Prague is an awesome city. We enjoyed it immensely except for the freezing temps even though it was Memorial Day Weekend! Through wind and rain we trudged on to see one of the coolest, evocative cities of Europe. We started out visiting the St. Vitus Cathedral below…..It had the most beautiful stained glass like the one below. It starts with dark colors and becomes lighter toward the center.
The Golden Lane below is a street of old buildings, which originally housed goldsmiths and eventually other tradesman. The houses are built tiny and designed for just one person. They are super fun and cute to see how small everything was and how cramped they lived.
We headed to the Old Town square in Old Town to catch the Astronomical clock going off at noon. Quite beloved by its people the clock has many astronomical symbols. Also in the square is the Tyn Cathedral and a monument to Jan Hus in the form of a large statue in the middle.
There was a festival of dancing taking place for youth. They had the most pretty dresses on !
Day 2: The Charles Bridge: We walked the bridge our first day but were very disappointed with all of the fellow tourists on it. It was not very enjoyable. So Jared and I got up early the 2nd day to go out before everyone else was awake to get some almost people free photos. It is a very interesting and picturesque Bridge which defines the city. It was great having it to ourselves!
Atop the Astronomical Clock Tower, we happened to time it so we were there for its going off at Noon? Anyway I loved this picture of the brightly colored umbrellas of everyone watching and waiting for the Astronomical clock to do its dance!
The Jewish Quarter: To show respect in the first Synagogue we entered, all boys were given a “kippah” or “Yarmulke” (pronounced Yamaka). Out of respect they were expected to wear it. It was a highlight!
Our favorite stop in the Jewish Quarter was definitely this cemetery. From 1439 until 1787, this was the only burial place allowed for the Jews of Prague. Tombs were piled atop each other because of limited space. With its many layers, the cemetery became a small plateau and as things settled over time, the tombstones got crooked. Pebbles on the tombstones are “flowers of the dessert”, reminiscent of the old days when rocks were placed upon the sand gravesite to keep the body covered. There are 12,000 tombstones in the cemetery.
Names of Jews killed in the Holocaust from Prague: of the 120,000 Jews living in the area in 1939, just 10,000 survived the Holocaust to see liberation in 1945. Today only a few thousand Jews remain in Prague.
All through the Jewish Quarter, we looked for Stars of David wherever we could find them. They were everywhere…..ceilings, floors, door handles, rot iron……mosaics in Synagogues etc. It became a game to spot them.
We did not have time to go into all of the synagogues, but we chose this Spanish one and were quite impressed! Gorgeous!
On our way out of Prague the last day we stopped for Gelato and some last pictures of the Tyn Cathedral.
Carter thought this statue looked like he was smoking and couldn’t let it go until I took a photograph.
2 comments:
cool city! Love the picture of the cathedral reflected in the puddle. Creative my friend. You have that photographers eye:)
I know I'm late looking at this -- but it's so fun to see!! Prague is awesome. I'd go back!! Beautiful pictures.
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