August 16
*Today Radka took us on a tour of the Jewish quarter. We went to the Jewish Museum where there was a large memorial for all of the Jewish victims from Prague that perished during World War II. There was also a display upstairs of kids’ drawings during Nazi occupation. It was heartbreaking to see the loss of innocence in the drawings as kids were dealing with unthinkable things. The old cemetery was very different from any cemetery I’ve seen. It was hilly with headstones crowded together, falling over one another. About all of the tombstones had little pebbles resting on them, which is a way for people to remember those who have passed on. We then went to see the Spanish Synagogue, which was absolutely beautiful. The whole place is full of gold and rich colors and the synagogue encompasses part of the Jewish Museum, which gives a clear look at the Jewish history of Prague and focuses on the many successful Jews that have come from the city, such as writer Franz Kafka.* After the tour I went to check out the Museum of Communism, which is ironically located next door to a McDonald’s. It’s a pretty small museum but it is packed with some punch. It’s mostly a display of pictures and Communist propaganda, arranged to look like what a home or grocery store looked like behind the Iron Curtain. Most chilling, though, and certainly eye opening is the video that plays real news clips of the riots leading to the Velvet Revolution. Seeing that made me a bit more understanding when walking by Havel’s room at the hostel that night.
* Another highlight of the day was watching a football match in a local pub. I love how watching sports in Europe is a community event, and it’s even a big deal for games that are played just for fun. We were just watching a ‘friendly’ match of England vs. Greece, yet the place was packed and here we were in Prague. I love how Europe acts like one big dysfunctional family.
posted by lauREN @ 9/11/2006
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home