Day 5, 12:30 PM: Morning in Prague

Ah, Praha. Or as we call it, Prague. Home of the Maharal, the Kli Yakar, the Nodeh B'yehudah, and many others. This is where we will be spending Shabbos. Not in a hotel, but in a bunch of small rental apartments, so that we could be closer to the Jewish part of town.

We woke up at a little after eight this morning, and went to daven at the "Hoich Shul" (however you spell that), so named because it is, well, hoich (meaning "high" or "tall"). We then had breakfast downstairs in some kind of dining room/auditorium/whatever. During breakfast, Yaakov Schwab (our contact here in Prague) announced that the table full of rolls and other eatables (is that a real word?) was for us to pack up our own lunches for the day.

After breakfast, we went with another guide to the nearby Meisels Shul, which has been converted into a museum. During our tour, when we got to the area of the aron kodesh, Akiva suddenly called for quiet. He announced to the museum at large (whoever cared to listen) that this was once our synagogue, that we are sad that it has been turned into a museum, and that we would now say a small prayer to "rekindle the spirit and holiness" of the synagogue. He then led us in saying Shir L'maalos, after which someone said kaddish, and we then sang "Uvney Yerushalayim".

After leaving the shul/museum, we came to one of the bridges that span the Danube to wait for our bus to pick us up. That is where we have been waiting here for quite some time, and the bus better come soon, or my fingers are gonna freeze off from typing in this weather...