“Light” Trip to Vienna & Prague

[moish]

Monday morning, after a brief breakfast at the Ohel Moshe Bakery on Lilienbrunngasse, we drove out to the city of Bratislava (Pressburg in German), capital of Slovakia. Just as when we crossed the border into Austria, when crossing the border into Slovakia it’s necessary to purchase a sticker to permit driving there. After around 45 minutes of driving, we arrived at the gravesite of the Chasam Sofer. During WW2, the large cemetery was exhumed and reburied elsewhere, besides for the Chasam Sofer and a few others which were left intact, and a road was built over their graves. In order to access this now underground crypt, you must call a number for someone to open it, which we did in the morning. Besides for the Chasam Sofer, the graves of R’ Meshulam Igra as well as R’ Akiva Eiger’s grandfather, also named R’ Akiva Eiger, can be found there.

[moish]

I had read that the Chasam Sofer’s sefarim were on display at the local Jewish museum, so we decided to visit as I’m into that kind of stuff. However, I couldn’t find any of them, and when I asked some of the workers if they knew anything about it, they answered that I can find books for sale at the gift shop…

Chevra Kadisha horsedrawn hearse


Arriving back in Vienna, instead of parking at the Park + Ride, someone who I was corresponding with was currently on holiday and let me use his spot in the parking lot behind the bakery.

We then walked to the Judenplatz, where a memorial to the murdered Austrian Jews is located. Adjacent to that is a small museum which contains the archeological remains of a medieval synagogue destroyed in one of the many pogroms and expulsions of the Jews from Austria.



After that we went for dinner at the dairy Novellino restaurant which was just ok.

is it normal to charge for tap water?

[moish]

After dinner we visited the Prater amusement park. There is no admission fee to the park, but they charge you per ride. The park is famous for its ferris wheel which had a starring role in the Orson Welles film, The Third Man. Other than that, most of the rides in the park are geared toward older kids, but we were able to find a few kiddie ones.







Great shot, IMHO

[Side incomer]

And all this is still called "light"? 

[moish]

i probably should have mentioned that a babysitter was watching my 2 older kids while i went out with my wife and the little one. so that makes it lighter

[rots5]

great stuff moish (again)

and damaxer, i understand what you and moish are aiming for and what the idea is. i just happen not to be so into these st. regis (ny) type hotels. i dont appreciate the fancy hotels just yet... ill learn

[moish]

Tuesday, our last day in Vienna, we took the subway to the summer getaway of the Hapsburgs, Schonbrunn Palace, the Versailles of Austria. It’s usually packed during the summer months, so it’s recommended to arrive early. As it’s capacity controlled, it could very well be that when you get your ticket at say 12pm, you’re entrance time will be at 4. Alternatively, you can buy tickets online, but you need to choose a specific time. The third option, which I chose, is to buy the Sisi ticket for 25.5 Euro, which gives access to the Hofburg Palace (I bought my ticket there), Schonbrunn without any time limitations and the Imperial Furniture Collection, which I didn’t have time for. There are two audioguides for the Schonbrunn tour, the Imperial tour and the Grand tour, included in the Sisi ticket, which is bit longer.

There is also a possibility for an English guided tour, but with the baby, it would be too difficult to take. Besides for the actual tour of the palace, there are also huge grounds to explore, including a garden maze, zoo etc. but I didn’t have time for them.



Before leaving on the trip, I downloaded Rick Steves free audio guides, one of which is a tram ride along the Ringstrasse, which we did as soon as we got back from Schonbrunn. The start and end of the tour is at the Opera, across the street from our hotel.

Directly behind the Opera and the Sacher Hotel (known for the famous Viennese treat, the Sacher Torte) is Albertinaplatz, where there are various memorials. One of which is a memorial to the Jews, young and old, who were forced to scrub the streets with only a toothbrush.



We then went to dinner at Pizzeria Prego (Taborstraße 43) for some decent pizza. We picked up the car, checked out of the Bristol, and started our drive back to Prague.

[moish]

Random Notes:
- Breastfeeding in public is acceptable and normal there, but we used a nursing cover.
- Tap water is safe, it’s actually spring water.
- Any music that comes to you (guys dressed like Mozart hawking concerts) is not worthwhile.

Random Pics

the cobblestones of Europe are no match for our 4x4 offroad 2008 Mountain Buggy


Pretty cool effect...

[moish]

The way back to Prague only took us 3 hrs of driving as there were fewer cars on the road, and much of the way is a 2 lane road. We arrived at our hotel, the Sheraton Prague Charles Square. I had used suite upgrades for this hotel as well and was confirmed into a duplex suite. However, when I got to the room, it was extremely tight and asked to be switched. The front desk manager took me on a tour of about 4 different suites until we found one that seemed a bit more spacious.







Street parking in available if you continue on the same side as the Sheraton and make the first left, there are plenty of spots. However, you must start feeding the meter at 8am.

While there is a decent metro system, and I had initially thought I would use it, it’s not too stroller friendly as many of the stations don’t even have escalators. Taxis, for the most part, are cheap compared to other European cities. Most taxi rides within the city cost within 100-200 CZK (~$5-10). Prague taxis are notorious for ripping tourists off, so it’s absolutely essential to call for one, as opposed to picking one up on the street. One of the better companies, AAA, actually has a very useful app that I downloaded before I arrived, that after 2 buttons pressed, your taxi is on its way, and you can track his progress on a map.

[moish]

On Wednesday, after returning the car at the local Avis, we met up with a tour guide for the Jewish area. In hindsight, I would've just done it myself. I have a great book with a wealth of information that I used for the sights not covered by the tour, and I enjoyed it much more. In any event, we bought tickets for the Jewish Museum. The Jewish Museum is housed in various synagogues no longer in use, and their primary functions today are exhibition halls for the museum.

The Jewish Museum in Prague contains the greatest collection of judaica in all of Europe, as this was to be the sight of the museum of the vanished race run by the Nazis. Thus, all the judaica seized by the Nazis made their way to Prague. During the war, this museum actually opened in the women’s section of the Alteneuschul.

We visited the Maisel Synagogue, the Klausen Synagogue, davened mincha in the Hoich Shul, visited the Spanish Synagogue, The Chevra Kadisha building and The Pinkas Synagogue.
At the Maisel Synagogue, a very interesting symbol can be found, as well as in other locations throughout the Jewish area. It’s the Jewish hat inside a magen david. While required of the Jews to wear outside the ghetto, the intentions of the Gentiles were to belittle the Jew. However, as only the most prominent Jews were allowed to leave the ghetto, it became a sign of prestige amongst the Jews. As one book put it, the dunce cap had become a Versace.

Maisel Synagogue






'Hoich' Shul

[moish]

The cemetery, where the Maharal and Kli Yakar are buried, is also included on the ticket.



Maharal


Kli Yakar

[moish]

Exiting the cemetery, there are bunch of vans, each one painted with a different restaurant. Apparently, the golem cooks and serves at the King Solomon restaurant.







For dinner, we went to the chabad restaurant, Shelanu, which was just ok.

[moish]

At the SR Kauai I just wanted a darn ice machine, not having to call and tip for a bucket of Ice

i find the best way to avoid giving a tip is to be in the bathroom when he knocks and my wife answer the door. i generally only tip the guys that help with my luggage

[moko]

i find the best way to avoid giving a tip is to be in the bathroom when he knocks and my wife answer the door. i generally only tip the guys that help with my luggage

i'm pretty sure bellhops expect a tip from women as much as they would from men (so your wife feels like a fool instead of u?)

[damaxer91]

i find the best way to avoid giving a tip is to be in the bathroom when he knocks and my wife answer the door. i generally only tip the guys that help with my luggage

Lol. Perhaps you are confusing butlers with Meshulachim?

[moko]

Lol. Perhaps you are confusing butlers with Meshulachim?

like

[moish]

i'm pretty sure bellhops expect a tip from women as much as they would from men (so your wife feels like a fool instead of u?)

bellhops usually help with luggage. see again what i wrote regarding luggage

[moish]

Thursday morning we took a taxi to the Prague Castle, the biggest ancient castle in the world according to Guinness World Records. We opted to buy tickets for the “short visit” which included entry to the following locations: St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, St. George's Basilica, Golden Lane. As you can see, 2 of the 4 locations are churches which I don’t enter. The audioguide was also extremely expensive so I figured I’d make do with the signposts. In the end that was a mistake as I didn’t get the proper experience at the Old Royal Palace.

There is a changing of the guard on the hour, but the one at 12 noon has the full fanfare and flag ceremony which I attended. Some might say it’s a bit too drawn out.

[moish]

After the changing of the guard, we went to the Golden Lane, included on the ticket. The Golden Lane is a 15th century street with quaint little houses that at one time housed the sharpshooters of the palace. Today, they house reproductions of the old world style of living as well as the very interesting medieval armory displaying suits of armor and weaponry throughout the ages.



Torture chamber


Gun knife hybrid

[moish]

We then strolled down towards the old town, crossing the famous Charles Bridge, dating from the 14th century. I personally didn’t like much of the artwork for sale on the bridge, but as others have pointed out, haggling is possible should you be interested. Coming from the palace, the third to last statue on the left side is the infamous kadosh kadosh cross, paid for by a Jew in 1696 for allegedly “blaspheming” the cross.

We then bought tickets to the Altneuschul and toured it. (Entrance to the Alteneuschul is not included on the Jewish Museum ticket although you can buy it at the same time for a small discount.) As I stated previously, I have a great Jewish guidebook on Prague and we spent some time in the Alteneuschul analyzing the details. After all, it is the oldest continually used synagogue in all of Europe, built in 1270. While no photography is allowed inside, as long as you keep you flash off, you should be fine. Alternatively, you can come for mincha/maariv for free, and can take as many photos as you’d like. Just make sure to come a little early, as during prayer times there’s a guard who asks more questions than security at TLV.





Place of the Maharal, and to the left, the Noda Beyehuda


Attic of the Altneuschul, what lurks within???