Prague, Day 5

Last night I slept without aid of earplugs or pillow over my head! This wing is really quite full, but everyone is quiet. I had a nice talk with two of the young me here. One Scottish, the other Irish (they had to tell me as I can only occasionally figure it out by accent alone) they were having a wonderful time and blissfully unaware of most of the historic sites. For them, Prague is one big pub crawl. But they seemed happy and certainly kept their partying outside the hostel, so who am I to complain? My room was quite chilly last night. They don't turn on the heat through the day. This is steam/radiator heat and mine is the farthest room from the heat source, so it was the middle of the night before my room warmed. I added my long undies to my jammies, and I carry a silk sleep sheet--essentially a thin sleeping bag. I brought it in case the beds were not clean, but it also works as a thermal layer. Staying in a hostel is not for those who need luxuries like heat and privacy! By this morning my room was toasty. Today I toured the Jewish Quarter, Josefov. For centuries Prague Jews were confined to ghettos and suffered from oppressive laws. In Prague, when Jews left the ghetto, they were required to wear a yellow hat. At first a mark of shame, they redefined it as a mark of distinction and used it in banners and symbols. Discrimination is particularly relaxed in 1784 by Joseph II, and the Jewish Quarter was named Josefov after him. In 1890s, the overcrowded slums of the ghetto were razed. City authorities installed basic sanitation, but almost all thr building were demolished. Only the town hall (unusual for a Jewish quarter), cemetery and some of the synagogues were saved. The Jewish community of Prague was decimated during the Holocaust, so it was fitting that I started my tour at the Pinkas Synagogue. It's walls are covered with the names of the Czech Jews who died, along with their birthdates and the last known date they were alive--usually the date of their transportation to a death camp. Under Soviet control, the names were painted over, but after 1989 they were once again handwritten. The names are continuously read aloud. Upstairs is a display of drawings from the children sent to Terezin. Next stop was the Old Jewish Cemetery. This was established in first half of the 15th Century and was the only place that Jews could be buried. An estimated 12,000 tombstones are crowded together, but the number buried there is much higher, as at least 12 layers of bodies are stacked one top of each other. The level kept being raised over the years, though the stone were always lifted up. It had a very hard time making out any of the tombstones and there were only two tombs that were marked. Next was the Klausen Synagogue, which now houses an exhibit of Jewish customs. The Ceremonial Hall looks like a tiny medieval castle. It is alongside the cemetery and houses an interesting exhibit on death and burial customs. The Old-New Synagogue was build around 1270 and is the oldest in Europe. The exterior is a distinctive 14th century stepped brick. Services are still held here. The last two synagogues contain silver and some gold treasures from all over Bohemia and Moravia. Many of these amazing pieces were saved by the Nazis who planned to open a museum to a dead race once all the Jews had been exterminated. These treasures are housed in the Maisel and Spanish synagogues. The latter is an amazing, Moorish style, said to resemble the Alhambra in Spain. It is the most beautiful of them all. For lunch, between synagogues, I stopped at the U Golem, at Golem--the mythical creature created by Rabbi Low to protect the quarter at night. The restaurant is small but quite fancy. I was not really hungry, but had some gluwein (mulled wine) and soup. Service is slow, but the food always arrives too hot to eat or drink and with fresh bread. The restaurant is lovely with old bottles of wine, brass candlesticks. But the music is The Best of the Mamas and the Papas. An Italian family came in shortly after me. Why am I not surprised that the only Italian I can remember involves food? I perfectly understood their order! In case of a food ordering emergency in Italy, I am prepared! As I left U Golem, they were playing the song "Love grows where my Rosemary Goes". I think that was popular the year I first attended Girl Scout camp. It seems so out of place here, but most of the music I hear is American or at least English lyrics. With the rebuilding of the Jewish Quarter at the turn of the 20ith century, most of the buildings are Art Nouveau. But there are also a few examples of Cubist architecture, a fashion that didn't become popular much of anywhere else. Still it is a beautiful area and many of my photos are just lovely building facades. Speaking of photos, the ones I took today in the Jewish Quarter are stolen. "No Photo" signs are everywhere. I turned off the flash and took a few, but not all will come out, I'm sure. 7pm DinnerI've just had a wonderful potato soup--the secret is always garlic, lots of garlic. And I have learned to say "prosim ucet" (PRO seem OO chet) Check, please. I've gotten better about checking the bill (today I was "accidentally" charged for something). I find that you are often charged for service, so I don't add a tip. This language would be much more difficult to learn than Spanish or Italian. I think I have the coins figured out, but it would take years to learn the language. But I don't have all the map figured out. I guess I had not had enough adventure this evening because I managed to get myself lost. I took a wrong turn and ended up by the Vltava River in front of the National Theater. It is an amazing building and I'd love to see it from the river, but there are few boat cruises this time of year. I could also see Prague Castle across the water and just make out St. Vitus' Cathedral in the dark. It was raining, no moon visible so the photo won't come out. If I had a tripod, this would be the best view of the castle at night. At this point I really *should* have pulled out my map. It was dark. It was raining. I was lost, mostly. Instead I got on a tram, and in 3 stops I was really lost! So I did pull out a map, figured where I was, found a Metro stop and made it back. And I got milk and snacks for tomorrow. But I'm not sure what I'm doing tomorrow. I planned to go to Kutna Hora (a mining town) and ossuary (sort of a wild bone church) but the tour doesn't run this time of year. But my guide book has a walk along Vysehrad, according to legend the first seat of Czech Royalty. I can see the spot where Princess Libuse is said to have seen the future glory of Prague! How could I miss all that? Another adventure tomorrow!