NEW: Spring Tour to Budapest: 6-10 May 2010

The LJCC is delighted to announce a Spring tour to the beautiful, romantic city of Budapest; the birthplace of Theodor Herzl and a city which today boasts one of the largest Jewish Communities in Eastern Europe, grand coffee houses and wonderful opera.

In this city of architectural delights we will visit the beautiful Great Synagogue on Dohany Street, historic Heroes Square, medieval Castle Hill, the stunning Hungarian National Parliament and the outrageously communist Statue Park.

Experience the overwhelming proud history of the Jews of Budapest as historian and guide Richard Goldstein unfolds its background, development and tragic events during WWII. We will explore The Emerging Sight of Budapest Jewry, the Jewish Entry into the Modern World, Modernity & Hope, Hungarian Jews and the Shoah .

Please register your interest with LJCC Tour Director, Lionel Unterhalter;
Call 020 8209 0621 or email ljcctours@yahoo.co.uk

Itinerary:

DAY ONE Thursday 6 May
• 08:45 Depart London Heathrow British Airways BA 866 (Terminal 5)
• 12:15 Arrive Budapest Airport. Coach transfer to the 5* Kempinski Corvinus Hotel, located a stone’s throw from the Danube River at Erzsebetter 7-8, 1050 Budapest.
• Our hotel has a splendid Spa and Fitness Centre with heated pool for your enjoyment
• Check into our hotel followed by a lunch break
• 14:30 Board coach. The programme for today covers “The Emerging Sight of Budapest Jewry”
• Beginning the story:
• 15:00 Introduction I: River Danube/Heroes Square
• 15:45 Introduction II: Emerging Sight of Budapest Jewry:
• The invisible sites on Castle Hill
• Medieval Community on Tancsics Mihaly Street
• The “Small” Synagogue: Medieval Jewish Prayer House
• Early evening: Return to hotel.
• Evening: At leisure to enjoy the fine facilities of the Kempinski or have dinner at one of Budapest’s many restaurants. (Some recommendations will follow) You may want to make reservations for a performance at the State Opera House (visit www.opera.hu) or the Franz Liszt Academy of Music (depending on performances time-tables, price not included)

DAY TWO Friday 7 May
• Breakfast at hotel.
• 08:30 Board the coach for today’s programme, The Jewish Entry into the Modern World, covering –
• Encountering the Modern World- The 19th Century Story
• The terms of change in Jewish modernity and responses – Orthodox and Neologue, Zionism and assimilation
• The meaning of nationhood, citizenship
• During the morning, we visit the Obuda Synagogue-Jews and Hungarians and the Hungarian National Parliament –Hungarian Nationalist leaders, Revolution and the Jews
• Lunch break. We are hoping to have a group reservation for a light meal at the famous Gerbeaud Café- Jews and Modernity
• After lunch, we visit-
• Orczy Houses – Jews and the Modern Hungarian State
• Dohany Street Synagogue (depending on closing time)
• Return to our hotel in time for Shabbat which comes in at 19:44
• Optional Shul attendance for Friday night service at Kazinczy Shul (walking distance from hotel)
• Group Shabbat dinner (included in tour cost)
• Further details, times of service and dinner, venue to follow

DAY THREE Saturday 8 May
• Breakfast at our Hotel.
• Optional: Morning service at the Dohany Synagogue
• Richard continues our themed tour with Modernity and Hope dealing with the new Jewish Community. He will take us on a walking tour of Heroes, Rumbach and Kazinczy Synagogues and other places of interest
• After lunch, there will be free time for you to shop, explore Budapest, visit a museum or one of the city’s famous Palaces or just relax at the Leisure Centre at the Kempinski Hotel.
• Evening : At leisure. You may want to attend one of the performances mentioned above or dine at one of Budapest’s fine restaurants. If there is sufficient interest, we can aim at hiring a small boat with a guide for a short trip on the Danube before dinner (cost will depend on participation)DAY FOUR Sunday 9 May
• Breakfast at our hotel.
• The theme for today is Limitations and Failures of the Jew in the Modern World
• 08:30 Morning: Jews and the Shoah covering
• Introduction to Budapest during the Shoah with visits to –
• Holocaust Memorial
• Danube Monument
• Shoes Memorial
• Wallenberg Monument
• After lunch: Jews and Communism with a visit to Statue Park and
• Looking to the Future –
• Balint House
• Late afternoon: Return to hotel.
• Evening: At leisure

DAY FIVE Monday 10 May
• Breakfast at our hotel
• Check out and please make sure all extras are paid
• Some free time for last minute shopping
• 10:30 Board coach for transfer to airport
• 13:30 Depart Budapest on BA 867
• 15:10 Arrive London Heathrow (Terminal 5)

The LJCC reserves the right to amend this itinerary.