Prague Journal

Friday, September 3, 2004

Getting on the internet is a priority; we’ve had little luck at the internet cafés which are expensive (roughly $2 per half hour) and inconvenient. We went to Hradčanska to try the internet again. I was successful checking e-mail from DU; Rick was not. Fortunately, I did get the needed information regarding the Fulbright orientation dates and the time and location of Bejt Praha for this evening and the Women in Business group for Monday evening’s monthly dinner. Barb has made hotel reservations for us in Athens, but the dates are earlier than when we can arrive. Whether or not these can be changed, I need to get back to her quickly since she leaves the US on the 9th of September.
Already afternoon, we headed to GTS, hoping to arrange inexpensive plane tickets to Athens. We will need a form signed from the Czech universities here in order to get a GTS card, but the airline prices we were given seem to be no better than those I have seen readily available on the internet. Connections to Greece are not good, however, so it will be a long trip connecting either in Rome, Milan or Munich, arriving late in the evening regardless of when we leave Prague.
Wenceslas Square is not quite the same. The Jan Palach 1969/1989 student-protest memorial is gone and the statue of King Wenceslas on his horse is covered, presumably under construction. Most of the establishments are the same, however, as is the activity around the square.
A quick trip home to call about our broadband internet service. The woman on the line was able to give me a temporary dial-up to use before our service is activated next week, but so far it is not connecting. Another call, another voice, another frustrating wait.
Today is Friday, the end of the work week, the beginning of Shabbat. I would welcome the break had I been able to get more things accomplished this week. Bejt Praha’s website said that they still met at the Jewish Town Hall. I should have paid attention to the notice in the Prague Post that said they were at the Spanish Synagogue. However, once at Maisalova Street in Josefov, the best course of action seemed to be to join the people in line at the Altnai Shul. Rick was uncomfortable at the prospect, since our Hebrew is virtually non-existent, but we went anyway.
The Altnai Shul is early Gothic because at the time that the synagogue was built, Bohemia was part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. In those days, the Jews were not allowed to be architects, so this building was designed by Christian builders, believed to be the same architects who designed the Franciscan St. Agnes Convent. The interior of the main hall has a vaulted ceiling like those typically seen in a Christian church. It is the only medieval hall with this type of architecture still in existence. The ceiling has six vault compartments supported by two octagonal pillars. The unique design of the ceiling vaults has five ribs. This is a single story building, so the women's galley is not upstairs, as is customary. Instead, there are side corridors where the women stand to view the services through narrow slits in the wall. The bimah, in the center of the sanctuary, is like an elaborate wrought iron cage. Above the bimah hangs a remnant of a red flag with the Star of David. In 1357, Charles IV, the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire at the time, allowed the Jews of Prague to have their own city flag. Another tattered red banner hangs next to the Jewish flag. This was a gift from Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III to the Jews for their help in stopping an invasion by the Swedes in 1648 at the tail end of the Thirty Years War. On the east wall is the Holy Ark which contains the Torah scrolls. This is the synagogue which Franz Kafka attended when he lived in Prague; his bar mitzvah was held in this synagogue (although he is not buried here). On the west wall of the main hall, there is a glass case shaped like the two stone tablets on which Moses chiseled the ten commandants. The case is filled with tiny light bulbs which light up on the anniversary of someone's death if the relatives have paid for this feature. One of the lights is for Franz Kafka.
Rabbi Karol Sidon, a former dissident and playwright, had been the chief Rabbi in Prague from 1992 until he was ousted last June. The dismissal of Sidon and appointment of Rabbi Manis Barash, former head of the Chabad center in Prague, caused quite a controversy in the Jewish Community. The orthodox community who meet at the Altnai Shul is still a fairly closed group, but the synagogue’s fame draws tourists from all over the globe. Sidon is still in Prague and very much involved in the Jewish community -- and has a loyal following. Barash read the Parsha in Hebrew and Czech. Being in the woman’s gallery was advantageous, since there were several women from the US and Israel who pointed me to the appropriate place in the Siddur and translated the Rabbi’s words for me, interspersed with interesting conversation about travels, congregations, and world order.
Rick chose the noisiest and most crowded restaurant in the vicinity for dinner – La Bodeguita del Medio, a Cuban bar/restaurant/music club. Most of the music came from a live salsa band in the bar below the restaurant. A few couples were dancing in the upstairs bar area as well. I had hoped that the prices would be more moderate, but the meal was worth the price and the wait for seating. We had a very tasty meal, complete with the best cognac-chocolate mousse with strawberries I could ever wish for. Rick had a ribeye steak for dinner and Cuban fried bananas for dessert. The fellows at the table next to us ordered one of the restaurant’s specialty drinks: a 2-liter Marguerita served in a glass about a foot tall, with 8-10 colorful meter-long straws jutting out the top. They finished their dinner with Cuban cigars.
The crowd riding the metro at night is distinctively different from those going to work in the morning. More people are jovial, usually with friends or sweethearts, often a little tipsy. There is an element of danger, however, since night is when most of the pickpockets seem to be around. We have been sensitized to be careful. Back on our street, everything is quiet. No traffic except for the regular bus.

posted by JWinn @ 7:23 PM