Prague Day 2: Terezín

I thought I had plans well figured out, but not quite. Upon exiting at the appropriate Metro station, it took me a disconcertingly long time to actually find the bus terminal, and then to find the correct ticket kiosk, by which time I had missed the bus I intended to catch. The next bus wasn't for an hour and a half.

The tour of the camp itself (the Small Fortress) was quite informative; I usually dislike guided tours, preferring to see things at my own pace, but this was worthwhile. I hadn't been aware of how much history the area had; the whole fortress (which, in its entirety, encompasses the town as well) was built in the late 18th century. Before WWII, the camp was where Gavrilo Princep (at the risk of sounding elitist, I hope I don't need to provide any biographical info there) was imprisoned in the years prior to his death.

The camp is as dreary and depressing as one would expect (complete with an ironic "Arbeit Macht Frei" inscription); it was on several occasions "beautified" to use for propaganda purposes (it worked, persuading international inspectors that conditions were far better than they actually were). The sight of a still-intact gallows was chilling, although I'm told it was only actually used once (to execute several would-be escapees, as a warning to other prisoners).

The town itself, which is surprisingly pretty (though the weather helped), was a ghetto during World War II. There's a very informative Ghetto museum (with more of those heartbreaking children's drawings), as well as a number of smaller museums (including a Jewish museum) that I didn't have time to visit. I did, however, stumble across one with surprisingly extensive exhibits on the art, music, and writing that occurred in the ghetto -- it's remarkable -- as well as a reproduction of a very cramped apartment from the period.

On tomorrow's itinerary: Prague Castle and, I think, the Museum of Communism. Also meeting up with Dad's old friend Peter (Mom, I keep forgetting if you know him as well) and going to the opera -- not necessarily my sort of thing, but it should be a valuable cultural experience nonetheless. (The opera in question is Verdi's "La traviata," of which even an opera philistine such as myself has at least heard.)