Josefov - Prague's Jewish Quarter

The cemetery in Prague's Jewish Quarter.

With winding narrow streets and a wide array of interesting buildings, Europe's most well-preserved Jewish ghetto is by far one of the most interesting things to see in Prague. With six synagogues and arguably the most impressive cemetery of its kind, this collection of historic sites lies in the very heart of Prague and the Czech Republic, both physically and symbolically. The first establishment of Jews in this area of Prague goes back to the 13th century, when they were ordered to leave their homes and settle down in a single, concentrated place. The main landmarks that should be seen in this large complex are the cemetery shown above, the Spanish Synagogue, and the Pinkas Synagogue. Even though I did not have a chance to visit it, I have heard that the Old-New Synagogue is also worth a visit due to its impressive Gothic architecture and its significance as the religious center for Prague's Jewish community.

The cemetery, which is part of the Jewish Museum, has over 12,000 visible tombstones, yet has an estimated 100,000 buried. The ramshackle way in which the graves are arranged adds even more to the intrigue of this site which was even spared by the Nazi occupation in order to keep it as a future museum of an "extinct culture". 

Unfortunately, photography was prohibited inside of the synagogues, so here goes another picture of the cemetery.

The Spanish Synagogue is also a must-see. Some even call it the most beautiful synagogue in all of Europe. With an almost Islamic architectural style, this synagogue truly stands out. But regardless of what others may say, my favorite synagogue to visit has to be the Pinkas Synagogue. It is remarkable in that it is home to about 80,000 inscriptions of the names of the Czech victims of the Holocaust. Sorted first by town, then by last name, and lastly by first name, it is amazing to see how many people within certain families were victim to this terrible event. The way in which all the writings on the walls look like golden paint from a distance really makes you think about the enormous number of people that died. 

A statue of Frank Kafka outside of the Jewish Museum. 

Dinner at a Traditional Czech Restaurant

A week ago, I went to Prague to meet up with my mom, sister, and brother - who was on a school band trip. For the first day there, my mother and sister and I did the typical tourist itinerary for Prague, but the second day, we tagged along with my brother's band group, which gave us some time in downtown Prague in the morning, then took us to the cultural center outside of Prague where they were going to perform. The concert went well, and afterwards, they took us to a typical Czech restaurant in the Prague suburbs.

This sort of Bohemian bagpipe is made out of a rabbit.

I thought that it was pretty insane to expect a group of 50 people to fit in just about any European restaurant, but this establishment was ample enough for all of us, plus a large group of about 25 Japanese tourists. Right from the start, I could tell that this probably was not the way Czech people ate on a daily basis, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Inside there were many large, long tables and on one cleared end of the room, there was a musical trio playing traditional Bohemian music and a lady dressed in traditional garb singing in pitches higher than I knew existed.

They came around serving everybody some dumplings with cabbage and onions, while the singing lady entertained us for a good amount of time. The second plate was skewered meat flavored with lots of paprika and other Central European spices. By now, the singing lady had already stepped off the stage, being substituted by a dancing Gypsy couple. They were a very lively act, and even invited some of the audience to go up on stage with them. The victims included many students, the band director, some elderly Japanese women, and other miscellaneous guests. This is when the singing lady came back and got everybody moving.

My brother dancing with the Gypsy.

After finishing off our appetites with dessert and coffee, some of the musicians started going around the room with all sorts of instruments I had never seen, such as the bagpipe above. After about an hour of reveling, we finally went back to the hotel.

Even though this probably did not give us an accurate view of daily life in the Czech Republic, it was definitely a good time and certainly something I would recommend to future visitors.

Picture of the Week: Prague Early in the Morning from the Karlův most

Czech out that sun!