With so much to see and do, the tour will start prompty at 12-noon, when you’ll embark on a relaxing boat ride along one of the city’s 100-plus canals. This offers the perfect opportunity to view traditional Dutch architecture, over a thousand bridges, as well as some 2,000 houseboats that make their home along the canals.

We’ll start day two with breakfast, and make our way to the Anne Frank House – the structure that hid Anne Frank, her family, and four other family friends from the Nazi authorities during WWII. You’ll climb the same steps Anne’s family climbed to enter the attic, as well as view actual pages from the diary that she wrote while hiding within the attic.

Afterwards, we’ll stroll through De Wallen- Amsterdam’s infamous red-light district. Here, you’ll see coffee houses and historic buildings – such as the Gothic-style Oude Kerk, the city’s oldest church.

There will be plenty of free time in the evening to enjoy however you please.

Leaving Amsterdam behind bright and early, we board our first train toward Berlin, Germany – a mesmerizing city torn between the past and the present.

After checking into our hotel, we’ll meet up with a city guide who will take you on a journey through the city’s wild and tragic history. You’ll stroll through the Brandenburg Gate, stand over what remains of Hitler’s bunker, cross history’s forbidden boundaries at Checkpoint Charlie, marvel at the Reichstag (Parliament), touch the remains of the Berlin Wall, and stroll through the hypnotic Memorial dedicated to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

Today is a FREE DAY to recoup and enjoy as you please. Catch up on some rest, do some shopping, revisit areas you saw yesterday and would like to learn more about, grab a nice dinner out at one of the countless eateries in the area, or even visit some of the many museums in the city.

As we bid farewell to Berlin, the wonder of Prague awaits! Sipping a cappuccino from the train’s restaurant is the best way to soak in the beauty of winding along the River Elbe, which is dotted with quaint villages and beautiful landscapes, as we make our way to . After checking in, we head straight out to explore the city! We’ll make our way toward Prague Castle – the world’s largest castle. On our way, we’ll stroll through Old Town, as well as cross The Charles Bridge, which was started in 1357, when the former Czech King, Charles IV, laid the first stone. It is crossed each year by millions of people from all over the world.

The following morning, we make our way toward Poland. Once we get settled into our rooms, you’ll be treated to a traditional Polish dinner, where you have an opportunity to have homemade perogies, as well as witness the beautiful spirit that is the Polish people.

After a good night’s rest, you will be driven to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp – the best-preserved and documented former Nazi concentration-extermination campin the world. You will see, firsthand, how over 1.5 million Jews spent their day-to-day lives within the camp, before ultimately being murdered in the camp’s multiple gas chambers, which you will have the opportunity to tour. You will be guided into housing quarters where prisoners were held, tortured, used as medical experiments, and ultimately killed. This guided tour will be presented by a family member of a prisoner who spent time, or was exterminated, in Auschwitz. Regardless of how many documentaries you’ve watched, or books you’ve read, until you’ve visited Auschwitz firsthand, you can’t fully understand how amazingly profound this camp was in carrying out Hitler’s Holocaust!

The following day will be a chance to gather your thoughts as we spend the day making our way toward one of my favorite cities in the world, and what I think is the hidden gem of Europe – Budapest, Hungary! We’ll arrive in the early evening, get settled into our rooms, and if you choose, you’ll have time to stroll through the town square. Budapest wouldn’t be complete without tasting a heavenly kürtős kalács – commonly referred to as ‘chimney cakes’. These tasty cinnamon/sugar/chocolate/nutty treats will leave an impression on your soul that will surely find you attempting to replicate similar delicacies in your home ovens during future holidays!

A day full of exciting adventures! After breakfast, we’ll take a fun-filled and informative walking tour – provided by a city specialist, which will include the Chain Bridge, the Royal Palace, Parliament, St. Stephen’s Basilica, Liberty Statue, and Fisherman Bastion. On our way back, I have a little surprise for you! We’ll find our child-within as I let you in on one of my fun secrets of the city – a place where adults can swing and slide until your heart’s content, high about the city – with a view you won’t believe until you see! After a short rest, prepare to soak in one of Budapest’s most famous spring-fed, thermal baths. Under neo-baroque domes, you’ll spend hours indulging in over 21 indoor/outdoor pools, steam rooms, and saunas! To top off the evening, I’ll treat you to my favorite local restaurant where you can try traditional Hungarian goulash, followed by a stroll around the outdoor markets, where you may opt for more scrumptious chimney cakes, or a mulled wine – or better yet, both!

After getting settled in our room and having time to get ready, you’ll have the opportunity to experience the ‘real’ Germany in one of my favorite establishments! Here, you will drink a bier the way it should be drank – in one of the city’s most famous biergartens. With barmaids wearing traditional Dirndls, and the sound of oompah bands in the background, you’ll feel like one of the locals!

Today will be full of magic – literally! We’ll set out on a day-trip deep into Germany’s ‘Black Forest’. You’ll feel like you’ve been transformed back to the 19thcentury as we take a beautiful train ride deep into the Bavarian Alps to the enchanted Neuschwanstein Castle, built by a young, troubled king. The extent of his extravagance and romanticism earned him the title, “Mad” King Ludwig. How extravagant and romantic is it, you might ask? Let’s just say that Neuschwanstein Castle is so enchanting, it inspired Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom! We’ll arrive back into Munich in the early evening, providing you the freedom to stroll through Marienplatz, the city’s historic main square, and soak in your final night in the beautiful Bavarian city.

The final morning of the tour will conclude with a hearty breakfast before it’s time to head for home.