Private Jewish Tours in Berlin and St. Petersburg

Hi:

Just wondering if someone has some feedback on any private jewish tours they may have recently taken in both Berlin and St. Petersburg.

Our cruise has the one day in Berlin and two days in St. Petersburg.

Thank you,

Wendy

I'm not sure there are 2 full days of Jewish sites in SPB, but when we were setting up our private two days with TJ tours, they had a few Jewish options we could chose from. We ended up only doing the Grand Chorale Synagouge, out of that list, as we wanted to see all the other highlights as well.

We are going in July on the emerald. We are going to the grand chorale synagogue. Also we are using the Berlin expert for that city. He is a Jewish American expat living there now

I know you didn't ask for a tour in Copenhagen, but since this was one of the best overall tours we have ever taken, I wanted to mention it. It is with Charlotte Thalmay and her website is http://www.jewish-copenhagen.dk/ We did the 5 hour Rescue Route tour. It is one of those tours will we always remember.

I know you didn't ask for a tour in Copenhagen, but since this was one of the best overall tours we have ever taken, I wanted to mention it. It is with Charlotte Thalmay and her website is http://www.jewish-copenhagen.dk/ We did the 5 hour Rescue Route tour. It is one of those tours will we always remember.

How did you find this company and why is it one of the best ones that you took to the Baltics.

I can't remember how I found her. I did so much research and found tour guides in many different ways. When I emailed her, we chatted back and forth by email and I knew then that she would be a very good tour guide.

Here is the review I wrote when we returned:

There is a children's award winning book called "Number the Stars" about how the people of Copenhagen rescued the Jewish people during the Holocaus using fishing boats in the middle of the night. The lady (Charlotte) that does the tour father was on the boat and was a young boy when rescued. She tells of his memories and how he had to wear all of his clothing because they could not bring any bags. The tour was basically the book coming to life. She is a story teller and my kids all paid very close attention and loved this tour. Really, I can't say enough about how great this tour was. It is a tour I will always remember.

There were many more details that she shared. It was a very personal tour and she was an excellent guide. It was an all day tour with several different stops but she tied it all together, weaving the story together for us. The tour ended with a stop at the actual fishing boat used.Also, she is very flexible and the tour can go at your pace. You can customize it. You also visit the Jewish Museum in Copenhagen and she is your guide. We got so much more out of it with a guide.

Any feedback relating to St Petersburg would be appreciated

What kind of information are you looking for?

Any feedback relating to St Petersburg would be appreciated

St. Petersburg was never much of a Jewish city, certainly nothing like cities further west of the pale of settlement.

The newly reconstructed synagogue is worth a visit but most of the other "Jewish sites" on these tours are a bit of a stretch. SPB has so much to see that IMHO focusing on Jewish sites on a 2 day stopover would be a mistake.

Check out the Jewish Heritage exhibition at the Ethnographic Museum in St Petersburg. Many tour companies don't offer it because their guides aren't licensed to tour there. Best Guides will arrange for a curator there to give you a tour while their guide acts as translator. We did this with Masha privately 3 years ago before she set up Best Guides and I believe it has since become a standard offering for them. I think now a few other companies will offer it as well but not all.

Do you have contact information on the Jewish expert in Berlin? I am taking the July 15 sailing of Ocenaia's Marina which will stop in Warnemunde for 1 day.

Chai Cruise Enthusiast #18

Hi:

 

Just wondering if someone has some feedback on any private jewish tours they may have recently taken in both Berlin and St. Petersburg.

 

Our cruise has the one day in Berlin and two days in St. Petersburg.

 

Thank you,

 

Wendy

Alla Tours offers both 2 and 3 day private Jewish Heritage Tours in Saint Petersburg and also offers a 1 day Jewish tour of Berlin.

Her Jewish Heritage tour of St. Petersburg includes the museum of Ethnography (mentioned in post above), a visit to the execution grounds with the Holocaust memorial, and the Choral Synagogue as well as the most famous landmark sights in St. Petersburg. :)

http://alla-tour.com/tours/

jill

Do you have contact information on the Jewish expert in Berlin? I am taking the July 15 sailing of Ocenaia's Marina which will stop in Warnemunde for 1 day.

 

Chai Cruise Enthusiast #18

You can find his website- theberlinexpert@gmail.com. His name is Jeremy Minsberg. I have heard great things about him and I am trying to see if I can get a group on the June 3rd Emerald cruise to do this tour. Good luck.

Hi,

My boyfriend and I are on the emerald princess cruise that leaves August 8th, 2013 and will be in St. Petersburg on August 15th and 16th. We want to do the 2 day Jewish Heritage tour (also goes to other classic sites). We are looking for people to join us to reduce the cost. If interested please send me a private message.

Thanks,

Lisa

Lisa:

You'll find a thread with people on your cruise here, look for your dates, and look for folks to join you there.

When we were in Berlin 2.5 years ago, someone suggested that we contact Tom Williamson for a private tour. We did, and he was fantastic. My husband and I still feel that was the best part of any vacation that we have ever taken together. http://www.yourberlintourguide.com/ We did not ask for a Jewish tour of Berlin, but a private tour. My husband had a conference and we only had 1 day to sightsee. I feel like if you contacted him, he could do a tour catered to your wishes. He knew a lot of history. He has a great speaking voice and our tour was so interesting. We will go back someday, and we will contact him again for another tour.

Hi:

 

Just wondering if someone has some feedback on any private jewish tours they may have recently taken in both Berlin and St. Petersburg.

 

Our cruise has the one day in Berlin and two days in St. Petersburg.

 

Thank you,

 

Wendy

Hi Wendy,

I am looking for similar tours and was wondering what you arranged and what your experience was. Have you already gone on your cruise? We are sailing August 12, 2013 on the Celebrity Constellation. I look forward to hearing from you. Linda

On August 1, 2017 my wife and I along with 2 other couples hired Jeremy Minsberg "The Berlin Expert" http://www.theberlinexpert.com/tours/ to provide us with a private tour of Berlin. I can not say enough about how knowledgeable Jeremy is about Berlin and its Jewish history. Jeremy provided us with incites and understanding of both the history during the years leading up to WWII as well as the current situation in Berlin. Jeremy is a very friendly individual and a great tour guide. We could not have made a better choice.

Murray G

On August 1, 2017 my wife and I along with 2 other couples hired Jeremy Minsberg "The Berlin Expert" http://www.theberlinexpert.com/tours/ to provide us with a private tour of Berlin. I can not say enough about how knowledgeable Jeremy is about Berlin and its Jewish history. Jeremy provided us with incites and understanding of both the history during the years leading up to WWII as well as the current situation in Berlin. Jeremy is a very friendly individual and a great tour guide. We could not have made a better choice.

 

Murray G

Ditto! Jeremy is absolutely fantastic.

I cannot speak for Berlin as I'm sure there are fantastic Jewish places to visit. St Petersburg, not as much. We also visited the Grand Choral Synagogue and just loved our tour of it. We were told it was the only religious place allowed to stay open during the Soviet regime but they had a glass building across the street and recorded everyone entering and leaving it. Can't say if that was the truth, but the glass building was still there, so who knows.

Here are a few of my pixs of the Grand Choral Synagogue

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe991.jpg

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe991.jpg

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe991.jpg

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe991.jpg

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe991.jpg

Cheers

Len

For anyone visiting Berlin and looking for Jewish sites, I HIGHLY recommend a visit to the Berlin Jewish Museum - it is spectacular! Daniel Libeskind’s building is truly remarkable and the collection housed in the museum covers Jewish history from the 4th century through the present day.

https://www.jmberlin.de/en/planning-your-visit

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Our cruise has the one day in Berlin [....]

Wendy

For sure not. Berlin is located some 150 miles away from the sea. Nearest cruise port is Warnemünde and assume minimum 7 hours transport back and forth. This leaves you only few hours in Berlin.

Our family used Jeremy Minsberg, the Berlin Expert, for our August 6, 2017 tour of the city. He is personable and extremely knowledgable. He will tailor the tour to your interests, including Jewish history. I highly recommend him as a tour guide who will maximize your time in Berlin.