Day 2

Breakfast buffet at the President hotel was delicious. There was a large assortment of foods to please anyone’s palate. The group was on the bus at 9:00 to meet our guide for the morning tour, Vida Neuwirthova. Although she was a substitute for our scheduled guide, her presentation was enlightening and in her droll manner she had a wonderful sense of humor. Vida shared with us that she learned of her Jewish identity only at age 14. She told of her organization of Jewish children’s puppet theater under Communism (under the guise of cultural education) and her present volunteer position as coordinator of the one Jewish day school and one Jewish afternoon school in Prague.
We crossed the Vlatava River and ascended to the Prague or Hradcany Castle. Outside the gates of the castle, from where Czech leaders ruled for over 1,000 years, was a statue of Tomas Masaryk, the first president of a united Czechoslovakia in 1918. He was a great friend to the Jewish people, and in Israel there are streets, a cafe and a kibbutz named after him. Two soldiers stood at the entrance gate to the Palace in uniforms designed by a movie designer who worked for film director Milos Forman, a friend of the former President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel. On top of the gate are two fighting giants who are there for protection, and to their sides are an eagle and a lion, both national symbols – truly awesome!
Through the entranceway one immediately sees the imposing St Vitus cathedral. This magnificent structure contains tombs and relics of many Hapsburg kings. Although there are still services on Sunday and holidays, our guide told us that the Czech Republic is the most “atheistic” country in Europe. Within the grounds of the castle are other buildings such as the Basilica and Convent of St George and the Lobkowicz Palace. The latter was given back to the Lobkowicz family after the fall of Communism because of their anti-Nazi stance during the WWII.
Walking down from the heights to center city, we appreciated beautiful views of the city and the river. We strolled through a formal garden with an outside exhibit of the liberation of Chechoslovakia at the end of WWII by the Russians and the Americans. Vida told us that during Communist years they were taught in school that only the Russians were liberators. Her father said that he must have been liberated by Russians in American uniforms.
We crossed Charles Bridge which is one of the landmarks of Prague. It is about 500 yards long and is bordered by many statues of saints and religious figures. The two “stand-outs” were (1) statue of the priest who happened to be the queen’s confessor and when asked by the king to reveal he secrets, the priest refused and had his tongue cut out. Today, touching the base of the statue brings one luck, so they say. Some of us tried it. (2) the last statue – one of Jesus, with his crown of thorns surrounded by solid gold letters IN HEBREW spelling Isaiah’s famous quote: kadosh, kadosh, kadosh, Ado-nay tzva’ot shmo”. The story goes that a recalcitrant Jew in the 15th century was punished by having to pay for this golden quote and by living the insult every time a member of the Jewish community looked at the statue. Artists, photographers and crafts people selling their wares along the cobblestone bridge and hub of the city. We were warned to be aware of pick pockets, which are often at this locale. We all arrived at the other side unscathed.
A short distance away from the Bridge, on the corner of the New Town Hall, we stopped to gape at the statue of Rabbi Judah Loeb, 16th century rabbi responsible for creating the famous Golem of Prague. A surprise to all was the naked angel of death (really a beautiful woman) clinging up the side of Rabbi Loeb. Our guide explained that the angel threatened that the rabbi would die if he ceased to study, so he studied day and night. Once while studying the angel in the guise of an alluring woman brought him a rose. He put the rose in water and spelled it, absorbing the poison it held, and then he died. The most amazing aspect of all this is that a statue of a rabbi was erected on a civic building. This is a source of pride for the Jewish community.
We arrived at the Old Town Hall in the Old Town square just before 1:00 p.m. in time to watch the Apostles parade through open windows on the hour atop the Astronomical Clock, along with the immediate community of tourists in Prague on any given day. The bells chimed and a trumpet played its call. A full morning was had by all.
Lunch was a highlight at an authentic Czech restaurant, Mlwjnice, decorated with antiquated farm implements. Most of us were there, with beer, good food (goulash, borsht, gnocchi, roast duck, etc.), and good cheer frozen in time with reciprocal photo-taking throughout the meal. The remainder of the day was free for more sightseeing, shopping or resting.
This evening many of us attended a performance of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni (Don Juan, to our ears) staged by the National Marionette Theater – truly a joy and a delight and not a cultural event indigenous to Rochester, NY.