Greetings from Prague, Monday 5/12/25

I'll start with a confession: this is surreal. I can honestly say that I never thought I'd be writing a Davis Academy 8th Grade Trip blog post from the Ibis Hotel in the city center of Prague. Before sharing a few highlights through a haze of complete and total exhaustion (joyful exhaustion but still...) let's start with that simple fact. Here we are in Prague. Before 10am this morning, when our plane touched down (more on that later), I was the only member of our group that had ever been to Prague. Now each of us, students and chaperones, has started to discover the beauty, poignancy, complexity, and enduring allure of this majestic, mystical, and delightful city. 

 On Sunday, May 11th, we left The Davis Academy Lower School in excellent spirits. We remain in excellent spirits even after our travel day took a toll on each of us. Everything was proceeding smoothly until we landed in Frankfurt. Upon landing, and with approximately an hour of layover time, we made our way to Passport Control to enter the EU. There we encountered a very long line. So long that it became clear that our chances of making our flight to Prague were, shall we say, "Fan Duel Worthy." To make a long story short, we were advised to hustle over to a different Passport Control station on the complete opposite side of the terminal (.5 kilometers at least). There we found even more disarray. Perhaps a computer error. Perhaps someone's idea of a good time. Certainly not Newark Level Chaos, but after a sleepless night for many of us, it was plenty of unpleasant. After much pleading, making a few enemies, and a cinematically glorious "run to the plane" we boarded our flight and made our way to Prague. The issue was simply that the airline wouldn't say, out loud, that they'd hold the flight for our group, even though we made up more than half the roster of travellers. So it was with great joy, gratitude, and relief that we met Yishay and Jeremy, two veteran guides who we've worked with over the years, at the Prague airport. 

As I type these words I literally cannot believe that this initial meeting took place less than 12 hours ago. From there we embarked on a beautiful day of exploring Prague with our central focus being the Prague Castle. The Prague Castle is more than simply a quaint historical site. It is a massive compound that took more than 700 years to complete and that currently houses the offices of the President of the Czech Republic (he was on castle grounds today). We learned a bit about Franz Kafka, who drew inspiration for his famous novel, "The Castle", as well as other individuals who personalized the epic history and scope of the castle's story. We witnessed the changing of the guard (trying our best to coax a smile or two), saw a window famously associated with the shockingly effective practice of definistration (one of our 8th graders knew what this meant-- do you?), and so much more. We saw how Czech history and Jewish history intertwine and how experiencing Czech not just as 8th graders from Atlanta, but as Jewish 8th graders from The Davis Academy is actually a much more compelling, naunced, and ultimately impactful experience. 

 Since last Friday's All School Sendoff Shabbat to the moment we sent released them to finally get some sleep, all chaperones agree that our kids have been nothing short of complete heroes. It's clear that they want to be here and that they want to honor the significant investment that this trip represents both for and IN each of them. Today's touring was long, high level, and intense. It was also super fun and interesting, but nonetheless, for a group of exhasted, smelly, unwashed 8th graders who just wanted to brush their teeth and be reunited with their luggage, it was a haul. While we heard plenty of "when do we think we'll get to the hotel" I can honestly say that I heard not a single complaint. They were astonishngly awesome. 

 Speaking of awesome. It's time to get some awesome rest. There's so much more that I could share from today, but it's best to ease into things. Many seeds of conversations, insights, and meaning were planted today by our FOUR guides (two from Israel, two local). In terms of a sweet memory, we made our way from Prague Castle to the Idris Hotel via city tram. But not just any city tram, an antique city tram evocative of Prague's past, and one that was booked as a private ride for our group. Clearly exhausted, cleary committed to this being a life changing trip, we churned our way through Prague, mostly in silence, taking in the architecture, sharing the occasional smile, watching the occasional classmate nod off, and wondering what tomorrow will bring. Thank you for taking a chance on Prague and Budapest. I am confident we made a brilliant choice.