Thursday, October 23, 2008

Our last full day in Prague, so off to the Jewish Quarter, the one major part of town we had not yet seen. We walked through Old Town Square one last time, down Parizska Street, toward the Jewish part of town. The architecture here took a dramatic turn. Much less Romanesque and much more staid and utilitarian. As we tried to decide which tours to take and which museums/synagogues to visit, the ticket window in front of us closed for their daily break. So, up a block, over a block, down a block to the next ticket window. As we were waiting, we wondered if we really wanted another museum tour. Perhaps next Prague visit the Jewish Quarter’s many synagogues and cemeteries would be a good choice, but not this time. We had hit the point of Prague saturation. The Old Jewish Cemetery and its 600+ year old stones would have to wait for next time.

And so we enjoyed a lovely stroll through the Jewish Quarter and Josefov. Along the way, we purposefully got off the beaten path and out of tourist-oriented area. We stumbled across a facility that appeared to be the Czech version of a Boys’ Club. About a dozen and a half boys, under the watchful supervision of their coach, were playing a smaller version of soccer on a basketball court with small nets and no goalkeeper. The boys were having great fun, joking and playing together, as their coach called out encouragement.

As we left the “Boys’ Club,” we found our first and only unaccompanied dog. This long and lanky dog, smart and experienced, had something in its mouth. The dog was travelling the same direction as we, about 20 meters ahead. Suddenly, the dog stopped, turned toward us, and opened its mouth. Out fell a fuzzless tennis ball that was far beyond its life expectancy. The ball rolled toward us and Judy kicked it back in the dog’s general direction. The dog sprang into action, pounced on it and recovered his treasure, then turned and jaunted off down the sidewalk to the right. This fine dog, who knew who he was and where he was going, appeared to have his faith restored in the kindness of humans (or rather, the kindness of Judy) and was happy to mosey off to find other adventures to round out this, another glorious day in Prague.
Continuing our walk, we happened by the InterContinental Hotel. The InterContinental is a five-star hotel originally built in Communist Social Realist (or Social Punishment, depending on your view of austere, concrete piles of style-less blah) style but has been updated dramatically since the Soviets pulled out. The doorman even wears top hat and tails.