Sep 30 (Wed.) - Prague

We started the day by taking care of business. Took the metro over to Florenc bus station to buy our tickets for Friday morning. In addition to guaranteeing our seats, we have had a dry run at getting to the terminal for timing purposes.

We then took the metro over to Josefov, Prague's historic Jewish quarter. The tour of the 'museum' (actually 6 different venues) did an excellent job of covering not only the history of Jews in Cz but also the fundamentals of rituals from birth to death.

Especially poignant was the Pinkas Synagogue, now a memorial to the victims of the Nazis. Names and hometowns cover the walls while a cantor recites the names, interspersed with prayers. Upstairs are drawings by the children of Terezin, the camp to which they were shipped before being sent east as part of the 'ultimate solution'. Efforts by the elders to shield the children from the awful realities of their situation brought back memories of Robert Begnini's It's A Beautiful Life as well as the concentration camp at Mauthausen we visited a couple of years ago. Very sad.

[=Note: the info at each of the displays is excellent. However many are in small print and poorly lit so don't forget your penlight in your lodgings, like I did]



The Spanish Synagogue, above.



The Old Jewish Cemetary - 12,000 gravestones packed and stacked into a small area.

One of the dreams I've had for Prague since seeing the movie 'Amadeus' was to see Don Giovanni presented here in the Estates Theatre where Mozart himself had directed its premiere (to the residents of Prague's eternal pride).


Statue commemorating the premiere of DG in October 1787.


Though I will get to attend a performance of DG in Prague (tomorrow), it will not be in the ET. Nor will I get to attend a performance a performance of any kind in the ET as it is fully booked.

-- Post From My iPhone