Wednesday 29th May

Farewelled some of the group early this morning & then walked to the Choral Synagogue.

This was a wonderful building beautifully decorated internally & in excellent condition. The synagogue manager gave us an incredible talk on the history of the Jews & their synagogues in Romania. He rattled off the facts including his memories of a massive earthquake in the 1970s which killed at least 1500 in Bucharest but the synagogue survived with relatively minor damage & the rising against Ceaucescu in which one of his friends was shot. It was very sad to hear that after the loss of the majority of Romanian Jews in the holocaust many more were effectively 'Sold' to Israel for large sums. The Choral Synagogue is the only one in the city which conducts daily services to its small congregation.

We returned to the hotel & took a taxi to the airport for our flight to Prague.

This was uneventful but it was interesting toss how much more affluent Prague looked than Bucharest.

Our B&B is very close to the King Karol Bridge across the Vltava river, right in the old town. It is a 3 storey terrace building with a café on the ground floor & we are on the 3rd floor up a dark circular staircase. The owner is a striking 60 year old but trade seems to be very slow despite the numbers of tourists in the area. The streets are cobbled & the buildings look to be 18th century, some with very impressive fronts.

We found a nearby bank to withdraw some local cash, had a drink & then dinner at our residence before having an early night.

Thursday 30th May

Before breakfast at 9am we walked across the bridge before the crowds & Jane got some great photos of it nearly empty apart, from a Japanese couple in their wedding outfits with a professional photography crew.

After breakfast in the café below we set off up the slope & visited the lovely Carmelite church of St Thomas, a fine baroque edifice with a beautifully painted ceiling. Moving on we passed the Information Centre for the Czech Parliament, went in & watched a video about the system here. We turned into a large square & found a large information board which explained about the Thun family who had built a huge palace on one side of the square. It was quite a surprise as Natalie, the Swiss home exchanger's family came from Prague.

Just past the board we found St Nicholas's church, a huge late baroque example with possibly the most elaborate interior that we have ever seen. It rivals the great churches of Italy & Spain in its extravagance & shows how wealthy the city must have been.

After the compulsory coffee stop, we climbed up to the large square in front of the castle full of tourists who were watching the changing of the guard, Czech style. This was interesting but the marching etc was very ordinary so I don't think the Buck House guards would have been too impressed.

We descended a long flight of steps which caused d*** some trouble & returned to our B & B for a rest.

Later we crossed the bridge weaving between vast crowds of selfie addicts & just beyond the eastern gatehouse we found another church which was almost modest by Prague standards. Next we entered the old Jewish quarter & went to the Jewish Museum of Prague in the former Maisel Synagogue. The history of Jews in Prague was very well explained here & we spent a long time in there.

Leaving the museum, we walked to the Pinkasova synagogue which is now a memorial to the Jews killed in the last war. The walls are covered with the names of all those from Bohemia & Moravia known to be lost in the Holocaust & it was very moving.

Returning from the Jewish quarter we walked along the river bank & crossed a bridge south of the King's bridge for a rest & to catch up on the journal etc.

That evening we went to a recital of organ & trumpet in St Nicholas's church. This was wonderful as, to our surprise, the 2 instruments worked really well together. The music ranged from Bach & Purcell to romantic composers. We walked back & had a light dinner overlooking a big water mill off the main river.

Friday 31st May

Today we were determined to have a lazy day exploiting public transport but it was not to be.

After crossing the King's bridge, we went to the town hall to see the clock strike 11am & then into the Church of Our Lady of Thyn which houses the tomb of Tycho Brahe a famous early astronomer.

Crossing the square, we came to the Hussite church of St Nicholas. The Hussites were a protestant reform group & the church although comparatively austere had a massive circular crystal chandelier of about 4m in diameter.

Then we searched out the Old-New Synagogue, another museum built originally in the 13th Century as the main one of Prague. To us it was an unusual design but it is very impressive in its austerity. Continuing our study tour, we moved on to the Spanish Synagogue, another museum which had much to say about the life & pressures on the Jews in Prague. This had a most impressive collection of silverware including what looked like crowns but are apparently covers for the torahs.

Beating a retreat, we visited the Convent of St Agnes of Bohemia which houses a collection of 13th-15th century religious art. It is huge & contains some beautifully displayed examples of finely carved, wooden statues & religious paintings mainly by Czech craftsmen & artists. The collection should be much better known as much of the work is of an incredibly high standard & is worth several hours study.

Desperate to use the tram system we hopped on a few before getting back to the room. Over 70s travel free on public transport so we could nearly afford it.

After a well-earned rest & several unsuccessful attempts to add to the unpublished blog we went off to a concert by a string septet who played classical & romantic era music.

We returned & after soups & drinks had an early night before our flight tomorrow morning to Zurich.