Make Your Next Trip Extraordinary

We added a three-day personal tour of Berlin after a week-long tour to other parts of Germany. Our tour guide—Daniel—and his drivers were exceptional. It didn’t take Daniel long to understand our interests and requests. He’s a highly experienced tour guide whose encyclopedic knowledge and wise recommendations made our three days in Berlin the best part of our vacation. He even helped one of us get a hard-to-get ticket to the Berlin Opera’s production of The Flying Dutchman—a treat in and of itself.

He skillfully helped us navigate the amazing Jewish Museum, and showed us how the architect created an environment that exemplified the dramatic journey, and tragedies of Jews in their long history. We shall never forget this experience. As we have learned in many WOW tours, you can trust Wendy and her colleagues to provide the kinds of trips we could not have done on our own.

We traveled to Freiburg, Germany with our daughter’s friend to pick her up from a semester of studying abroad. The four of us then had a fabulous week of travel across Germany to Prague planned by Gwen and her team. We spent time in Munich and toured the Dachau labor camp. Franz, our private guide, was a wealth of knowledge and kept us engaged and learning for a full afternoon. We also had a delicious food tour of Munich with Stefanie. From white sausages and beer for breakfast to sweet delights and a picnic in the beer garden, we came away with full tummies and an appreciation for the history and culinary delights of the city.

The train travel across Germany to Prague was uneventful aside from a last-minute train cancellation. Gwen and the team notified us immediately and had us rebooked without difficulty. Our stay at the Aria Hotel in Prague was incredible and the history of the city was revealed to us by our guide Kamila. We had a private tour of the library at the Strahov Monastery, which dates back to the 1700’s. Honestly, we were in awe of the culture and history of the city and can’t wait to come back.

A particular ​WOW experience for my husband and I came after we sent the kids home. We drove into the Czechia highlands for a 3 day stay at the 800-year-old castle hotel, Chateau Heralec. The experience was awe-inspiring from the large luxurious rooms, to over-the-top spa treatments at the only L’Occitane spa in the country. The meals were gourmet to say the least and the service was some of the best we have ever experienced. We came away refreshed and ready for the next leg of our trip to Iceland.

In every respect, our trip to Krakow, Warsaw, Budapest, Vienna and Prague was fantastic. Gwen and her team did a terrific job.

Cindy and I very much enjoyed Krakow. The Bachleda was a lovely hotel and very nicely located away from the noise of the tourist areas, but walking distance to Old Town. Our guide, Marta, was excellent. We enjoyed her commentary and company. Krakow is a beautiful smaller city and we very much enjoyed our tour of Old Town, visit to the beautiful basilica, and tour of the Jewish sites (from which we learned a tremendous amount). As Gwen had suggested, the Schindler museum was special. Our visit to Auschwitz was exceptionally moving and our guide there (Woytek?—I’m sure I’ve mangled the spelling) was an incredible source of information and insight. We also had three excellent dinners in Krakow—at Cyrano de Bergerac, Goscinna Chata, and Szara. I also want to give a shout out to our driver. He was extremely helpful and went above and beyond.

We also enjoyed Warsaw, which, as you know, has a very different feel from Krakow. Our guide, Ewa, was incredible as I had mentioned earlier. She made the POLIN Museum, of the Warsaw uprising, and the tour of Jewish sites come alive as if she were telling a story. We learned a tremendous amount and were very moved. Raffles is a great hotel. Again, we had excellent dinners at Der Elefant and U Wieniawy. Our favorite Warsaw restaurant was Rozana, where we savored both the food and the cozy and refined atmosphere.

Budapest was another high point. Cindy and I loved the city; it is beautiful and quite striking, especially during our evening boat ride. And we loved our guide Julia. She was terrific in every respect and we much enjoyed all of her tours of various parts of the city. In addition to her knowledge, we especially appreciated her candor. She also is a great photographer, as some of our best trip pictures were taken by her of Cindy and me. We also were awed by being upgraded to the crown tower suite at the Matild Palace. Eating in Budapest was also a treat—from the strudel at Ruszwurm to our incredible dinner at Babel (a truly special meal).

I know I sound like a broken record, but we also very much enjoyed Vienna. The Sacher is a special hotel with its history and Gilded Age feel, as well as its excellent location. We were awed by Schonbrunn Palace, the Klimt paintings at the Belvedere, and by our behind the scenes tour of St. Stephens. Our food tour with Bianca was a highlight of our visit to Vienna, as was our dinner at Steirereck.

Finally, both of us knew almost nothing about Prague—except through a book we had both read—The Last Palace—and we were both captivated with the city. Everything came together for a perfect last stop on our trip. Our guide, Eva, was terrific. The Four Seasons upgraded our room so that we overlooked the river, the Charles Bridge and the castle (what a view from our bed!). Prague itself is lovely and we especially enjoyed the Jewish quarter and the castle. And we had three really special dinners—at La Finestra in Cucina, Field (really amazing), and Kampa Park (great view for the last night of our trip). I should also mention that the tour of Mikulov was also well-worth the time (and we enjoyed the drive).

Everything went off without a hitch and the team in Krakow made our arrival there seamless even when our plane was delayed several hours. We also very much appreciated your suggestions of sites and restaurants (as you can tell by the emphasis above, we love to eat!).

Cindy and I thank Gwen, Dana and the whole team for a very memorable experience.

My husband and I just got back from a terrific trip to Vienna and Salzburg. We planned this trip just a couple of months in advance and without much prior knowledge of what we might want to see or do. Gwen was very helpful in suggesting options as well as advice about transportation, hotels and restaurants. I very much appreciated the speedy responses from Gwen and Dana while planning the itinerary as well as during our trip.

Vienna and Salzburg are both beautiful, and it was a pleasure just to walk around and admire the architecture and scenery. We arrived in Vienna several days before Easter and so had the opportunity to visit some Easter markets and attend a wonderful Easter Sunday Mass at the Hofburg Cathedral featuring members of the Vienna’s Boys Choir. We also visited the Spanish Riding School for a performance of the beautiful Lipizzaner horses and attended a terrific concert at the beautiful St. Charles church. We took a fun and informative food tour with Tom and sampled some fantastic savory and sweet treats as well as some local beer and wines. The weather, with the exception of one rainy day, was lovely and so we decided to visit one of the vineyards that are situated on the hills below the Vienna woods. Gwen was able to get us a last-minute reservation for a delicious lunch on a beautiful terrace with a view of the vineyards. We wanted to see some of the Alpine countryside, and Gwen suggested a half-day trip to the lake district outside of Salzburg. This turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. Our local guide, Roman, took us up on a cable car where we got some breathtaking views, and then walked us around two ridiculously picturesque towns. Though we were in Austria for only 8 days, we enjoyed a variety of activities. There’s no doubt that we wouldn’t have had as good an experience without the help of Gwen and Dana.

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