Prague - The Jewish Quarter and the Old Town Hall

Let me give you a tip. If you are in Prague and are contemplating visiting the Jewish Quarter; don't. Outside the remaining relics of the Jewish ghetto its just expensive shops. And the little collection of Jewish remains - synagogues and the cemetery - have rather limited amounts to display in a very confined area visited by hordes of tourists. The tour groups seem to fall into two categories - Americans coming to find some of their roots, and young Germans doing penance for the misdeeds of their grandparents. I can't believe this place was half as crowded when it was a ghetto.

Aside from the flamboyant Spanish Synagogue built in a Moorish design, the synagogues are small and rather underwhelming. The displays are similarly rather uninteresting (and there seems something odd about seeing a collection of solid silver alms dishes - a bit contradictory?)

One of the exhibitions is devoted to drawings of children created in the Terezen concentration camp. I realised I lack real empathy when I heard the elderly American lady in front of me in the melee say "Aw, it breaks my heart" at just the very moment I was thinking, "God these kids were crap at drawing".

The only place you are allowed to take photos in (at a price) is the incredibly overcrowded and atmospheric cemetery. Although the atmosphere is somewhat spoilt by essentially having to shuffle along in a single file queue, with each tour group ahead dictating the pace at which we could all proceed.

Spanish Synagogue

The Old Town Hall is however worth a visit, even if you have to persevere as much as I did. Entrance is through the Tourist Information Centre. This tells you that the ticket office is on the second floor. Up I go, but no ticket office. Back down I go and ask at the tourist information who assure me its upstairs. Upstairs I go again and then realise that the ticket entrance is meant to be behind a rather fearsome iron door. Back down I go again, and tell the girl its not open, who confers with a colleague who tells her that it is indeed closed until after lunch for a wedding. Now one has to lose confidence in a tourist information office that doesn't know what is going on upstairs from it, let alone across the city.

Anyway I came back later and sort of hung about at the back of the English tour group.

Now I did mention weddings. It seems Prague is a wedding capital. Brides and grooms wandering around with cameramen in tow. And not just locals. Even oriental couples, with the inevitable oriental photographers. Now, I don't wish to be judgemental, but when it comes to good taste...

The lilac satin teddy boy look - why didn't that take off?

You have to admit the traditional approach has to be better. Which would you want to bore your children with in 20 years' time - above or below?