Josefov

Yesterday, we spent the entire morning visiting various synagogues and Jewish museums that stand in what was once the Prague Jewish ghetto, today known as Josefov. The tour consisted of visits to the Old New Synagogue, the Spanish Synagogue, and the old Jewish cemetery.

Our tour guide revealed the history of Jews living in Prague since the early 9th century, and how the Medieval crusades contributed to the construction of Jewish ghettoes across Europe. In 1781, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II emancipated Jews with the Toleration Edict, and in 1850, the Jewish ghetto changed its name to Josefstadt or Joseph's City to reflect the benevolence of the emperor.

From 1893 and 1913, much of the ghetto was demolished in order to remodel the city of Prague, but several synagogues, museums, and the Jewish cemetery were left standing. During World War II, the Nazis planned to demolish the lasting remnants of the old Jewish quarter, but instead allowed several Jews within Prague to maintain the Jewish museum and create a collection of objects belonging to Jews forced to leave or escape Nazi occupation of Bohemia/Czech Republic. Our guide shared several possible rumors about the Nazi reasoning for allowing the Jewish museum to carry on, one being that they would have a museum commemorating an extinct race should they win the war.

The tour was very enlightening and clarified several misconceptions about Judaism such as the difference between the menorah and the chanukiah. The exhibits themselves were also very informative, and it is no surprise then that nearly 5000 tourists visit the Josefov each day.

Tesco Supermarket

I have indirectly mentioned the concept of people watching in several posts from my Prague journey thus far. Photographing strangers is definitely a leap from snapping shots of inanimate objects like cathedrals that cannot chase after you, fist waving in the air, after you shove a camera right up in their face. But that is why anyone can take a photo of a building, and anyone can take a million photos of a building until you decide on one with favorable composition. But with people, sometimes you only have one to three shots to catch emotion, facial expression, eyes open, hands animated, and the presence of personality.

After photographing in the rain, becoming miserable and drenched and cold and grey ourselves, several of us ventured to the notorious underground grocery store, Tesco Supermarket. We descended down an escalator beneath a large department store and found ourselves in an epicurean playground. Aisles upon aisles of fresh vegetables and Czech packaged foodstuffs, along with a large bakery including donuts, and even a section designated for just European wine and beer. All of this just waiting for us underground. Though it was grey above, the colors and scents of Tesco overwhelmed us and we were trapped. In the best way possible, of course.

Here in this place, we began to shop and buy according to the pangs of our stomachs, the loud cries for sustenance. And as Caitlin picked out wine and a loaf of bread and detergent and zucchini, I trailed behind her, holding my camera to my eye, and similarly searched. Caitlin perused the bakery for "the best rolls ever" as per Dennis' recommendation, while I hunted for shots of tiny, elderly Czech women similarly touring the area.

The supermarket became a safari zone. Filled with locals, preoccupied with checking off their grocery lists, it was simple enough to stalk them from aisle to aisle until the desired shot was captured. Thus, while above ground we photographed tourists and their bright, tacky, noticeable umbrellas and yellow slickers, here in the grocery haven, we joined locals and became locals.

Across the River Vltava

After several hours of airborne travel and lingering around airports to catch connecting flights, I finally arrived in Prague on Sunday evening. Barely settling into the apartment, Professor Darling beckoned all of us in the program to join him on a night tour to czech out the city. All bundled up and with camera in hand, several of us decided to brave the cold, the wet, and the grey in order to explore our home for the upcoming month.

We jumped on a tram to Vltavská, then on a metro/subway car until we reached Muzeum, and finally we embarked and began to walk throughout Old Town Prague. The weather quickly bested most of us in the group as we realized that we had not packed for the uncharacteristically cold temperatures, but Darling led us forward and the sights around us slowly improved the mediocre weather.

In Old Town, we passed several lit cathedrals filled with local residents of Prague and global visitors attending Sunday evening mass. Then our group filed beneath the Old Town Bridge Tower, and we found ourselves on a nearly deserted Charles Bridge. Pictured above, the Charles Bridge was constructed from 1357 to 1402 and links two parts of the city across the Vltava River--Old Town and Lesser Town. From the bridge and through the constant rain drizzle, I was able to view an iconic scene of Prague featuring St. Nicholas Church of Lesser Town and Prague Castle. All along the bridge, there are also 30 Baroque statues that honor various saints and serve as ornamentation.

Despite the bitter cold, the unfavorable weather cleared the bridge and much of Old Town Prague, allowing us to walk through the city relatively undisturbed by many of the 8 million tourists who visit each year. I am looking forward to calling this city my home for the next month and hopefully seeing past the general tourist attractions. I hope to explore the various nooks and alcoves of Praha and discover real Czech culture, and a true connection to my own roots.