Personalized Tours: In Eastern Europe On the Trail of Franz Kafka
Tyn Church on Prague’s Old Town Square
Authentic travelers are adventurous. Unlike tourists, we’re open to the unexpected and crave out-of-the ordinary experiences. It’s not that we never go on tours; it’s that we don’t go on “normal” tours that race from one “top attraction” to another.
I’ve already shared with you one Personalized Tour: Snorkeling in Palau and Yap, and now I want you to know about a delightful friend of mine who is taking a small group to Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic this summer to follow in the footsteps of Franz Kafka.
Yes, that Franz Kafka – the mysterious genius – and Dora Diamant the remarkable woman who kept his literary flame alive and was wrongly accused of burning his last works.
Tour leader Kathi Diamant (no known relation to Dora) is the author of the award-winning Kafka’s Last Love: The Mystery of Dora Diamant. She is also the Director of the Kafka Project at San Diego State University, where she has led the official search for Kafka’s lost literary treasure since 1997.
The Magical Mystery Literary History Tour will take place June 29-July 8, 2012. On the trail of the literary genius, the group will experience a romantic journey through Eastern European capitals, retracing the lives and love story of two extraordinary historical figures. Along the way, Kathi will share her quarter-century-long search for the truth about Dora Diamant.
The ten-day trip begins in Prague, at The Bishop’s House Hotel in the center of Prague’s historic Lesser Town district. The building, a former bishop’s residence, dates back to the 16th century. The recently updated hotel features deluxe amenities, a fine restaurant, and small tavern with outdoor tables.
While in Prague, travelers will discover a Franz Kafka far different from a grim inaccessible genius. After three days exploring one of the most hauntingly beautiful world capitals, the group will continue on to Poland – to spend time in the Krakow of magical legends that Dora knew as a young woman.
Travelers will celebrate both Kafka’s birthday and Dora’s mission of organizing Yiddish plays, readings, and concerts to renew Jewish culture after WWII. During three days in Krakow, the group will attend the 22nd Jewish Culture Festival, while staying at the boutique RT Regents Hotel in the heart of the old Jewish Quarter of Kazimierz.
The tour wraps up in Berlin, where Dora and Kafka lived in the tumultuous early 1920s. Lodging here will be in the luxurious Honigmond (Honeymoon) Hotel in Berlin’s Mitte, the former East Berlin, now the city’s art and fashion center. Here, travelers will retrace Dora and Kafka’s love story and are invited to an exclusive Kafka Cocktail party with the world’s leading German Kafka scholars and writers and Dora’s own family members from Berlin and Israel.
The cost of the tour is $3,690 per person, based on double occupancy. The single supplement is $985.This includes hotels for nine nights, daily breakfast, five dinners, five lunches, sightseeing tours, local guides in each city, ground transportation, airport transfers and more. Airfare is not included. Optional day tours are available to Auschwitz and the Salt Mines in Poland and Potsdam in Germany. It’s also possible to add on 1-3 day individualized pre-tours in Prague.
Proceeds from the trip support the nonprofit Kafka Project, which seeks to recover lost letters, journals, and notebooks by one of the world’s most influential and profoundly misunderstood writers in the world.
If walking in the footsteps of Franz Kafka is your idea of summer fun, contact Kathi Diamant at 619-528-1108 or email:
kdiamant@mail.sdsu.edu
Photo credit: Lori Diamant
Category: Czech Republic, Germany, Learning Vacations
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Thanks, Elizabeth! The 2008 Magical Mystery Literary History Tour was indeed magical, and we’re making 2012 even better! Being in Krakow during the 22nd Jewish Culture Festival is an added treat this time.
Ah#44;I’ve heard so much about Medieval Czechoslovaki and Poland. I love the intrigue of centuries of cultural ferment as well as the implied romance. It’s one thing to read about it in a book, quite another to experience in person. I envy the travelers who will have this opportunity.