Wednesday, 5/25

Our guide, Marketa, picked us up at 10 A.M.  We walked into the old Jewish Section, and began the tour in the Spanish Synagogue, the same place we heard the concert. We visited a number of old synagogues, and places I didn't feel comfortable taking pictures. So I'll pass along a few thoughts, and call it good.

Marketa told us that Czech people are typically not religious, but are interested in things spiritual (like magic, astrology, numerology, etc.). She attributes this characteristic to the general resentment of the Hapsburgs (the longtime rulers), and their strict Catholicism. And then when Hapsburg rule ended, the religious repression under the Communist regime kept people from practicing any religion. Another point she made is that the Czech people were not anti-Semites. 

It was Marketa's contention that those two points actually made things worse for Czech Jews just prior to WWII.  According to her, many of the Jews were not very religious, but were quite assimilated, and identified more as Czechs than Jews. So they were unable to comprehend the seriousness of their plight. I'll probably learn more when we visit Terezin.

We visited the cemetery, last used in 1906. They actually ran out of space centuries ago, and began covering over old graves with more layers of dirt and new graves. It's as few as six and as many as twelve layers. They just leaned the markers of the lower level graves against the new ones. 

We found a Cohon.

Here's a work by a Jewish sculptor installed in the Municiple Building. It is inspired by the books burned by the Nazis.

There's a mirror on the floor and another on the ceiling, making the tower of books appear endless.

We arranged a boat outing for later in the day, and Rebecca and I decided to walk to the place on the river that we were to meet the guy with the boat. The landmark was the Dancing Building. It's a Frank Gehry work (he's the architect of the EMP in Seattle Center). It's nicknamed "Fred and Ginger."

The boat tour was different from others I've taken because the language barrier meant that we were provided no tour commentary. It was peaceful and pretty. Smetana's Ma Vlast (Moldau) was running through my head. 

Here are some pics.

We walked back toward the old square, past the National Theater.

After our dinner, Rebecca wanted to try a Czech favorite - trdelnik. I think it means chimney. Anyway, they make them over charcoal, and serve them warm. They have different varieties, some with fruit, some with sugar, some with whipped cream, and even some with ice cream (a modern adaptation). Here's Rebecca enjoying one, while more are cooking next to her.