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Take a Jewish cruise along the soul of Central Europe on the Danube.
A luxury boat will drop you off at spectacular banks in some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world, where our expert guides will show you the secrets behind mysterious castles, medieval fortresses, and lovely villages.
The Danube is Europe’s second largest river and runs through more countries than any other river in the world. Its history is rife with empires, wars, and Jewish stories.
This is a Kosher cruise with a team of Rabbis and Mashgihim to make sure you can enjoy the local dishes without needing to plan ahead. Our guides specialize in Jewish culture and European cities, and are your knowledgeable source for any questions you might have about the region and Jewish history.
With only 140-160 guests maximum, our Kosher cruises offer a customized itinerary and personal atmosphere.
Explore Jewish history and local sites. Enjoy lectures from professional guides while you embark on the river, as well as live music from local bands.
The MS VIVA TWO (see photos below) has 95 cabins and fits up to 190 passengers on board the luxury ship. On the diamond deck are eight luxurious suites all 24 m² and including French balconies to enjoy the beautiful view.
On the Diamond Deck, as well as on the Ruby Deck, there are 15 m² large 2-bed cabins, all with French balconies.
On the Emerald Deck, the 2-bed cabins do not have French balconies but do have windows to enjoy the view.
All cabins are equipped with flat screen TVs, included minibars, Nespresso® machines, beauty products from RITUALS®, hairdryers, safes, air conditioning, and full baths.
Departures
Duration
Highlights
Notes
Activity Level
Tailor Made
Itinerary
Highlights:
Arrival to the ship as of 16:00.
Tonight, we will meet for our Welcome dinner with our onboard team.
We will sail towards Melk.
Your morning tour will be in Melk.
Located at the Northwestern tip of Austria, at the confluence of the Danube and Melk rivers in the luscious UNESCO World Heritage Wachau Valley.
The city is dominated by the Baroque-style Benedictine Monastery, known as the Melk Abbey, one of Austria’s great cultural highlights and Europe’s largest abbey.
Its sheer physical dominance attests to the spiritual and cultural importance that it has held throughout the ages.
At the end of WWII one of the sub camps of the Mauthausen Concentration Camp was located there.
Other important historic sites we will visit include the Old Post Office building, the Coloman fountain, “the House on the Rock” (built in the 15th century it is the oldest building in the city), the municipal square, and others.
Located in the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage ‘Wachau Valley’, the town of Melk has been a spiritual and cultural center of Austria for more than a millennium.
It is best known for its impressive Baroque style, and home to the Benedictine Monastery known as Melk Abbey, one of Austria’s great cultural highlights and Europe’s largest abbey. Since the 12th century, a school has been connected with the monastery, home to valuable manuscripts, which have ultimately helped to create an absolutely breathtaking library that you will have an opportunity to visit (with an extra cost) within the Abbey chambers
We will return to the ship for lunch. After lunch you are invited to a lecture. At night the ship arrives in Vienna. There will be no night tour around the city but you can go out of the ship and explore on your own.
This morning We’ll start with a visit to the First District, and a bus tour of the Ringstrasse, Vienna’s circular boulevard which boasts some of the city’s most spectacular sights—the Parliament Building, City Hall, the Opera House, palaces, museums, and parks.
After the bus tour, we’ll continue on foot to the elegant Kärntner Strasse and Graben pedestrian areas and visit the majestic St. Stephen’s Cathedral.
Our tour continues with a drive to Bratislava. We will reach Bratislava at around 14:00 and start the tour by Coach to our first tour to Chatam Sofer’s Burial. Chatam Sofer, one of the most influential Poskim whose imprimatur is felt today as a result of his writings, position as head of the prestigious Pressburg Yeshiva and the hundreds of his students and extended family who were, and continue to be, influential in Jewish life throughout today.
A visit to his burial place is an inspiring way to greet Shabbat in Bratislava. We will also go up with the bus to the hill on the top part of the city so we can see the beautiful city from the top,
We will return to the cruise ship to prepare for Shabbat. Kabalat Shabbat and Ma’ariv prayers will be led by the Cantor.
On Shabbat morning, after Tefillat Shacharit onboard and breakfast, we will join for Musaf the local Jewish community in Bratislava’s Heydukova Street Synagogue, the only synagogue in Bratislava, and only one of four active synagogues in Slovakia.
While three other synagogues did survive the Holocaust, they were demolished in the 1960’s. Bratislava’s Synagogue also houses the Bratislava Jewish Community Museum. The Museum is a Slovak National Cultural Monument.
We will return to the ship for the Shabbat meal.
After the Shabbat meal we will have some time to rest and, in the afternoon, we will go out for a walking tour in the city with our local guides. When return to the ship we will hear a lecture and enjoy tea and cake.
Right after the lecture we will have Seudah Shlishit and the cantor will lead the singing.
We will pray and do Havdallah and right after Shabbat the ship will start cruising.
Discover the magical city of Budapest with a guided bus & walking tour. As the capital of Hungary, Budapest is often called the “Paris of the East” and is a highlight for travelers from all around the world.
The tour will not only give you a sense of Budapest’s colorful history, but also give insight into how the city’s division by the Danube river has played such an important role in society over the centuries – one side known as “Buda” and the other “Pest”.
Our first stop will be at the famous Neolog Synagogue, also known as the Dohanny Synagogue, Europe’s largest synagogue. Designed in oriental style, the synagogue can seat some 3,000 people. It’s central location on a leafy boulevard serves as a complex for the synagogue, Heroes Temple, Memorial and Jewish Museum and graveyard. Built on the site of Herzl’s home, it is no surprise that the 13-year old Theodor celebrated his Bar Mitzvah here.
Our next stop is the Jewish Museum. From there and if we will have time we will continue towards the famous monuments located on Andrássy Út street, including the exquisitely designed Opera House, Hero’s Square, the famous under-cover market, St. Stephen’s church, and the Parliament, which strikingly resembles the British Parliament building with nearly 20 km of corridors!
Today is the Jewish tour of Vienna.
In the Middle Ages, Vienna was home to a thriving Jewish community, one of the largest and most important in Europe. Famous Rabbis taught and worked here, making Vienna into an influential center of Jewish knowledge.
This lively and creative environment was forced to an abrupt and violent end in 1420-21, with the expulsion and murder of the Viennese Jews. The ruins of the then-destroyed synagogue, excavated under the Judenplatz in 1995, bear witness to the life and destruction of that medieval community.
In 2000, the Museum at Judenplatz was opened as a branch of the Jewish Museum Vienna. On the square itself, the city unveiled the solemn Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial: a reinforced concrete cube resembling a library with its volumes turned inside out, designed by British artist Rachel Whiteread.
To this day, new sources and scientific and architectural findings are shedding a more detailed light on medieval Jewish Vienna.
This morning we will dock in Durenstein located on the bank of Danube River in the Wachau Valley.
Known as the Pearl of the Wachau Valley, it is surrounded by luscious vineyards.
We will visit the ancient 12th century castle, famous for the imprisonment of the Kind of England, Richard the Lion Hearted, in which is also connected to the city of Akko.
This guided walking tour takes you through the charming center from where you will have a wonderful view of the surrounding valley and castle ruins.
Return to the ship for lunch while your ship sail towards Passau. Tonight, we will gather for a Farwell dinner with the Captain and crew.
After breakfast we will leave the ship.
Accommodation
Onboard our five-star ships are professional crew members that are at your service throughout your stay. Our dedicated team members greet you in the morning as you step out of your cabin to enjoy a delicious breakfast, and when you return to your cabin from an excursion, waiting for you with a hot/cold drink or a wet towel.
The MS VIVA TWO is the second new build of VIVA Cruises and has 95 cabins and hosts up to 190 passengers on board the luxury ship. On the diamond deck are eight luxurious suites all 24 m² and including French balconies to enjoy the beautiful view.
On the Diamond Deck, as well as on the Ruby Deck, there are 15 m² large 2-bed cabins, all with French balconies.
On the Emerald Deck, the 2-bed cabins do not have French balconies but do have windows to enjoy the view.
All cabins are equipped with flat screen TVs, included minibars, Nespresso® machines, beauty products from RITUALS®, hairdryers, safes, air conditioning, and full baths.
*Star rating standards vary from country to country.
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