Matt with the Tyn Church
in the background.

The Christmas market in
Old Town Square is active
from daybreak into the night.

The green-domed Church of
St. Nicholas looms behind Dana.

We each had one of these
potato cakes with sausage
this first morning in Prague...

...and liked them so much, they became our go-to breakfast choice three out of four mornings.

The walls of the Pinkas Synagogue
are covered with the names of 77,297
Czech Jews who died in the holocaust.

the interior of
the Pinkas Synagogue

The one and only way to access the Jewish Cemetery is upon exiting the Pinkas Synagogue.

From 1439 until 1787, this was
the only burial ground
allowed for the Jews of Prague.

Tombs were piled atop each other due to limited space. There are an estimated twelve layers of graves.

The Jews were forbidden to enlarge the cemetery grounds.

Pebbles on the tombstones
are “flowers of the desert”...

...a nod to the old days
when rocks were placed
upon a sand gravesite
to keep the body covered.

The Jewish word for cemetery means “house of life.”

The scraps of paper wedged
into cracks or folded under
pebbles contain prayers.

When Melissa & Pam took photos here in January 2006, snow blanketed the headstones.

On the left is the Ceremonial Hall, built in 1911 for the purification
of the dead. On the right:
the Klaus Synagogue.

During the Crusades in the 12^th century, the pope declared that Jews and Christians should not live together.

Jewish neighborhoods were walled in and became ghettos.

In the 1500's and 1600's, Prague had one of Europe's biggest ghettos, with 11,000 residents.

In the 1780's much of the
discrimination against Jews eased.

In 1848 the quarter's walls were torn down, and Josefov was incorporated as a district
of Old Town.

Less than a century later, however, horror returned.

Of the 120,000 Jews living in the area
in 1939, only 10,000 survived
to see liberation in 1945.

Dana at Lamberty Restaurant
and Cafe, at Brehova 6

On my last visit to Prague
I sat at that table right there
with my Czech friend Tereza

Dana and I each drank a coffee
and we shared an apple tart.

We've left Josefov, and the Astronomical Clock Tower greets us from behind a Christmas tree.

back in Old Town Square

On the steps of the Church
of St. Nicholas, Dana enquires about
tonight's classical concert.

The chandelier inside
the Church of St. Nicholas

paintings above
a balcony in the church

Old Town Square's two
landmark buildings, with
the market between

I just want to come here
every Christmas season. That's
not too much to ask, is it?

I love Prague THIS much!

the Bridge Tower, on the
east end of Charles Bridge

We just bought tickets
to this very performance.

sculptures on the eastern
face of the Bridge Tower

Dana on the Charles Bridge, with Prague Castle in the distance.

Bridges had been built on this spot before; all were washed away by floods.

After a major flood in 1342,
the Charles Bridge
was commissioned by
Emperor Charles IV.

Touch the bronze sculpture
beneath the statue of Saint
John of Nepomuk. Legend holds that it brings good luck.

(Hopefully better luck than
John himself had. He was
thrown off this bridge
to his death in 1383.)

the top of the Church of St. Salvator, which is just across from the east end of Charles Bridge

in a pew and ready for the classical concert to begin

the altar at the front of the sanctuary

The Church of St. Salvator is considered Prague's best example of the Renaissance building style.

“I confess... I deserve some type of punishment. I confess...
If it's all the same to you,
I'll stay indifferent.”

the chamber ensemble in mid-concert

enjoying Budvar--- the original Budweiser--- at Apropos restaurant, Platnerska 7

The best spring rolls ever! We found them on Na Porici street...

...at the Siam Orchid, which also boasts this full bar. (We drank Budvars again. 12%!)

Dana had fried chicken with cashews and oyster sauce.

Matt reveled in chicken in red curry with eggplant and basil.

Dana makes friends at Dinitz Cafe across from the Atlantic Hotel.

Neysa (center) is from Austin, Texas; Mackenzie (right)
hails from Tampa, Florida.