Operation: Infiltrate Jewish Cemetary: Part Three of the Prague Chrinicles

As my far too long saga in Prague continues, I will now recount the third and final day of the trip. For those of you who have been dutifully hanging on and continuing to read this ridiculously long post, but would rather be out in the real world doing whatever it is that you do, I will soon release you from your obligation.

On the third day in Prague, our mission was simple, see the Prague Castle. After all the wandering we had done, we still had not climbed up to see one of Prague's most notable landmarks. After getting everyone besides Franky and I checked out (we were staying later than the others), we made our way yet again to the tram. We hopped on a tram that we were pretty sure should take us to the castle. After several stops we were told that we had reached the tram's last stop and we had to disembark. We were still a little ways from the castle with not the best idea of how best to complete the trek to our destination. We began to walk while I tried to simultaneously consult a map continually asking "what street are we on?" only to receive shoulder shrugs and blank stares. As the rain began to descend yet again, I finally got my bearing and discovered a course that would take us to our destination.

As it seems with almost anything that is perched atop a hill, before making the final ascent, you must first descend. This was the case in Prague, but we finally made it to the base of castle hill (not sure if it actually has a name). Once we reached the top, we came to a large gate guarded by two rather comically dressed guards and to our left was a wall that provided spectacular views of the city. Inside the walls of the castle, we discovered that Prague Castle is far more than just one building. It's an entire complex! There are several museums, St. Vitus's Cathedral (the second largest in the world, second only to the Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica), the old Royal Palace, and so much more. It was too bad that we only had a morning to explore. After wandering around and gazing up at the cathedral towering above us, I decided I wanted to get an audio guide and go and tour the cathedral. I was alone in this desire, however. My companions were either not interested or more concerned about finding something to eat before the long train ride later that day. I was not backing down and stubbornly stated that whether or not anyone wanted to join me, I was going to see one of the most important buildings in Prague's history, not to mention one of the most famous. I agreed to do my best to race through the tour of the cathedral and meet them in an hour and then quickly ducked inside to purchase my audio guide before the discussion could start anew.

Although they promise that with an audio guide you can skip to the front of the line to get into the cathedral, there were lots of fellow listeners, so I had to wait. As I waited, a tumultuous down pour began. Everyone in the line surged forward as the rain pelted us hoping that the door monitors preventing us entrance would have mercy. They didn't. I ended us crowded near the front almost covered by a neighboring couples' umbrella. I didn't really mind getting wet, but I protectively covered my camera. Finally, we were admitted to enter. Once inside, my jaw dropped. It's one thing to claim that a building is the second largest of its type in the world, but it's another story to actually stand beneath towering vaulted ceilings. The cathedral was gorgeous. I meandered through it with my audio guide glued to my ear listening as a Brittish voice clearly enunciated every syllable of each altar's history and purpose. The stained glass lining every wall was absolutely spectacular. They ranged from scenes of the lives of saints to abstract shapes and patterns. One of the most notable features of the cathedral is the tomb of John of Nepomuk, the patron saint of the city. His tomb was the most impressive and excessive display of decorative silver I have ever seen. The other alters are comparatively bleak and simple.

After racing through the Cathedral (I skipped a couple of the altars), I had a few minutes left before having to meet the rest of the crew, so I scurried across the plaza to the Old Royal Palace. Inside, I got a feel for the lives of the building's former inhabitants. My favorite room in the palace was Vadislav Hall, a room with a towering ceiling lined with intertwined curved ribs (I wasn't allowed to take pictures, so you'll have to use your imagination). I made a point to at least see each room of the Old Royal Palace and listen to what I could of the audio guide, but all too soon my time was up.

Back outside, I found the rest of the group and we made our way out of the castle complex and back to the hostel. Once at the hostel, everyone picked up their bags and we all went to the train station. Everyone bought their train tickets and figured out which platform to go to. After making sure to get our train tickets for the following day, Franky and I bid farewell to everyone else and headed back for the city center. My main goal for the final evening in Prague was to see the Jewish Cemetery. Retracing our steps from the past couple of days, Franky and I found ourselves in the Jewish Quarter. With a quick consultation of the map, we quickly found the cemetery. Upon nearing the gate, I saw two people looking at the gate and then back down at something in their hands with confusion on their faces. They walked away as we approached the gate, and only then did I realize the reason for their confusion. On the gate of the cemetery was a sign written in multiple languages that read "Closed due to holiday." I couldn't believe it! The reason I stayed in Prague for an extra night was closed! I was not going to give up. I quickly noticed that the wall surrounding the cemetery had gaps in it, and thus began Operation: Infiltrate Jewish Cemetery. Franky and I walked all the way around the cemetery periodically climbing the wall to peer through and see the cemetery. At places where the gap was too high for me to see through, I held my camera up to it and blindly released the shutter. At one point, I squatted next to the sheet metal wall by the bathrooms to get a good look at the cemetery beyond. All in all, I think I got a pretty good visual of the cemetery, with a great story to go along with it to boot.

After seeing the cemetery, neither Franky or I had anything that we particularly wanted to see. We ended up wandering the streets of Prague. We climbed the tower of one of Prague's many cathedrals, sauntered along Charles Bridge that was teeming with tourists, made our way back up to the castle to see the front gate, and then finally ended up back in Old Town Square it was wonderful to have no agenda and to only have to consult with one other opinion instead of six. Franky wanted to check out the Dalí exhibit at a museum in Old Town Square, so we bought tickets and wandered around the upstairs of the building looking at rather bizarre paintings and sculptures. I found most of the artwork disturbing, but it was nice to wander through the museum with no further agenda. After the museum we found a relatively cheap place to eat, and then headed back to the hostel.

The next morning came all too quickly. We woke before dawn to catch the early train back to Budapest. While waiting for breakfast at the hostel to open, we ran out to a bakery down the street and got some bread for the train ride back. I attempted to put a dent in the remaining crowns I had, but found that a bakery was not the place to do that. Bakeries are incredibly cheap (now that's my kind of place)! After securing rations for our seven hour train ride we went back to the hostel, scarfed down some free muesli, and checked out. Check out took longer than expected and so did the tram, so by the time we got off at the train station we had to run to the platform. I honestly thought we were going to miss our train. We made it on the train with several minutes to spare. As we breathed a sigh of relief, the train began to roll out of the station, leaving Prague behind, Budapest bound.