Prague

Our train to Prague was old-- a leftover from the days behind the Iron Curtain. On the outside, it looked like World War II vintage. On the inside, there were basically no services. It was a long journey, but we had our own compartment, and that was fun.




We had three days in Prague, and needed every one.




One day we spent exploring the old city, with churches, squares, and lots of shops. We also took a walk across the amazing Charles Bridge, full of religious statues on both sides, lots of street performers, and great views of the city. In the main square there is an astronomical clock, keeping time in different ways. On the hour, the statue of death pulls a chord, the bell rings, the 12 apostles pop out and parade by, and then higher in the tower a man plays a fanfare on the horn while the crowd below cheers.




We also spent a day on the other side of the Charles Bridge, walking up to the Prague castle, St. Vitus Cathedral, and also the nearby Strahov monastery (where we had some soup and beer in their microbrewery).




Another day we spent largely in the Jewish quarter, touring synagogues and the cemetary. It is the best preserved Jewish quarter in all of Europe (in part because Hitler wanted it preserved for historical purposes). Some of the synagogues are still active, while others have been turned into museums. One of them, the Pinkas synagogue, is a memorial to Czech Holocaust victims, with the handwritten names of over 77,000 Czech Jews and a continual musical prayer being offered.




Prague is just an incredibly rich place in all respects. Major religious, political, cultural, and literary history; good food and beer; different types of architecture, including some Art Noveau; a lot of music, traditional crafts, and modern art (the work of Alfons Mucha is everywhere). We easily could have spent a week.




Alas, the time ran out, and we caught a snazzy modern train to Vienna.