Turned out nice again

Started out this morning a little damp, but I am used to that on this trip, however by about 11am the sun broke through and the temperature soared, just like yesterday.
I decided today to take a clser look at the Jewish Quarter of the town. This is a previous ghetto but was the jewish quarter for hundreds of years before becomming a ghetto. In fact, Hitler decided that Prague would become the cultural centre of his "empire" and that the Jewish Quarter would be maintained as a museum to an extinct race. Therefore the jewish quarter was saved from destruction. One of the places I wanted to visit was the Old Jewish Cemetary. At one time this was the only piece of land in Prague where Jews could be buried. Realising this, the Jews started to excavate the land and went down some 14 ft. They then started the burials. A coffin was placed, then covered by a very thin layer of soil, in time the next body was palced on top of the first and also covered by a thin layer of soil, and so on over the years. In time the bodies were stacked so deep that they had to import soil from other areas of the city, and so the cemetery rose above ground level. The last burial took place in 1787 but by then some 12,000 tomb stones were in place although the number of bodies buried far exceeds this. A lot of the tombstones have been used on more than one occasion.
Another place visited was the Pinkas Synagogue which contains the names of all the jews from Bohemia and Moravia that were exterminated by the nazis. The names are written in red and black in letters about 2cm high and they cover many square mts of wall, very impressive.
The synagogue also displays an exhibition of childrens drawings, the story being that a certain lady named Friedl Dicker-Brandeis started an illegal art class for the children of a ghetto in Torezin. The idea was to take the minds of the children off the horrors of the ghetto, although a lot of the drawings made by the children do show the horrors.
Friedl got wind that she was to be taken to Auschwitz, and knew that no person ever left the camp, in view of this she gathered 2 suitcases and filled them with as many of the childrens drawings as she could. She then buried the 2 suitcases but left instruction for where they could be found.
Friedl was executed in Auschwitz as she expected.
After the war the cases were recoverd and the pictures now form the display at the synagogue. The names of the children are on the pictures, however the vast percentage of the children who made the pictures were also gassed in the concentration camps. It is a very sad exhibition.

Another place visited today was the John Lennon wall, a wall in a quiet corner of Prague where the youth can express themselves. There are may mentions of the Beatles and more son of john Lennon. It is said that you can add something today but by next week it will more than likely be covered by something else. It is an ever changing display.

Myself and Jed added our names but for some reason the photo stands on its end. I have tried changing it on the computer and a memory stick but it keeps getting entered on here on its side.

We are imortal until someone paints over our bit of wall!!

I also did a bit of tourist tack today in that I visited the Chamber of Torture, an exhibition displaying various forms of torture carried out throughout history by cultures throughout the world, although the majority were medieval. It was over 3 floors and quite a number of rooms, and I must say it was very interesting. There was every torture imaginable and a few that wern't, I just cannot get over just how cruel man can be to his fellow man. It may be tacky but its history.


Finally today, a game for all................Wheres Wally?