Prague is OLD, in case you’ve forgotten

So, I wrote this at 5:30 am here in Prague, raving to the Europop (but also, because they do not discriminate here, “Let’s Here It for the Boy” and Usher) blasting in the hotel lobby, because I potentially have strep throat and actually visibly wince when I swallow. Actually, lies, it is likely the Czech porkchop I have lodged in my throat.

Yesterday, however, we visited the Jewish Quarter, which Jane has already discussed part of, and I will defer to her excellent post there. But courtesy the Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, which I recently read, the trip got to be less a traipse around the set of Prince Caspian. Somehow, the fictional fact that Michael Chabon wrote Joe Kavalier living and escaping from Prague while the rest of his family died either in the ghetto or attempting escape themselves, provided me with a lot of context. So, yes, fake people’s lives make Prague less fake for me.

Anyway! We visited the Spanish Synagogue (built in the 1860s in the Moorish style — i.e. it looks like a Mosque with extremely intricate patterns, very rich, dark greens, reds, and golds) and the Old-New Synagogue which was built in the mid-1200s. Which means IT IS OLD. Also, old, the Old Jewish Cemetery:

While I can’t provide any scale to show just how prolific this thing is, I can give you the perspective of the density from another angle:

Highly ornate tombstones are just piled on top of tombstones on top of tombstones. This is the description from the brochure for the tour the Jewish Museum of Prague runs:

“The Old Jewish Cemetery was established in the first half of the 15th century. The oldest tombstone, which marks the grave of the poet and scholar Avigdor Kara, dates from the year 1439. Burials took place in the cemtery until 1787. Today the cemetery contains almost 12,000 tomstones, although the number of persons buried there is much greater.”

It’s OLD. But everything here is old. I feel like Colin Mochrie in this Whose Line Is It Anyway sketch constantly (which I would embed below but Wordpress hates me. Suffice to say, he hates old, British things.).

The trick for the whole, “Prague is the Most Beautiful City” thing is to go out at night. Any restoration done in Prague is a private enterprise (for serious, which is incredible), and all the colorful buildings were varying shades of gray per the Soviets only 20 years ago, but even so, every building with like Saints peppered on the roof like ninjas about to descend or sherbet paint or whatever has that faint sheen of dirt over top it. But at night! At night, the cobblestones reflect the abundant old school streetlamp mood lighting, the dirt fades, and your fear of it all ending courtesy something embarrassing like a Saab or a Volvo fades, because fewer people drive at night. See?

Excuse the blatantly touristy area, we were on our way back from dinner. Or a bar. Whichever.