Monday – Day 13
August 2, 2012
Monday morning was somewhat similar to the day, with a good sleep in to start the day and a good chunk of time just spent chilling with Ariel and Gali. However, in the afternoon we decided to catch the bus into Tel Aviv central and from there walk to Neve Tzedek, the first and most beautiful neighborhood of Jerusalem.
Since it’s founding in the early 1900s by new olim (immigrants, including my family) Neve Tzedek has become something of an artist’s colony, replete with galleries and gelaterias.
From Left: Ariel, Gali, Sarah
Us outside the old railway station
We walked down through the entire neighborhood, eventually coming to rest at the old train station, no longer in use. Now the site hosts a few restaurants, an exhibition or two, and much to Sarah’s excitement, a wooden mind games shop. With a look of delight in her face, she stopped to play and attempt to solve all manner of wooden puzzles, staying for a good twenty minutes. Additionally, in the courtyard was a piano, horribly out of tune but painted interestingly which I banged around on for a few minutes.
Cool Piano in Neve Tzedek
From there I led the way, roughly in the direction where I believed a special building to me lay. After about five minutes I found it! My great grandfathers house, complete with a plaque marking the place, and though I had been there before I took the mandatory photo in front of it as below.
The house of Shlomo and Rivka Abulafia
After that it was time to quickly find dinner before Ariel and Gali had to go home before army the next day. We settled on a little sushi shop and sat at the bar. After that I walked home to sleep for another day. The floor was not too comfortable.
Sushi!
Israel – Day 10
July 31, 2012
Today was my first really late wake up! 10AM!
After waking up and eating a delicious Israeli yoghurt for breakfast, Sarah and I went off to the Carmel market. There I purchased some dried fruit (plantains, pineapple and peaches) and wandered the lanes in the oppressive heat.
Carmel Market
It was there we ran into Ashley Chapman of Hineni fame. Though we were supposed to be waiting for one of Sarah’s friends from MDA (Magen David Adom/Israeli Ambulance Service), the humidity and heat proved too much to bear so we retreated to her apartment (stopping for a felafel) where Sarah took a nap and I chatted to the participants of the program in the girls’ apartment.
Sarah’s Felafel
Ashley Chapman
Kabbalat Shabbat was held at the boys’ apartment off Rechov Arlozorov where my brother Adi was staying with his friends. Though it took a good deal too much effort to get it started, the minyan (prayers) was very nice! Packed full with twenty people, far more than the apartment was ever meant to hold, Sarah, Daniel Serebro and I retreated to a corner to chat. Sarah and I went back to our apartments to sleep.
The Alps – Day 5
July 25, 2012
It’s about time to describe the breakfasts I have been having every morning. They are some of the most lavish I have had in my life, replete with berries, cheeses, breads, cereals, drinks, fruits and jams. Of particular note are the cheeses visible in the photo, ranging from Tete de Moine (as in the below video), to Gorgonzola, to Brie.
The breakfast spread was positively delicious and was eaten for all five days I was there!
Breakfast!
Each morning we consumed a good punnet of raspberries alongside a good few blueberries too! Also available were currents of both the red and black varieties. It was also at the various breakfasts that I discovered a real liking of swiss pastries, from the buttery gipfle to the brioche. Zopf, Swiss Sunday bread, somewhat like challah is delicious too.
Zopf Bread
Tete de Moine
Today was my last full day in Switzerland and it was spent traversing the Swiss country side, the highlight of which was a trip to the Alps! As it was Summer, the Emptings and I were prepared for at worst some cloudy weather. Unfortunately for us, fate had other plans and we faced a windy barrage of raindrops, pelting us as we caught the chairlift to the summit of one of the mountains. As we walked back down, we came across a little cafe which we entered for shelter. I tried a traditional Swiss drink, the Rumpunch, a very sweet, syrupy, hot drink. I didn’t like it much.
The View
Exiting we saw a rare sight: wild eidelweiss growing on the side of the road. I of course took photographic evidence and was then informed by the Emptings that it was in fact illegal to take flowers away from the Alps, and so left it there.
Eidelweiss
On the way back to Zurich we drove via a town called Elm, that was completely annihilated by a rockfall caused by over mining the mountain nearby. If you look closely in the photo below you can see where they fell from. The fall left only two survivors, who were up on the hill that day, in contrast to most of the village that was engaged in some celebration. Elm was rebuilt and is home to a factory producing some famous Swiss drink whose name escapes me, but is milk based (and awful too!)
Elm – Rockfall
The evening was spent back in Baden, with both Carmen and Eva, and we whiled away the hours recalling the times we’ve had together and the mischief we’ve all gotten up to since.
Baden