Itinerary

 July 9-20, 2023 

Jul 9, Sunday – Landing in the afternoon in Vilnius, transfer to Kaunas, the former capital of Lithuania. After getting settled in the hotel, we will walk around the old city of Kaunas (Kovno), visit its only remaining synagogue, enjoy the panoramic view where two rivers meet, and stop by the house of Leah Goldberg, the prolific poet and author. In the evening, we enjoy our glatt kosher welcome dinner and each other's company.

Jul 10, Monday – Leave for Vilnius right after breakfast. Ascend the mountain bearing the name of the Grand Duke Gediminas for the best view of the city one could hope for. Walk around the old city of the “Lithuanian Jerusalem”, learning about the Jewish community of the old.

We’ll end the day with a walking tour in the area of the Gate of the Dawn; the only remaining gate of the Old City.

We return to Kaunas for the night.

 Jul 11, Tuesday –

Back to Vilnius once more, we will recount the heroic tale of the Ghetto in the days of Abba Kovner and Yitzchak Wittenberg, visit the Judenrat court, see the famous Breite Gas, Shulhof, and the city main square.

Visit the only active synagogue in the city, “Taharat ha-Kodesh”, attend the site of the terrible Ponary massacre, see the old Jewish cemetery with the burial sites of the Gaon and Count Potocki (Avraham ben Avraham).

On our way to Kaunas, we will visit yet another old Lithuanian capital, Trakai, to enjoy the impressive castle and learn the history of the local Karaite community. 

Time permitting, we will also drop by the shtetle of Zhezhmariai, famous for one of the very few remaining wooden synagogues in the country.

 Jul 12, Wednesday –

In the morning we will visit the home of the Japanese consul Sugihara who saved thousands of Jews from death camps at the ultimate cost to his own career.

From there, we turn to the streets of the old Jewish quarter, the famous Slobodka. Yes, Slabodka Yeshiva was founded here. We will bring up the heritage of R. Yitzhak Elchonon Spektor, who was the chief Rabbi here, and revisit the story of R. Nota Hirsch Finkel, the Alter of Slabodka, and the renaissance of Mussar movement.

The quarter contained the ghetto in the years of the Holocaust. We will see the notorious Ninth Fort, and pay tribute to the Jews murdered there.

On our way from Kovno to Klaipeda, we'll make a stop in the town of Kedainjai which once enjoyed a lively Jewish community. Among others, the local yeshivah brought up the studious youth later to become known as the Gaon of Vilna. We will visit the restored synagogue that serves as a museum today.

From there, we continue to Klaipeda, the big port of Lithuania. We’ll be just in time for a hot and sumptuous dinner and a restful night in our hotel.

 Jul 13, Thursday –

Our trip is not limited to just the Jewish heritage of the Baltics, great as it is. We start the day with a walking tour of the old Klaipeda, known as Memel in the Prussian days. The East-Prussian architectural style is evident here in Fachwerkhausen; the neat timber-framed buildings are abundant throughout the neighbourhood. A short ferry crossing will take us to Neringa, at the tip of the Curonian Spit. This long (about 60 miles) and narrow (a few hundred yards) parcel of land stretches along the western coast of Lithuania and Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia.

Our program here includes a walk in the dunes, visit to the Witches’ Town decorated with wooden figures of characters from Lithuanian folk stories, and picturesque fishing village Nida where we will see the ethnographic cemetery and the house of Thomas Mann where the celebrated author liked to spend his summers.

We will return to Klaipeda for the night. On the way, we can discuss the life and teachings of Rav Yisroel Salanter, tying it in with what we already know of Mussar movement.

 Jul 14, Friday –

In the morning, we start our way north, crossing the Latvian border.

After about 2.5 hr drive, we arrive in Kuldiga, an important town in the Jewish life in Latvia since the 17c. 

Known as the Latvian Venice for its extensive networks of canals permeating the old town quarters, Kuldiga is believed by many to be the prettiest town in all of Latvia. It boasts charming cobblestone streets, various relics of the old Jewish entrepreneurial life, and the widest waterfall in Europe (at only 2m tall, it is over 270 m wide).

 We turn east now. A couple more hours will get us to Riga, where we will be staying for the next 4 nights, right at the heart of the old town.

Here, we will have the time to get settled and organized for Shabbat. After Kabbalat Shabbat at the Synagogue, we will enjoy a festive seudah, and may opt for an evening stroll.

 Jul 15, Shabbat –

Following morning prayers and the Shabbat meal, we are going on a walking tour of Riga.

See the old city, the great Cathedral Square, the Swedish Gate, the barracks, the old Parliament building, City Hall Square, and the House of Blackheads, the exclusive merchant club dating back to Hanseatic League. 

We will also learn of the period that ties Riga to the 6th Admor of Lubavitch, R. Yosef Yitzhak Shneersohn, who lived in the city after being finally released from Soviet imprisonment in 1928.

Through the line of green parks surrounding the old city, we will drop by the Bastion Hill, note the famous Statue of Liberty (yes, New York does not have the only one!), and find ourselves in the new city centre. Modern Riga appeases the eye with its 19th c. streets built in the local art nouveau style – Elizabetes, Alberta, and Antonijas being the most impressive ones.

In the late afternoon, we will have free time to rest or go for another walk prior to the Seuda Sh’lishit.

 Jul 16, Sunday –

We are venturing on a day trip south from Riga, to the town of Bauska. 

Starting from the imposing castle built by the Livonian branch knights of the Teuton order in the 15-16 cc, it is one of the best standing testimonies to the period.

After lunch, a walk in the rooms and gardens of the posh Rundale, once the summer palace of the Grand Dukes of Kurland, can be justly seen as one of the highlights of the journey. It was built by the great architect Rastrelli – the creator, most notably, of the Winter Palace of the Tsars (Hermitage) in St Petersburg.

We will also pause in the city centre of Bauska. 112 years ago, the rabbi of this community, Rav Avraham Yitzhak Kook, made his aliyah from here to assume his first rabbinical post in the Holy Land, in Jaffa. The story will also give us a glimpse into the earlier history - that of Rabbi M. Eliasberg.

We will return to Riga in the evening. 

 Jul 17, Monday –

In the morning, we'll visit the Jewish Museum and Jewish Theatre (today, Community Centre) whose stage boasted performances by Chayim N. Bialik and HaBimah theatre on the way from Moscow to Israel.

See the Riga ghetto with a new Ghetto Museum, stop by the Heder that served later as the place of council for the ghetto aldermen.

In the afternoon, we will visit the open-sky Riga ethnographic museum, spread over significant territory in the forest on the bank of Lake Jugla. The museum boasts dozens of old wooden houses, brought here from all over Latvia.

In the evening, we will get free time to roam on our own; Riga is worth it.

 Jul 18, Tuesday –

 We part from Riga and carry on a little west, an hour bus ride to Sigulda, known as the Baltic Switzerland. We will visit the gorgeous national reserve Turaida, walk through the ruins of the old Teuton fortress, climb to the tower top to be rewarded by the spectacular view of the area, and venture on a short walking trip to the famous Gutmanis cave. 

On our way to Tallinn (about 4 hours total driving time from Sigulda), we'll make a short stop in Western Estonia, either in the pleasant seaside town of Parnu, or the quaint village of Viljandi. That decision will depend on the weather and road conditions, and might be made last moment,

 We'll arrive in Tallinn, the Estonian capital, in time for dinner and an evening walk, as long as the weather cooperates and you are not too tired.

 Jul 19, Wednesday –

The old city of Tallinn is surrounded by a magnificent wall. It is from there that we start our morning tour. We shall visit the Lower Town, the Market Square surrounding the City Hall, the old apothecary dating back to 1422, and continue to the Upper City with its magnificent Toompeaa fortress, boasting a view of the entire old city and, on a bright day, the Baltic Sea all the way to Finland.

We will visit Kik In De Kok tower, return to the Lower City by the way of a tower known as “Fat Margaret”, and set out for a journey through the tunnels under the old city. There will be ample opportunities for souvenirs as we pass the souvenir market downtown on our way to the workshops of the local tradesmen.

Kadriorg Park, our destination for the afternoon, features a remarkable palace. We will see the Singing Field which hosts the big festival every 5 years, and of course visit the new synagogue and the Jewish Museum nearby.

This is our second - and last - night in Tallinn, folks. The next morning,

 Jul 20, Thursday –

…we are taking a brief walk through the morning town to board the express ferry to Helsinki, the Finnish capital situated right across the Gulf of Finland. The ferry crossing should not take much longer than 2 hours.

This is the last day of our adventure. A bus will pick us up upon arrival in Finland and take us to the city centre for a walking tour. We will admire the Senate Square embracing the University and the Cathedral, roam the traditional farmers market in the old port, stroll down the majestic Esplanada Blvd towards the Swedish Theatre, pass by the Parliament building and pay a visit to the synagogue established by the discharged Cantonists; we will learn some stories about those underage boys drafted to the Czar’s army for a 25-year long service, their life, traditions, and customs.

 In the late afternoon, we conclude our tour and bid each other farewell, heading individually for the hotel or the airport.