Prague Day 2

We had another packed day and walked 6.5 miles around Prague. We started the day with breakfast in a really cute café then went up to the National Theatre. Along the way we saw Kranner's fountain, is a neo-Gothic monument on the Smenata enbankment designed by the architect Josef Kranner and the allegorical sculptures were made by Josef Max.

Rudolfinum

Pinkas Synagogue wall

Next we went to the Rudolfinum, a concert venue built in 1876, and bought tickets to see a concert of Mozart, Bach and more, which we are doing Monday night. After buying the tickets, we went to the Jewish Quarter. We visited the Pinkas Synagogue, founded in 1479, where they have inscribed the names of the 77,297 Jewish Czechoslovak citizens who were deported to various extermination camps and did not return. It was a very sobering experience, especially when we saw the name Kuhn on the wall.


Old-New Synagogue

After the Pinkas, we went to the Old Jewish Cemetery, a place that was the only burial ground permitted to Jews for 300 years. You can see over 12,000 gravestones packed into this area but several times that number are thought to be buried there. Next was the Old-New Synagogue, built around 1270, is the oldest synagogue in Europe and is still the religious center for Prague's Jewish people today. You can see the chair Rabbi Low sat in, the rabbi who is thought to have created the Golem and later hid him in the rafters of the synagogue.

As we left the Jewish Quarter, we ran into people we knew from Denver Jean Miller and Sue Hartwell! Always entertaining when you are halfway around the world and run into people you know. After seeing them, we went and had beers and snacks in the Old Town Square.




Our Lady before Tyn

In front of the Astronomical Clock in Old Town

The Old Town Square is a beautiful place. There was so much going on - Prague is hosting the IIHF World Championships and they had a big screen set up on the square. We watched the astronomical clock chime 4 - it's a beautiful clock, but kind of creepy when everything starts moving! We had a lot of great picture opportunities on the square and Church of Our Lady before Tyn dominated the skyline.

We wandered around more and found a wine bar. We tried Czech wines and some local brandy. We decided to have a night in and bought bread, cheese, meats and chocolate and drank wine. It was quite delicious!