Travel to Berlin, Krakow and Warsaw in early JUne: need help with itinerary

With 8 days, I'd give 3 to Berlin, 2 to Warsaw including the half-day of travel to get there, and 3 to Krakow. See http://www.ricksteves.com/europe/poland for an outline of top sights, but then I'd fill in the details with Rick's Eastern Europe and Berlin guidebooks. Allow about 6 hours for Berlin-Warsaw train ride and 3 hours for Warsaw-Krakow.

elisabeth In Warsaw, the Warsaw Uprising Museum is excellent and a good place to start, as well as the new Holocaust Museum and memorial to the Ghetto Uprising. There seems to be a memorial everywhere you turn. I believe there are several companies that do guided tours - your hotel can probably hook you up. I think it helps to have a guide because the whole city was destroyed and rebuilt so you can't always tell where something significant happened. The main drag aka the Royal Way,changes names several times - Nowy Swiat- Krakówskie Przedmiescie - etc, but anywhere in the vicinity would be good area to stay. For both Warsaw and Krakow, I found the website and downloadable pocket guides "In Your Pocket Guide to (Warsaw) or (Krakow)" to be great resources. Lots of Holocaust related things to see in Krakow -Oskar Schindler's factory, as well as day trip to Auschwitz. The Kaszimierz area of Krakow was the old Jewish quarter, and has several hotels and restaurants, and is walkable from the old market square area.

elisabethatwood,

you dont have alot of time with 8 days.

As suggested, i would get Ricks book on Germany and Poland and see whats there.

I think you will find that the train system overthere is more developed than ours and that its the way to go as long as youre on the main routes. ALso Ricks books has info as to "connections" so you can have an idea on times/schedule of trains and such to/from cities. But i always verify those with online info too.

Lodging.

thats up to you and your pocket book. I for one find it difficult to spend "mid range" at places, so you may want to say what "mid range" in terms of Euros and PLNs (Polish money). I fly solo, so what i would find as acceptable woudlnt for you or others that dont fly solo. I use Ricks book to get ideas on locations and places, but i also use Booking.com to look for other places too.

Tours.

again, Ricks books will have info on tours for the concentration camps and such. Those will be up to you on how you want to spend your time. in Dachau, i did the tour there. Sign up and wait, but i got there early enough to wonder off on my own before the tour and did some more wondering after. I did my own transportation to/from Dachau too. In Krakow i did the lazy tour where they pick you up at or near your hotel and shuttle you to Auschwitz-Birkenau and have tour guides for you in both places. Then they drop you off back at or near your hotel. No time to wonder off on your own but i felt the tours were detailed and fulfilling. You can do your own thing also but at certain times, you are required to signup for a tour due to the crowds.

Lenght of stay

to me this is something subjective. I readup on what there is to do/see in each place and will guestimate on how long i want to stay vs how long i can stay and start cutting things out.

good luck and happy trails.

I know you have your plans set and it may have been derived from some family history or ??? But, one of the most profound examples of pre-war Jewish life exists in the old Jewish district of Prague. One of the rare locations where the Germans did not devastate a Jewish district. Apparently they wanted to make it into a museum to a dead race. One of the most powerful examples of the resilience of the Jewish people is Budapest where the Jewish population has resisted and continues to resist and reach for their past position I society. Here you can step across the line into what was the Jewish Deportation Ghetto where hundreds of thousands either died on the street or were transported to their deaths.

You might also be interested in the Stolpersteine project. http://www.stolpersteine.eu/en/gallery/ Many cities have maps like these: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?oe=UTF8&gl=us&ie=UTF8&msa=0&hl=en&mid=z2xDR4n_azx0.k0jSS7fzf3dA

I did this route last year in May, there was some rain and it was rather cool, but by early June you should have great weather.

I took the train from Berlin to Warsaw. Berlin has what remains of the Synagogue and a very good Museum of Jewish History, as well as the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. If you can get there early in the morning and walk through it, you should.

Near Warsaw is Majdanek memorial, it's much less visited than Auschwitz-Birkenau and gives a different experience. There were no on-site guides when I was there, but the exhibits were clearly labeled. You may want to arrange for a tour, but you can visit on your own. The Ghetto Uprising museum is great, as is the Warsaw Rising museum (be prepared for lots of school children if school is still in session); it's a noisy, interactive museum and every exhibit has a pull-off calendar day telling of the events of that day. School children were collecting them when I visited. The Jewish Museum is now open, and from there you can follow the path that is strewn with memorial markers and monuments. The most moving to me was the monument at Mila 18.

Krakow is a beautiful city. I stayed near the Jewish neighborhood. The Shoah memorial at the deportation point is very poignant. Schindler's factory is close by. At Auschwitz, you will have to join a tour (usually 20-25 people) which moves pretty quickly but is very important to understanding the site. My guide told many stories about the prisoners' experiences. At Birkenau, you are on your own unless you come with a tour. It's a vast site. Lots of stairs at the Auschwitz memorial.

Krakow has a lovely hotel, Hotel Esther, with its own restaurant, great food.

zoe:
how long was your trip? your itinerary looks great. where did you stay in warsaw and berlin?
thanks so much for your help