I have spent the last two days exploring Prague. On Saturday, I was picked up at the airport by a shuttle service and brought to my hostel where I ran into three graduates of Claremont McKenna College (CMC). CMC is in the Claremont Consortium with Pitzer College, and I happen to have class last semester with one of the guys. Ironically, we all had ordered a four-person room and were roommates at the hostel! It is a small world! I spent most of Saturday sleeping and resting. Later I grabbed a bite to eat at the cafe in the hostel before meeting another Fulbrighter, Adam. It was great meeting another Fulbrighter, walking around the city, and swapping travel stories. We ate fancy chocolate cake at the restaurant where Franz Kafka wrote many of his stories! The restaurant has a pad of paper and pencil at each table in case another author visits and comes up with his or her greatest idea. This afternoon I will meet the rest of the Fulbrighters and our adviser at the train station, and then we will travel together to Brno for our orientation.
I have definitely been spoiled by the vegetarian and diverse restaurants in Prague. Hopefully, I will continue to have good-food-luck!
In addition to eating, I explored many sights that I have and have not seen before. I went to a graffiti wall dedicated to John Lennon, and walked across the Charles Bridge and along the Vltava River, Wenceslas Square, and Old Town Square.
I also began to research my 17th century Bohemian relatives, Hendel Bassevi and Jacob Bassevi von Treuenberg. In the "Shalom from Israel" post, I wrote about my last experience in Prague and there is a photo of me at my great grandmother's grave in the Old Jewish Cemetery. I have many questions regarding how this relative and her husband became wealthy, famous, and noble. My first day of research was unsuccessful, but today I was able to locate the archives and get the contact information for a historian and a bookkeeper for the Jewish archives. Hopefully, they will show me the original family coat of arms, and some of the Jewish artifacts that the Bassevis donated to Prague Synagogues. Most of the documentation on my family is in Czech and German (I guess I need to start learning Czech!), but I now know that such artifacts exist and the location of my great grandfather's grave. The most amazing part of this exploration was that when I walked into the Jewish library and asked for help they knew about the Bassevis and where to find books and information about them. I asked my helper how she knew about them and if anyone else had inquired about them before, and she replied that they were famous! I feel pretty cool about being related to someone famous, even if they are really only read about in history textbooks!
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