We picked up where we left off: Stop #5, the Chevrei Hadisha (burial society). A relatively small exhibit with lots of stairs. Though it seemed like every tour group in creation just decided to show up. There were people yesterday, but today everything was mobbed.
I did like the stained glass windows and the view of the cemetery next door. Plus there was a nice breeze at the windows, the only place there was moving air in the entire building.
Next stop - the Alt Neu Shul (Old New Synagogue). There were at least 3 different explanations as to why it's called that. It all reminded me of how I think of Yankee Stadium: the Old Old Yankee Stadium (was there once or twice), the Old New Yankee Stadium (definitely there a couple of times), and now of course the New New Yankee Stadium (not currently on the list).
Anyway, of all the historic synagogues, it was the only one that is regularly active as a synagogue. It is the center of the Jewish community in Prague. The entrance is below ground.
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| Alt Neu Shul Bima |
The women's section is not the more typical balcony - the women are behind a solid wall with small peep holes into the main sanctuary. I cannot imagine what they can hear of the service.
The audio guide kept referring to something called a "nave" - I know what that is in a church. I couldn't quite figure out what it was referring to in the synagogue. The Torah reading table, maybe?
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| Alt Neu Shul Torah Reading Table |
The Spanish Synagogue is the last on the list. It feels like there's a Moorish influence, though it was built long after the Moorish period in Spain had come and gone.
Andy's panorama photo from the original women's section up in the balcony is the best:
Though we were done with synagogues, we listened to the audio guide's explanation of the Golem legend. It's a fun story - we could all use a Golem to do stuff we don't want to do, right?
After turning in the audio guide back at the Maisel Synagogue and taking the opportunity to sit in the shade on a real bench, we decided to get something light to eat at the Restaurant U Golema next door.
Bathroom story for the day: we're done with our meal and ready to go, and of course I'm going to take advantage of the free bathroom. The lights are on a motion sensor, which is fine. Except that the lights go out if I don't move for literally 2 seconds. Some things take longer than 2 seconds in a bathroom. I was constantly flapping my hands to get the light to come on, and then it'd go right out again. Figuring out how to get the toilet paper out of the holder became a serious challenge - I finally resorted to using the flashlight on my phone. I was beginning to wonder if the Golem was loose.
We decided we were going to tackle the traditional walk across the Charles Bridge. In theory only about 10 minutes away, with the heat and the amazing throngs of people everywhere, it took a bit longer than that.
Some really interesting (?) statues of saints all along the bridge, plus vendors, and some performance artists - it reminded me of Las Ramblas in Barcelona and/or the Rialto in Venice.
It's not clear what's happening here:
Or here:
Oh yes, and this:
This young woman is holding an albino ball python. Very nice critter. Small - not even 10 feet long!
Once on the other side of the bridge, it was time to head back to the hotel in theory to meet for a walk at 5:30. The walking part was looking more doubtful, but we wanted to at least maybe meet some of the people in our group. To get back in any kind of a reasonable time frame would require Uber, of course, but the tight streets around the bridge and the castle made that a bit of a challenge. We almost lost our driver due to the confusion as to where to meet him, but it all worked out.
We found Bennie in the main lobby talking to new comers. We asked about tonight's "walk" - it's only to the new town square, where we had dinner our first night here. Really not worth the energy.
At the moment we're contemplating going to dinner. Tonight is a full lunar eclipse - we might head up to the club on the roof to watch.
Tomorrow: we meet the rest of the group on the Panoramic Tour of Prague.
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