Monday/Tuesday – Day 56/57
September 21, 2012
Monday was a fairly standard ‘Yom-Tov’ (festival, literally ‘good day’). The morning was spent in service in Sarah’s family shule (synagogue) and I was privileged enough to be given a big honor in the service, I was called to the Torah first out of everyone!
Lunch was again, quieter, with just me, a friend of Zack’s, and the rest of the family. However, this was all in preparation for another huge dinner! That night Robin was hosting Steven’s side of the family, very different characters from hers. Of note was Uncle Terry (Trevor? I’m not sure the name is correct.) who was unmarried and earning well, spending his gains on travelling around the world. He told me of his trips around Eastern Europe and even mentioned his upcoming travels to Iran!
Though dinner went late, Sarah and I stayed up again as we knew that we wouldn’t be seeing too much of each other however, eventually we needed to retire.
The next morning was much the same as the previous, just this time I had become more accustomed to the practices and musical tunes of Sarah’s synagogue, which improved the experience.
Finally we had a quiet meal! Just me and the family eating some leftovers; delicious! The afternoon Sarah and I just chilled, knowing we didn’t have too long left. Soon it was time to pack my bags, take a photo of Sarah and I, then back to thus bus station.
Sunday – Day 31 – Part 2
August 22, 2012
Sunday afternoon and it was time to head off again! Stopping at Alexanderplatz for a quick vegan Bratwrust made for a tasty pre-lunch snack and then it was off to the Hauptbahnhof (main station) for a train to Heidelberg.
Vegan Bratwrust
Boarding the train was a somewhat difficult procedure for me with all my bags, and, I soon found out that on a busy train such as the one I was taking, it was necessary to have pre-booked not only a ticket but a seat reservation. Above every seat was listed the passenger for whom it was reserved and without such a reservation I was forced to sit on the floor for six hours. To my discomfort, the area of the train on which I was able to find a spare bit of floor was un-airconditioned and Germany was experiencing its hottest day all year. The train ride was most uncomfortable but well worth it when I saw Elisabeth Schafer’s (of ISSI 2012) smiling face coming down the escalator at Heidelberg’s Hbf (Hauptbahnhof).
Heidelberg at Night
From there I met Damian, a friend of hers from ISSI 2011 and it was off to his place to put down my bags and have a little late dinner. After dinner at about 12 o’clock we set out ‘a walking the old city of Heidelberg, including to my joy, the old castle. There is not much I enjoy more than walking a city in the early hours of the morning. The castle was near deserted apart from a few drunk teenagers, and the old city was beautiful to behold. I was eager for the morrow when I would see it in daylight.
Thursday – Day 16
August 5, 2012
Sleeping at the boys’ apartment is an experience. With people on both day, afternoon and night shifts, the house is always moving. As the lucky one left without a bed, for me this means shifting beds at some point during the night to accommodate for those entering the house and those just waking up. Thus last night I did not sleep particularly well and needed an extra hour in the morning.
Following my wake-up I tried explaining the finer point of scheduling attacks on the WEP WiFi encryption scheme to members of the apartment, who suddenly were interested when they realized it had practical implications.
Sarah then rocked up for me to take her to lunch, which to her surprise, was to be held at the top of the circular Azrieli Tower, the tallest building in Tel Aviv.
At the top of the forty-ninth floor, is a restaurant 2C, kosher and more upmarket, with a 360 degree view of the Tel Aviv skyline. Being a lunch reservation, we were able to order from the business set menu which included three courses for the both of us for the price of ~70NIS each (~$20). I ordered bread and homemade dips, followed by the beef carpaccio with a main of Simia morrocan lamb on a bed of grilled vegetables. Sarah on the other hand took the dips, sweet potato soup and perfectly grilled salmon on mashed potato.
By the time they brought out the dessert menu we were completely stuffed and made a hasty exit, partially due to the impending chime of Sarah’s 3PM ambulance shift.
In the late afternoon I met up with Abi Reisner who has been living and working for the last few weeks on a permaculture farm just outside of the town of Modiin. Over an organic, fresh, eco-passionfruit we had a good chat about the gap year program and various other things.
The evening was Ma’ayan’s party, and on the way there I became a little more than slightly lost. Having been instructed by her to take bus number 25, I cleverly alighted onto bus 125. Following her instructions to get off after a certain number of stops, I found myself in what I would describe as an urban desert. A few buildings scattered here and there, large empty fields to my left, and nary a car in sight. After deciding to walk straight for a few minutes I came across a helpful guy who showed me a map and, when I asked him how to get to Haiim Levanon St. let me know that it was a good hours walk away and called me crazy. Nevertheless, I decided to walk there.
An hour later, and sweating from head to toe I made it to Ma’ayan’s place, where her, her boyfriend and a smart guy, Ariel Davis, were chatting in speedy Hebrew. Though my Hebrew was good, the conversation was a little hard to follow for me and I felt particularly awkward as this was also my first time meeting these people. For the next few hours it followed similarly, with new people coming in and me struggling to connect with them, as I had little in common and there was a small language barrier. I ended up conversing mostly with Ma’ayan’s brother, Elior and his girlfriend Lior. However, a bit later in the night things improved and by the end I was very glad I came and had met new people.