00 Departure for Glogowiec.
10.00 Visiting Glogowiec and Swinice Warckie: to related S. Faustyna Kowalska places. Glogowiec – where she was born and Swinice Warckie where she was baptized.
13.00 Lunch in Swinice Warckie.
14.30 Departure for Czestochowa.
18.30 Arrival to Czestochowa, check – in the hotel.
19.30 Dinner at the hotel.
20.30 Evening walk to Jasna Gora Monastery in Czestochowa and praying in front of miraculous icon of Virgin Mary called The Black Madonna.
22.00 Return to hotel. Stay in Czestochowa.
8.00 Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out the hotel.
9.00 Guided tour of the most important pilgrimage place in Poland – the monastery in Czestochowa: Jasna Gora with miraculous icon of Virgin Mary – The Black Madonna.
13.00 Lunch at the traditional restaurant in Czestochowa.
14.00 Departure for Auschwitz – Birkenau.
16.00 Guided tour of the area of ex-concentration camp in Auschwitz - Birkenau. This camp was built by Nazis during the Nazi occupation of Poland. Today this place is a part of The World Heritage of The UNESCO.
19.00 Departure from Oswiecim (Auschwitz) for Krakow.
20.00 Arrival to Krakow. Check-in the hotel.
20.30 Dinner with the typical Polish food at the hotel or one of the restaurants with the concert of the Jewish music (Klezmer) in Krakow.
8.00 Breakfast at the hotel.
9.00 Guided tour around Krakow. Wawel Hill with the castle (optional entrance) and its beautiful yard and the Cathedral (entrance). Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture of The Old Town (Stare Miasto), the biggest Market Square in Europe (Rynek Glowny), The Town Hall, Collegium Maius – the ancient building of The Jagiellonian University, The Cloth Hall (Sukiennice), Saint Mary’s Church (Kosciol Mariacki – entrance) with the famous Wit Stwosz' altar. Walk to the antique walls of The Old Town with Florianska Gate and The Barbican. The Czartoryski Museum with Lady with The Ermine. During the visit: multimedial presentation about the story of amber called Polish Gold. In the year 1978 Krakow was inscribed on The World Heritage List of The UNESCO.
13.30 Lunch at the restaurant in Krakow.
15.00 Visiting the former Jewish district – Kazimierz. This part of Krakow was a centre of religious and social life of the Jewish community in Krakow until the deportations during the Nazi occupation (entrance to 1 or 2 synagogues). A short stop in front of The Schindler's Factory, on the way to The Salt Mine in Wieliczka.
17.00 Transfer to Wieliczka. 10 km from Krakow.
17.30 Guided tour to 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 famous 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. Return to Krakow.
20.00 Dinner at the traditional Polish restaurant in Wieliczka with the concert of the folklore music. Return to the hotel and the night in Krakow.
8.00 Breakfast at the hotel.
8.30 Departure for The Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Lagiewniki (district in Krakow) – after breakfast.
9.00 '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.
12.00 Departure for Wadowice, where John Paul II was born in 1920.
13.30 Lunch at the restaurant in Wadowice.
15.00 Visiting The Pope's house and the church where he was baptized.
16.30 Departure for Kalwaria Zebrzydowska.
17.00 Visit to the monastery of Bernardines in Kalwaria, the 3rd most famous shrine in Poland. All the complex (sanctuary, park) is inscribed on The World Heritage List of The UNESCO.
18.30 Return to Krakow. Free time.
20.00 Dinner with the typical Polish food at the restaurant in Krakow.
22.00 Return to the hotel. The last night in Krakow.
x Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out the hotel.
y Transfer to the airport. Departure from Poland.
