Following lunch, a small group of us went on a walking tour of Prague’s Jewish Quarter. At one time, the Jewish population of Prague numbered 118,000. Of these, 80,000 were sent to concentration camps. Today the Jewish population of Prague numbers only 1600. Our visit included several synagogues, most all of which are now only… Read More Prague’s Jewish Quarter
Despite being extremely tired after a long day on the road, most of our group went out after dinner to see the famous astronomical clock in old town Prague (by the way, old time Prague dates from the 14th century; “new” town Prague dates from the 15th century!) We were too late to see the… Read More Highlights of Prague—in 24 hours
It was a travel day so we left the hotel with our bags to drive to Prague, about 200 miles away. A few days ago, our tour director, Paul Vladu, took some time to tell us about life under Communism. He was born in Romania and someone mistyped his last name on his birth certificate,… Read More On the way to Prague
Happy music. That is how one of my fellow GoAhead travelers described the concert we heard at the Palais Palffy, the very same site where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart performed here with his sister, Nannerl, in 1762. That would make him 6 years old. The concert hall seats about 200 people and as far as I can… Read More Happy music
The day began with a high-speed ferry boat ride on the Danube River to the town of Bratislava in the country of Slovakia. It just so happens that Bratislava is the capital city of Slovakia, and is located on the border of Austria and Hungary, which is highly unusual. So one of the very first… Read More A day in Bratislava
Ever since I researched the story of Joseph Haydn’s Kleinesorgelmesse which I played for the Hawaii Vocal Masterworks Festival a couple of weeks ago, I was bound and determined to seek out the town of Eisenstadt, especially since I was going to be in Vienna, 26 miles or 42 kilometers away. Today my GoAhead tour… Read More Mission to Eisenstadt
Our morning started with a little glitch in that the elevators were shut down when apparently the fire alarm must have gone off. Some in our group were therefore late coming to the bus because the stairwell doors coming down were also locked. Our guide got a little nervous since we had a timed group… Read More The enchanting city of Vienna
This weekend is the recital of my former student, Joey Fala, at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Kula, Maui on July 8 at 6:30 pm. This is Joey’s second recital appearance there and you won’t want to miss his concert as he weaves his magic. I say “magic,” because one needs a lot of creativity… Read More Meanwhile, back home …
Last night we enjoyed a dinner cruise on the Danube river, an “extra” tour made available by our tour director Paul. I’m so glad I went! It was almost magical as the illuminated buildings and bridges seemed to come alive. Paul told us none of the buildings and bridges were lit during the Communist era,… Read More Last day in Hungary
Today we visited many statues and memorials devoted to the Nazi and Soviet occupation of Hungary pre-1989. Even though technically the Iron Curtain was a border between countries and not between sections of Budapest, our visit started from across the Parliament building which still shows the bullets made by police shooting at the crowd… Read More A walk behind the Iron Curtain