June 29, 2012 Arriving in Warsaw

June 29, 2012                       Warsaw, Poland

Stadtner Shabbat Dinner

Simply put, the Stadtner family hosts the best erev Shabbat dinner we have experienced.  Each Friday night, they open their home to the community, offer commentary on the Parshah, chant the blessings, and enjoy Debbie’s fabulous chicken (and a little salad from Larry).  We enjoy it so much we basically got ourselves a standing invitation..and with this post…are essentially inviting any of you who get a chance to be in Marin County on a Friday night to experience this ritual which we know our daughters will remember as an integral part of their growing up, and of their Jewish lives.  Thank  you, Debbie and Larry! 

With that preface, we experienced the first Shabbat dinner that can even flirt with the Stadtners last night in Warsaw.  More to come..

On a very personal note, (and especially for readers who have already asked for some Yiddish translations, and Jewish cultural references (this is for you, Flora J), making a trip to Poland brings up lots of emotions for Jewish travelers.  Poland was the center of world Jewish life for about 500 years.  Then, in World War II, 90% of Polish Jewry was killed in the Holocaust.  We are traveling to Poland under the guidance of the Taube Center for the Renewal of Jewish Life in Poland, dedicated to helping those remaining Jews rediscover their Jewish ancestry (of the incredibly small number of Jews remaining after the Nazi and the Soviet periods, even fewer now have any knowledge that their grandparents were Jews). 

For us, this trip is about the intersection…even the crashing together…of those three parts of Polish Jewish life as much as it is a journey of family genealogy and Shayna’s bat mitzvah.

That said, as a modern Jewish historian, I know and teach what happened here.

That that said, there is also humanity; the idea that the history of Jews in Poland reaches new and different levels when you get to be here; on the same piece of real estate where all that happened, and is happening.  And I know myself well enough to know that sometimes the professor recedes and, as Rabbi Lezak would ask me, “how’s your soul?”

In that spirit, here’s my own diary of the first day in Poland.  Marci and, I hope, the girls, will add their own perspectives.

About 10 minutes from landing in Warsaw, I looked out at the green farmland of Poland and thought, “So this is fucking Poland.”  How’s that for an emotional burst!  It was all Holocaust to me.  I’m looking for railroad lines; looking for people farming their land and wondering about their ancestors who farmed that land three generations ago.  It was WWII in my mind.   I know.  I know. I know all the post-war developments, all the years that have passed, but this is my first moment actually staring at the land where the genocide was attempted and that was real for me.

Jakub, who will be our guide, translator, and driver for Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania met us at the airport and drove us to our hotel.  It warmed my heart (and my soul) when he asked, within minutes, about our Hebrew.   With his time studying at Tel Aviv University and my year there a generation ago, we conversed…and resorted to Hebrew when either had a challenge in translating Polish to English.  The layers and flavors of Polish Jewish life were beginning to build.

He showed us a giant skyscraper designed by Leibeskind, who created the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco (that’s for you David).  Then, he pointed out one of the few remnants of the wall of the Warsaw ghetto.  Then he showed us massive construction for a new subway line all in the midst of the Euro Cup Football/Soccer match that played its last game in Warsaw the previous night. (Italy stunned Germany, 2-1 to reach Sunday’s final in Kiev against Spain).  That was a pretty good overview of past, present, and future for a Jewish tourist entering Warsaw…

Helise, who has created all the magic to make this journey possible, came to the hotel to welcome us.  Not only did we get a bag full of maps, books (including a brand new Jewish walking guide to Warsaw and Krakow), but she included a challah for Shabbat.  The experience is getting fuller and richer by the hour.

Warsaw’s main synagogue is a short walk from the hotel so we changed and headed over for Friday night services.  It’s an Orthodox shul so Marci and the girls headed upstairs to the balcony while I joined about 15-20 men in the main sanctuary.  A few chabadniks, two or three haredi (ultra-orthodox), some (very secular looking) Israelis (at least I wore long pants), tourists, and just a few Polish Jews..  The Chief Rabbi of Poland, Michael Schudrich, an American-born rabbi (with a wicked good sense of humor) who has devoted his rabbinate to Polish Jewish life, led the service.

Orthodox davening (praying) is not my style.  I’d prefer to sit with my family and I get a whole lot more meaning from how I was raised to pray at summer camp.  That said, I have huge respect for the work of Rabbi Schudrich, for the very idea of a grand synagogue in Warsaw in the 21^st century, and, most of all, for having Shayna and Rebecca experience that service as part of their Jewish upbringings.   As Marci and I reminded the girls walking back, “you just experienced erev Shabbat in Warsaw.”  In the grand arc of Jewish history, that’s one for memories book.

Rabbi Schudrich invited us to stay for dinner following services.  There, at a long table that reminded me of the Stadtner table (looks like the seder table but it happens every week!), we took our seats and began praying and singing and then washing and eating, course after course.  As it turned out, the four of us were seated across from the Rabbi so we were able to spend the evening learning from him, asking every question we could imagine, and getting a better sense of what it is to tend to the needs of Polish Jewry today.  The fact that the rabbi is American-born helped us in both language and culture as his words and experiences helped bring us more and more into an understanding of Polish Jewish life.

He reached out to Shayna and honored her for her upcoming bat mitzvah.  They made vegetarian food happen for her…and when she wanted more rice, the Polish woman serving the food smiled at her, RAN to the kitchen, and came back with both rice and an affirmation (in Polish) that she would also be another of Shayna’s grandmothers.

Between the rabbi’s teaching, and the singing, and the praying, and the eating, it was after 11 pm before we were done.  We took the walk back to the Hotel full of Shabbat spirit (and in a whole lot different place than just a few hours earlier on the plane).

Old Town, Warsaw

Another hot and humid day...

The border of the Warsaw Ghetto

A wedding

The Leibeskind skyscraper

A really nice hotel!

Photos-New York and Budapest

The first photos are in:

This is how they look at the BEGINNING of the trip!

 The girls... Guess where???



Celebrating Ryan's High School Graduation in Princeton.



Our apartment in Princeton, 2000-2001 (OK, far right 1/4 of building).


Happy 5th birthday Leah!

Look who we bumped into in Manhattan..

 Four travelers, Nine Countries, One Month...our best packing ever.. At the Lombardy, NYC

Rebecca in our Budapest Apartment

Some photos of our day in Pest:

One of Budapest's Synagogues

The Grand Market, Budapest

Pest at Night...

The Weiss and Dollinger Families, Buda

The Dollingers in Buda overlooking the Danube River

The view of the Danube River from Buda

OK. OK. Here it is. The Jacuzzi photo (before Marc got in).

Retreating to the Budapest subway.  We look much happier than we were!  ("Smile for the photo")

Budapest Public Library

Near US Embassy..

Coffee in Alexandra Mansion

The Roof of the cafe... This is no starbucks..

Budapest..the rest of the story

Marci here..

I wanted to give you my update on Budapest..a few small details that Marc neglected to mention.

The apartment the Weiss' found for us was amazing! Gotta love the internet! It had three levels, very modern with two full kitchens, complete with washing machine and dishwasher, on each floor. It had a rooftop jacuzzi that apparently held six but it was a tight squeeze (OK, it fit five fine...then Marc hopped in and depleted some water (OK lots of water..)  Ever see water fall six stories on a Budapest summer night? (Marc wrote the line about the water..  Marci wanted to but...)

It was in an amazing location in the city center and we could walk everywhere.  (Unless, of course, you got lost on your way to the Grand Market! (when, in fact, we did walk everywhere...except the Grand Market)  It easily slept 12 people but only sat four.  (That's one hand under the cereal bowl, the other hand on the spoon...coordination..)

One small design flaw: the only real seating area was a small table on one of the decks with open slats, in the back alleyway, that viewed the parking garage area. We had many rousing games of bananagrams at that table and miraculously, only watched 2 tiles fall through the slats and land on the lower rooftop below.  Despite our best attempts to hoist Gilly up to the roof to retrieve them (thanks, Gilly..and who says that aren't benefits to being the youngest), I believe an "L" and "R" bananagram will forever find their home on a rooftop in Budapest.

Other than that, the apartment felt like a home away from home. On our day from what a blog post called a day from c"HELL"m , Marc forgot to mention that I left the apartment without my sunglasses and told the girls to dress warm, as they were expecting thunderstorms that day.

No rain in sight and it turned out to be our warmest (OK, hottest) and brightest day in Europe yet. Go figure.

Today started out much better and brighter, in terms of everyone's attitude and stamina.  After a much needed good night's sleep, we packed up all of our suitcases and carry ons and headed with the Weiss' for a final meal at the Alexandra bookstore cafe. Our guide, Esther, showed it to us on our night tour and I was determined to go back for the delicious looking cakes.  It's a beautifully restored palatial dining room, with frescoes and chandeliers and waiters dressed in tuxedos.  We all had fancy drinks, tomato soup and cheese sandwiches and pastries (ok..only I got tiramisu at 10 in the morning!) We made a brief stop at Sugar, a mini version of Dylans but I felt I had my sugar rush for the day so no purchases were made here. I highly recommend a visit for anyone coming to Budapest. The cakes and rice pudding looked spectacular.  Back to the apartment to load the hired van to take us to the airport for our 2 pm flight.  Poland..here we come!

Budapest Day 2

June 28, 2012                       Budapest, Hungary

The incredible beauty of a city set along the Danube River with fairy tale castles, noble mansions, and hidden doors revealing courtyards full of life combined with the heat and humidity of a terrible summer day in New York City.  It’s the sort of day which can only get better with time….because we knew how incredible it was…even as we walked, sweat, (maybe smelled a little), and looked wherever we could for relief.  Good news for us: we head to the much milder climate of Warsaw tomorrow.  Bad news for the Weiss’ (at least weather wise), the temperature is expected to climb another 15 degrees by Sunday.

Good morning!

It began with a modest plan: leisurely (20 minute) walk to the Grand indoor Market set alongside the Danube, a tourist river cruise, and then an evening tour of the city with Esther.  An easy morning at the apartment and a 1 pm departure.

The instruction was simple: follow this road 20 minutes to the Danube.  Budapest is set very much like Paris with massive wide boulevards.  How much easier could that instruction be?  (foreshadowing?  Yep.)

Within minutes, we were already melting from the heat and humidity.  We made what we thought was a wise decision to duck into a café, get the girls (and us) ice cold liquid refreshment (in this heat, forget water (we already got that) girls, get yourself something sweet too).  Then, we continued the walk, block by block, heat by heat, crabby, kvetchy, irritated Dollinger family.  Four Weiss’ were walking ahead while we had Jesse and Gilly with us. 

At the 20 minute mark, no sign of the Danube.  We continued for 10 more rather painful minutes until we got to a Western Union office.  Surely, they speak English and can direct us.  They did not speak English but were able to communicate that the Danube was the OPPOSITE direction we were walking.

This is geometrically impossible, by the way.  When you walk down a wide boulevard for half an hour, you can’t end up…farther away from the river than when you started. Yet, this is what the man was explaining.

He urged us to reverse course and head back the way we came.  Not a chance.  If we did that, we’d end up back where we started…only even more frustrated. 

The day was getting worse.

Executive decision: we are getting out of the heat and going underground.  The Metro stop was across the street and we were told that the subway could get us to the Danube.  Down we go, ticket purchase, and then try to get directions on how to navigate a system written in Hungarian to get to a place we do not know. 

Lucky for us, a British man heard our plea to the station guards and gave us clear instruction.  (unless he did a real good job faking the accent and was from Omaha?).

At this point, we knew that this was going to be a great experience; a great story; and a wonderful memory….just not at that moment…when we were hassled, stressed, hot, dehydrated, hungry, and bringing two Weiss children whose parents were probably already at the Grand Market (indeed, they were).

Two stops on the Red Line, transfer to the Blue line, two stops on the Blue line, surface, look for the statue, and you’ll find the Market.

Thankfully, we ran into a couple from South Carolina (actually he was from New York and she was from Colorado originally but I don’t think that really mattered…even though they needed us to know that).  They were heading to the Market so we followed them.

And without a means to communicate with the Weiss, we were thrilled to see them there waiting for us.

The day is getting better.

We spent half an hour in the HUGE market, filled with fruits, vegetables, souvenirs, and every form of dead animal ready for human consumption imaginable.  “Shayna, look,” I exclaimed, “that full-dead pig sitting in that refrigerated case is wiggling its ears!”  Shayna was not thrilled, kashruth issues aside!  (The butcher had attached strings to the ears and was doing his own marionette show).

From there, what else…back to the heat and humidity.  Not much in the way of decent food (lots of meat, lots of treyf, very little air conditioning).  Finally, we settled (and we did settle), for an air conditioned pub.  We purchased every vegetarian item on their food menu…pre-made refrigerated pizza heated on a little hot plate, something called Nachos which was really MSG-laden tortilla chips with a big luscious bowl of cheez whiz.  (yuum).  At least the grilled cheese looked and tasted like grilled cheese.

Back to the heat.

By now we headed to the River for a one-hour cruise.  Zvi found us a boat with air conditioning, free drinks, and half the price of the other companies.  Yeah.  (They even had Hebrew language headsets available).  Did I mention free wi-fi on board? (which isn’t a great idea if you’re supposed to be watching the sites rather than your iphone. Discipline!).

Hydrated, cooled off, sitting for an hour, we felt a whole lot better.

We met up with Esther and headed out for five hours of touring on the mini-bus.  We spent most of the time in Pest, driving and walking, walking and driving, to see the Parliament building, an amazing public library that used to be a mansion for nobility, Embassy row, Budapest’s version of Broadway, and lots of shopping streets. 

At nightfall, we crossed the Danube to Buda, the medieval walled city on the top of the hill overlooking the river.  We walked through the old Jewish ghetto, heard about the early history of the region, took lots of photos (Shayna is up to 500 pictures by now), and then, about 10:30 pm, walked up to a lookout to see the Danube, its bridges, and the night skylines on both sides of the river.  It was spectacular (and I’ll post photos as soon as I get to it!).

Thoroughly wiped out, we got back after 11 pm…and were ready to sleep for days…except we promised the girls dessert as an incentive to get them through the walking and the heat (that, by the way, when we thought we’d be done by 9 pm. Thank you).  Alas, we headed out to find a gelato stand and by midnight got the girls to sleep.

And in case you’re wondering, Budapest is set with radial streets. Some curve in circles while others run straight to the center (the river).  We, apparently, missed a hard right turn to stay on the straight street, ending up, without knowing it, on a radial street that…dare I say it…radiated us away from the river.  The story was no fun yesterday…it’s a little more fun as I write it today…maybe we’ll be laughing about it by the time we see you all on our return.

On to Warsaw..

Budapest, Day 1

June 27, 2012      Budapest, Hungary

The Dollingers made it first to Budapest last night...  Alas, the Weiss' were delayed by their own Frankfurt Airport (rental car) challenges and didn't leave until 5 pm.  That put their arrival in Budapest (or Pest, as I have now learned) at about 3:30 am.

Trivia Question from yesterday:  And the answer is.......1.

We are doing (relatively) well from jet lag, even as we move through today in various states of fatigue.  Rebecca, who slept most of the flight over, awoke at 4 am.  Shayna, who stayed awake overseas, was able to sleep until after 10 am (with an hour awake somewhere near 430 am.)

We LOVE Budapest, the architecture of its buildings, the layout of its streets, all the pedestrians.  It's clean and friendly with young people everywhere.  It reminds Marci and me of a much less crowded Florence.  (Dove il Duomo?)

The city looks like it did in the mid-19th century.  Only the cars and clothing have changed.  (Linda, I looked everywhere for a Vanagon but couldn't find one :)

Thanks to Marci's brother, Jay (figuring Nonny loves that introductory clause), we toured Budapest (or actually Pest, as I have now learned) with our guide, Esther.  (Eszther in Hungarian.  Esther in Hebrew).  She took us to some of the usual spots but then we spent most of the afternoon touring Jewish Budapest (Pest).  We saw three synagogues, including one magnificent shul that ranks as Europe's largest.

We learned that Buda, on one side of the Danube, and Pest (pronounced Pesht for those of us now in the know), on the other, merged to form Budapest.

We learned that Theodore Herzl was born in the building next door to one of the synagogues and that Hannah Senesh was also a native of Hungary.

In what will be the first of many tragic sights, we walked through the Jewish ghetto of Budapest and into a courtyard where 7,000 Jews were killed at the end of World War II.

Esther recounted a great deal about the history of Jewish life in Budapest, and in Hungary, from its earliest origins to the era of the Hapsburgs, to the Shoah, the Communists, and, since 1989, in its post-Communist era.

My favorite part was the way she explained that Hungarian Jews struggle over the question of whether they are Hungarian Jews or Jewish Hungarians.

Today, I am thinking a lot of George Szyllagi, of blessed memory, a dear friend of my parents who survived the war in Hungary.

Hoping to get everyone sleeping early...and through the night..

We'll get photos up as soon as Shayna downloads them.

Marc/i

On Flight to Munich!!!

On board Lufthansa Flight 116 from Frankfurt to Munich, Germany

Not to give away the end of our dramatic story for the day….but close readers of our blog (and certainly the grandmothers) will notice that we aren’t supposed to be here right now.

Yada. Yada Yada. Back to Sunday afternoon. We saw Newsies on Broadway, which all of us LOVED.  We’re told that it’s even better if you haven’t seen the movie yet.  Since the movie came out about the time of our engagement…and we weren’t yet attending every Disney flick imaginable, this was our first introduction to the plot line. (and we won’t give away the secret ending).

We LOVE the restaurant Bond 45 (keep asking for the waiter named James to no avail…even if they give me a look (as if they hadn’t heard that one before)).  To see Lynn and celebrate Leah’s 5^th birthday, we feasted on fresh mozzarella, fried artichokes (a la Jewish ghetto in Rome), fresh pasta and pizza, and for me, a prime rib steak (with a glass of Malbec in Ruben’s honor). 

Walk. Walk. Walk. Next from Broadway to the Plaza Hotel on Central Park to see the Lezak-Kushners, get some candy and ice cream, and get back to the hotel before midnight, lest folks imagine us lousy parents.

With a noon wake up for the girls…and a walk back and forth to Broadway for a particular pair of shoes (Pop quiz: How many men, other than me and other than employees, could be found in the shoe store?  Answer below).

Thanks to modern technology, we received a text and an automated phone call from United (feh feh) Airlines telling us our 7:30 pm departure from Newark to Frankfurt was delayed to 8:00 pm due to a delayed aircraft arrival from Shanghai (apparently, we imagined, the plane we were supposed to take to Europe). 

In a 14 passenger van that reminded the Weiss and Dollinger families of their 4 hour journey from Entebbe Airport in Uganda to Mbale, Uganda (though without the live chicken under the seat, fresh fish tied to the front (to keep it cold in the 80 degree heat; that’s for you Larry), random brothers, sisters, cousins, and one mom who entered and exited the vehicle at will, OK there was little similarity between the experiences (except when, in the midst of a torrential downpour in northern New Jersey, the windshield wiper blew off the windshield, leaving the driver with even less visibility. (I offered to hop out and chase it down the New Jersey Turnpike but the driver just smiled.)  I took that as a “no.”

Waiting in line to check in at United (feh feh) Airlines, I received yet another phone call, delaying the flight from 8:00-8:30 pm, due to that same delay from China.  (Hey, my sister Cynthia is flying to China today from L.A. I wonder…)

Check in, security (and aren’t those Dollingers  nimble now…each with one suitcase (rolling) and one carry on (rolling), looking so darn professional as they make their way through security…until my carry on is tagged for having far far too many wires inside.  Marci’s in charge of snacks.  I’m in charge of wires.  It works well for all of us that way.

Phone call.  United “feh feh” Airlines, delayed now to 9 pm.  You can guess…

Taking over a small corner of Newark Airport’s United “feh feh” Airlines terminal, the Weiss and Dollinger families made camp until 7:30, the scheduled arrival time of the China flight.  No plane.  Update: Delay to 9:50 pm.

YAHOO!  Plane boarding at 9:15… kind of… Boarding group 1 heads down the jetway.  (We are blessed with boarding group 5).  Boarding group 1 stands in jetway.  350 other passengers stand en wait.  Flight delayed now to 10 pm.  Boarding Group 1 asked to turn around and leave jetway.  Gate agent explains that the lights on the plane were working when she let boarding group 1 down the jetway but since they now malfunctioned, we had a “maintenance hold.”  (Alas, I think this was all invented so the UAL (save the feh feh) could blame the delay on a mechanical issue and not have to report this to the FAA “on time departure” department.

Apparently, this was enough for a few of the first class passengers who looked none too happy with this all.  They would miss their connection so they just decided to go home.

At this point, two officers from the Newark Airport Police showed up, one of each side of the boarding door, in case any of us were thinking about getting hostile.  (and the fun hadn’t even begun!).

CHEERS throughout the gate area when they re-boarded the jet.  FINALLY, after 10 pm, we get on board….to wait…and wait…and wait…for “last minute luggage.”  How could there be last minute luggage when our flight was already 3 hours delayed?

Then, the pilot comes on and begins his announcement with the word, “unfortunately.”  Turns out that when a passenger decides to give up on the flight and go home, they have to open the belly of the aircraft, start pulling out those big canisters of suitcases, find each and every suitcase belonging to those passengers, and remove them.  We waited…  Looking at the clock… Coming to the conclusion that because a few folks left the plane because they already missed their connection, there would be hundreds more (get the foreshadowing) who would now, as a consequence, miss theirs).

Already long story, long, we pushed back from the gate at 12:10 am.

Intense thunder storms off the east coast and lots of bouncing around for an hour.  Can it get worse?  Food service (at 1:00 am) only to have the captain order the crew back to their seats as the row IN FRONT OF US gets food.  1:30 am food, 2:00 am cleared, then (and only then) can I go to the overhead and check our connecting tickets to Budapest…Not a freaking chance to make that connection.

Irony alert: Kudos to United Airlines for knowing that over 200 passengers missed their connections. Then, offering no instructions on what to do to rebook, leaving passengers to game the various airport employees, lines, (before and after immigration and customs, and security, wondering if we’re even supposed to move through all these signposts, not knowing how to get rebooked.).  We ended up about 50^th in line at the departure check in area, where two (count them 1, 2) agents of United, here it is “feh feh” Airlines, were rebooking some, getting hotel vouchers for most, as the minutes and hours ticked away waiting in this very very slow moving line as our possible rebook flights leave, one after the next.

Meanwhile, both Rebecca and Shayna are AWESOME.  They retreated to the seating area, fell asleep over each other, and held it together (even as Shayna decided to pull an all-nighter on the flight to Frankfurt).

Marci heads to the Lufthansa desk to use her charm to see if they’ll rebook us since we’re on a Lufthansa flight anyway.  While no rebooking, we learn that Lufthansa employees talk about how miserable UAL (enough) is to its customers, how this happens constantly, and they get lots of irate fliers.  (Did we also mention United breaks guitars?)  (If you don’t get that joke, check Utube video of the same name.)

I thought about dancing the hora when I got to the front of the line, but given the locale, I abstained.  While the two non-stops to Budapest left today were overbooked, she did find us this flight to Budapest via Munich.

With 40 Euro food voucher from that airline whose name won’t be mentioned, feh feh, we grabbed some stuff and headed to our next flight. (through security, yada yada yada).

NEWS FLASH: Shayna spots her suitcase being loaded onto the Munich aircraft.  Yeah.  In fact, the entire cart driven out to the plane contained just four pieces of luggage, each and every one handy with wheels J.  The day is looking brighter.  Lufthansa has a newspaper rack that’s FREE, with English papers.  Then, they have a coffee, hot chocolate, cappuccino machine that, get this, is also FREE.  Mah ha’hevdel beyn UAL v’Lufthansa (what’s the difference between UAL and Lufthansa)? Marci said it, “I can’t believe I love Lufthansa.”  Agreed.

With all of us asleep for the short one hour flight to Munich, we barely realized we had changed airports when we landed.  The flight attendant was so sympathetic, she handed us each a cup of water on landing and wished us safe travels.  We wonder if Lufthansa has a frequent flier program?!  Bye bye United credit card.

And now, (I don’t know how many hours since we woke up in NYC), we are sitting in the Munich airport waiting for the flight to Budapest.

Meanwhile, the Weiss’ rented a car in Frankfurt and started the 10 hour drive to Budapest, the start of their 2-week driving tour of central and eastern Europe.  Who will make it first to our hotel in Budapest?  Stay tuned.

New York City

Sunday, June 24
New York City

We are on our way.  With near 100 degree heat in NYC, lightning, and thunder storms, JFK airport put a two hour hold on our take-off last Friday morning.  Credit to JetBlue...they had us wait in the terminal rather than the plane on the runway.
We are winning the "terrible parents award" walking the streets of Manhattan at midnight with our children looking for food.  Rather amazing how few places are open for a midnight dinner in mid-town Manhattan.  Suggestions?
We met up with the Weiss family for the first of our three cities together.
Saturday morning we headed to Penn Station for the train ride to Princeton to celebrate the high school graduation of cousin Randi's son Ryan (Dickinson '16).  As part of Shayna's family history travel journey, we stopped at the Princeton faculty apartments where we celebrated her first birthday.  (She didn't remember it).
Thanks to the Weiss' and TKTS, we returned to Manhattan in time for the evening performance of Sister Act and...yet again...terrible parents searching for food in mid-town Manhattan at midnight.  With the same people hanging out on the streets at that hour, we're kinda feeling like locals.
We're off now for the Sunday matinee of Newsies...
Check Marci's Facebook for pictures...

Here's the itinerary for our final week in St. Petersburg, Russia, celebrating the b'not mitzvah of our friends Jacquie and Allie Gribens. 
July 17: Vilna to St. Petersburg via Riga, Latvia.
Overnights: Rossi Hotel
July 18: Tour of Peterhof, the Czars summer residence (is there a proper blessing?)
July 19: B'not mitzvah
July 20: Hermitage
July 21: Catherine's Palace and Pavlovsk
July 22: Yusupov Palace
July 23: St. Petersburg to SFO.

Just finished a Skype call with Helise, who has been our guide and guru planning all of our trip. Helise is the director of Warsaw's Taube Center for the Renewal of Jewish Culture in Poland.  She's opened up Jewish Poland (and Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania, too) to us, letting us know where we need to be, who needs to guide us, and how, on earth, we make this happen. 
Here's our itinerary:

DOLLINGER FAMILY VISIT

June 29, 2012-July 17, 2012

Friday, June 29

3:55 Arrival in Warsaw — Met by Jakub Lysiak, Driver and Tour Assistant

Welcome by Helise Lieberman, Director of the Taube Center for the Renewal of Jewish Life in Poland, a brief walk and consultation at the Jewish Historical Institute and the Jewish Genealogy & Family Heritage Center (time permitting)

Check into the Sofitel Victoria

8:00 PM Shabbat Service at the Nozyk Synagogue, which is a short walk from the hotel

Saturday, June 30

Tour of Warsaw’s Old Town, Royal Route, the University of Warsaw and Pilsudski Square with Magdalena Matuszewska, Program Manager of the Taube Center for the Renewal of Jewish Life in Poland

Sunday, July 1  Warsaw- Miedzyrzec Podlaski-Parczew-Lublin

Travel by van to Miedzyrzec Podlaski-Parczew-Lublin

Meeting and tour with Ryszard Kiryluk.  Visit in Parczew enroute to Lublin.  Time and weather permitting, a detour to Kazimierz Dolny, now an artist colony, which was a vibrant Jewish town before the War.

Overnight:       Vanilla Hotel in Lublin

Monday, July 2                        Lublin-Zamosc-Lutsk

A brief tour of Old Lublin and a visit to the archives. Continue by van to Zamosc with time for lunch and an opportunity to visit the recently-renovated synagogue and the city’s Renaissance-era market square.  Border crossing Hrubieszow.  Your Ukrainian guide will meet you in Lutsk.

Overnight :                  Lutsk

Tuesday, July 3                        Lvov/Lviv

Full day with guide in Lutsk, Trochenbrod.   (Late) evening drive to Lvov

Overnight:                               Dnister Hotel, Lvov

Wednesday, July 4                              

Two half-day tours of Lvov

Overnight:       Dnister Hotel, Lvov

Thursday, July 5                      Lvov-Lancut-Krakow

Drive to Krakow (via Zhovkva, Ukraine, time permitting) with a visit en route to Lancut, with its beautifully renovated synagogue and 17th-century palace

Dinner on Market Square or Szeroka Street.

 

10:00   Evening Festival concert at Tempel Synagogue, which is in Kazimierz.  The hotel is well located between the Market Square and the Kazimierz district, which “hosts” the Krakow Jewish Culture Festival.

Overnight:       Radisson Blu,  Krakow

Friday, July 6                           Krakow

Morning:  Guided walking tour of Kazimierz and visit to the Galicia Jewish Museum.  The guide will meet you at your hotel.

Free afternoon

9:00 PM Shabbat dinner with the Krakow JCC and 300+ guests  at the Kupa Synagogue. 

Saturday, July 7                       Krakow                      

Morning:          Guided walking tour of Old Krakow and the Wawel Castle. The guide will meet you at the hotel.

Afternoon Options:     Tour to the Salt Mine at Wieliczka, Nowa Huta, or Podgorze an/or Schindler Factory Museum

Final Festival Concert on Szeroka Street

Overnight:       Radisson Blu Krakow

                                               

Sunday, July 8    Krakow

Free day with recommendations (including those above)

Overnight:                   Krakow

Monday, July 9   Krakow-Warsaw      

           

Morning train to Warsaw (approximately 3 hours)

Afternoon walking tour of Jewish Warsaw with Helise Lieberman

Overnight:   Hotel Meridien Bristol

Tuesday, July 10   Warsaw-Treblinka-Tykocin-Bialystok

By van from Warsaw

Overnight:       Branicki Hotel,            Bialystok

                       

Wednesday, July 11                   Bialystok

Tour of Bialystok with Jewish community activist Lucy Gold.

Afternoon trip to Bialowieza (Bisonland) 

Overnight:       Branicki Hotel             Bialystok

Thursday, July 12            

Bialystok – Border Crossing at Kuznica - Grodno

Tour of Grodno with Alina Romatovska

Overnight:  Semashko Hotel   Grodno

Friday, July 13                         Grodno

Grodno - Vaukavysk –Slonim – Grodno

Alina Romatovska will accompany you.

Overnight:  Semashko Hotel,  Grodno

Saturday, July 14            

Grodno - border crossing at Kuznica – Suwalki (optional:  Wigry Lake boat ride) - Augustow

Overnight: Hotel Warszawa in            Augustow

Sunday, July 15                       

Augustow                    border crossing at Szypliszki-- Kovno – Vilnius

Overnight:                   Radisson Blu Astorija, Vilnius

Monday, July 16                Vilnius

Morning tour of Vilnius and meeting with American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee representative in Lithuania, Ariel Nadbornik

Afternoon to explore the city on your own

Overnight:                   Radisson Blu Astorija, Vilnius

Tuesday, July 17                      Vilnius to St. Petersburg

[And if this isn't enough, we join the Gribens family for almost a week in St. Petersburg following this journey.  Details later...]