Prague

Here is a preliminary summary of our trip:

1: time an Asian tourist wanted to take a picture with us (probably because we're Jewish?)
2: number of shows (one opera, one ballet)
3: cities (Prague, Budapest, Vienna), all with fantastic transportation
4: pairs of shoes I wore
5: palaces we toured
6: kosher restaurants
7: times Scott got mad at me for taking too many pictures (approximately)

8: days

9: nights
10+: times I tripped over nothing

If I split up the cities, this job seems much more manageable. We visited Prague first.

So, Prague. We arrived in Prague around 10am.. to rain. We took a bus to a train to our hotel. We had a great location, a little bit outside the Old Town, one of the main areas of the city, and the location of the Jewish Quarter. I'm pretty sure we had the biggest room, and definitely the only one with a balcony.

Prague is a cute, colorful city. It has a bit of a medieval feel with the architecture of the buildings and the cobblestone streets. We planned to start in the Castle Quarter across the river, but on the way, we passed some nice streets (first below) and Old Town Square (next three). Scott kept wanting it to be called Prague Square, but... it's not.

By this time, Scott had already become annoyed that I was stopping to take so many pictures. Which was really counterproductive, because then he just walked into my picture and I had to take it a second time. Ironically, the reason he was getting annoyed was the same as the reason I felt obligated to take so many pictures. We only had until 6pm or so to do our activities before yom tov (holiday) started and we had to be back at the hotel. In addition to being in a rush, we planned only to spend three days in Prague, the next two of which were yom tov, meaning I couldn't take pictures after that first day.

On the way to the Castle Quarter, we also stumbled upon the Parliament building. Unfortunately they didn't think to pave the pathways.

On the way up to the castle we saw some more cute streets and saw a beautiful view of the city:

Finally arrived at the castle, winded of course. The first picture shows part of the complex. The second picture is an awesome ceiling inside, where coronations were held in the 15th century. We weren't supposed to take pictures, thus the lack of artistry. I failed to capture its beauty.

On the way down from the castle, some more nice views:

We had a couple of hours before yom tov, so we took a river cruise:

Looks like another passenger took the picture for us right? Oh wait.. there were no other passengers.

Above is the castle, from the bottom of the hill.

After the cruise, we were in a rush, per usual erev (afternoon before) shabbat or yom tov. We had to go check into the restaurant at which we would be eating our holiday meals, as well as the synagogue where we would be davening (praying). First, we went to the wrong restaurant. Then, we realized the restaurant wasn't labeled. We stood outside, thinking about how to get in, when out of nowhere, a young Israeli, clearly a plain clothes security guard, showed up. He started to tell us this is not Israel, you can't just show up somewhere on a Sunday and get in. We explained that we had contacted the restaurant beforehand and made reservations (for which the restaurant required references). After some questioning, he let us in.

The restaurant was next door to the shul, and luckily involved the same security. So, thank G-d, everything worked out.

Praying at that shul was special. It dates back to 1270, and as such is the oldest continuously used synagogue in the world. It's also a major tourist attraction, closed on shabbat and yom tov. Except to some random tourists security let in as we prayed. Surely with plenty of questioning. In addition to the shul's security, there were constantly a couple of state policemen with machine guns hanging around outside the shul and next door community center (that held the restaurant). As we later saw, this is common in central Europe.

Over yom tov, we walked. A lot. We walked around the Jewish quarter, all around New Town, across the famous Charles bridge, back up the hill next to the Castle Quarter, and around the castle to the other side. Sadly, no pictures to document.

When yom tov ended at sundown on the third day, we had a few hours left in Prague before our night train to Budapest. Here are some pictures of Old Town Square (aka Prague Square, to Scott) at night:

First, we went to the Communist Museum, which was above a McDonald's and shared an entrance with a casino. But the museum was very informative. And finally, Scott found a great, really old (400 years?) beer hall (U Medvidku). It makes this beer called X-33, which, I have to admit, was good. And, as you all know, I don't like beer.

That pretty much sums up Prague.