You can travel too!  

Walk in the Footsteps of your Ancestors ...

Shirley (my wife of over 55 years) and I have been traveling since 1970 - enjoying our travels, but I know that there are many genealogists who would like to travel, but are afraid and/or don't know how or where to start.  That is why, I decided to create this page.  It contains links to background information you will need -- once you have decided to take the plunge and visit your roots.  What an experience it can be!  What we found out is that it is much easier to travel while you are young, then to travel when you have handicaps - so travel now!

For someone from the West, who is used to a different lifestyle and organization, it can often be a culture shock traveling in Ukraine and Russia and in other Eastern countries, but what an experience!

There is a bibliography (information on Bohemia, Moravia, Ukraine, Warsaw, Poland and more) that was compiled to guide readers to materials on Jewish travel

http://www.ushmm.org/research/library/bibliography/travel/right.htm

CK Travel Services is owned by a good friend of ours. Carole Kracer has been arranging both personal and group travels to Russia, Baltic Countries, Eastern Europe countries (all of them), South America and Cuba as well as Israel for many years. Each tour is tailor-made for either a group or an individual and she is a stickler for detail. She has contacts with the Jewish communities and synagogues in the many countries and cities and is willing to share her experience and knowledge with you. Carole is an easy person to talk to and if you are in the beginning stages of thinking about visiting your roots, you couldn't do better than calling Carole. Phone: 818 784 6641Toll Free 1 877 784 6641Cell: 1 818 667 2368or via email: cktravelservices@roadrunner.com  and please do mention us (Shirley and Ted Margulis) to Carole 
http://www.cktravelservices.com/ 

Esther Hecht has a travel blog.  She writes for Hadassah Magazine about her travel experiences.
estherhecht.wordpress.com

Apartment Rentals
In many cases, it is less expensive to rent an apartment or house, than a hotel room, especially if your stay is more than a week.  These sites offer this convenience.  Be sure to look closely at any photos offered.
http://www.flipkey.com/

http://www.homeaway.com/

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Air Travel Tips
Antiseptic wipes should be used to wash your hands before eating.  A bottle of gel would serve the same purpose, but you would have to put them in your one quart plastic bag of liquids when going through security; packets of wipes don't have to go in that bag.

Many airlines set prices (and sale prices) on Mondays.  Book Tuesdays or Wednesdays after other airlines have followed suit.  Never book on the weekend.  try to book air tickets in advance - about 3 -4 months ahead and look at the final price on the last screen before locking in, in case there are some other added fees.
http://tinyurl.com/7e9vcof

Eyeshades and earplugs. 
Most drugstores carry earplugs which should be rated at least NRR 33.  they buffer airplane noise, the high-pitched screams of children, and conversations our seatmates might be having about their recent hospitalizations.
www.bucky.com

First Aid Items
A few Band-Aids won't take up much room and may come in handy on your trip, and also be sure to take along any medications you might need during the flight.

Flight Attendants
Flight attendants don't just look pretty and hand out snacks.  Each gets extensive training in emergency response.

Feeding Your Face
Airline food is often loaded with sodium, so pack your own veggies, nuts and fruit, and on International flights, consider preordering special means i.e. low sodium; kosher or vegetarian.  And bring an empty plastic bottle that you can fill with water after you have passed through security.

Jet Lag
When flying east, adjust your internal clock by wearing sunglasses or an eye mask to block daylight until about 10 a.m. on the morning you arrive.  Get on to your destination's local time as quickly as you can, and if you absolutely take a nap, take a short one for no more than three hours.

Seating
Remember that window seats are colder than those on the aisle.

Your Feet
Never walk around on the plane is your bare feet.  Remember, there is no one available to mop up the lavatory floors in flight.

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Eating While Traveling
Some basic tips:  Wash your hands before eating or use an alcohol based hand sanitizer before you eat.

Don't drink the water while traveling in developing countries.  Skip the tap water and drink only bottled water and make sure the cap is sealed before you take a sip.  Same rule applies to ice, fruits and vegetables that could have been rinsed in tap water.  Choose fruits you can peel.

Eat hot foods, if at all possible as the heat does kill the bacteria and viruses that cause illness.  Keep this in mind when you sample street foods.

Before you leave, make an appointment with your doctor, better yet, a doctor who specializes in travel medicine so he or she can prescribe an antibiotic to take along and advise you on what else you might need for specific destinations.  For a directory
http://www.istm.org  

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Entertainment
You might want to consider investing in an Amazon Kindle or a similar type of electronic device.  With this digital marvel, you can catch up on your reading or entertain yourself with a game or two while flying to your destinationestination.
www.amazon.com 

http://allthingsd.com/author/walt/

Eurostar
Planning train travel throughout Europe.  Site is in German, however, Google will offer to translate the page information into English or other languages.  Though admittedly, it is a bit less expensive to get rail tickets on the ground in Europe than to buy a Eurailpass, but it makes life a bit easier and it was First Class.  The Eurailpass also gives you a discount on Eurostar.
http://bahn.hafas.de

Flashlight
You may encounter some light inconvenience, and a small but handy flashlight might be a godsend.
http://www.pelican.com

Google
Using Google Maps with Street View
http://maps.google.com/help/maps/streetview/learn/using-street-view.html

Insurance
Access America is a reputable company that offers comprehensive travel insurance. 
http://www.accessamerica.com/ 

http://www.travelexinsurance.com/

Money
You can buy select foreign currency (example, euros and British pounds) at your local Auto Club branch.  AAA TipPaks contain small bills and coins, convenient for taxi fares and tips when you first reach our destination.  TipPaks cost $100 USD each, which includes a service fee; the value of the foreign currency varies with the exchange rate and may not always be the best available rate.

The amount of money you will need while traveling is a personal matter.  I remind you that there are many ways to obtain money and purchase items and services while traveling overseas including ATM/Money Machines, banks, Credit Cards, Currency Exchange Bureaus, or Travelers Checks.  It is up to you to chose the best method that will suit your needs. You should bring smaller US currency for change - $1, $5 and $10 bills.  In remote areas, even a twenty dollar bill might not be accepted.  There is some excellent information at the following site.
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/moneytip.htm

Paper and Pen
This is a great idea when you have to fill out forms during the flight to a foreign country or keeping notes on your travels.

Pillows
Don't use the airline provided pillows (even if they do offer you one!), instead use a small inflatable travel pillow
www.eaglecreek.com

Time
You may want to know the actual time in any part of the world, so here is a link to the official U.S. government clock.  Although the display is set for Pacific Time Zone, you can easily change it to any time zone you are interested in.  Enjoy!
http://nist.time.gov/

Translating
Vocre (voh-krey) is a translation app that allows anyone to communicate instantly with anybody from anywhere - without language being a barrier.  With a new spin on usability, this app is a first step in helping the world communicate more easily.
http://www.voce.com/

Traveling Plan Map

 

Tourist Board Finder
This site connects you to more than 1,000 official Tourism Bureaus worldwide, from Australia to South Africa, as well as listing information for all U.S. regional visitors bureaus.
http://www.travelsouk.com/writers/reviews/tourist-board.htm 

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Water
We buy bottles of water after we have gone through security, and some snack foods, especially if it is going to be a long flight with no meal service.

I want to assure you that I do not have any connection to any source links below - I am merely bringing these links to your attention. Some links, should you use their services or products may provide a commission, but if they do, the commissions paid will help make this site grow. If they fail you, you will have to deal with the source directly, and if they are of great advantage in making and performing your ultimate travel plans, I would like to know so that I can share your experiences with others who intend to follow in your footsteps.  You can always send me an E-mail to Jwebindex@gmail.com or use the Feedback Form

1000 Tips 4 Trips 
Travel tips submitted by people just like you ... for International Travel 
http://1000tips4trips.com/

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"The Great Jewish Cities of Central and Eastern Europe: 
A Travel Guide and Resource Book to Prague, Warsaw, Cracow and Budapest" 
Authored by Eli Valley Buy from Amazon.com Buy from Amazon.com

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"Jewish Travel Guide" 
Published by the London Jewish Chronicle

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"The Jewish Traveler" 
Published by Hadassah

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Travel 
The New York Times Travel Section - The world
http://travel.nytimes.com/pages/travel/index.html

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Travel Blog
Make your own Travel Bog easily
www.travelpod.com 

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"A Travel Guide to Jewish Caribbean and South America" 
Authored by Ben G. Frank and published by Pelican

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"A Travel Guide to Jewish Europe"  
Authored by Ben G. Frank and published by Pelican

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"A Travel Guide to Jewish Russia and Ukraine" 
Authored by Ben G. Frank and published by Pelican

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"Traveling Jewish In America"  

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Travelzine 
I joined a great group of travelers who share their travel experiences on the Internet. The site is absolutely free and no advertising- very friendly with great repoire. Webmasters are Don and Linda Freedman.
www.thetravelzine.com

http://www.thetravelzine.com/search.htm 

The Archives of Travelzine also offer packing tips
www.thetravelzine.com/friend.htm 

Airfare Information

Try some of these sites, if you are planning a trip to Europe:
www.buzzaway.com  
http://www.expedia.com 
www.easyjet.com  
www.europebyair.com  
www.go-fly.com  
www.ryanair.com  
www.staralliance.com 
www.travelocity.com 

http://www.1800flyeurope.com

http://www.airtransat.ca

http://www.thomascook.ca  

OAG 
This is the website of the Official Aviation Guide, which has been published since 1929 and used frequently by travel agents. If you click on 'Guides' and then on 'Flight Tools' you'll be able to seek out information such as which airlines fly on particular routes, how long it takes to get from one destination to the other, and other information such as the time the last plane leaves a certain airport.
http://www.oag.com 

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Apartment/House Rentals in Europe

http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk 
http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk 
http://www.homelidays.com 
http://www.holidaylets.net 
http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk

Apartment Rentals Throughout Europe
If you are considering staying a week or longer in Europe, regardless of the number of cities you will be visiting, it might prove to be cheaper to use the services of "The Aparts".  I discovered their apartment rental service while surfing various travel sites.  The service gets high recommendations from those who have already used their services and they cover quite a few cities throughout Europe from London to Budapest and a lot in between including Moscow. Use their search box to check prices, availability, etc.
http://www.apartmentsapart.com?cid=392406 

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Bank Machines (ATM)

In Europe, there are two major networks for using ATMs  MasterCard uses Cirrus.  A machine locater is at
http://tinyurl.com/30rzoj3 

http://www.mastercard.us/cardholder-services/atm-locator.html 

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Bathroom Locator for the World

I'm not kidding.  You are in Buenos Aires and you need a bathroom.  Lucky you, for you had previously logged on to and downloaded information from this site.
www.thebathroomdiaries.com

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City Tours

Google offers this site program to help put together a travel itinerary for you. All you need do is enter your destination city! Along with your itinerary, you'll get maps showing you where to go. It's like have a personal tour guide. There are some limitations, but most of the work has been done for you.
http://citytours.googlelabs.com/ 

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Currency Converter  (See also Date & Time Page)

www.xe.net/ucc/full.shtml

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Discount Travel: Senior Travel Bargains

http://budgettravel.about.com/library/weekly/aa031999.htm

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Eldertreks.com

The first adventure travel company for people over 50 
http://www.eldertreks.com/ 

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Emergency Phone Numbers While Traveling Abroad

http://studentsabroad.state.gov/pdfs/911_ABROAD.pdf 

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European Rail Fares & Schedules

You can search this database of the most popular rail routes to obtain schedules as well as first and second class ticket fares
http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/fares_schedules/index.htm  

For trains all over Europe 
With fares for the German-related trains. Though in German, you can change the language
http://bahn.hafas.de  

The Man In Seat 61 
Go to the section How to use the Spanish Railways
http://tinyurl.com/nq8so9 

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Flight Guide

The FAA offers a handy cheat sheet that helps you track those tricky airport codes.
www.fly.faa.gov

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FX Cheatsheets

Allows travelers to create and print a currency converter table for their next trip to most countries 
http://www.oanda.com/convert/cheatsheet 

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In Your Pocket Guide

A wonderful, detailed commercial travel site that offers much information about the history and current traveling conditions in many European countries, along with city map information
http://www.inyourpocket.com

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Kosher Trips and Food Choices

A tour company, Lotus Tours, offers trips to various countries, including Japan, China, Hong Kong, Kenya, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, East-Central Europe and more. For information call the Tour agency at 800 267 5415 or write: 
2 Mott St.
New York, NY 10013

Jewish and Kosher Countries 
and the rest of the Jewish World
http://www.kosherdelight.com/KDindex.htm 

Special Gourmets 
The following site lets you map hotels, restaurants and other destinations that accommodate several different diets: gluten-free, dairy-free, nut/peanut-free, shellfish-free, egg-free, and soy-free.

Just use the checkboxes to indicate what dietary needs you’re looking for. There’s another set of checkboxes that allows you to specify by service: whether you’re looking for places to eat or stay or buy food, and whether you want to include large chains. The site gives you a map of the area you’re searching as well as a list of the restaurants. 
http://www.specialgourmets.com/ 

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Language Help (see also my Languages page)

Rough Guides Phrasebooks and audio files for 16 languages
http://www.roughguides.com/website/travel/Phrasebooks/ 

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Lonely Planet

This site provides a comprehensive profile of each destination.  It features reviews from seasoned journalists and a host of on-line tools.  They explore not only the hot spots, but also the less traveled paths that other guides don't even mention.

You'll get history lessons, weather guides, travel deals and even safety information.  You can peruse the forums and even connect with other travelers who've been there.
www.lonelyplanet.com

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Luggage Information

This site offers information about 74 airlines, and over 3000 airports in regard to their luggage limits for both hand luggage and check-in, so you can cross reference between airlines and airports to know what your luggage limits are, dimensions of bags, special restrictions etc.
http://www.luggagelimits.com 

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  Maps

http://www.mapquest.com
 
http://www.google.com 

Europe Travel Maps
http://www.europeetravel.com/maps

Rand McNally
http://www.randmcnally.com/

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Metro Maps

Metro is an excellent iPhone/iPod Touch app for public transit.  It works when you are offline as long as you have the selected the city, and downloaded the maps.
http://metro.nanika.net/index.php?p=Z

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Mobal Phone.

This company is based in the UK and sells either a phone with a Sim card that is good around the world or you can buy the Sim card by itself. Once you buy it, you are assigned a number that is good world wide and you are only charged for the calls you make - No monthly charge and it is billed directly to your credit card.
http://www.mobalrental.com/gsm/handsets.asp

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Packing Tips

http://mtsu32.mtsu.edu:11283/packing_for_overseas.htm

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Practical Tips On Traveling

Ted & Shirley Margulis traveling Europe in our "youth"

Public Transportation in most United States Cities

http://www.publictransportation.org/systems/

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Translation Software

Translate English words into many other languages - free
http://www.dicts.info

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Travel Blogs

http://hiba.blogspot.com/ 

Travel Tips for Seniors
http://travel.state.gov/olderamericans.html

Travel Tips & Tools
http://travel.state.gov/

Travel Tips 
Got questions? Get answers from this site, but don't get scared because BUG stands for Backpackers' Ultimate Guide. Plenty of great information.
http://www.burgeurope.co

Triporati.com 
This is a site loaded with travel and trip recommendations from expert ravel writers willing to share the best of their favorite sites.
www.triporati.com

U.S. Embassies and Consulates to any location in the world

http://www.leg.state.mn.us/LRL/links/Internat.asp

http://www.aneki.com/nearest_embassy_consulate.php

Country to country security updates and general advice for safety abroad.
http://www.travel.state.gov  

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Walking Tours

Scholar Led walks of the world's greatest cities - Paris, Rome, Florence, Naples, Venice, New York, London, Istanbul
http://www.contexttravel.com/home/

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Weather

www.cdc.gov/travel

http://www.weatherbase.com/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather

http://www.bugbog.com/european_cities/
europe_travel_calenar/january.html

http://www.thebesttimetovisit.com/

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White Pages

Select a State 'All States' Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas Armed Forces Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District Of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Alberta British Columbia Manitoba New Brunswick Newfoundland and Labrador Northwest Territories Nova Scotia Ontario Prince Edward Islands Quebec Saskatchewan Yukon Territories

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Wireless Internet Connection

Here is a Directory internet access at airports around the world
http://www.wififreespot.com/airport.html

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Worldwide Tourism Offices

This is a guide to official tourist information sources.  The Directory lists only official government tourism offices, convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, and similar agencies which provide free, accurate, and unbiased travel information to the public.  No travel agents, no tour operators, no hotels. There are over 1405 entries.  
http://www.towd.com/ 

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WorldWeb Travel Guide

Here is a useful travel information search site 
http://www.worldweb.com 

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Won't you share with other Jewish Web Index readers, your personal traveling experiences - especially those of you who have traveled to their ancestral shtetls?  Submit your story with as much description of your personal experiences to Jwebindex@gmail.com

Argentina

American Jewish Congress 
Offers a 14 day tour of Jewish sites in Rio de Janeiro (Grand Synagogue), Salvador, Iguassu Falls, Bariloche, and Buenos Aires and the world's third largest Jewish city where you will visit the Hasidic quarter. 
www.ajcongresstravel.com  

Apartment Rentals
http://www.bellesuites.com.ar  

Argentina Consulate General
http://www.congenargentinany.com/home_usa.html  

Travelzine Archives
http://www.thetravelzine.com/BuenosAires1.htm  

Manuel Tienda Leon
http://www.tiendaleon.com.ar/prehome.asp  ui

 

Australia

Australian Visitors Site
http://www.australia.com/index.aspx  

Heritage Tours - Journey Into Australia/New Zealand 
http://www.joyfulnoise.net/JoyAlaska6.html

Homes & Apartments in England, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand
http://www.homeatfirst.com/

 

Austria

In what was the old Jewish ghetto, construction workers discovered the remains of a 13th century synagogue while digging for a new parking garage
www.travelchannel.com  

Austrian Tourist Office 
Located in New York; Phone 212 944 6880
http://www.experienceaustria.com  

RailEurope 
offers passes; Phone 877 257 2887
www.raileurope.com

Traveling Austria
http://www.thetravelzine.com/Austria_2005_1_Wachau.htm

Vienna

Hotels

Hotel Konig Von Ungarn *
Schulerstraße 10
A-1010 Wien

Radisson SAS Palais 
Located in Vienna near the Innere Stadt and the Stadttempel
http://radissonsas.com  

Alef Alef 
The city's leading kosher restaurant and is at 
Seitenstettengasse 2
Phone: 43 1 535 2530

Cafe Landtman 
Across from the Burgtheatere was the choice for Freud and looks unchanged from the 1930s.

Cafe Central 
Located at Herrengasse 14 was a favorite of Theodore Herzl, Leon Trotsky and Arthur Schnitzler

Belarus

Galina Swartz and her husband, Frank run the East European Jewish Heritage Program and can be reached at eejhp@voluntas.org Their snail mail address is 
POB 97
Minsk 22074, Belarus. 
Frank is a Canadian (a native English speaker) and Galina is a Minsk native who is fluent in English.

According to David Gordon dgordon@interaccess.com 'she was an exceptional guide and I could not recommend her too highly." According to Rabbi Yehuda Fried of Nesivos Yeshiva Tours to Lithuania and Poland fried@sefer.org 

Yulik Gurvitch 
Offers his experience as a guide for touring Lithuania and neighboring countries. Yulik speaks Hebrew, Yiddish and English fluently. Contact Yulik at yulik@delfi.lt 

Belgium

Jewish Europe 
Synagogues, restaurants, kosher stores, museums, Mikvah
http://www.jewishbrussels.com/  

Luggage Storage in Belgium and Holland
http://tinyurl.com/68msv8 

Station Information and Planner
http://mobile.b-rail.be/en 

Antwerp

Antwerp Tourist Information
http://www.visitantwerpen.be/  

http://wikitravel.org/en/Antwerp

Brugge

May not have much in the way of Jewish Genealogy information, but it is one of our most favorite towns and if you want to get an idea of what life and living was all about in the medieval period ... this is the place! Enjoy.
http://www.brugge.be/internet/en/index.htm 

360 degree view of the Brugge center of town
http://www.visitonweb.com/wikipedia/grand-place-bruxelles-uk.html 

Brussels

Royal Windsor Hotel
Rue Duquesnoy 5-7
1000 Bruxelles
Phone: 02 511 42 15

Bolivia

American Jewish Congress 
Offers a 14 day tour of Jewish sites in Lima, La Paz, Puno, Cuzco, Machu Pcchu. 
www.ajcongresstravel.com

Brazil

American Jewish Congress 
Offers a 14 day tour of Jewish sites in Rio de Janeiro (Grand Synagogue), Salvador, Iguassu Falls, Bariloche, and Buenos Aires - and the world's third largest Jewish city where you will visit the Hasidic quarter
www.ajcongresstravel.com

 

Canada

Customs
The Nexus Air card has been extended to most, if not all, Canadian airports, allowing travelers to zip through customs lines for a fee. Issued jointly by U.S. and Canadian authorities, the card allows U.S.-bound passengers speedy passage through American preclearance facilities, and lets travelers move quickly through Canadian customs after arrival on inbound flights. The card is available at airports in Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax, The cost is $80.

Participants, who must go through a screening process, will be identified through biometric iris images of both eyes.  Vancouver airport officials and the Canadian Border Services Agency has a system that will allow returning Canadians to bypass the preliminary customs inspection line by presenting their passport at an electronic reader. Some form of biometric information will also be involved.

Passports etc.
Canadians need a passport for travel to the United States. Passport Canada is asking those who don't need one immediately to apply by mail, use a Canada Post or Service Canada receiving office.

The regular passport fee is $87 for an adult, $37 for a child 3 to 15 and $22 for children under 3. Every child, even an infant, must have an individual passport. Passports with extra pages cost more.

Requirements: You will need two passport photos, proper identification and a guarantor's signature on your completed application form. Allow 10 working days plus return mailing time if you take your completed form to a passport office; 20 working days plus mailing time if you submit by mail. For emergency or compassionate reasons, passports can be issued in 24 hours for a $70 fee or in two to nine days for $30. For details on applying for a passport, visit 
www.ppt.gc.ca.

http://tinyurl.com/5w6go4  

Rules and Regulations for air traveling from Canada
The rules for most major carriers have been loosened to allow for toiletries and duty-free items under certain conditions. Any other liquids or gels must go in checked baggage. You must follow the rules if you want to avoid having your $100 bottle of Scotch seized by a security agent. Here's the carry-on advice of Montreal-based Georgina Graham, head of security and facilitation at the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Buy travel cosmetics and toiletries in sizes of 100 milliliters or less and put them in a one-liter clear-plastic reseal able bag, which you will be asked to show at security checks.

Most airports now allow passengers to carry duty-free alcohol or perfume purchased at their own shops. But if you have to change planes at an intermediate airport during your journey, the items will probably be confiscated.

Many airlines still allow two carry-on items if the second one is a purse, duty-free bag or suit bag (check ahead to be sure), but British airports strictly enforce a one-item rule. For more information on Canadian rules, visit the Canadian Air Transport Safety Authority site, 
www.catsa-acsta.gc.ca

The U.S. rules are at 
www.tsa.gov.

http://www.catsa-acsta.gc.ca/english/index.shtml

Calgary

Hotels
Nuvo Hotel and Suites
www.nuvohotelsuites.com 

Hotel Arts
http://www.hotelarts.ca

Shuttle Service
http://www.calgarytransit.com

Halifax

Nova Scotia Tourism
www.novascotia.com

The Halliburton
http://www.thehalliburton.com

Waverly Inn
http://waverlyinn.com

Montreal

Hotels and Inns in Old Montreal
http://www.vieux.montreal.qc.ca/heberg/eng/fen_heba.htm 

Pointe-a-Calliere Museum
http://www.pacmusee.qc.ca/en/home

Quebec

http://www.quebecregion.com/e/  

http://www.quebecregion.com 

Toronto

The Jews of Toronto, along with their accompanying synagogues, shops and businesses, are today primarily found along the central artery Bathurst Street, which runs more than 10 miles.

Ashkenaz Festival
www.ashkenazfestival.com

Jewish food is available at the Oasis Cafe and Oasis Kosher Deli located at 130 King Street West. A listing of other kosher restaurants, stores, sights and upcoming events is available at
www.jewishinto.com  

www.jewishtorontoonline.net  

Grange Hotel 
Is relatively inexpensive and is in walking distance to the Minsk or Kiever shuls and offers non-electric locks.
www.grangehotel.com  

Upscale Getaways
www.upscale-getaways.com 

China

American Jewish Congress 
Offers an 18 day tour of Jewish China which includes Beijing, Xian, Wuhan, cruising Mt. Lushan, Nanjing, Shanghai and Hong Kong 
www.ajcongresstravel.com  

Shang-Chai Exploring the Jewish-Chinese 
Connection Tour
http://www.joyfulnoise.net/JoyChina215.html

Hong Kong

There are two side of Hong Kong Island - one is Hong Kong Island and the other is Kowloon, which is on the mainland.  They are interconnected by a 15 minute ferry ride or by the Metro. 

Shanghai

Shanghai Jews 
A traveling experience
http://www.shanghai-jews.com/  

 

Cuba

There are about 1,400 Jews still living in Havana, Cienfuegos and Santa Clara.

If an American wishes to visit Cuba legally, here is a list of approved ways:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1097.html 

American Jewish Congress 
Offers an 8 day tour of Cuba. The U.S. Treasury Department granted the Congress permission to take small groups to Cuba on people-to-people encounters with the Cuban-Jewish community. 
Phone: 212 879 4588
www.ajcongresstravel.com  

Cuba Tourism
http://www.cubatourism.ca/

Exchange Rate
http://www.bc.gov.cu/english/exchange_rate.asp

Jewish community in Cuba 
To schedule a visit Contact the Patronato de la Casa de la Communidad Hebrea Synagogue: 
Calle 1, #261, Esquina 13 Vedado, 
La Habana, Cuba 10400 
Phone: ++53-7-32-8953 Fax: ++53-7-33-3778 

Carol Kracer, also has the US Treasury Department license for travel to Cuba and can be of value should you wish to visit the island. She can take a minimum of 10 participants with her license and no more than 25-30 per group. Email cktravelservices@roadrunner.com  or by phone: 1 877 784 6641

Havana Hotels

Meliä Cohiba 
(on Avenida Paseo)

The Hotel Nacional 
(on Calle O off Kampa)

Hotel Habaña Libre 
(on Calle I, between 23rd and 24th Streets)

Hotel Raquel 
Caters specifically to Jewish tourists (located at San Ignacio and Amargura Streets)

Travel Agency
Batia Plotch - 212 662 1841 or globalgallop@nyc.rr.com 

Cyprus

Flights are available from the U.S. via Europe.  Flying from Israel is less than one hour.

Esther Hecht, the Hadassah travel writer has recommended the To Spitiko Tou Archonta, located in the small village of Tres Elies in the Troodos Mountains.  There, the restored traditional hose has eclectic but tasteful and comfortable furnishings and is an excellent base for tours and hikes.  Proprietor Androulla Christou offers a wealth of information, and according to Esther, cooks delicious dinners of local trout and vegetables Phone: 357 995 27117
www.spitiko3elies.com 

Larnaca
Within walking distance of Chabad House is the 
Amorgos Boutique Hotel 
357-246-21900
www.amorgoshotel.com

 

Czech Republic

Czech Airlines 
Offers non-stop service between the US and the Czech Republic
www.czechairlines.com/en/worldwide.htm 

Czech Republic 
Tons of information is available at this site relating to touring the country and Prague City
http://Jewish.tourstoprague.com  

Kosher Food 
Hard to find beyond Prague

Prague

The Czech Republic, home of the "Velvet Revolution" of November 1989, is a city of diversity and contrast in architecture, music, literature, and drama. Here you will find tradition and charm often missing from the usual tourist stops of Western Europe. It's one of the most beautiful cities we have ever toured.

About Prague
http://www.pragueexperience.com/information/tourist_information.asp 

Hotels
Guest House Lida
Small rooms, but nice and clean and the breakfast was good.  10 minutes from the Charles Bridge
http://www.lidabb.eu/en/

Hotel Chopin
Located in the middle of everything, but on a quiet street. It is across the street from the train station.  Rooms are modern and clean with a private bath, reasonably priced and offers a buffet breakfast.
http://www.chopinhotel.cz/en/home/

Kosher Prague 
Offers accommodations in apartments and hotels with kosher food 
http://www.kosherprague.com  

Philip Greenspun
Web site searches for Jewish history in Berlin and Prague
http://philip.greenspun.com/bp/

Prague Jewish Cemetery 
Used from the 15th century to 1787as the final resting place for all Jews living in Prague. The confined space forced graves to be piled one on top of the other. Tilted at crazy angles, the 12,000 visible tombstones are but a fraction of countless thousands more buried below. The oldest marked grave belongs to the poet Avigdor Kara, who died in 1439.
www.jewishmuseum.cz 

Prague Old Jewish Area Tour 
Private tours - walking, car, minivan or bus choices 
http://prague-private-tours.com/  

Prague Synagogue 
The legend is that the synagogue was built on the site of an ancient Jewish temple
www.travelchannel.com 

Terezin

WW II Memorial Concentration Camp Tour 
The minimum length of a tour is 5 hours, but the tour company can handle longer tour times to accommodate the tourist
http://private-tours.net/   

The tour includes 'Terezin town' that was used as a Ghetto; The small fortress that became the Gestapo's prison in 1940; the Bohusovice crematorium; The Jewish and the National Cemeteries; the Memorial by the river Ofire. The Camp is about 1 hour northwest of Prague.

Tova Gilead 
Offers Jewish Heritage and Family tours to Budapest, Prague and Vienna for small groups 
Tel: 1 800 242 8682
http://www.tovagilead.com  

Translating English to Czech
http://www.dicts.info/  

There is nothing like seeing for yourself, so Shirley and I traveled to Prague and Budapest in August 2006. We boarded a river cruise, after spending four days in Budapest to end up in Prague for another four days. 

Our daughter and son-in-law did a similar trip, traveling from Budapest to Prague to Vienna via train which they enjoyed.

 

Denmark

http://www.louisiana.dk/dk

Eastern Europe

American Jewish Congress 
Offers a comprehensive 18 day tour which includes Warsaw, Lublin, Krakow, Vilna, Kovno, Prague, Terezin, and Budapest 
www.ajcongresstravel.com 

Egypt

"From An Antique Land"  
If you can't visit Cairo in person, read this book. It is a hybrid of history, cultural investigation and travelogue ... enchanting, and so it is.

Bassatine News 
A newsletter from the Jewish Community Council of Cairo
http://bassatine.net/ 

Ben Ezra Synagogue
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/egypt/cairo-ben-ezra-synagogue.htm  

www.touregypt.com  

Guides
Romany Ayoub 
Recommended as being informative, reasonable and caring 
inraa2000@hotmail.com  

Khaled Mohammed El Samman 
A student of Egyptology and guiding at a university who it was reported was very accommodating. email:khaled_elsaman@hotmail.com  
http://www.facebook.com/Khaledm  

Jewish Cairo
http://elliotjager.com/2008/01/c-i-r-o-d-i-r-y.html  

Tour Egypt
http://www.touregypt.net/  

Virtual Tour 
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Egypttoc.html  

http://www.jolleys.com/detail5.asp 

Estonia

Estonia 
Here you will find links to Estonian Association of Travel Agencies, Estonian Ecotourism Association, Estonian Rural Tourism, South Estonian Tourism, Tallinn in Your Pocket, Turismiweb, Tallinn Airport, Port of Tallinn, Estonian Railways and more
http://www.einst.ee/links.html?id=45 

Ferry
There is an excellent ferry boat service including one between Helsinki and Tallinn
http://www.lindaline.fi/en/

Hotels
http://www.meritonhotels.com/old-town-hotel-tallinn

Hotelli Helka 
A nice, modern hotel in a great location next to the new Kamppi Center and near a Metro station.  Breakfast is included
http://www.helka.fi 

Old Town Tallinn
Walk Old Town as the taxis at the ferry docks are a rip-off. The old town is the old medieval Hanseatic heart of the city preserved mostly by long Soviet benign neglect and quickly spruced up once Estonia regained its freedom.  It's an easy day trip.
http://www.isango.com/estonia-tours/tallinn-tours/tallinn-old-town-walking-tour_3707

Trains
Domestic train service in Estonia is operated by Edelaraudtee 
http://www.edel.ee/home 

Trains don't reach across Estonian borders. There is no train connection to other Baltic states or EU states. Only international passenger route on railways goes to Moscow, and is operated by GoRail:
http://www.gorail.ee/?lang=en 

Another site that includes information on transportation and accommodations
http://www.1182.ee/eng/ 

Guides
Yulik Gurvitch Offers his experience as a guide for touring Estonia and neighboring countries. Yulik speaks Hebrew, Yiddish and Englishfluently. Contact Yulik at yulik@delfi.lt

France (see also France )

French Links 
Offers Jewish tours in both Paris and in Provence covering the history, art and heritage of Jews during the past 2,000 years.
http://frenchlinks.com/  

http://www.pagesjaunes.fr/  
(in French and covers Lille, Paris, Strasbourg, Nantes, Lyon, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Marseille, and a few others)

Alsace

Alsace Region Guides 
Vivianne Beller, 30 route de Rosenwiller, 67560, Rosheim. 
Telephone: 333-88-50-29-32 E-mail: vivjpbbel@wandoo.fr  

Hotels
Hilton 
Holiday Inn
Place de Bordeaux

http://tinyurl.com/y9bbxd4

Dijon

Ibis Dijon Central 
Located in the heart of historic Dijon
http://www.ibishotel.com/gb/hotel-0654-ibis-kijon-central/indes.shtml  

Sofitel Dijon Hotel 
Located in Place Darcy
http://www.hotel-lacloche.com/us_index.html 

Paris

I chose the following Paris hotels from a story in one of the Traveler magazine stories.  Shirley and I stayed at The Grand Hotel and found it very convenient to walk in almost any direction, for the sites we wanted to see.  The farther you stay from the medieval center of Paris, the larger the hotel rooms, but the longer the subway ride into the city.  Paris has a wide selection of independently run lodgings in historic, evocative, locales.  When phoning Paris from the U.S., add country code (33) and city code (1).

Hotels
Hotel Muguet
http://www.hotelparismuguet.com/

Duc de St. Simon
Saint Germain des Pres and is close to Musee d'Orsay
http://www.hotelducdesaintsimoncom/en/

Tube Map in Paris 
http://www.tubemap.com/tube_map_metro_subway_worldwide.html  

Paris Walking Tours
http://www.paris-walks.com/ 

Seventh Arrondissement
The home of the Eiffel Tower, the Assemblee Nationale, the Invalides, and the Rodin Museum as well as the American University and the American Library.
Hotel du Champ de Mars
7 rue du Champ de Mars, 7th
Phone: 45-51-52-30  Fax: 45-51-64-36
Email: stg@club-internet.fr

Hotel Muguet
11 rue Chevert, 7th
Phone: 47-05-05-93  Fax: 45-50-25-37
www.hotelmuguet.com

Marais / Bastille
Centered around the Place des Vosges and the rue des Rosiers.  These areas can be noisy at night, but good informal dining and the National Center for Arts and Culture make it a popular choice for those who want a lively area.

Hotel Beaubourg
11 rue Simon Lefranc, 4th
Phone: 42-74-34-24  Fax: 42-78-68-11
Email: htlbeaubourg@hotellerie.net

Hotel Beaumarchais
3 rue Oberkampt, 11th
Phone: 53-36-86-86  Fax: 43-38-32-86

Louvre - Madeleine
Right in the heart of the Right Bank, and centered around the Louvre and the Place Vendome.
Hotel Montpensier
12 rue de Richelieu, 1st
Phone: 42-96-28-50  Fax: 42-86-02-70

Hotel Favart
5 rue Marivaux, 2nd
Phone: 42-97-59-83  Fax: 40-15-95-58
favart.hotel@wanadoo.fr

Latin Quarter
Location is around the Sorbonne, the market at the bottom of the rue Mouffetard and the menagerie of the Jardin des Plantes.

Familia Hotel
11 rue des Ecoles, 5th
Phone: 43-54-55-27  Fax 43-29-61-77
http://www.hotel-paris-familia.com/

Hotel des Grandes Ecoles
75 rue Cardinal Lemoine, 5th
Phone 43-26-79-23  Fax: 43-25-28-15
www.hotel-grandes-ecoles.com

St-Germain-des-Pres
This would be known as the "high-priced district" of Paris as well as being the Bohemian Paris.

Grand Hotel des Balcons
3 rue Casimir-Delavigne, 6th
Phone: 46-34-78-50  Fax: 46-34-06-27 
www.balcons.com

Hotel du Lys
23 rue Serpente, 6th
Phone: 43-26-97-57  Fax: 44-07-34-90

Grands Blvds. & Montmartre
This is considered the main drag of Paris's theater row and the neighborhood is interesting with hidden passages and venues.
Hotel des Croises
63 rue St-Lazare, 9th
Phone: 48-74-78-24  Fax: 49-95-04-43

Hotel Chopin
10 boulevard Montmartre
(46, Passage Jouffroy), 9th
Phone: 47-70-58-10  Fax: 42-47-00-70

Toulouse

Tourist Information; 
(adjacent to City Hall) Donjon du Capitole: 33 5 61 11 02 22
At the intersection of Rue des Paradoux and Rue Joutx-Aignes is the area of the original Jewish settlement.
http://www.cybevasion.com/france/tourism_region_midi-pyrenees_14.htm  

www.toulouse-tourisme.com  

Germany

Books

"Traveler's Guide to Jewish Germany" 
Authored by Billie Ann Lopez and Peter Hirsch and published by Pelican in 1998. A guide to Jewish sites in 186 towns and cities in Germany. Provides for each entry its geographic location, significant cultural or historical sites, and an overview of its history Includes practical travel tips, a chronology of German Jewish history, a glossary, an introduction to Hebrew letters and numbers, regional maps, color photographs and an index.

Baden-Baden

Hotel
Brenner's Park Hotel *

Berlin

This is an exciting city of contrasts.
http://www.visitberlin.de/en

http://www.timeout.com/berlin

Airlines 
Continental Airlines 
Offers connections to Frankfurt, while Lufthansa has non-stop Munich service. Trains service main cities, but the smaller and quainter towns are best reached either by automobile or busses. General Romantic Road information is available from Tourism Work Groups, Dinkelsbuehl. Inns are the usual accommodations.

Hotels
Hotel Agon im Alexanderplatz
http://www.agon-alexanderplatz.de  

Askanischer Hof Hotel
Tucked away along Berlin's most famous boulevard, is this revelation.
Kurfurstendamm 53
www.askanischer-hof.de 

Furstenhof Hotel 
Located at Hannoversche Strasse 55/56
www.fuerstenhof-celle.com  

Hadassah offers information and a travel service and can be reached at 
http://www.hadassah.org

Philip Greenspun
Web site searches for Jewish history in Berlin and Prague
http://philip.greenspun.com/bp/

Bonn

Telephones: 
To call phones from the U.S., dial 011 (the international dialing code), 49 (country code for Germany) 228 (local code for Bonn) and then the local phone number.

Tourist Office
www.bonn.de/tourismus_kultur_sport_freizeit/tourist_information/index.html?/lang=

Hotels
Hotel Baden (a budget hotel)
1 Graurheindorfer Strasse
Bonn 96 96 80
www.hotel-baden.de

Ameron Hotel Köenigshof Bonn
9 Adenaueralle: 26-01
www.hotel.koenigshof-bonn.de

Hamburg

http://english.hamburg.de/   

The department store Galleria Kaufhof located at Monckebergstrasse 3 offers some kosher food. To arrange for kosher meals brought to a hotel, contact Catering Zach - phone: 49 178 519 3384.

Hotel Atlantic Kempinski 
Alster 72-79
www.kempinski.atlantic.de 

Munich

Hotel Royal
Non smoking hotel
http://www.hotel-royal.de/pages/hotel

Salzburg

Hotel Goldener Hirsch *
Getreidegasse 37
Salzburg 5020, Austria  
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g190441-d195103-Reviews-Hotel_Goldener_Hirsch-Salzburg_Austrian_Alps.html

Greece, Crete, Rhodes

An excellent article, written by Esther Hecht, appeared in Hadassah magazine's April 2003 issue. See also my Greek page for additional information
http://www.hadassahmagazine.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=twI6LmN7IzF&b
=5698175&ct=8965505

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Greece.html  

Dolly Asher 
Is the only Jewish guide in Athens and is knowledgeable about the Jewish Community and its sites, as well as sights of general interest. Telephone 934-6739; Fax: 937 3264; Cell Phone: 087 258 6416; E-mail: asser_dolly@hotmail.com  She can also arrange and lead Jewish heritage tours throughout Greece.

Hellenic Adventures 
www.hellenicadventures.com  

Kol Hakehila 
A quarterly publication about the Jewish communities in Greece as well as Jewish heritage tours including the Island of Rhodes
http://www.yvelia.com 

Hotels
Hera Hotel
Located at the foot of the Acropolis
http://www.herahotel.gr/

Hotel Cecil
39 Athinas Street
http://www.cecilhotel.gr/

Travelers Report: Greece 
http://www.bsz.org/agreekjew.htm  

Crete 
Kydonia Travel 
(30 28210 51660; Fax: 30 28210 51663;
Email: kydonia@cha.forth.net.gr 

http://wikitravel.org/en/Chania 

Holland

A travel planner that will plan public transportation between any two addresses, stations, or points of interest in the Netherlands.  You can enter the address where you are staying in Amsterdam, for example, in the "FROM" part and select "Cemetery" and input "Den Haag" in the "TO" part.  The Jewish Cemetery is called the "Israelistsch Begrafplaats".
http://journeyplanner.9292.nl/

Amsterdam

Guide to Visiting Amsterdam
http://www.iamsterdam.com

Joods Historisch Musum 
Located in the Jewish Quarter and Plantage 
Phone: 020/626 9945
www.travelchannel.com 

http://www.amsterdam.info/ 

Cemetery
Easiest way to get to the Jewish cemetery from Amsterdam CS to Den Haag, then take tramline 1 to Scheveningen, (it will pass the cemetery) located at Scheveningseweg 21a.  It is the next stop after the Vredespaleis (Peace Palace).

Guides
Meron Ten Brink 
A former guide in Israel, specializes in Amsterdam's Jewish Quarter and the Portuguese Synagogue.

The Hague

Park Hotel
http://parkhoteldenhaag.nl

Hungary
Austria
Czech Republic

American Jewish Congress 
Offers an 12 day tour of some of Europe's most fascinating Jewish sites in Central Europe which includes Budapest, Vienna, Prague, and Terezin. 
www.ajcongresstravel.com 

"On the oldest stones the inscriptions are in Hebrew". Then came the German writings and Hungarian inscriptions are mainly to be found on the tombs of the late 19th and on those of 20th century."

Andras Koltai 
Offers his research services. Hungarian Jewish Roots provides all kinds of researches that are helpful when trying to find anything about your ancestors and other relatives. If you only want them to take a picture of a building that once belonged to your great-grandparents or research your family tree, he offers his many services.
www.jewishroots.hu 

Hungarian Jewish Cultural Association
Budapest 1065, Hungary
http://www.mazsike.hu/hungarian+jewish+travel+guide/hungarian+jewish+
travel+guide.html

Budapest

This large city is made up of two formerly independent cities, Buda and Pest, divided by the Danube river, with an island in the middle.

An excellent reference site with lots of links. In English and other languages
http://www.budapestinfo.hu/ 

A Useful English-Hungarian Dictionary
http://www.budapesthotels.com/touristguide/Englishd.asp 

Galut

Genealogical research in the territory of historical Hungary. Research concentrates on documents stored in the archives of the target area, libraries and cemeteries. Primary source of information is a variety of records and census statistics and obituaries, newspapers of the period along with local history literature.
http://www.galut.hu/

   Maps

Find your way in Budapest and Hungary
http://www.budapesthotels.com/systempages/map.asp  

There is nothing like seeing for yourself, so Shirley and I traveled to Prague and Budapest in August 2006. We boarded a river cruise, after spending four days in Budapest and ended up in Prague for another four days. If you want to know more about our Itinerary, send me an E-mail. 
Jwebindex@gmail.com 

Ireland

See also my Ireland page for additional sightseeing information

American Jewish Congress offers an 11 day tour of Jewish Ireland which includes visits to Killarney, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Connemara. 
www.ajcongresstravel.com

http://www.discoverireland.ie/

Homes & Apartments in England, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand
http://www.homeatfirst.com/

Northern Ireland
http://www.discovernorthernireland.com

Belfast

Belfast Welcome Centre
47 Donegall Place
Telephone: 44-2890-246-609

Belfast Synagogue Hall 
Serves meals Sunday evenings form 6:30 to 9:30; reservations required. Telephone: 44-2890-779-491

Bretzel Bakery 
1A Lennox Street which opened in 1870 and although no longer Jewish owned, still offers many kosher products.
www.bretzel.ie/  

Discover Ireland 
The National Tourist Authority
www.discoverireland.ie 

Dublin

Bawley's Hotel Ballsbridge
http://www.bewleyshhotels.com/ballsbridge/

Clifton Court Hotel
Located near O'Donnell Street and Liffey
http://cliftoncourthotel.com/

http://www.dublin.ie/transport/dart.htm  

http://www.dublintourist.com/towns/howth/ 

Killarney
Hotel Earl's Court House
http://www.killarney-earlscourt.ie/

Israel

Jewish Holiday Calendar
http://judaism.about.com/od/holidays/a/Jewish-Holiday-Calendar-5772-2011-2012.htm

http://tinyurl.com/3qxwuok

 Maps  

http://info.jpost.com/C006/Supplements/MapOfIsrael/ 

American Jewish Congress 
Offers a 15 day tour which includes Jerusalem, Golan, Tiberius, Safed, Akko, Haifa, Caesarea, and Tel Aviv 
www.ajcongresstravel.com 

http://www.thetravelzine.com/fall99israel1.htm  

Egged Bus Travel Information
http://www.egged.co.il/Eng/ 

Eye On Israel
An interactive map of Israel you will love!  Includes links for transportation, hotels, attractions and tours.
http://www.eyonisrael.com/

Youth Hostel Association (International)
http://www.iyha.org.il/eng/ 

Independent Hostels
http://www.hostels-israel.com/ 

Zimmer, Kibbutzes and Moshav Accommodations
http://www.zimmeril.com/

http://www.zimmeril.com/sSearch_EN.asp?Stype=1&Sreg=4

Tours
http://smartours.com

Ashkelon

Dan Gardens Hotel
http://www.danhotels.com/AshkelonHotels/DanGardensAshkelonHotel/

Holiday Inn
http://www.holidayinn.com/hotels/us/en/ashkelon/askil/hoteldetail?sicreative=14746706499&sicontent=0&sitrackingid=202195118&cm_mmc=Google-PS+US+HI+Regions-_-G+B-EMEA-Mkt-ME-_-Exact-_-holiday+inn+ashkelon&siclientid=4660

Beit Guvrin

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Middle_East/Israel/Southern_District/Bet_Guvrin-1709287/TravelGuide-Bet_Guvrin.html 

Beit She'an

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Middle_East/Israel/Haifa_District/Bet_Shean.html

Caesarea

Phone 972 4 617 4444. I would highly recommend the "Caesarea" article in the May 2008 of Hadassah Magazine for further detailed information.
http://www.hadassahmagazine.org/site/pp.aspx?c=twI6LmN7IzF&b=5698121
 
www.caesarea.org.il  

Dan Caesarea Hotel 
http://www.danhotels.com/  

Eilat

From October through April, the weather is warm, but not hot. It is about four hours drive from Tel Aviv's airport to Eilat. There are 50 hotels and their restaurants are kosher, but many other restaurants are not. It is an excellent choice to make a day trip to Petra in Jordan.

Dan Hotels
www.danhotels.com 

Haifa

Haifa Tourist Bureau
E-mail info@tourhaifa.co.il 

www.tour-haifa.co.il 

Israel The Beautiful Photos
http://israelthebeautiful.blogspot.com  

http://blog.israelinphotos.com

Jaffa

Ruth Daniel Center and Guest House 
Phone: 972 3 682 7700 
A convenient and relatively inexpensive accommodations
http://www.lastroom-israel-hotels.com/Ruth_Daniel_Guest_House

Museum of Antiquities of Tel Aviv-Jaffa
10 Mifratz Shlomo Street; 972 3 682 5375
http://www.antiquities.org.il/jaffa/

Visitors' Center 
972 3 - 518 4015
travel@oldjaffa.co.il 

Jerusalem

www.cityofdavid.org.il  

See for yourself some of the known archaeological treasures online

"Jerusalem Step By Step" 
A tour guide with a twist. A binder with separate booklets inside. Each booklet presents, in detail, a guided walking tour complete with a map, recommendations for food stops and even referrals to hidden restrooms. 011 972 4 8337 448 or Email: wizeguide@gmail.com  

Municipality of Jerusalem
What you want to know that is going on currently in Jerusalem and cultural events that will be taking place in the city.  It is in Hebrew and if you look at the top left of the page, you will see a link to English
http://www.jerusalem.muni.il/jer_main/defaultnew.asp?lng=2

Tel Aviv

Kosher Food in Tel Aviv
An article by Adeena Sussman offers much information about eating out in the city 
in the June/July 2009 issue of Hadassah Magazine
http://hadassahmagazine.com 

http://www.hadassahmagazine.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=twI6LmN7IzF&b=5698173&ct=8441199  

Tel Aviv Local Guide to Israel
http://www.telavivdeclick.com  

Travels through Israel
http://www.thesourceisrael.com/  

Travelmania
This site contains a some good information about traveling in Israel
http://www.travelmania.com/facts.asp  

http://www.inisrael.com/news/?p=33  

Tiberius

This is not a cosmopolitan city, so be prepared for dietary limitations.

Zichron Ya'akov

Museum Tours
Hameyasdim Street
Phone: 011 972 4 639 8811
Email: gidonim@bezeqint.net 

Italy

Amalfi Life Touring Company
www.amalfilife.com  

http://www.aldolimos.com/  

http://www.youtube.com/user/NadasItaly

American Jewish Congress 
Offers a 15 day tour of Italy where Jews have lived for more than 20 centuries. Visit Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Stresa. They also offer an 11 day tour covering Rapallo, Cinque Terre/ Pisa, Livorno, Florence, San Gimignano, Colle Di Val D'Elsa, and Siena. 
www.ajcongresstravel.com 

http://fantastic-world-travel.blogspot.com/2010/06/italy-jewish-heritage-route-in-pesaro.html

Itinerari Ebraici
http://www.triestebraica.it/itinerari-ebraici-trieste

http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/intoscana2/export/TurismoRT/sito-TurismoRT/Contenuti/Itinerari/visualizza_asset.html_1192819403.html

http://www.keytreviaggi.it/turismoEbraico.php

http://www.libreriauniversitaria.it/toscana-itinerari-ebraici-luoghi-storia/libro/9788831761536

Key Jewish Tours of Trieste
Gabriella Kropf
http://www.keyjewishtours.it/regions.php?action=2

Life In Italy
http://www.lifeinitaly.com/  

Official Tourism Site of Tuscany with Local Boards
http://tinyurl.com/na44pn  

Other Regions Tourism Offices
http://www.italiantourism.com/regions.html  

Train, Car Rental and Parking
http://www.trenitalia.com 

Train Information
(Note that the information is in Italian with a translation to English available.
http://tinyurl.com/44yvfa8

Florence

Hotel Casci
http://www.hotelcasci.com/  

Hotel Cavour
http://www.albergocavour.it  

Hotel Perseo
http://www.hotelperseo.it

Milan

Hotel Gran Duca di York
http://www.ducadiyork.com/en/index.php

Hotel Berna
http://www.hotelberna.com/welcome.cfm?lang=eng&lang=EN

Paestum

Located 18 miles south of Salerno, has a "kosher holidays" tour
http://www.kosherholidays.com/ 

Rome

An interesting article entitled "In Search of Jewish Rome" by Amy E. Robertson appeared in the July/August 2009 issue of National Geographic Traveler. It offers a "walking tour" starting at Teatro di Marcello. Included is a map of the Jewish area.
http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/on-foot/rome/on-foot-rome.pdf 

Hilton Garden Inn 
at the Fiumicino airport. There is a moving sidewalk connecting the hotel to the airport.
http://tinyurl.com/c6tg3s  

Hilton Rome Airport Hotel
http://tinyurl.com/d5va8r 

This site lists hotels with airport shuttle. Check shuttle hours. The Best Western's shuttle just starts at 6 am.
http://www.booking.com/airport/it/fco.en.html  

Best Western Hotel Riviera
http://www.hotelrivierafiumicino.it/prezzi_servizi_en.htm 

Train Schedule from Rome
http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/ 

Venice

Auto Rentals
http://tinyurl.com/ndlms3 

Venice Hotels
Hotel Al Ponte Mocenigo
http://www.alpontemocenigo.com/ 

http://www.eurocheapo.com/venice/hotel/pensione-guerrato.html 

Ala Hotel
http://www.hotelala.it 

Hotel Raphael 
Located just a few meters away from the Piazza Navona
http://www.raphaelhotel.com  

Sights & Activities 
Jewish Ghetto in Venice 
Fodor's web site has information. Type in Venice Jewish Ghetto
www.TravelChannel.com  

Sicily

The information booth in Palermo located in the center of town provides maps and information. Bus tickets are available at many tobacco stores.

Bus schedules
http://www.interbus.it/interbushtm/  

Train schedules in Sicily
http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/ 

Latvia

Kosher Food 

Cafe Lechaim 
Entrance on Dzirnauv Street - located in the basement of the Jewish Community Center. Telephone 371 728 0235 
Shalom - A. Briana 10 
Telephone: 371 736 4911 
offers non-kosher Jewish dishes

Hotels
Liepaja Hotels
Resorts, Bed and Breakfasts, Motels
http://www.bestlodging.com/cities/latvia-liepaja.shtml  

Radi un Draugi (Friends and Relatives) 
A comfortable and reasonably priced hotel in Riga - located a block away from the Peitav Shul. 
Telephone: 371-722-0372 
E-mail: radi@draugi.lv 

Reval Hotel Latvija 
One of Riga's largest and pushiest hotels and not far from the Jewish Community Center. 
Telephone 371-7772222 
E-mail: latvija.sales@revalhotels.com 

An excellent article about what to see in Jewish Riga, see "The Jewish Traveler" article "Riga" by Dan Fellner in the October 2003 issue of Hadassah Magazine.
http://www.fellnertravelinfo.com/latviajewishtraveler/index.shtml 

Lithuania

Guides
Baltic Tours 
We used this company in 1994 and were very satisfied with their service. They have an office in the US 
77 Oak St. Suite 4
Newton, MA. 02164 
Phone: 617 965 8080
and an office at 
Tumo-Vaizganlio 9/1, Vilnius; 
Phone: 22 79 79

Guides
Ilya Lempertas 
Jewish historian
Phone: 370-871-3285

Roza Bieliauskiene
(She is also the curator at the Vilna Gaon Jewish Museum)
Phone: 617-917 

Regina Kopelevich 
Phone: 869 905 456

Rabbi Yehuda Fried 
Nesivos Yeshiva Tours to Lithuania and Poland fried@sefer.org

Yulik Gurvitch 
Offers his experience as a guide for touring Lithuania and neighboring countries. Yulik speaks Hebrew, Yiddish and English fluently. Contact Yulik at yulik@delfi.lt

Hotels
Hotel Sarunas 
Hotel in Vilnius where we stayed at during our trip to Lithuania. Nice, western style accommodations.
http://www.booking.com/hotel/lt/sarunas.en.html?aid=311088;label=hotel-26564-lt-2Kw7YMafKEVavEfhKW6xdQS3146969253;ws=&gclid=CKGozYrWua8CFQ1vhwodEkN5ig

Maxima Market 
Mindaugo Street 6 has a kosher food section and the Chabad House sells kosher food and provides a kosher dinner to travelers after Friday night services.
http://www.israelim.com/restaurants_e_europe.htm  

Travel Help
In Your Pocket Travel Guide 
http://www.inyourpocket.com/

Lithuanian Travels 
An article was published in "The Chicago Jewish News" On the left, click on Archives and you will find, among many stories, an article by N. Sue Weiler describing her trip to Lithuania in 2000.
http://chijewishnews.com/

Lithuania Travel 
A good place to start
http://www.travel.lt/turizmas/content/welcome.jsp  

Facts About Travel and Research in Lithuania
http://www.litvaksig.org/index.php/faq/faqs-about-travel-to-lithuania?task=article 
 
http://www.jewishgen.org/litvak 

Klaipeda

Hotel Klaipeda *
This is the hotel that Shirley and I  stayed at during our trip from Vilnius to Klaipeda and Plunge
http://www.radissonblu.com/hotel-klaipeda

Malta

http://www.indulgedtraveler.com/destinations/destinations-europe/the-jews-of-malta/ 

http://visitmalta.com/main  

Morocco

"Alastair Sawday's Special Places to Stay" 
Highly recommended as it has pictures, and a lot of hotels which are considered the best of Morocco.
http://www.sawdays.co.uk/accommodation/morocco/ 

New Zealand

Homes & Apartments in England, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand
http://www.homeatfirst.com/

Norway

Koshershop 
Located at 
Waldemar Thranesgate 55; 
Phone 47 22 353 910
Stocks kosher items. The community will arrange kosher dining for groups and advise hotels on rules of kashrut'
http://www.dmt.oslo.no/english/kashrut/ 

"Resistance Trail" 
A trail leading to neutral Sweden during WW II and information on Oslo
www.visitoslo.com/

Orient

American Jewish Congress 
Offers a 16 day tour of Jewish Orient (includes one of the three synagogues in Bangkok and the Margen Avoth Synagogue in Singaporealong with meeting the Rabbi at Ohel Leah Synagogue in Hong Kong which includes visits to Bangkok, Singapore, Bali, and Hong Kong. 
www.ajcongresstravel.com 

Panama

There are several kosher restaurants, two shochtim (kosher slaughters) two cheese-making businesses and two kosher supermarkets. One of the supermarkets is the second largest kosher supermarkets in the world next to one in Israel.

http://www.kosherica.com/americas_cruises/index.asp

http://www.costaricapages.com/panama/blog/panamas-jewish-community-726

Peru

American Jewish Congress offers a 14 day tour of Jewish sites in Lima, La Paz, Puno, Cuzco,
Machu Pucchu. 
www.ajcongresstravel.com 

Poland

Reading several posts regarding traveling throughout Poland, I gleaned these tips:  (1) Write down where you want to go, so that you don't have to learn the specific words and mispronounce them (2) Bring along a GPS unit - it will be of great value and help you from getting lost (3) it might be an idea to rent an apartment if you plan on staying for any length of time.  One recommended site that seems to cover the larger cities of Poland as well as other countries  is:  
http://www.apartmentsapart.com/

Polish National Tourist Office
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Poland  

Hotels in Poland
http://www.staypoland.com/ 

Krakow (Cracow)

This is the architectural capital of Poland, having escaped the destruction of WW II and is the home of one of the oldest universities in Europe. Krakow is also known for its cultural life.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Krak%C3%B3w

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g274772-d634754-Reviews-City_Hostel-Krakow_Lesser_Poland_Province_Southern_Poland.html

Ancestral Attic 
A Polish genealogical organization
http://www.ancestralattic.com/default.asp 

Concentration Camp Tours
http://www.seekrakow.com/  

Hotels: 
Sheraton Hotel
http://www.starwoodhhotels.com/sheraton/index.html?PS=aa_GWS_Google_sheraton_hotel_51408 
 

Travel
http://www.krakaddict.com/about_krakow.php

Lvov

Leopolis Hotel
http://www.leopolishotel.com/

Lodz

Hotel Grand
http://www.grand.hotel.com.pl/grand_pl/Home

Warsaw

Marriott Hotel
Novotel Centrum

Wroclaw

Sofitel Hotel

Jewish Travel

Plan A Trip To Poland
http://goeasteurope.about.com/od/poland/ss/planpolandtrip.htm  

http://judaism.about.com/od/jewishtravel/Jewish_Travel.htm 

http://www.jewisheritage.org/jh/contents.ph;?lang=1&s=1&month=2&year=2010 

http://www.hadassah.org/news/content/per_hadassah/traveler_archive.htm 

Guides

Tomasz Cebulski
Tomasz is an academic at Jagiellonian University and is a Jewish genealogist and guide, based in Cracow, but leading research all over Central University.
Tomasz Cebulski - przewodnik - guide genealogy researcher
(+48) 513-158-001 cebulskit@interia.pl  or cebulskit@hotmail.com 

www.jewish-guide.pl

http://www.jewish-guide.pl/sites/33

   Maps

Maps of Poland 
http://www.jewish-guide.pl/10

Photographs 
Should you want to see some typical photographs of the area you may want to visit, or should you want a professional photographer to shoot people or locations, this site provides a good link, in my opinion.
http://www.megaloman.com/vertep/

Travel information
While driving in Poland wouldn't be too difficult, renting and driving a car beyond the border of any of the former Soviet block countries is quite difficult and not recommended.

Most rental companies don't allow it, the reason being that rental cars are prime targets for thieves and a car rented in Poland and stolen in the Ukraine makes legal proceedings to apprehend and prosecute perpetrators not worth it.

http://www.staypoland.com

Site is interactive
http://www.staypoland.com/map_poland.htm 

STAY POLAND-OTA 
A travel agency that offers a great amount of information about traveling through Poland plus maps of all kinds.
Nowy Swiat 29/3
00-029 Warszawa/Warsaw, Poland 
Tel: (48-22) 829 40 72 
Tel: (48-22) 829 59 78
Fax: (48-22) 829 40 74
agnieszka@staypoland.com 

Traveler's Stories
http://www.lemko.org/lih/travel/leck92s.html 

Romania

Car Rental
Site is in Romanian, but easy to figure it out
http://www.borgomar.ro/ 

Romanian National Tourist Office 
http://www.romaniatourism.com/

Kishinev

Hotel
The Dedeman Hotel
77 Mitropolit Varlaam
Phone: 373 2 201 77
Fax: 373 22 201 222

Guide/Interpreter
Natalia Alhazov
Phone: 373 22 226 857
email: alhazov@moldova.cc

Russia

First class train travel from Moscow to Kiev in august, 1994.Photo of Shirley Margulis taken by Ted Margulis in our compartment having a 'glassela tay'.

Traveling Russia (and Eastern Europe) in general is not a relaxing "vacation" experience. It is more for the educational and international experience that Russia is the number one selection. Service and accommodations are rated as first-class, but some experiencedAmerican travelers find facilities something less. The better facilities are limited. We have traveled most of the Eastern European countries and have found this to be true, but if you are relatively young, and in good health, go for it!

Even the name "Soviet Union" is history --- and people there quickly correct you. Now it's Russia, Ukraine, the independent Baltic nations -- Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia -- and about a dozen other autonomous entities. However, typically, there is no new name for the entire region. Go with the right mental attitude. The Soviet Union challenges you psychologically more than physically. Being there is to experience history in the making. Go prepared to endure the disarray and discomforts that generally accompany profound social change: shortages, delays, and confusion -- even worse than in the bad old days under Communism.
http://www.nwhealth.edu/healthyU/findBalance/travel.html   

American Jewish Congress 
Offers a comprehensive 11 day tour which includes Moscow and it's surrounds, and St. Petersburg. 
www.ajcongresstravel.com 

Passport Information
http://www.russia-visa.com/information/  


Moscow - photo taken by Ted Margulis

Russian Cities on the Web 
Traveling to Russia or within Russia? Get information on your destination from the many links shown on this site.
http://www.city.ru/ 

Russian Embassy
http://www.russianembassy.org/  

Travel Guide 
Natasha Rakhmanova 
Telephone 174-7783; 
E-mail spbrata@sovintel.spb.ru  

Train Travel
http://trains.waytorussia.net/  

  
Mikhail, our driver, serving us tea.  Mikhail was a former MIG pilot and although we couldn't communicate in Russian, he knew and we knew that there was deep respect for each of us.

Our friend, and guide in Russia, is pictured with my wife Shirley as we enjoyed a day at Sasha's 

Our friend, Sasha invited us to his Dacha (a summer home in the forests). Unfortunately, Sasha passed away after we had spent several weeks with him and his wife Valentine.

Travel to Russia 
http://www.friends-partners.org/oldfriends/mes/russia/period/other_info.html  

Visa Information for Canadians
http://www.rusembassy.ca/ 

ZVS 
offers their service to take care of everything necessary including getting an invitation. The package for the application is 9 pages and the application is rather detailed, asking some very personal questions about your history and your life. The cost (in 2010) was $215 (US) per person. Highly recommended by a recent traveler as reported on Travelzine
http://www.zvs.com/ 

Irkutsk/Lake Baikal

A major city on the Trans-Siberian railway and nearby Lake Baikal shows you some of the fantastic variety of Siberia. Lake Baikal, the world's oldest lake, is over one mile deep and contains one-sixth of all the fresh water on earth.
http://www.myazcomputerguy.com/everbrite/Page6c.html 

Kiev

This city is the historical, economic and cultural capital of Ukraine and is situated on seven hills straddling the Dnieper River. The city, which is over 1,000 years old, has many interesting sites, but be prepared for the hotels are not up to Western standards - yet.
http://www.kievukraine.info/ 

Restaurants
Menus are lmost invariably in Ukrainian or Russian and not as extensive as the may first appear. They tend to list all possible options rather than those available on a particular night.  Zakuski means starters - try "ikra" (caviar), Vyalenaya Osetrina (smoked sturgeon) and griby's smetanoi (Ukrainian specialty of mushrooms in thick creamy sauce), plus countless salads and assorted cold meats.  Main courses offer less variety.  It is usually either pork or beef.

Reservations:  In better class restaurants they can be made on the same day.  Drinks - champagne and vodka are always a safe bet, wine lessso as you could end up with grape liqueur.  Imported alcohol is much more expensive than the local drinks and are priced in dollars.  Service - battling with Soviet legacy, some more successfully than others.  You will need at least an hour to eat lunch or dinner.

Lviv

"The city where East meets West"

Hotels
The Grand Hotel
Prospekt Svobody 13
(0322) 76 00 71, 76 90 60
A luxurious fully-renovated 19th century hotel right in the center of the city

The Hotel George
Ploshcha Mieckewicza 1
(0322) 72 59 52, 72 67 51
Built by an Austrian company, this old building once housed the most elegant hotel in Lviv.  Limited rooms with bath and toilet are available and there are 3 restaurants on the premises.

The Dniester Hotel
Vulice Mateyko 6
(0322) 72 07 83
A large, though sterile looking modern building atop a hill near the city university.  All rooms have bath and toilets and there are dining facilities in the building.

Moscow

This is the cultural and political capital of Russia and the home of the Kremlin and Red Square, Gorky Park and Arbat Street.

Hotels
Arbat Hotel
Formerly known as Oktyabrskaya II

Aerostar Hotel 
Located beyond the ring on Leningradskiy Prospect.

Grand Hotel 
Located near the site of Novodevich monastery.

Hotel Baltschug Kempinski *
Shirley and I stayed here during our stay because it is within walking distance of Red Square and other sites.  Accommodations were very good.

Hotel Mezhdunarodnaya 
Located a quarter mile from the While House

Olympic Penta Hotel
Located just outside the Garden Ring, near the Olympic Stadium.

The Slavyanskaya Radisson Hotel 
Located near the Kiev train station, almost directly across the river from the White House.

http://www.cityvacations.com/moscow/  

http://www.moscowcity.com/  

Jewish Journeys 
Caters to Jewish travelers to Moscow and St. Petersburg
E-mail: jewishjourneys@yahoo.com

St. Petersburg (Leningrad)

A sophisticated and cosmopolitan former capital of the Russian Empire, it has been called the Venice of the North for its many canals. Beyond the main boulevard, you will see the "real" city.

If you get a wish to come to Saint-Petersburg, Moscow or any other Russian city, to learn more about Russian history, culture, to explore this wonderful country - you are welcome to contact us. e  booking and everything that might be needed. 
http://stpetersburg-guide.com/folk/saltan.shtml 

Nevsky Inn 
Located off Nevsky Prospect. Staff speak fluent English and the kitchen is always open for tea and coffee. Serves an excellent breakfast and offers free internet connection.
http://www.nevskyinn.ru  

Hotel Saint-Petersburg 
A huge abundance of beautiful views: palaces, churches, squares, memorials, bridges, and riverside sights. This site offers many services for the traveler 

Hotel Sovetskaya 
43 Lermontovsky Prospekt
Telephone 114-1225
http://www.tripadvisor.com  

http://www.hotelpio.ru  

http://petersburg.russiantravelguides.com/transport.html  

Red October USA 
US based Travel Management company 518 557 1230
http://www.redoctober.us/  

   Maps

Map of City of St. Petersburg
http://petersburgcity.com/map/ 

Shalom Restaurant 
St. Petersburg's only kosher restaurant 
8 K. Tomchaka, near the Moscow gate on Moskovsky Prospekt
Telephone: 327 5475
www.shalomkosher.spb.ru

Serbia

Belgrade

"Belgrade In Your Pocket" 
A guide to the city with maps and information. It can be downloaded for free at
www.inyourpocket.com/serbia/belgrade  

Slovakia

Photographs 
Should you want to see some typical photographs of the area you may want to visit, or should you want a professional photographer to shoot people or locations, this site provides a good link, in my opinion.
http://www.megaloman.com/vertep/

Slovenia

Hotels 
Grand Hotel Union
Best Hotel in Ljubljana is the 
Located on Miklosceva Street

South Africa

Touring with Jacob Shoshan
http://www.travelwithjacob.com/ 

Spain

American Jewish Congress 
Offers a 15 day tour of Spain. Visit Madrid, Toledo, Almagro, Granada, Cordoba, Seville, Marbella and Barcelona. From Barcelona, you can go on your own for a day in medieval Gerona (See my Spain page) Website: 
www.ajcongresstravel.com  

Red de Juderias in Spain
There are several regional Jewish heritage routes existing, at least as concepts or suggested itineraries. One is the Red de Juderias which has recommended stops in Avila, Barcelona, Tudela and 12 additional towns.
www.redjuderias.org

Barcelona

http://www.barcelona.com/barcelona_city_guide.costabravagide.com

www.lifeincatalonia.com

Jewish Cemetery on Avenir Street in the old Montjuic (Jewish Mountain) area can still be viewed. 

Strolling across La Rambla, the pedestrian boulevard that's Barcelona's beating heart, leads you to El Raval which is an often overlooked neighborhood with striking architectural allure - wrought-iron balconies and large shuttered windows above narrow alleys and pleasant squares. On La Rambla, with its market stalls and street performers is the city's information center. Off La Rambla, find the narrow Marlat Street where at number five is the oldest synagogue in Europe.

There are no kosher restaurants in Barcelona, but arrangements can be made in advance by contacting the Jewish Center info@cibonline.org 

Cordoba

http://www.funtouristattractions.com/a/jewish-quarter-cordoba-spain/1109  

Gerona

I highly recommend staying here at least one night.  This smallish city has a large medieval quarter including the walls that you can walk around on enjoying great views including the ancient synagogue and mikve at the top of the walk.  Take the train from Barcelona.
Hotel Peninsular
http://www.novarahotels.com/2011/index_en.asp

Madrid

Hotels
Posada del Leon de Oro
www.posadadelleondeoro.com 

Maps
Free maps and brochures available from the 
National Tourist Office of Spain
Phone: 323 658 7188 (From the U.S. first dial 011-34)
www.spain.info 

www.esmadrid.com

Metro line 8 links up with line 4 for airport-city center service. Abono de 10 Viajes is a reduced-fare 10 ride Metro and bus ticket
www.metromadrid.es

Seville

http://www.funtouristattractions.com/a/old-jewish-quarter-seville-spain/1021   

Jewish Spain 
There is an interesting and informative web site that will be of interest to Jews interested in the history of Jews of Spain offered by Kosher Delight, a Jewish Online Magazine
http://www.Kosherdelight.com/SpainSynagoguesBarcelona.htm 

http://www.totallyspain.com/spain_travel_itineries.asp?id=25  

http://www.spanish-fiestas.com/history/jewish.htm  

Train Travel in Spain 

Renfe Schedules and Discounts
http://www.renfe.es/horarios/english/index.html  

The Man In Seat 61 
Go to the section How to use the Spanish Railways
http://tinyurl.com/nq8so9 

Sweden

Hotels
http://www.queenshotel.se/english 
Located on Drottninggatan, the pedestrianized main shopping street that runs right down to Ganmla Sta, the old city.

Sigvard Rubinowitz Tour Guide
A professor of organizational psychology at the University of Gothenburg offers lectures on the city's and country's Jewish history and relevant sightseeing programs. He can be reached at 46 31 302 13059. The programs are only offered in Swedish

Switzerland

Hotels

Hotel Ascot 
Located in Zurich, is Jewish owned and located opposite the Enge train station. It is within walking distance of synagogues and has a non-electric entrance for Shabbat.
9 Tessinerplatz
Zurich, Switzerland
41 1 363 208 1414
www.ascot.ch 

Guides

Peter Ern 
A guide with knowledge of Jewish sites
Telephone: 41 1 363 6439
E-mail peterjern@bluewin.ch 

Restaurants

Schalom Restaurant 
Offers kosher menu and delivers to hotels.
33 Lavaterstrasse
in the ICZ Building
41 1 283 2233
E-mail: catering.schalom@bluewin.ch 

http://www.jewishtraveladvisor.com/kosher-restaurant-dt.php?rn=Eight%2025%20-%20former%20Schalom%20-%20Shalom%20&ac=Zurich&restaurantid=41 

Fein & Schein 
A dairy and fish restaurant
14 Schoentalstrasse,
Corner Hallwyltrasse
Telephone: 41 1 241 3040
http://www.jewishswitzerland.org/detail.asp?ID=923 

Pizzeria Rimon 
Serves kosher pizza and light meals
1 Zelgstrasse
Cell phone: 43 960 2323
http://www.israelim.com/restaurants_swiss.htm 

Hiltl 
Claims to be the oldest vegetarian restaurant in Europe
28 Sihlstrasse
Telephone: 41 1 227 7000
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g188113-d697846-Reviews-Hiltl-Zurich.html 

Syria

Turkish Airlines 
Direct flights from Istanbul to Damascus
www.thy.com  

It is best to travel with "hidden" US dollars as credit cards, with the exception of Visa Debit Cards, are not acceptable. It is also difficult to convert Syrian pounds back into dollars

Tour operators count on about $100 a day per person for driver, guide, acceptable hotels with breakfast and entry fees. When possible, request accommodations in restored historic houses.

Umayyad Palace Restaurant 
Located in Damascus is highly recommended for lunch or dinner buffet of Syrian foods and nightly entertainment.
Phone 222 0826
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/syria/damascus/entertainment-nightlife/live-performance/umayyad-palace-restaurant  

Tunisia

The country telephone code is 216 and the city code for Jerba is 75. Independent travel is safe and rewarding, but for ease, facility and English-speaking guides, it may be better to go through a tour operator.

Embassy of Tunisia. Tourism Section, 
1515 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 2005
www.tunisiaonline.com  

Hotels
Dar Dhiafa 
One of Tunisia's few boutique hotels is located in the village of Erriadh, about 15 minutes from the 
ocean
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g297941-d480635-Reviews-Dar_Dhiafa-
Djerba.html 

Hasdrubal Thalassa Hotel
www.hasdrubal-hotels.com  

Hotel Melia Djerba Menzel. B.P.
www.tuma-hotels.com/medliadjerba.htm  

Movenpick Ulysse Palace & Thalasso
www.moevenpick-hotels.com  

Sofitel Palm Beach, B.P.
www.sofitel.com  

TunisUSA
http://www.TunisUSA.com

Restaurants that serve Jewish style foods: 
L'Oscar in Hount Souk;
 
Le Phare located along the road to Midoun;
 
Le Rendez Vous/Panorama
http://www.globaladventure.us/articles/la_times.html  

Two documentaries about Tunisia 
Include the Jews of Djerba -- can be purchased at
www.GlobalAdventure.us 

For information about a two week cultural immersion tour of Tunisia, contact Judith Fein judith@GlobalAdventure.us 

www.tourismtunisia.com 

Turkey

Turkey is easy to travel on your own. You don't need to waste money on a tour group, and the bus service is first class. Each town, no matter how small, has an "otegar" (bus station) on the outskirts of town and for a dollar, you can ride the "dolmus" into the city center. 

American Jewish Congress 
Offers a 15 day tour which includes Ankara, Cappadocia, Konya, Antalya, Pamukkale, Sardis, Izmir, Istanbul. 
www.ajcongresstravel.com  

Hellenic Adventures 
www.hellenicadventures.co

Travel to Turkey Planner
http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/

Istanbul

Hotels

Accura Hotel 
Located in the old city part of Istanbul, called Sultanahmet
http://www.istanbulhotelsweb.com/accurahotel.htm  

Blue House Hotel
http://www.bluehouse.com.tr/english/default.asp  

The Empress Zoe
http://www.emzoe.com 

Hotel Sapphire in Sirkeci 
One of the many hotels in that area of the city. Sirkeci is an excellent area to be based in, especially if you enjoy exploring on foot. It is an older area, full of narrow roads, and is quiet at night as there were few cars in the area.
https://hotelsapphire.com/home.html 

Poshier hotels like the Hilton are mainly clustered in the Beyoglu area

   Maps

Eyewitness Travel Pocket Map and Guide of Istanbul 
An invaluable as the map was to scale and geographically correct.
http://www.abebooks.com/Pocket-Map-Guide-Istanbul-Eyewitness-Travel/893449029/bd 

Istanbul Panoramic 
http://www.ersineser.us/ 

Magnificent Tours
http://www.magnificenttravel.com/  

Noahsis Tour Operator
Istanbul / Turkey - info@noahsis.com 
http://www.noahsis.com/ 

Private Guides
http://istanbulwalks.net

Ukraine (see also my Ukrainian page)

One cannot travel throughout Ukraine or Russia without utilizing the services of a driver and a guide.  They might be one and the same, but you should rent a car and driver/guide.  The cost should be about $50 per day + expenses.  The guide will help you not only with language problems, but also with police, regulations, etc. Although we usually travel as independent travelers, we found it necessary to have a guide and driver and would never have attempted to do any sightseeing on our own, without them.

There are hotels in most cities, but inquire ahead, before you start your journey. There are no motels, and you will not find hotels in villages, but one can rent a bed in a peasant's house (with outdoor facilities).  Do not expect modern plumbing in villages or in larger towns.  There are restaurants and fast-food places in most localities. Take care about eating and drinking water in many places (as you would in Mexico).  I ate a lot of watermelons while traveling the country.

A visa is required to enter Ukraine. Visas can be obtained from any Ukrainian consulate upon submission of an invitation. Copies of the official invitation can be obtained from the consulate or through a travel agent. Three Ukrainian consulates are located in the US: Washington DC, New York City and Chicago.
http://www.whatson-kiev.com/about/ 

Crimea and the Black Sea 
A good travel information site in English
www.blacksea-crimea.com 

"Hippocrene Language and Travel Guide to Ukraine" 
Authored by Linda Hodges and George Chumak

Jewish Heritage Grand Tour 
Includes the cities of Odessa, Kiev, Berdichev, Zhitomir, Polonnoye, Shepetovk, Khmelnytsky, Medzhibozh, Chernovitsy, Kamenets Podolsky, Shargorod, Zhmerinka, Vinnitsa, Uman and Kiev. Other tours offered by Gold Line are available at their web site including quite reasonable pricing.
http://www.jewishroute.kiev.ua/

L'viv

L'viv Information
www.lvivbest.com/index.php?newlang=eng 

Bais Aron V'Yisroel 
The only operating synagogue in L'viv and is operated by Chabad. 
4 Brothers Miknovski Street; 
Phone: 380 322 383 804
http://www.fellnertravelinfo.com/ukraine/index.shtml 

Hotels 
The Opera Hotel at 45 Prospect Svobody
380 322 259 000; 
Web site is in Ukrainian but has photos of hotel at site. A newer establishment with clean and comfortable rooms and within walking distance of most Jewish attractions.
www.hotel-opera.lviv.ua  

Restaurants
There are no kosher restaurants, although Seven Piglets at 9 Bandera Street; 380 322 975 507 is a good choice for authentic Ukrainian food and offers several vegetarian options.
http://www.fellnertravelinfo.com/ukraine/index.shtml 

Tour Guides
Alexander Denisenko
Owner of Travel Ukraine Agency; 
Phone: 380 506 710 725. 
Alexander studied at Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority in Israel, and is an expert on the Holocaust and Jewish sights in the region according to Hadassah Magazine April 2008. He offers help with genealogy research at the local branch of the Ukrainian Central Historical Archive (3 Soborna Street) the largest repository of genealogical information about Jews in Galicia
www.is.lviv.ua/~tuag 

Slavik Tsarynnyk and his wife 
Operate a service to assist travelers find their Jewish roots. They work out of L'viv and can provide references.
http://forgottenancestors.blogspot.com/2006_07_01_archive.html

Tour Guide and Genealogy Researcher
Tomasz Cebulski cebulskit@interia.plcebulskit@hotmail.com 
www.jewish-guide.pl 

Yulik Gurvitch 
Offers his experience as a guide for touring Ukraine and neighboring countries. Yulik speaks Hebrew, Yiddish and English fluently. 
Contact Yulik at yulik@delfi.lt 
http://www.spoke.com/info/p1zC2U4/YulikGurvitch  

   Maps

Map of the Zhitomir Area 
http://www.russia-ukraine-travel.com/zhitomir-map.html 

Odessa
The only hotel in Odessa that was certified as satisfying international standards is the hotel-ship Taras Shevchenko anchored at the city passenger sea terminal (located at the bottom of the famous Potemkin steps).  The hotels reserved for the congress re not that bad by post-Soviet standards.

Londonskaya and Krasnaya, a privatized mini-chain are located in nineteenth-century buildings in the heart of the city center; Londonskaya is right on the Prymora'kyi Boulevards, on the block between the City Hall and the top of the Potemkin steps.  Krasnaya is on the corner of Pushkin and Bunin Streets (about a 10 minute walk from Londonskaya) across the street from the Philharmonic and a block away from the Western and Oriental Art Museum. Both were Intourist hotels in the Soviet era.
http://travel-2-ukraine.com/information/mapsodessa/ 

Photographs 
Should you want to see some typical photographs of the area you may want to visit, or should you want a professional photographer to shoot people or locations, this site provides a good link, in my opinion.
http://www.megaloman.com/vertep/ 

Travel information, in detail, is located at 
http://travel.kyiv.org/map/e_zhyt.htm  

Ukraine Fact book, 
Guide to Kiev, Kiev Photo Gallery and "Things You Should Know When Arriving in Ukraine"
http://www.uazone.net/Caption.html  

UkrainianWeb.com 
This commercial site offers translation services; travel information, Genealogy Search, Money Transfers and much more
http://ukrainianweb.com/ukrainian_links.htm

Personal Experiences

Subject: ROEKARD's Update on her December, 2008 Research in Ukraine
From: Karen Roekard roekard@lmi.net 
Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2009 23:54:34 -0800

Contents:
(1) Ukraine overview
(2) The Central State Historical Archive in Lvov
(3) Research Help
(4) Research Costs
(5) Goal of Work
(6) Getting the Material You Want
(7) Negotiating and Taking Photographs
(8) Tabula Register Collection

(1) Ukraine Overview: This was my fourth trip in four years to Ukraine where I have spent at least six weeks, most of it in archives or negotiating with town authorities. We were supposed to spend two weeks there but completed our work in 9 days and so left and went back to Poland for another week. The situation in Ukraine felt the most "challenging" that I have experienced because of the extremely bad Ukrainian economy and the then-impending confrontation with Russia, which has now happened.

What this meant for us, (I had taken Nadja along; she is one of the young women who works for me as an assistant), was that hotel, food, etc. were inexpensive -- 7.6 Hryvnia to the dollar (currently 8.4) -- as compared to my other trips (5.2) and it was winter rates. It also meant that I felt a need to be hyper-vigilant: the revived appeal of abducting foreigners had been brought up to me in conversation.

(2) The Central State Historical Archive in Lvov: Still a great building, former monastery, (and yes,) a long flight of steps up and a renovation project going on; thus, a very high level of dust. I assume that this work might be done by next summer. Some of the material I've utilized there is at least a tiny bit dusty or moldy, it's very old! I think it's worth the experience just to feel the
paper from the 18th century. Wear a mask if you have to.

(3) Research Help: While it is critical to have a researcher who is from Ukraine and skilled at archival work, what I have found to be far more important is to use the services of someone who has really, really good relations with the staff at the archive (s). I was fortunate to have a very skilled researcher working with me, both before I arrived and then while I was there.

Note: You cannot do research in this archive without the help of someone who reads/writes Cyrillic and speaks Ukrainian!! Give up on any idea of doing this yourself. I know that researchers have been recommended on this list serve so you can look in the archives for names of researchers.

(4) Research Costs: Even though I could have negotiated paying my researcher in Ukrainian currency, which would have been a huge cost savings for me given the conversion rate, I chose to pay in dollars and give the benefit of the exchange rate to my guide without whom I could not be doing what I do. This is a wise and kind act -- save money on hotels, entertainment and food (you can see very good opera for $10 for a 9th row Orchestra seat, have a good dinner for $10 and stay in the new hostel!) but be as extravagant as you can afford to be with anyone who helps you with your work. Thus, as I was leaving the archive, I made sure to buy presents for the people who work there. Expect to pay $80 - $100 a day for a Ukrainian researcher who knows their way around this archive and its staff. (This cost far more than my hotel room.)

(5) Goal of Work: From the perspective of my micro-historical work, my goal was to collect another huge amount of document or five days).
s, mostly from the Rawa Ruska and Belz Tabula Register Collection, but also documents we identified when we translated the town's card index files in 2006. From the perspective of my personal genealogical research, there were a few other towns from which I hoped to gather documents -- mostly from town inventories and vital records not in JRI or indexed by the Mormons e.g. the Brezezany Birth, Death, Marriage.

(6) Getting the Material You Want: It is critical that you be clear about what you are trying to get and let your researcher know beforehand so that they can order the folders you want before you get there, over the course of a week or two, so that they can get it all. You must pay them for time spent in this way. When you arrive, the material will be there and if you find yet additional things in which you are interested, you are more likely to get these few folders in a day or two (except for the Cadastral Maps which took us four

(7) Negotiating and Taking Photographs: As usual in Ukraine, "expect the unexpected," things changed a lot from my last serious foraging trip in late 2007. This year there was no need to carry on any form of serious negotiations around photographing as they had a "policy" in place. I do not know if this was a policy for everyone, for me, for that week or for the moment. It is Ukraine.

They charged me ~$5.20 to photograph as much as I wanted from any book or file. This meant that if I took a photograph of one page of a book or if I photographed the entire book, they were going to charge me $5.20. Nadja and I moved from the concept of taking notes or audio-recording, to photographing as much as we could, often entire books, whether we needed them or not. They would not let us photograph entire books of vital records.

I brought two high end, small, digital cameras with me, each of which has a special image stabilizer feature. Nadja and I spent most of our time in the archive taking photographs, between 2500 and 3500 images of documents. We got to the archive as they opened in the morning, each took one of the seats next to the two windows, and utilized the natural light for as long as it made sense. (The days were very, very short this time of year.) The staff put on the lights fairly early and we would move to seats that received strong light from the chandeliers. We had my desk size tripod but it wasn't necessary.

(8) Tabula Register Collection: I think that doing the pain-staking work to fully harvest the incredible riches in this collection requires extraordinary dedication. Because I really wanted to get out of Ukraine as quickly as possible on this trip, I mostly photographed index books rather than the complete books of records. The indexes provided the names of the main characters, their house numbers and an indication of what the contracts are about. What I know from the hundreds of contracts I already photographed in 2006 is that there is a huge amount more information and people listed in the complete contracts. They hold a lot of the mystery and history of the women. Needless to say, I am very interested in this.

I think this answers most of the questions asked of me, at least in a minimal way. That's it. From a posting by Karen Roekard

United Kingdom (Britain, England)

Portal guide to England with introduction to the country and market, business, culture, touring, and cuisine. Discover and explore England and Europe.

AllofEngland.com  
Presents England in all her glory, splendor and style. Tour the market place, visit businesses, plan travel and experience the cuisine as we bring international businesses, culture, travel and e-commerce together in an uncommon virtual experience for villagers and voyagers 
http://www.allofEngland.com 

Homes & Apartments in England, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand
http://www.homeatfirst.com/

Visit Britain
britainyourway@visitbritain.org

http://www.visitbritain.com/en/US/

Gatwick

Lawn House 
Highly recommended. They will pick you up at the airport and take you back for 4 pounds (Information obtained  on 1/11). 
Email: info@lawnguesthouse.co.uk
http://www.lawnguesthouse.co.uk/

Heathrow

Hotels at airport
http://tinyurl.com/6lcgdpz

London

All sorts of information about various subway stations, escalators, cash machines, waiting rooms, bus connections, etc.
http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/im/si-t.html

http://underground-history.co.uk/front.php

Dot-to-Dot. 
Door to door airport shuttle.
http://www.dot2.com/ 

Jewish Museum 
The audio visual Gallery follows London Jewish life from cradle to grave
www.travelchannel.com  

http://www.visitlondon.com/ 

Railroad Information
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk

Rail card
http://www.railcard.co.uk/network

London

Getting Around Toolkit
http://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/heathrow.htm  

London Bus Route
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/modalpages/2605.aspx 

Guides
Mike's a real Brit and wants to share his knowledge with you. You'll learn a lot from his with titles such as: Totally London; Visit Scotland; Southwest; Liverpool, Wales and more
http://www.beabritdifferent.com/ 

London Hotels

Booking.com
Represents a number of London hotels
http://tinyurl.com/45ygabe 

Park International
http://www.parkinternational.com

Jesmond Hotel
Bloomsbury area
http://www.jesmondhotel.org.uk/

Premier Inn Euston
http://www.premierinnfinder.com

   Maps

London Map of Step-Free Tube
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/1106.aspx 

WorldWeb Travel Guide 
Here is a useful travel information search site 
http://www.worldweb.com 

Underground Map 
Tube map of London 
http://static.visitlondon.com/assets/maps/travel_maps/tfl_underground_map_reg
_user_07-E-1736.pdf 

National Theatre 
This site offers the history of the house, and you can peruse the list of plays performed there.
http://www.nt-online.org  

Poor Jews Temporary Shelter 
The Temporary Shelter, as it is now known, still functions and provides a service for refugees and other disadvantaged people. To increase funds, they are happy to provide good quality accommodations for London visitors in a Kosher environment.

If interested contact Saul Issroff, saul@wico.demon.co.uk 
http://chrysalis.its.uct.ac.za/shelter/shelter.htm 

Oxford

http://www.oxfordtube.com/

United States

If you plan on traveling around the U.S., these sites will be of interest.

www.SmartFuel.com 
a subscription app that can help you find cheap gas on your route.

Auto Maintenance
www.RepairPal.com 
uses GPS to locate repair shops and provide ballpark estimates along with finding you the closest service.  Free for iPhone and Android

Auto Accidents S.O.S. 
http://www.vurgoodapps.com/iwrecked/

http://www.myassist.com/ 
helps you find a dry cleaner, last minute hotel, flights, rental car, etc. There is a nominal charge.

Arizona

Phoenix

Mostly flat and laid out on a grid pattern, this city is easy to navigate, but it is spread out in all directions, so you will need to rent an automobile.

There are several kosher restaurants, and they are mostly owned by Bukharan Jews.

California in the 1960s

Palm Springs

http://youtu.be/YZagUeRz3Gw

San Diego

http://tinyurl.com/24uasu4 

San Francisco, California

http://www.talkingstreet.com/  

http://www.sfcityguides.org/descriptions.html

Colorado

Denver

http://denver.org/  

http://www.milehighonthecheap.com/

Florida

Miami

Jewish Museum of Florida
www.travelchannel.com 

Hawaii

Honolulu

The following web site can supply kosher meals to hotels. Also Kosher products can be found in various supermarkets, including Safeway, Star Market, Foodland and Times.
www.oahukosher.com

Illinois

Chicago

http://www.talkingstreet.com/ 

Chicago 
Offers travelers a free trolley system during the summer months
www.cityofchicago.org 

Indiana

Indianapolis

Staybridge Suites
317 536 7500

The Hampton Inn Downtown
317 261 1200
www.hamptoninn.hilton.com  

Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association
Free maps and Tour Book guides
317 262 3000
www.visitindy.com

Louisiana

New Orleans

http://www.talkingstreet.com/  

The Vernon Manor Hotel 
Located near HUC-JIR
www.vernon-manor.com 

Massachusetts

Boston

Most of the area's kosher and kosher-style restaurants are concentrated in Brookline, especially near the Harvard Street corridor around Coolidge Corner.  Deborah Fineblum Raub wrote an interesting article for Hadassah Magazine in the October/November 2010 issue.
http://www.hadassahmagazine.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=twI6LmN7IzF&b=5698175&ct=8805403  

Hotels
Holiday Inn
1200 Beacon Street
617 277 1200
http://www.holidayinn.com/hotels/us/en/brookline/bklma/hoteldetail

Courtyard by Marriott
40 Webster Street
617 734 1393
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bosbl-courtyard-boston-brookline/ 

Four Seasons Kosher Bed and Breakfast
15 Madoc Street
Newton
617 928 1128
http://koshertravelinfo.com/lodgingdb/listings/l0021.html

Tours
http://www.talkingstreet.com/ 

www.bostoncitywalks.com

www.trolleytours.com/boston

www.bostonducktours.com

Minnesota

Minneapolis

My advice to you is that if you will be traveling to this beautiful "land of the ten Thousand Lakes" country, the best times are in the spring and fall.  Take this piece of advice from a guy who spent the first 25 years of his life living here on the north side of town.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=FPw6MKhgtdo

New Mexico

Santa Fe

New York

New York City's Lower East Side Tour 
There is a free cell-phone walking tour of "the Lower East Side: Birthplace of Dreams" at 1 800 644 3545 To get started, go on-line 
www.talkingstreet.com/les.php 

and print out the list of 13 stops. Next, program the tour's telephone number into your cell phone; you will call in at each site. You will probably recognize the voice you hear as comedian Jerry Stiller.

www.newyork.citysearch.com 

Carnegie Deli
http://www.carnegiedeli.com/home.php

Stage Deli 
A "must try" along with Carnegie Deli
http://www.stagedeli.com/  

http://tinyurl.com/8bcdum  

http://gonyc.about.com/od/restaurants/tp/best_delis.htm  

http://www.menupages.com/  

New York City Jewish Museum 
Two floor permanent exhibition
www.travelchannel.com  

A Walking Tour of Lower Manhattan
http://www.newyorkcitywalks.com 

http://www.forgotten-ny.com/streetnecrology/lowereast/lowereast.html 

Ohio

Cincinnati

Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel 
Located close to Plum Street Temple
www.hilton.com  

Golf Manor Synagogue 
Cincinnati's Orthodox homes offer home hospitality
www.golfmanorsynagogue.org 

Oregon

Portland

Getting around
http://www.trimet.org 

Hotel Monaco
www.monaco-portland.com   

McMenamins Crystal Hotel
www.mcmenamins.com/crystalhotel   

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia

www.travelchannel.com  

http://www.phl.org:80/parkridelot.html

www.visitphilly.com

Washington, D. C.

http://www.talkingstreet.com/ 

Wisconsin

Milwaukee 

www.visitmilwaukee.org

 

Uzbekistan

Air Safety Profile for Uzbekistan Airlines
http://aviation-safety.net/database/country/country.php?id=UK

Have you traveled in search of your roots?

Share information, travel agents, guide's names, etc. with others. Should you have any recommendations for travel agents, hotels, , etc. I will be happy to publish them on this page. Send any information and recommendations you would like to share to Jwebindex@gmail.com

* Indicates a Hotel that we stayed in