On the hottest day of the year in Prague (to date), Greg and I left our hotel room at 8:45am and did not return until 12 hours later. We began with a 4 hour walking tour led by local guide Andrea. As she walked us through Old Town, one of interesting facts that she told us about Czech culture is that 70% of the population claims no religious affiliation. So all of the beautiful churches in the city are primarily used for concerts and community events, not for worship. This statistic boggled our minds given the huge role that religion plays in American culture (and politics).
The tour ended in the Josefov neighborhood, the Jewish Quarter, which was once the site of a large, thriving Jewish community. Today there are fewer than 2,000 Jews living in Prague. We waited, trying to find scraps of shade, while Jana purchased our Jewish Museum passes. We had a short amount of time to go into the Pinkas Synagogue, the 2nd oldest in Prague, built in 1535. The walls of the synagogue are covered with the handwritten names of over 77,000 Czech Holocaust victims.
There were additional group activities planned for the day, but we let Jana know that we were striking out on our own. We returned to the Pinkas Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter to see the moving exhibit of art made by children imprisoned in Terezin. There are several synagogues in the Jewish Quarter, all housing different exhibits. We made our way through them more quickly than we would have liked, so that we could get to the Monument to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror before it closed.
On May 27, 1942, seven British-trained Czech paratroopers carried out an assassination attempt on Reinhard Heydrich, Deputy Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia. Heydrich, also known as the "Butcher of Prague," was one of the highest ranking Nazis under Hitler, and an architect of the Final Solution. Two of the men, Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis, waited along a tight curve in the road that Heydrich traveled on his daily route to Prague Castle. Gabcik tried to open fire with a machine gun, but it jammed. Kubis threw a grenade into Heydrich's Mercedes convertible and it exploded, severely wounding Heydrich. He died a week later. The paratroopers took refuge in the crypt under the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius. On June 18 they were betrayed, a gun battle ensued, and three of the paratroopers were killed. The SS tried to smoke the other four out with tear gas, then by flooding the crypt using fire hoses. Refusing to be taken alive, the remaining men committed suicide in the crypt. The crypt has now been turned into a memorial to honor the Czech paratroopers. There is also an excellent detailed presentation of the operation (code named Operation Anthropoid), from planning to completion and aftermath. Also check out the excellent movie, "Anthropoid," which tells the story. It was sad, humbling and a little eerie to be in the same space where the men lived their final days and met their deaths fighting the Nazis. There were wreaths and flowers piled outside the crypt near the opening in the wall where the Nazis placed fire hoses. At first we didn't understand why, but then we realized that the anniversary of the paratroopers' deaths had been just a week before. These events that took place over 70 years ago, and these heroes who carried out the only successful government-organized assassination of a top-ranking Nazi, are still revered by the people of Prague.
Tour Day 6: Friday, June 24
Our next destination was Vysehrad, which is now a park, but in the 17th century was the town fortress. Vysehrad is located south of New Town, and after grabbing bottles of water, we took a short break at a little square to check our map. A little blonde boy was riding his bike around and around the square, and each time he passed his mother, who was reading a book, he yelled “Ahoj mama!” It was uplifting and life affirming after our visit to the crypt.
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Feeling somewhat refreshed, we set off on foot. We walked for what seemed like forever, but finally made it. I had read about Vysehrad in our Rick Steves guidebook and thought it would be fun to get out of the city, see some pretty scenery, and visit the National Cemetery located in the park. The fortress sits high on a bluff with expansive views of Prague. Unfortunately given the heat, it was very hazy and our pictures did not turn out as well as we would have liked. We found the park map and headed to the cemetery. Given our love of history, we are drawn to cemeteries and make a point to visit them when we can. This cemetery was amazing. Many of the graves were elaborate, and I have never seen such uniqueness and variety among the markers. Several famous Czechs are buried here, including the composer Dvorak and the artist Alphonse Mucha. With the Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul in the background and an abundance of flowers and trees throughout, the cemetery was a peaceful and serene respite from the crowded city.
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By this time we were starving, so we left the park and stopped at the first restaurant we saw, just outside of the park. They advertised hamburgers and fries, and that was good enough for us. We sat at a sidewalk table and observed the comings and goings in the quiet town. The burger was one of the best I have ever tasted, and the condiment that came with the fries was awesome—kind of like 1000 Island dressing, but better.
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We started on our journey back to Prague, the sun still pounding down on us even though it was well into the evening. We descended some steps to reach the river embankment and walked back toward the city enjoying the sights and sounds of locals on a hot Friday night. Crowds of people were out socializing, bands were playing, dogs were cooling off in the Vltava. We were totally beat by the time we got back to our hotel. We were gone a full 12 hours and had walked everywhere, not using public transportation at all. Given Greg’s bum ankle and the temperature, that was probably not the wisest decision! But we thoroughly enjoyed the day and felt that we had experienced some authentic Czech culture.
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Fitbit: I did not wear it--too hot. This day would have had our highest totals.
Old Town, New Town, Jewish Quarter and Sausage!
National Monument to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror
The Old Jewish Cemetery was the only place in Prague where Jews were allowed to be buried between the years 1439 and 1787. There are 12,000 stones, but probably more like 80,000+ buried here. Because they had only this space, over the years graves were piled on top of each other.
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Following the tour, Jana surprised us by inviting us to lunch--her treat--at Pivovar Narodni, a microbrewery where they have a fire pit for roasting your own sausages. Perfect for a sweltering summer day! But Jana convinced us that this was an authentic Czech experience, so of course we couldn't miss it. It was a lot of fun and the sausages were quite good. Greg took one for the team and roasted both of our sausages while I hid from the sun under an umbrella. Although we are not beer drinkers, I had to try one. If nothing else to be able to take a photo and make my father proud. Greg borrowed a beer from a fellow tour member and Dad got the framed photo as a Father's Day gift.
