Luckily breakfast was included with my hotel booking so I didn't have to worry about it. I ate breakfast and caught up on the real news and celeb news on my iPad and set out on my way. I had scheduled a walking tour of the Jewish section of Prague which I had heard was a must and I was looking forward to it. I was early to the meeting point (of course I was) because I wasn't totally sure where it was and left enough time in case I got lost. I luckily found it right away and was so early I got to walk around the area a bit. There happened to be a farmers market going on around the corner that I hit up. They had all kinds of fruits and veggies, baked goods, and crafts. My friend had told me that Prague had some good farmers markets so I was so glad I found one. I bought myself some fresh squeezed watermelon juice (even though I had three big slices at breakfast) that tasted exactly like Juice Press so I know it was the real deal. And the best part was, it cost only 30 Czech dollars which is a little over an American dollar. I def knew I wanted another one after the tour (but then I forgot). It was so yummy! Everyone else around me at the market was drinking beer, as seems to be the case in all of Europe no matter what the time. It amazes me.
When I met up with the group for the Jewish tour, it was a small group of like 14 people. One of the women who is Argentinian but lives in Paris asked where I was from and when I said Chicago she told me she had family in Northbrook. Small freaking world. How random is that? She even sent her son there one summer and he went to Apache. Too funny! But what was annoying about this is that it was in English and Spanish so for the one family that didn't speak English, she had to translate everything. It made the tour much longer (almost twice as long) than it needed to be. Annoying.
The first stop on the tour was the Źidovské (Jewish) museum. It was a memorial museum to all those Czech Jews killed during the holocaust. The entire museum had the names of all those who perished on the walls. And there were just names and names and names. It's truly horrifying. And so sad. Upstairs there was an exhibition of drawings displayed that had been found after the war that children who were in the Terezín camp had made. Many children had died at Terezín or at the death camps they were sent to from there. Sometimes it's really hard for me to look at this kind of stuff because it's so depressing and sad but it's important to remember and learn as much as I can.
Right outside in the back of the museum is the Jewish Cemetery. There are 12,000 headstones here and they are all so unorganized and crooked and fallen. I was shocked there were headstones because I thought that Jews didn't use headstones. I had thought we only used the gravestones on the ground (not standing up). I guess I was wrong. No one knows exactly how many bodies are actually buried here because they are stacked on each other underground. This cemetery, like every Jewish cemetery (which I learned today) is surrounded by a wall. Also, something I found interesting and that was also new to me was that before we left the cemetery, there was a built in faucet for everyone to wash the death off their hands and immediately leave. I didn't know this was tradition either but I was happy to oblige because I am superstitious like that as well, so I was eager to wash the death off before I left.
Next up was Klausová Synogoga. It is now a museum and not a functioning synagogue. At this point on the tour, I was getting very bored by the slow pace and the constant stopping to translate in Spanish. There should have been two separate tours because it really added length and frustration to this tour. I could have gone in, done a lap with some info and been done.
Finally, the last stop in the tour was the Spanish synagogue. On our way there, we were shown the Staronová synagogue but couldn't go inside because it was a Hasidic temple. But we did see it and get some information before going to the Spanish synagogue. This synagogue had beautiful stained class and a lovely ceiling and is still functional. As soon as the tour was over, I booked out of there. It was such interesting information and something I'm actually interested in but the pace was just too slow for me. Getting a good tour guide is so hit or miss and you never know but I'm glad I finally got to see something other than a cathedral. It was nice to learn about my religious history a bit. Don't get me wrong, all the cathedrals I saw were fantastic, but I have little to no knowledge about them or that religion.
I was so hungry (probably more on the hangry side actually) by the time the tour completed so I stopped at a street kiosk and got a Turkish chicken sandwich. It was freaking delicious. It had yummy Turkish bread with chicken, veggies, and a great tzatziki sauce. It was filling and tasted great and I was totally satisfied. I also got more Czech cash and also downloaded a currency converter on my phone so I can at least know how much I'm spending. It's probably a good thing to know I would know.
Once I was fed and happy again, I set out with the goal of Prague Castle and The John Lennon wall. This meant I would have to cross the Charles Bridge again. I knew the Lennon Wall was right around the other side of the bridge because I had asked the front desk guy where it was located. Once on the other side I asked for directions again and it was so easy to get to crossing a little bridge with cute locks and found it right away. It was very cool! I love street art so this is just the epitome of that. It's super-famous- awesome street art. There was a guy playing Beatles songs on a guitar, kind of like people do in Strawberry Fields in Central Park. If I had known where it was this morning I for sure would have gone, but now that I know, I want to go back tomorrow morning in my run and get a full picture with no one else around. It shouldn't be crowded at all and hopefully I can get a panoramic of the whole thing without any other tourist. Geez, tourists are the worst. Sigh.
I successfully made my way on foot to the castle. It was a full uphill walk the entire way but once I made it up top, the views of the city were spectacular. Prague castle isn't just a huge castle, it's full grounds with a palace and a church too. I just walked the grounds because I didn't have the patience to go inside and tour. If I change my mind I can always go back, but for now, I'm good. It started thundering and drizzling a bit so I headed back to the hotel. I came out a different way than I came in so I was confused how to get back, but to my surprise and happiness, I figured it out myself. No map and no asking anyone!! Woot woot. My legs were tired and I was getting rained on so I wanted to rest a bit before going back on the town. After about an hour of watching tv, I headed back out to walk around. I had another destination in mind but it was a it's the bridge so I am saving it for tomorrow after Terezín. So instead, I walked around a little bit more, people watched, and shopped. I mean, what would happen if there was actually a Nike store I didn't go in?!?! Ahhhhh. I can't help myself.
Since the area I'm staying in is such a tourist trap with less than mediocre restaurants and most menu with Czech food or Italian, nothing seemed appealing to me. I ended up getting some fried potatoes (that came with tarter sauce btw) from a Czech chain. I didn't know what else I felt like so got some ice cream and called that my fat-ass dinner. I'm really missing a nice big salad! Have I mentioned that in previous posts? Yes, yes I have. I want a big salad!!!! Soon enough. I ended up going out later and getting a snack but still felt gross. I looked in my travel book and am going to try and find this recommended Italian place tomorrow if I can.
Today was definitely a productive day and I felt that I covered a lot of ground and walked a ton. I'm still a bit nervous to veer too far off what is familiar because I don't want to get lost but as I walk around more, I'm hoping to go off the beaten path a little. I did that a little today on my run and will keep doing so bit by bit over the next two days. Ah, all I have left on this amazing vacay is two days. Noooo. I want to keep traveling and traveling and seeing as much as I can! I'm already thinking about planning a little weekend getaway soon for this summer and really thinking about the plan will be for next summer. But without jumping too far ahead, I am going to focus on getting the best out of these last two days.
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