The City of A Thousand Spires

Golden Prague - a fairytale of a city and the first stop on our 'Embrace the Detours' European adventure!

We landed just before Shabbat and spent the most magical Friday night here with davening at the historic Old New Synagogue and a Shabbat meal at the Chabad of Prague restaurant. The dinner brought together an ecclectic mix of people, from young bocherim to Israeli businessmen and American and European tourists, and Shabbos songs were the main means of communication across the steaming chicken soup and blintzes.

We have spent the last few days exploring the city on foot, winding through the cobbled alleyways and making our way past the cafes and beerhouses and pristine renaissance and Gothic buildings. We even ventured into the Czech Metro on Sunday to visit the beautiful Prague Castle, whose spires seem to pierce the heavens and literally take the observers' breath away. After a wonderful drink on the sides of the Vltava River (which was only briefly but very worringly disturbed by a sewerage truck backing up next to our table and pumping the pipes in the kitchen and bathroom for about 10mins), I joined my conference which will last until Tuesday and leave Gary free to do some adventuring on his own.

The mix of modern and medieval, as well as the concentration of so many historic events in one city, is what truly enchants me about Prague. One minute you are standing at the end of Wencleslas Square, part of the newer section of town, and can still hear the jiggling keys of a quarter of a million protesters' which, in 1989, heralded the arrival of the Velvet Revolution. Just a few hundred meters away lies the Old Town Square, where in 1945 Prague residents celebrated the liberation of the city through their own resistence. This square is flanked on all sides by the most spectacular churches and the astronomical clock, ancient buildings and towers which date back to the early 1100s. Even with the long and often tragic history of occupation, from the Austrian Empire to the Nazis and finally the Soviet Union, the people of the Czech Republic have a proud attachment to their capital city and culture.

We will keep in touch again soon! x