So today is the last day of my Prague trip and I really want to get a ton of stuff done and make use of the last day. Unfortunately my feet are not cooperating with me. My blisters have blisters and my feet are killing me. I figure that maybe it's time to retire these Europe walking shoes and shop for some new ones. Especially since I have an Italy trip in March and I'm told there are cobblestones there. Unless I get my friends to take turns carrying me around in a chariot, I guess I'll be shopping for some new shoes!
The first thing this morning (after my complimentary Marriott breakfast) is to head out toward the Jewish center of the city. I have said it before but I'll say it again: I really love a city in the morning. Before all the tourists get up after their drunk nights and when the city is just waking up: it really is a lovely sight. You get to see people just walking to work, there are no crowds and it seems like the city is all to yourself. Granted it's colder but I just love the quiet.
So off to the Jewish Quarter. This is the site of the former Jewish Ghetto. There is a tour you can take with one ticket and you see the Pinkas Synagogue, the old Jewish cemetary, the Ceremonial Hall and a couple other synagogues. Pictures are only allowed in the cemetary and the cost of the ticket is 300 KC.
The Pinkas Synagogue dates from the 1500's and after WWII, the names of 77,297 Czech Jews who perished in the Nazi concentration camps are painted ont he walls. This includes the names of former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's paternal grandparents. It is a small but lovely quiet building and you can feel the revernence in this holy place.
After that you proceed outside to the old Jewish Cemetary. It is the Prague's oldest surviving Jewish burial ground and dates to the middle of the 15th century. At the time local laws prohibited Jews from burying their dead outside the ghetto so there are some 12,000 visible tombstones and thousands of more bodies stacke dup in 12 to 15 layers below. It really is incredible.
After visiting the other parts of the Jewish area, I headed just a street over to the Prague Museum of Decorative Arts. This is a cute little museum that has so many things to look at, you kind of get overwhelmed. 120 KC for the ticket. They have applied arts from the 16th to the 20 century, including textiiles, clocks, glassware and posters. It's a great little museum that I found on TA as well as my guidebook but folks I talked to on the trip were not aware of it at all. I think it's one of those "hidden gems".
From there (after a quick cappuchino break at the museum cafe), I headed back towards the Charles Bridge. I felt that I didn't get to see as much of the other side of the river (The Lesser Town: Mala Strana). It was crazy cold out (even more so at the river) but that didn't stop the crowds from being there. After crossing the bridge, I was able to check out the St. Nicholas Church as well as a lovely walk down some tiny, historic streets.
One of the streets (Nerudova) is lined with stunning houses and palaces, and many of them are either embassies or restaurants. They still bear the signs of the "house name/number" that was used before the more modern "house numbers" we use today. For example there is the House of the Three Fiddles, which is at house # 12. So cool. I want my new house to have three fiddles on it. Even if I don't play the fiddle.
The house shown below is the the Schoenorn Palace, which is the home of the U.S. Embassy. Guidebook says that the U.S. bought the property in 1925 for $117,000. Wonder what it is worth today???
The remainde of the day was pretty much spent just walking around (or hobbling around) looking at people and places. I did have a great lunch of street food of hot wine and sausage near the Old Town area. It was amazing and perfect for the cold weather.
Additionally, I found a Mexican/Spanish restaurant during my walk and I was so amused at the thought of the Czechs having a Mexican restaurant that I had to take a pic. I mean it is pretty clear that everyone the world over loves burritos. Who doesn't??
All in all this was a great trip. Will probably post one more post to describe some "loose ends" that I haven't mentioned. It was an amazing trip, even with the blisters and cold weather!
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