Update On Our Temple Mission: If This Is Rome It Must Be Tuesday

The six travelers arrive at St. Peters

Prague's Tyn Church

Our remaining time in Prague was spend touring the Jewish Quarter and catching up on the other areas of the city that had not yet been seen.

A quote from our tour book: “Ironically, Adolf Hitler is responsible for much of what can be seen today. Instead of destroying the Jewish Quarter, he intended to preserve it as a living museum, housing the final artifacts of the race he planned to exterminate.” The Jewish cemetery is the oldest in Europe.

The Czech Republic’s most well-known artist and author are Alfons Mucha and Franz Kafka. Alfons Mucha is known for his contribution to the Art Nouveau style at the turn of the twentieth century. We enjoyed viewing his work in the Mucha Museum. There are also many well-preserved Art Deco buildings and interiors which Mucha has influenced.

Church at the Bridge

The Czechairline connection between Prague and Rome was not very good, if at all, so we returned to Copenhagen and made our connection to Rome from there. We arrived in the early afternoon on April the twenty-fourth. Just as we did in Prague, we began touring Rome shortly after arriving at our hotel. We visited the Spanish Steps, the Medici Villa and the Pincio Gardens. Wandering the narrow streets back toward the hotel, we found a restaurant that looked like we might be able to get some good pizza and pasta. Before returning to the hotel we visited the Trevi Fountain and some other key sites, bathed in their night lighting.

The next day, after receiving a moderate breakfast in our room, we started our walking tours early. A couple of ibuprofen, by those of us with sore feet, allowed us to move ahead without hesitation. This day was to be the Vatican and St. Peters. We received word that the lines are shorter in the early afternoon so we started the day by visiting the ancient city. We started at the Piazza del Campidoglio by Michelangelo then the Forum and the Coliseum. We took the subway to St. Peters. It was true! The three to four-hour lines were shorter; in fact there was no line at all to the Vatican. Both the Vatican and St. Peters could be visited during the three hours remaining in the afternoon.

The Charles Bridge

Our last day in Rome was spent visiting the Pantheon and some other churches by Bernini, Borromini and other architects. These churches housed significant works of art by Michelangelo, Raphael, Caravaggio, etc.

We left Rome at five pm and arrived in Copenhagen about nine pm. We took the subway to Fasan St. and the bus home to Priorvej. Still, our weary traveling companions have been here almost a week but have not experienced Denmark or Copenhagen.

I’ll start writing about the visit to Denmark next time.