The funniest thing I’ve heard in days was at the end of one of our tour today when an elderly woman (not middle aged like the rest of us) very carefully took her last step from the tour bus and turned to the guide to give her a tip, and said as if to apologize, “Since this hasn’t been a cruise at all, I’ve gotten very good at getting off buses!”
I just cracked up. We’re so busy trying to pretend that we’re chill with the program, but that plain statement hit the mark. Yep, we’re all good at buses now.
We started with a terrific guide, just 6 of us “sheep” on a small bus to the Jewish Quarter. All kinds of history of why the Jews lived here, when they were completely assimilated. History repeats itself. In one of the museums, there was an animated film that so perfectly captured the feeling of this compact area
In the foreground, with the two steeples, is the church in the old square. Just three buildings behind it is the Pinkas New/Old Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in Europe. It’s the only synagogue with a graveyard attached, one of the oldest in the world. An estimated 100,000 people are buried here. Not very big, but poetically preserved. 12-13 bodies buried one on top of the other there.
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In the foreground with the two steeples is the church in the old square. Just three buildings behind it is the Pinkas New/Old Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in Europe. It’s the only synagogue with a graveyard attached, one of the oldest in the world. An estimated 100,000 people are buried here. Not very big, but poetically preserved. 12-13 bodies are buried one on top of the other there.
Each style of tombstone has an era. The oldest tombstones are flat, rectangles—Gothic era. The pointy, house-shaped tombstones are from the 17th-century Renaissance.
In the evening, we went to a folklore dinner and saw fabulous dancing. The dancers taught us the Mazurka! The musicians were terrific— violin, cimbalon, bass. My favorite thing in Prague so far!
Good night.
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