Off to Poland

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well i managed to get another couple of hours sleep early this morning before breakfast. went back to bed around 430 till about 7. i am going to be messed up for the next few days, but at least i got lots of sleep last night before, what i presume, will be a pretty sleepless night tonight. had the breakfast at the hotel again, and as usual, stuffed myself and my man-bag with pastries.

anyways, packed up slowly this morning and hung around till checkout time around noon, then dropped my bags in the hotel luggage room for the day. Went to the Jewish Quarter to see the sights there. expensive though, 480 koruna (25 bucks) to see a few synagogues, the old jewish cemetery and a few associated buildings. the first synagogue i saw was the Pinkas. in that one they've got the names of some 80 000 jews who were sent to gas chambers in auschwitz and others during the holocaust. quite moving really, while overhead someone is reading out all the names between some mournful music. then off through the cemetery.

for over 300 years (15-18th centuries i think) the jews were only allowed to bury their dead in one small area. so it obviously got pretty full. they just kept adding layers and packing in more and more. nowadays the ground has settled, and there are thousands of tombstones packed in leaning every which way. i managed to get some pictures, even though they try to make you buy a "permit" for a couple of dollars just to take some photos.

after that into the ceremonial hall for purification of the dead. they had certain people as part of a kindof burial committee that oversaw the preparations from something like Last Rites, to preparing the body, making the casket, performing the ceremony, and consoling the dead.

then on to the klaus synagogue. it had lots of exhibits explaining jewish faith, rituals, holidays and so on. was kindof interesting since i recall learning next to zilch about this in school, and didn't really have much opportunity for jewish friends in newfoundland! circumcisions, bar/bat mitzvahs, weddings, kosher food, burials/grief rituals.... interesting.

then on to the old-new synagogue. its been there since the 1200's - you have to go down steps to get to the main floor because teh street level has risen a few feet in the last 800 years. they even give you your own kippot to wear which i wasn't sure if they meant you HAD to wear it inside, or just for you to take home. so i tried wearing it in there but the damned thing kept falling off. perhaps someone 'upstairs' was trying to tell me something.....

anyways on to the final synagogue, the spanish one. its more modern, and has lots of exhibits on the persecution of jews in the last century leading up to the holocaust. the saddest thing there were all sorts of childrens drawings and letters made in the terezin concentration camp. before they were all killed. pictures of life in the jewish ghettos, of their dying relatives, the horrid conditions, of things like the "opera group" which was formed by teh nazis for propaganda to show the outside world that the ghettos were in the jews best interest. a bit sickening, a bit sad, and a powerful spot.

anyways i was a little jewed out (is that racist?) after spending 2 hours or so at that. so for a little change of pace i headed down to the communism museum, eating my stolen pastries for a snack on the way. i find it hilarious that the communism museum is a floor up from a McDonalds, and shares an entrance with a casino! take that you red bastards!!

anyways, started out with how communism came to the czech republic in the 40's and how it was maintained. i can't remember all the stuff that happened in the long ago, but they did have a great movie at the end with lots of footage from the 80's leading up to the velvet revolution (when the commies finally gave up in '89). police beatings, the squelching of uprisings... it was interesting to see it all happening in places i've been the last few days - dozens of soviet tanks parading down wenceslas square for instance.

when i came out of there it was pouring rain again, as it had been off and on most of the day. so i headed back to the mall for a walk around. i also had to get some more money, as the jewish sites left me with about 3 bucks in czech money to get me through the rest of the day. and i spent half that on an ice cream cone at the mall hehe

was walking back towards the hotel, thinking about supper when i saw signs for a chinese restaurant. so, for the first time since i left home over a week ago, i went into a restaurant and sat down by myself to eat supper. the service was super fast which made me A)thankful i didn't have to sit by myself too long looking like a sad fool and B)skeptical about the quality of the food. however it was delicious. hot and sour soup, and sichuan pork with white rice. and fanta. all for about 12 bucks in the center of tourist heaven so that wasn't too bad.

then took the long way slowly back to the hotel, enjoying the city by night, snapped a few pics (up to 276 now!) and now i'm back in hotel lobby hanging out until its time to leave for the train station. my train is at 9 so i figure i'll leave here 730ish and just walk there. my bag will probably break my back by then but i have nothing else to do and i'm too tired/lazy/disinterested in doing anything else for that hour!

i'm slightly worried about the train tonight, the overnight trains between prague, krakow, and budapest have a bad reputation for theives. i'm going to lock everything as tight as i can, and hope for the best. i have no idea how many people are supposed to be in my compartment (insert memory of not helpful czech railways service lady who spoke minimal english) but i assume for 20 bucks its just a couchette in a 6 person 'room'. i hope so, safety in numbers.

see you in poland.

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Comments

[erin]

Good luck on the train! Sure isn't your man bag like "unstealable?" Pack all the important stuff in there...like Fanta. On a related note, you should do a commercial or something for that man bag, if it is still the same one, cause that's lasted forever.

[Betty]

The dark days of Europe
Hi Jason: Your're reliving some of the dark history of Europe -- interesting and absorbing to see the sites if the dark deeds. Very tragic. Just listening to the testimony of Decker the sole survivor of the helicopter crash --he's very good at recounting the experience. You'll no doubt read the media a/cs. Take care --don't get robbed. Nan