VACATION PHOTOS—From top: Remuh Synagogue in Krakow, Poland.; Courtesy Chris Schwartz/Galicia Jewish Museum; The Remuh Synagogue circa 1553 is Krakow’s only functioning Jewish place of worship. Courtesy of Barbara and Barry Caplan; Barry and Barbara Caplan at the Imperial Garden in Vienna.

Emotions run deep during the Caplans’ enlightening tour of Eastern Europe

By POLINA OLSEN

article created on: 2008-12-01T00:00:00

When Barbara and Barry Caplan reached their 46th wedding anniversary, they decided now was the time. They knew a trip to Eastern Europe would reveal much about their heritage, and they’d heard about beautiful cities with ancient Jewish quarters. They chose a 14-day Tauck (www.tauck.com) bus tour to Warsaw, Krakow, Budapest, Vienna and Prague and flew out Oct. 2.

“You read the numbers, you see the movies and books but when you see it with your own eyes,” Barbara Caplan said.

She and her husband’s reactions often surprised them.

“I was prepared to learn about WWII history, the Holocaust, music and culture. I wasn’t prepared for being drained emotionally when visiting the Jewish quarters and realizing the depth and scope of the loss,” she said.

Emotions ran the spectrum, as they viewed tragic history and positive changes.

“Each city has recovered substantially from difficult times. It wasn’t just the Nazis—then the Communists came,” Barry Caplan said.

“Warsaw was totally destroyed, and now they’ve rebuilt this city from pictures that they found left in the rubble,” Barbara Caplan added referring to the Old Town district.

Familiarity with the Warsaw ghetto didn’t stop the Caplans from gasping at the small area where Nazis once crammed 500,000 Jews.

“I was impressed with the memorials in every city that commemorate this era of history and the dead,” Barry Caplan said.

According to their guide, schools in Poland and Germany now mandate Holocaust study. And, they appreciated the local people’s willingness to discuss WWII history.

“The most beautiful drive was from Krakow to Budapest,” Barry Caplan said. “It was a two-lane road and we climbed and saw beautiful leaves and farmland. Then we got to an area where there were ski lifts and stopped for lunch.”

One guide told them “Budapest is interesting, Vienna is elegant, and Prague is charming.” They certainly agreed.

Choosing a favorite stumped them although Prague, they thought, had the most interesting and best-preserved Jewish quarter.

“The Old-New Synagogue led us to this cemetery,” Barbara Caplan said about Eastern Europe’s oldest synagogue built around 1270. “There had been 12 layers of tombstones and they had been totally covered with dirt.”

As she gazed at thousands of Holocaust victims’ names on the Pinkas Synagogue walls, she recalled the Valley of the Communities at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem The Pinkas synagogue also exhibits drawings by children imprisoned in Terezin.

The tour itself went beyond expectations, from the food to accommodation, to guides. Although not specifically Jewish, each city included special Jewish options.

“[Jewish history] was part of the facts you learned on the trip,” Barry Caplan said. “It was interesting how a non-Jewish tour guide emphasized it.”

“We’d always been independent travelers until last year,” Barry Caplan said. This time, the couple preferred easier, more structured travel.

“We wanted to see as much as possible in two weeks,” Barbara Caplan said. “We were with a college professor who teaches European history and he was so knowledgeable. And, at every city the local guides were brilliant.”

“Once you see with your own eyes and talk with the native people you come back home with a deep appreciation for what your forefathers endured,” Barbara Caplan said. “When you go to these countries and see their appreciation for artists and music, you have the overwhelming feeling of all that was lost. How many Jewish artists and musicians, doctors and scientists? What would the world be like today?”