Outside the exit of the caves. No photos allowed inside except right at the exit.
Inside the exit of the cave.
I'm puny in the centre of the picture.
Elisabetta begins our tour of the synagogue of Trieste.
The rose window with the Star of David.
Outside the synagogue in our Yamukas. (Sorry if I spelled that wrong).There’s really not a lot of words that could adequately describe the Scokjan Caves in Slovenia. Enormous, alien, surreal... Our guide took us through this breathtaking natural wonder, explaining the gigantic and tiny stalagmites and stalactites. The tiny ones are 10 000 years old. It is no wonder these caves are under UNESCO protection. I’ve visited caves before, but nothing like these. No photos allowed in the caves (except at the exit) – you’ll have to look on the internet to see the inside of the cave – but it won’t compare to being there. This was a great break from castles and cathedrals, and a nice long walk to get our blood pumping.
After the caves, we were off to another new stop for the trip, Trieste. Situated in Italy on the Adriatic right beside the Slovenian border, this port city was the “gateway to Zion” before the second world war, as Jews fleeing persecution boarded ships to Israel out of this community with a long Jewish history. Though the 100 year old synagogue is usually closed to visitors, I managed to find a guide in Trieste who could get a member of the Jewish Community of Trieste to come and open it for us. Elisabetta, our guide, took us into the first synagogue (there are actually two in the same building, one primarily used by Sephardic Jews, and one primarily used by Ashkenazi Jews) and explained some of the history of Trieste and Judaism. In the larger synagogue, we were able to see the unique rose windows designed with a star of David in the centre. We were able to ask her a few questions here, and when she was explaining the art work that does not have human forms in it, one of the kids asked if they are allowed to at least have a picture of Jesus in the synagogue. My wife told me I should spend a little more time on the World Religions unit in grade 8. I guess so.
After the caves, we were off to another new stop for the trip, Trieste. Situated in Italy on the Adriatic right beside the Slovenian border, this port city was the “gateway to Zion” before the second world war, as Jews fleeing persecution boarded ships to Israel out of this community with a long Jewish history. Though the 100 year old synagogue is usually closed to visitors, I managed to find a guide in Trieste who could get a member of the Jewish Community of Trieste to come and open it for us. Elisabetta, our guide, took us into the first synagogue (there are actually two in the same building, one primarily used by Sephardic Jews, and one primarily used by Ashkenazi Jews) and explained some of the history of Trieste and Judaism. In the larger synagogue, we were able to see the unique rose windows designed with a star of David in the centre. We were able to ask her a few questions here, and when she was explaining the art work that does not have human forms in it, one of the kids asked if they are allowed to at least have a picture of Jesus in the synagogue. My wife told me I should spend a little more time on the World Religions unit in grade 8. I guess so.
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