Prague - Day 2

After another great breakfast this morning, we decided to start our 2nd day in Prague visiting the Jewish Quarter and then finish off with a visit to the Little Quarter.

Jeff first wanted to get in a little shopping at some stores he saw that were closed yesterday.  One of the things Prague is famous for are marionettes and one got purchased.  Shipping for some reason is very expensive here, so our tour guide suggested waiting until Budapest and she will arrange for it then.

Some of the sights we saw on our way to the Jewish Quarter.

History time.  The Republic of Czechoslovakia was created after WWI after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire.  The republic was occupied by Germany in WWII.  After liberation by the Soviets and Americans, 3 million German-speaking Czechs were expelled from the country.

The Communists won the 1946 elections and in 1948's coup d'etat, the country became a single-party Communist state.  In 1989's Velvet Revolution, communism collapsed and the country became democratic again.  In 1993, Czechoslovakia dissolved peacefully into two independent countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Whew.

So as you can imagine, it was not easy being Jewish in Prague with all this turmoil.  In fact, it wasn't until 1848 that Jews received confirmation of their equality with the rest of the population. During WWII, 46,000 Jewish citizens were deported to Terezin and other concentration camps where most perished.  It was difficult to bring back the community to life in light of the Communist take-over and the anti-Semitic environment.  It is only recently, that renewal has emerged.

The Maisel Synagogue was originally the private synagogue of Mayor Mordecai Maisel (yes, he was Mayor....too long of a story, back in the 1500's).  It was the most lavish and largest synagogue of the the then Prague ghetto.  It now features an exhibiton of the history of Jews in Czech lands from the earliest times through enlightenment.

Tauck would be taking us to see more of the Jewish Quarter tomorrow, so we crossed over the river to the Little Quarter to visit the Waldstein Garden and Palace (my guide book said it was called the Wallenstein Garden but the signs at garden clearly say Waldstein).

The Palace is where the Czech senate resides and is closed to visitors on weekdays.  So we enjoyed the gardens.

On the way to our next stop, I noticed the below statue.  I love the expression on the deer.  It reminds me of one of those New Yorker cartoons were you are supposed to come up with a witty caption for the cartoon bubble.

Our last stop was at the Church of St. Nicholas.

At 5:30PM, our tour with Tauck officially began.  They sent mini-buses for us to take us to the Prague Castle area for a visit and dinner at the Lobkowicz Palace.

The current Prince's son was born in Boston while his family was exiled during WWII and then the soviet era.  When communism fell, the son returned to claim, allowed by law, his families castles and artwork.

We were greeted in one of the Palace's salons with wine from the Lobkowicz vineyards and then escorted to chairs to listen to a history of the Palace and the family by the family curator.  Then we were taken into a ballroom for a three course dinner with a violin quartet playing softly in the background.

After dinner, we were allowed to visit the museum displaying family history back to the 1500's.  One of their ancestors was Beethoven's patron.  He funded Beethoven so that Beethoven could concentrate on his music and not worry about how he would pay his bills.  Some of the things Beethoven wrote during this period was Beethoven's 5th and his Eroica Symphony.  The museum has first edition copies of the the symphonies with Beethoven's annotations.  Absolutely amazing!!!! 

View from our dinner table

Quartet serenaded us during our meal

Quite a day.

Goodnight.