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The leading specialists in cultural walking
tours
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We specialise in guided cultural walking
holidays with music festivals, opera, art & architecture,
birdwatching, wildlife and gourmet food & wine.
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Easter Music in Krakow with Country
Strolls beneath the Tatra mountain peaks
Each Easter the great mediaeval city of
Krakow hosts the internationally renowned Misteria Paschalia
Festival with performances of music specifically composed to
relate the events of the Passion - music for Easter by Bach,
Vivaldi, Buxtehude, Handel et al.
In addition to exploring the many
museums, galleries and churches of this UNESCO World Heritage
city, we take some gentle country strolls beneath the Tatra
mountain peaks to see traditional wooden architecture and
old-fashioned farming in a scenic setting.
TRIP ITINERARY
DAY 1
L, D included
After meeting at Krakow airport by
midday, we have a 2 hour road transfer south (with lunch en
route) towards the snow-capped Tatra mountains and our first
hotel - a traditional ‘Polish Highlands’ wooden inn
deep in the country, owned by a very welcoming family. After
tea and cakes we set off on foot along the river valley,
looking out for the first crocuses of the year, later returning
for a bison grass vodka aperitif and an introductory dinner of
Polish mountain specialities.
DAY 2
B, L, D included
A short drive southwest takes us to the
Pieniny National Park where we walk to see beaver dams and
early spring flowers by the Dunajec river, visit a remarkable
15C wooden church and have a hot goulash lunch in a traditional
manor house (this was once the Polish/Hungarian border). We
then travel to Zakopane, the ‘Chamonix of the
Tatras’, to visit the wooden villa, now a museum, which
belonged to the composer Karol Szymanowski, and with luck, see
villagers walking to church in traditional Highland costume,
with embroidered sheepskin capes and elaborate leather belts
and boots.
DAY 3
B, L, D included
After a leisurely breakfast of
traditional Easter treats, we are on our way to Krakow, where
we begin our explorations with a visit to the Czartoryski
Collection (including Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘Lady
with an Ermine’) and an orientation walk. After lunch we
have a guided tour of the Royal apartments in Wawel castle,
then stroll to our hotel for the next 3 nights, an elegantly
converted 16C mansion in the historic centre of Krakow. We dine
early, before our first concert of the Festival, seven cantatas by Buxtehude, performed by the
leading Italian consort La Venexiana.
DAY 4
B, L, D included
We begin today exploring the Easter
market stalls selling painted eggs and traditional baskets,
pause to sample some wonderful hot chocolate, then visit the
excellent ethnographical museum. Following a light lunch in a
typical 19C Jewish restaurant we have time to explore the
Jewish Kazimierz quarter, for over five centuries the principal
centre of Jewish scholarship in Poland. This evening, Bach’s St John Passion is conducted by Marc
Minkowski with Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble, with soloists including Joanna Lunn and Owen Willetts.
DAY 5
B, D included
After a guided visit to the Collegium
Maius, containing astronomical instruments used by Copernicus
(and also the first globe in the world to mark the American
east coast), we have a free day to explore this superb
mediaeval city. The possibilities include the high altar of St.
Mary’s Church, an acknowledged Gothic masterpiece;
shopping in the arcades of the mediaeval Cloth Hall, especially
for amber and silver jewellery; and the magnificent Cathedral,
the coronation and burial place of Poland's monarchs for
centuries (only open for services at Easter). Our farewell
dinner, in a beautiful vaulted restaurant, is accompanied (as
on every evening of the holiday) by wines imported from France,
Bulgaria and Hungary and reflects the sophistication of
‘new’ Polish cuisine. We travel to the
extraordinary, 700 year-old Wieliczka Salt Mine for the evening
Festival performance in the Chapel of St Kinga, carved entirely
from salt (including the chandeliers) and with an exceptional
acoustic - the outstanding French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky
sings sacred music by Monteverdi et
al with the ensemble L’Arpeggiata.
DAY 6
B included
A leisurely start before transferring to
the airport for midday flights.
Price includes:
All accommodation for Days 1 through 6 on
a double shared basis
All meals (with wine and beer/vodka at
lunches and dinners) as listed in the daily notation
All land transportation in a private
vehicle as described except during free periods
All entrance and sightseeing fees except
during free periods
Tickets for 3 performances of the Misteria Paschalia Festival
Gratuities for hotel and restaurant staff
Visa and Health Requirements
Visitors from the EU and the US currently
require a valid passport, but not a visa, for entry to Poland.
If you are a national of any other country, please check visa
regulations with your nearest Embassy of Poland.
At present there are no specific and
compulsory health requirements for entry to Poland. Residents
of countries in the EU can only claim free (emergency) medical
treatment in Poland by presenting their European Health
Insurance Card (EHIC), which is issued in the UK by the Department of Health. You may also wish to check the advice given to
travellers the FCO.
Insurance
It is essential, and a condition of
booking, that you protect yourself with a suitable travel
insurance policy as soon as you book a trip. Follow this link
for information on a policy available to UK residents.
If you are already insured or a non-UK
resident, please inform us of your policy at the time of
booking.
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Kudu Travel Limited
Teffont Manor
Teffont Ewyas
Salisbury SP3 5RJ
Phone: 01722 716167
Registered in England
No. 03854049
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