Krakow -- "Night of the Synagogues" coming up

An exhibition in High Synagogue. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

The night of June 4 will be the "Night of the Synagogues" in Krakow, according to the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza. All seven historic synagogues in the old Jewish quarter, Kazimierz -- the gothic Old Synagogue, the Remuh Synagogue, the High Synagogue, the Kupa Synagogue, the Izaak Synagogue, the Popper synagogue and the Tempel synagogue -- will remain open and will feature concerts, performances and other events.

According to the article, "Instead of klezmer bands in the Tempel synagogue  you can listen to contemporary Israeli rock music." There will be a Dj in the Old Synagogue and also various art workshops.

The full schedule of events will be available Monday.

Xinshe Castle (新社古堡) at Taichung - Taiwan (Part 1)

Xinshe Castle (新社古堡) (N24.18825 E120.81354) is located at Xie Zhong Street of Sinshe District of Taichung, Taiwan. The journey took about 1 hour from the Evergreen Laurel Hotel.
This nice park actually is good for relax and having coffee beside the pond...and taking some nice photos around the park.That was our photography session started! :)

Xinshe Castle

The entrance fee is TWD250.00 and there is a TWD100.00 food voucher in the ticket. You can have your lunch or tea break at the restaurant in the park.

Let share some photos of the Xinshe Castle and the beautiful park below...

Once we stepped to the park, there was a bridge cross over the pond. And on the right, we saw the artificial waterfall.

Artificial waterfall in Xinshe Castle

On the left, there were row of tables from the cafe. Too bad the cafe Only open during weekend and public holiday...:(

The Castle is located after the bridge...

This small area was cooling...

The Castle was not open for public during our visit, maybe they only open during weekend...so we moved to the backyard.

There was a nice sitting area with the water feature between...

The area was surrounded with full of colourful flowers! That was really Nice!

On top of the Castle, there was another sitting area which you can a Full view of the park...

Too bad I didn't bring my tripod for the excellent Panoramic view! Regretted!
Follow the path, we came to another building which called the Brewery.

The unique small huts below are the public washrooms. The park is well maintained and Clean. We also noticed there was a wedding photography shop in the park.

Stairway to heaven

I will continue in my next post (Part 2) for the restaurant and waterfall...

Related post :-
*  My Taiwan Trip on May, 2011

Location map of Xinshe Castle at Taichung, Taiwan

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Lithuania -- Jewish cemetery site (with map)

Old Jewish Cemetery, Valbanikas, Lithuania. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

I've just come across this web site about Jewish cemeteries in Lithuania -- which includes a map of all known cemetery locations, photographs from some cemeteries, and reports on efforts to clean some of them up and restore damaged gravestones. The epitaphs on a number of stones are also translated.

I visited a number of Jewish cemeteries in Lithuania in 2006, when I was updating Jewish Heritage Travel -- and most were in rather poor, neglected condition. The tombstones themselves were much less ornately carved than in other countries, such as Poland, Romania, and Ukraine.

I have already posted on this blog about my experience visiting the ruined Jewish cemetery in Kalvarija, where my great-grandfather came from -- and about efforts to repair the cemetery and read the gravestones there.

Jewish cemetery in Kalvarija, 2006. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

One of the most interesting (and well maintained) Jewish cemeteries I saw in Lithuania was the old Jewish cemetery in Valbanikas, a village that also has two disused masonry synagogue buildings. Some of the gravestones exhibited carving, and the cemetery was also one of the few that I found actually signposted from the road.

Carved gravestone in Valbanikas. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

Signpost to Old Jewish Cemetery. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

Festivals -- At least 30 on my list of Jewish culture/arts/music etc festivals in Europe

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

I just added a few more events, bringing the number on my list of this year's Jewish culture/music/film/books/arts etc festivals around Europe  to 30 -- and I know there are a lot more going on that I have not (yet) included. (Or which had already taken place before I got around to compiling the list...)

Everyone by now knows about the big Jewish culture festival in Krakow -- the oldest and largest festival, taking place at the end of June/beginning of July. But all around Europe you can find other varied events, big and small -- from the OyOyOy festival in northern Italy, to Bankito in Hungary to Yiddish Summer Weimar in Germany to UniJazz in the Czech Republic to the Life Festival at Oswiecim, Poland (the town where the Auschwitz camp is located), to Ethno Fusion in the courtyard of the synagogue in Belgrade.

The variety is great -- and so is the range of locations and festival focus. From book fairs highlighting local publishers to film festivals to klezmer and other Jewish music fests, to arts, to grand mash-ups, such as in Krakow, that feature a range of events, concerts, guided tours, targeted workshops and so on.

Locations range from big cities, to former (or present) Jewish quarters and neighborhoods, to villages to the countryside.

Fong Chia Night Market (逢甲夜市) at Taichung - Taiwan

Our driver dropped us at the junction of FuXing Rd & FongChia Rd (N24.178803 E120.645136), and we started to hunt for our dinner....

Dedicated lane for motorcycle at Fuxing Rd, Taichung.

Fong Chia Road, Taichung

We noticed the the Lane 20 of Fong Chia Rd (N24.178985 E120.645696) has many food stalls around, which is part if the Fong Chia Night Market (逢甲夜市), so decided to have our dinner here...

Lane 20 Fongchia road, Taichung - Taiwan

Wah! There were many food stalls in the lane, and we were confused what to try....as you can see from the photo below...all kind of foods available! Certain stall really interested! Like this one at the bottom right of the photo below...:)

Food stalls along the Lane 20 - Fong Chia Road, Taichung

Colourful Sports Shoes!

All of us agree to had the Oyster Vermicelli for the first hit...and I ordered mine with extra intestine...

Oyster Vermicelli + Intestine = YUMMY!

I don't know whether because we were so hungry or the vermicelli was so Delicious?! I finished mine within 3 minutes! YUMMY! We were NOT done yet! It was just the first meal of the night market...

Noticed many stalls selling Deep Fried Chicken Chop along the street, our temptation told us...Don't reject it! And we found one of the stall with long queue...and grab one of it!

The Chicken Chop stall with some write up...

We chose this stall because of the queue...

The friendly boss of the stall, he was A Good salesman! Haha!

Waited about 10 minutes...we got our chicken chop!  
It was served in pieces in a small paper bag.

I like the sauce, but the chicken was average...(TWD50)

After we finished the chicken chop, we walked to the main road - Fuxing Road. There are more shops and food stalls along the road too!

Fuxing road (福星路), Taichung.

Some interesting food stalls...'Wolf Sausage'??!! Wah! I doubt....

The Wolf Sausage stall @ Fuxing road, Taichung

We didn't try on it, well...we bought the Big Sausage & Small Sausage opposite of the Wolf Sausage stall. :)

The Big Sausage and Small Sausage stall

Surprised! It was delicious too! I like the mixture of some cucumber, onion and others...

The Taiwan Sausage - TWD40

About few hundred meters away from Fongchia road, we came to another junction and saw this...

Welcome to Fong Chia Night Market (逢甲夜市)

I believe this was another part of the night market in Wenhua road. We tried not to miss any lane here and so...just simply explore the street!

Fong Chia Night Market (逢甲夜市)

Colourful slippers!

The interesting helmet stall. Which is your favorite? :)

As I look on top of me, there are cables Flying everywhere! Haha!

The cables on top of my head...

We discovered another Flagship Night Market within the night market! Interesting! Night market within night market.

Privilege parking

We explored the night market until midnight and I bought a few cans of Taiwan beer back to hotel.
We called it the night!

Full Of Angry Birds!

Related post :-
*  My Taiwan Trip on May, 2011

Location map of Fong Chia Night Market at Taichung, Taiwan

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Moldova -- Survey of Jewish Heritage Sites is Now Online

Ruined synagogue, Vadul Rashkov. Photo: U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

The first and most complete survey of Jewish heritage sites in Moldova has been published online on the website of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad. It includes synagogue buildings, Jewish cemeteries, Holocaust memorials and sites of mass burials, Jewish communal buildings and other sites.

The survey was carried out by Igor Teper, and Sam Gruber, who oversaw the survey, carries a long report on the process -- with lots of pictures -- on his blog.

Few countries in Central and Eastern Europe have as rich a Jewish history and collection of Jewish history sites as small Moldova, nestled in between Romania and Ukraine. Long a crossroads of cultures, modern Moldova today, however, is little known and rarely mentioned. Jewish communities and Jewish heritage sites in neighboring countries garner more attention and more tourists, though most of the Jewish sites in the region are starved for funds for basic maintenance, let alone restoration. Seven years ago the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage, of which I was Research Director, teamed with the Joint Distribution Committee to identify, document and survey as many Jewish historical and Holocaust-related sites as possible within a year.

 Sam also posts his introduction to the Survey -- a summary of the history of Jewish sites in Moldova, as well as the typology of sites and their condition.

Prior to the Holocaust, the area that is present-day Moldova was home to a thriving Jewish culture that built and maintained a large number of community buildings for religious, educational, and charitable purposes. In addition, there were many Jewish cemeteries throughout the country serving Jewish communities. The second half of the 19th and the early 20th centuries witnessed the greatest growth of organized Jewish institutions and that is the period from which most surviving buildings date. These include synagogues and community buildings such as schools, hospitals, and old age homes. Some of these institutional buildings are the Jewish sites that have survived best because the facilities have been most easily adapted and reused by successor institutions, often providing services similar to the original.

The destruction wrought during the Holocaust, when German and Romanian occupiers destroyed many synagogues and other Jewish sites, was severe. Further destruction continued during the nearly half century of Soviet rule when scores of buildings were either demolished outright, or were destroyed over time by neglect; and when hundreds of buildings were confiscated by the state and adapted to new uses. It is only in the past several years that efforts have begun to identify all these sites. One important reason is to negotiate the return of many community properties to the Jewish community, or to arrange for proper financial compensation for many others which are not easily returned.

 My friend, the Swiss diplomat Simon Geissbuhler, has written about some of these places in his book "Like Shells on a Shore: Synagogues and Jewish Cemeteries of Northern Moldavia."

Bob Cohen posted a wonderful description on his Dumneazu blog about going home to his ancestral shtetls, Telenesti and Orhei.

Jewish cemetery, Telenesti. Photo; U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad