Yvonne was our guide a few summers ago, pre COVID, before travel was shut down. We were particularly interested in the Jewish Quarter. Yvonne took us to see the old synagogues and the Jewish cemetery where the Maharal is buried. Yvonne was both knowledgeable and enthusiastic to share the history of each place with us and in making suggestions for other tours on a return trip when we would have more time to explore. One synagogue was built like a fortress, a reminder to us of how precarious the lives of the Jews were, always at risk of a pogrom. Another synagogue was set up like a museum with all kinds of Judaica set up in display cases with descriptions well placed to take us back to days when the ritual objects were part of real life every day. The last synagogue we saw has the names of every Jew who was deported and killed in the Holocaust written on the walls. As Elie Weisel exhorted, all that is needed for evil to be perpetrated is silence, with no one speaking out in protest or acting to help.
Yvonne was so personable and enthusiastic about the history of her birth place. We hope to return again soon now that travel is possible.