The Humidity Broke

Despite the humidity, I slept all the way through the night, I was so tired. This morning, we packed up and went to Zoo Station, but I was soaked before I arrived. The train to Prague was warm and humid. No a/c, just a little breeze from the fan.

The hotel turned out to be nicer than I expected. We have A/C in the rooms, and the furnishings look nice (I'll let you know how comfortable the bed is in the morning). We had no time to eat lunch though, as I needed to get the students to the Jewish Museum well before sunset. We started off at the Pinkas synagogue, and as we walked through the old Jewish cemetery, it started to thunder and then large rain drops began. We went into the Jewish burial society building and I pointed out the cycle of paintings depicting the society's work as the rain fell harder and harder. By the time we left for the Klausen (thankfully only 3 yards away), it was pouring. I used the opportunity to go through the various artifacts in the room.

By the time we were done, the rain had stopped, so it was off to the Alt-Neu Shul and then the Spanish Synagogue. We ended, almost three hours after we started, at the Maisels Synagogue. Our feet were hurting and tired, so I led the students to a coffee shop in the Ungelt behind the Church of Tyn. The iced chocolate was yummy. After we rested I took the students on an orientation tour of Old Town Prague with a little glimpse of Wenceslas Square. After that I decided to treat them for dinner in Malastrana.

They really enjoyed the Charles Bridge, and the rain really dried the air out (as well as cooled it off). They are all taking lots of photos, two of the students have very expensive and complicated cameras. I've asked for copies. When we went to my favorite restaurant it was locked shut. We went instead to Cukrakavalimonade, but it was 7 pm and they were just closing. I let the students take a quick peek at a local garden park in Malastrana, and a few talked about moving here.

Alchemyst's Garden, a middle eastern place was closed due to the weather, so we went to Cafe des Paris. Two of the students ordered soup only, while the other three of us tucked into our first salads in a week, followed by the entrecote steak. I don't remember the bernaise sauce last year having so much tarragon (perhaps I didn't order the sauce). After dinner, several of students ordered nice desserts (not me). I did order the elderflower lemonade, but the one had at Cukrakavalimonade was better. The cafe didn't take credit cards, so it basically wiped out all the kronas I had (I also paid for 15 one-day passes in cash earlier). I looked at my receipt from the exchange I used at the train station and was shocked to see the 17% service fee. I was definitely ripped off. Serves me right for doing it at the train station.

Got back to the hotel at 10 pm, turned on the A/C, and then came down to enter this blog. Tomorrow a treat: hotel breakfast! Then it's off to catch the bus to Terezin.