Our 2017 Journey Begins ...

January 10-12, 2017

Besides Sid, only one other person knows what kind of pre-trip meltdown I had for 2 days prior to departing. I postponed organizing and packing till the day we left, which should have been OK since our flight didn't leave until 945PM. I already did all the shopping I had to do and mentally prepared a packing list; all I had to do was throw everything in the suitcase. Somehow it didn't quite unfold that way. I had a last minute office emergency that had to be taken care of immediately. I kept remembering something else that needed to be taken care of or brought with. Every time I remembered something I started freaking out about what else I had forgotten or neglected to do. Not a pretty sight, by any means.

The worst of it was that we didn't get upgraded on the flight to London, and I was furious. 24 hours before we departed there were 12 empty seats in business class; the morning we departed there were none. To make matters worse, we were cancelled off the upgrade list, but supposedly put on a list for airport upgrades. When we checked in for the flight the agent said we weren't even on that list, so she put our names back on. In the end we were upgraded (1 hour before the flight took off) at the gate, which was great, but what really infuriated me was that there were 5 empty seats in business class. And I want the $100 it cost me to check an additional bag refunded, since business class passengers are allowed 2 checked bags per person. American Airlines customer service is going to get an ear full about this.

The flight was smooth and we even landed 1/2 an hour early. It's a good thing, because security at Heathrow was more than thorough and took forever. I barely had time at the duty free to pick up a couple bottles of single malt to tide us over for the next 2-1/2 months.

The EL Al flight from London to Tel Aviv was about 95% full, and in coach it makes a big difference in comfort. We sat 4 rows from the back, with about 5 inches of legroom. The good news was by the time we got off the plane our luggage was on the carousel, and there was no line at immigration. Israel is so ahead of the game when it comes to electronic border control. There are kiosks in several locations for biometric passport holders, which apparently everyone but me has.

We got to the apartment around 1130PM. The key was hidden in the garden outside the building (this is why we always bring flashlights). And we only had to shlep the bags up 16 steps. The apartment is very large by Israeli standards (about 800 sq ft, 3 bedrooms and a bath and a half) and nicely rehabbed. And it's for sale ... for the shekel equivalent of $800,000. The owner stocked the fridge with cheese, milk and a box of cookies. We had a cup of tea and unpacked almost everything before crashing and going to sleep at 1AM.

We slept till 8 this morning. The weather is glorious - sunny and quite warm (high 50's). We finished unpacking, went out for breakfast and a bit of shopping at the local supermarket. 

As often as we've come to Israel, each time I see the coast line from the air it's still a thrill. From the moment we landed things felt right. All the reisefeber (pre-travel anxiety) went by the wayside. It feels like a missing limb has spontaneously regenerated. More to the point, it feels like a missing piece of my soul has been revived.

Shabbat shalom,

Peggy and Sid

Dateline London

If Jenny reads this I apologize for not calling. I tried but couldn't get the call to go thru.

This is the final entry for this trip. I intended to send one final post before we left, but as usual things got way too busy at the end. Fortunately for this blog (but not for us) our flight from London to Chicago is delayed 3 hours which gives me time to write this. A good thing too, since it took an hour and a half to change planes here.

The final 10 days was especially busy. On top of the normal activities we saw a terrific new exhibit at the Israel Museum, Pharoah in Canaan. Mostly comprised of objects from the museum's collection, it tells the story of the cultural and commercial ties between Egypt and Canaan 3000 years ago.

Our friend Herb Eiseman and his daughter Alexis were in Israel and we met for dinner on Wednesday, March 23. It was Alexis' first trip. Herb has been here many times, and is now serving in Sar-El on the same base where Sid served at the beginning of our trip. Seems a very long time ago.

Purim was March 24 in Jerusalem. It's celebrated a day after the rest of the world, as is the case with all walled cities. In fact some formerly walled cities like Hebron celebrate both days, which means 4 megilla readings and lots of drinking. Everyone gets in the spirit and the partying went on and on and on.

Because of Purim two of the students in my krav maga class were off on Thursday, so we relocated to a lovely park about a 10 minute walk from our apartment. It was a much tougher workout than usual, and Moshe really got into the Purim spirit with his version of a Donald Trump costume. Because of the holiday (and perfect weather) the park was full of picnickers and we attracted quite a crowd.

 Shefa, Moshe and me

This wasn't posed; I really did hit him that hard.


Friday we had dinner at Batsheva's. It was bittersweet.

Saturday we invited our upstairs and downstairs neighbors for lunch. We met the upstairs neighbor the day we moved into the apartment. In the small world department, he's from Skokie and went to Niles North. His wife is from San Diego. They met at Pardes about 30 years ago, got married and raised 4 kids here. The downstairs neighbors are relatively new olim - only 6 years. They moved into the building in September after a total renovation. Altho it has the identical floor plan, it looks nothing like our apt. One of the many things Israelis do very well is rehabbing. Plumbing, electricity, walls ... never a problem.

Sid renewed an old friendship, which came about because of a notice in the paper advertising a lecture by Hillel Milgrom. He and his wife Debbie were friends of Sid's from the early 70's. Sid went to the lecture and afterwards they went out for lunch. They wanted to get together with me as well and we made a lunch date for Sunday. Lovely people. He's written several books on various aspects of the Tanach.

Monday was my last session at Yeshurun, the women's class I'm addicted to. It was a special treat, as the guest lecturer was Yemima Mizrachi.

Monday was also my last krav maga session. Unfortunately it was pouring nonstop, cold and windy. We train outside in all weather conditions except snow, but I wasn't looking forward to working out in the mud. Moshe sent a message saying he was changing the venue to Cinema City, which is a multi-plex and mall combined. We were a bit confused, as we couldn't imagine where we were going to train, but we figured maybe they had a gym and he somehow worked out a deal to use the facilities when the weather is really bad. He has been looking for a suitable indoor space.

But nooooo. The class turned out to be a yellow belt ceremony for me. I was shocked, as was everyone else. He kept it a secret for over a month. It's quite an achievement, and I am both proud and humbled. Moshe is not the type who gives out belts just because you show up. You have to earn it.

On Tuesday Batsheva and I made our annual trek to Ramat Rachel for massages. Much needed girl time, which we really didn't have much of this trip. But we will rectify that in the months ahead.

We had a final dinner with Dori at Pompidou. Food was fabulous, as always.

Wednesday, our last day. I went to my art class. Everyone brought food and said all kinds of nice things. This is a group that has really bonded and I'm happy to have been welcomed so wholeheartedly.

Batsheva, Klara, Me, Yaffa, Rachel, Shula, Racheli, Sima, the other Yaffa, Yael

Our final outing last night was downtown to Ben Yehuda Street. There was a musical event and I was curious. It turned out to be a DJ playing very loud techno music. In fact you could feel the vibrations through the street. Not exactly our thing, but a very upbeat way to say goodbye.

Till next time,
Peggy and Sid

Bouncing Around (Part II)

We finally took our trip to the North. Just between us, I could have lived without it, but Sid has been feeling cooped up.

We left Tuesday, March 15. I will never again begin a trip on the Ides of March.

I reserved a car from Hertz. We had been using Eldan, but the last time we rented from them the car had cigarette butts in the ashtray (of a non-smoking car) and they charged a security deposit without letting us know.When I told this to the clerk when we returned the car I just got a blank stare. So to hell with them, there are other fish in the sea. Hence, Hertz. When we went to get the car there was a long line and only 2 people working at the counter. When it finally got to be our turn (30 minutes later) there was some problem with an unpaid bill from our last rental EIGHT YEARS AGO. According to them we owed $30 for using the tollway. Impossible, I said, because the way it works is the toll company sends the bill to the car rental company, and they pass the charge through to the customer's credit card. In addition they said we owed another $100 for an accident. This is from 8 years ago, and they couldn't understand why this wasn't crystal clear in our memories. I must have been over-caffeinated that morning because between the half hour wait and the unpaid bill nonsense I got very steamed and we walked out. We went next door to Thrifty; all they had was a full size car for 4 times what Hertz was charging for a midsize. Then we bit the bullet and went back across the street to Eldan. All they had were full size cars for about the same price as Thrifty. In a final attempt to avoid going back to Hertz with my tail between my legs, we tried Sixt. They had a compact for a few dollars more than Hertz and we grabbed it. And they were very nice. By the time we got back to the apartment to pick up our bags it was lunch time, so we made sandwiches to eat along the way. We didn't leave Jerusalem till 1PM. Beware the Ides of March.

From then on things improved. We flipped our original plans and went straight to Nof Ginossar via the Jordan Valley. I love this ride. It's my kind of scenic (desert) and not terribly crowded. We made it to Tiberias in two and a half hours. Because we've stayed at the kibbutz several times we were upgraded to a deluxe room. What, you might ask, is a deluxe room at a kibbutz? It's much larger, has a ginormous soaking tub and they provided bathrobes and slippers. Best of all, they had Fox News.

We weren't terribly hungry for dinner so we had a light snack in the bar. We met some interesting tourists, chatted a while, then went back to the room to watch the early Super Tuesday results.

On Wednesday we took a jeep tour in the Golan Heights. It was just the two of us, and the guide was very good. We went to 2 areas that couldn't have been more different even though they were only a few minutes apart. That's one of the things that continually amazes me about Israel. For such a tiny country it has about 15 micro-climates and an immense variety of flora and fauna. Our guide was particularly in tune to plant life. For the first 15 or so minutes he pointed out several varieties of poisonous plants and how they kill. The giant fennel which thins the blood causing internal bleeding. The oleander which causes a heart attack. Cheery stuff. But then we saw some amazing animals - an eagle with a 12 foot wing span soaring above a field looking for prey, and several hyraxes, a mammal so unique that it's its own genus. The views overlooking the Galilee from the Golan are beautiful. We also got a brief lesson about the political and military history of the area. In order to appreciate the precise nature of the security situation you really have to see it from the Golan Heights. From there we travelled to Beitsaida Valley, a descent of about 1000 yards, and drove through a very bumpy trail that followed a small spring fed stream. We stopped and the guide made tea - a home brew composed of mint, star anise, citrus flowers, cinnamon and a few other herbs that he threw in. It was a great expedition.

Afterward we had to make our annual pilgrimage to the Teva Naot factory outlet. I've been coming to this store for many years, and always bought at least 2 pairs of sandals. This time I struck out. The prices were no better than what you'd pay on sale, and the selection was not good at all. What a disappointment, even tho it's a very scenic drive. Lesson learned - it's not worth schlepping up to within a few miles of the Lebanese border just to get a few dollars off a pair of shoes.

To make up for it we had a wonderful dinner at the Pagoda, a Chinese restaurant that's been around for years. Food is always good.

Thursday morning after breakfast we were on our way to Zippori. This is a place I've wanted to visit for years and it didn't disappoint. It was a Jewish city that didn't participate in the Jewish Revolt against the Romans, and for that reason it wasn't razed. In fact it was an important city in the Galilee till Byzantine times. It's best known for the magnificent mosaic floors that have survived for two millenia.

This photo is from the synagogue floor. The inscription is in Aramaic, and archaeological evidence points to it honoring a donor family. Even back then people had an edifice complex.

This is part of a cactus forest, like nothing I've ever seen.

****************************************************************


It wouldn't be right not to address the recent wave of terrorism that took place during last week's visit by VP Biden. On my way to art class Wednesday morning I passed by the Citadel Hotel, which had a fleet of dark-windowed black SUVs with diplomatic plates and several security personnel outside. As I continued to class I mentally composed a letter to him, asking when he planned to call the family of Taylor Force, who was murdered in Jaffa the previous night, and what the US government planned to do about it. (Another American tourist, Kristene Luken was murdered last Saturday in the Jerusalem Forest.) When I got to class everyone was abuzz about the shooting spree that had taken place only a few minutes before. Two Arabs, this time with guns, went on a rampage through residential areas, and were finally stopped somewhere very near the school. One of the students lives in the neighborhood and heard shooting. What made this attack different is the fact that they have upgraded from knives to guns. The unfortunate irony is that the only person injured happened to be an Arab, who is being treated in Hadassah Hospital. Although not widely reported, there is an average of one attack per day, somewhere in the country.

In spite of this, Israel is the 11th happiest country in the world according to Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Life goes on and time goes by much too quickly. We are in countdown mode with only 13 days left. And I'm not ready to leave, not by a long shot.

Shabbat shalom,

Peggy and Sid

Bouncing Around (Part I)

We finally got out of town last week for 2 lovely days at the Dead Sea. The weather was wonderful - high 80's and sunny the first day, just a bit cooler the second day. I could live there. The desert is beautiful, especially at this time of year. The hills on the road down from Jerusalem are covered with a peach fuzz of greenery, which will disappear soon as the rainy season comes to an end. I'm always amazed at how many archaeological sites we pass on the road; there was a lot (no pun intended) going on in the Negev back in the day. It was part of the great trade routes from the east, and communities evolved along the route about a day's ride or oasis apart from each other. Several years ago Sid and I stumbled on the opening of a UNESCO World Heritage site in this region - a Nabatean settlement, quite large and extensive as they tended to be. The Nabateans are best known for the fabulous city of Petra, which we toured last year.

It's an oft-repeated phrase that the Israelis have made the desert bloom. This gets truer every year, as new agricultural techniques and water management improve yields. It takes one's breath away to think that this tiny country, with an arid climate to begin with and 60% desert, produces food and flowers for export. There's another way in which the Israelis have made the desert bloom. 25 years ago this was pretty much all you saw when you traveled along the shore of the Dead Sea:

Rocky desertscape

Salt formations along the shore


That was then ... this is now ...

There are about a dozen hotels in Ein Bokek along the Dead Sea shore

And this is where we stayed

Sunrise over the Moab Mountains in Jordan

This is an exercise area along the shore. From far away we thought it was a playground, which we felt was a pretty dumb idea. When we got closer and realized what it actually was, we thought it was pretty cool.

The Dead Sea hotels are known for their food. Breakfast and dinner are buffets about a mile long. And the choices change daily. Here's a sample:

When we got up on the third morning the skies were overcast and a wind came up. Even at the Dead Sea the weather gets bad, including flash floods. We decided to go on our way right after breakfast. Our next destination was to pick Dori up from her base ... it was her last official day of military service. She was stationed at a strategic base that coordinates and oversees the Northern and Southern Commands. The base is located about 5 kilometers from the Gaza border. The fun never stops.

*   *  *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  

I haven't mentioned much in the way of cultural goings-on so far this trip. Although culture here is vibrant, we didn't find as much that interested us this year as we have previously. We did see a delightful play (First Date) a few weeks ago. But now we are making up for lost time. Tonight we just returned from seeing a performance of Swan Lake by the St Petersburg Ballet. Last week we saw an amazing performance by a group called Los Vivancos. It was advertised as flamenco, but was something else entirely. It was a group of 7 men who danced in a way that was unlike anything else I've ever seen - very athletic with elements of flamenco, Irish dancing, rock, gymnastics and lots of other things I couldn't identify.. Since I'm not a dance maven I can't describe it, but it was a fabulous show. 90 minutes without intermission.

We also attended 2 sessions of a 4-lecture series on S.Y. Agnon, who received the Nobel for literature several years ago. He is considered one of Israel's premier writers, but neither one of us has ever read anything he wrote. The professor (Jeffrey Sacks) was excellent.

A new exhibit at the Israel Museum, my old stomping ground, opened last Friday. Pharoah in Caanan. Just in time for Pessach, and just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about Pharoahs. We'll see it next week and report.

Shavuah tov from Jerusalem,

Peggy and Sid

Raindrops keep falling on our heads

For all those out there who are hanging on my every word, I apologize for not posting last week. Time just got away.

We have friends from Chicago who are here in Israel. We live 5 miles apart, but we have to travel 8000 miles to get together with them.

One friend is in Haifa for a month. He came to Jerusalem for a couple of days last week. We hadn't gone to the Kotel yet, so it seemed like a good idea to go with him. As you may or may not know, there are daily knife attacks in Israel. Enrollment in self-defense classes and sales of pepper spray are at an all-time high, and people don't move about as freely as they once did. Not that anyone is hiding out at home, but they are taking precautions. We could have taken a bus to the Kotel, but we decided to walk instead. There are a couple of ways to get from Jaffa Gate to the Jewish Quarter. I like going through the Armenian Quarter because it's the shortest way, and that's how we went. It was crowded, mostly with groups of soldiers who are taken on a tour of the whole country as part of their basic training. We felt very safe, but there was more to it. We normally go back to Jaffa Gate via the Christian Quarter. As often as I've gone that way, the sights and smells continue to captivate me. But at a time when anyone can pull out a knife, it's prudent to take a different route. This impacts the store owners, which is the crux of the matter. The leadership of the Palestinians, whether Hamas or Abbas, skim plenty off the torrent of money that pours in from Europe, the US and the UN. It's in their best interests to keep their population under control by threats and intimidation, and to keep them beholden by creating conditions of economic dependency. If shopkeepers go out of business due to a lack of tourists, so much the better. So we went back the way we came.

 At the kotel.

At the kotel. I'm glad they are armed.

With our friend Henry ... at the Kotel.

We stopped for dinner at Capit, one of my favorite restaurants in Jerusalem, and saw a delightful play - First Date - which is actually an American production that appeared on Broadway a couple years ago. Very funny, cleverly written, great cast.

Last Friday, at 615AM we were awakened by drops of water coming from the light fixtures above our bed. At first I thought I was dreaming - so did Sid. But sure enough, the ceiling was dripping. About 15 minutes later our downstairs neighbor knocked on the door; she came up to see if we had water. We started to explain about the dripping ceiling, but she said no, she wanted to find out if we had water in the taps. Yes, we did. Then we showed her our ceiling. Something was clearly amiss. We decided to find out what was going on upstairs and when we got to the landing between our floor and the one above it was flooded. The source was the apartment above us. A pipe broke during the night. He called a plumber who told him to turn off the main valve to his apartment. In the middle of the night he inadvertently turned off the wrong valve. Mysteries solved and the downstairs neighbors got their water back. As our dripping gradually abated, we were assured that this wasn't unusual
for a building that was built in the 30's, and most probably there was no real damage. If a fuse blew when we turned the bedroom light on, all we had to do is flip the breaker. Fortunately whoever renovated this apartment installed circuit breakers. I remember the days when apartments had fuses, and if one blew and you didn't have a replacement you had to get a copper coin to reconnect the circuits. As they say, those were the days, and the only damage was to our ceiling, which instead of water is dripping paint.

Dori's 21st birthday was yesterday. We were sort of surprised at how low-key she was about it. We went to dinner at Sushi Rehavia, which was very good, even tho I eat my food cooked.

Dori and Saba at Sushi Rehavia. Happy 21st to our granddaughter who has a double celebration - turning 21 and finishing her army service.

 Shabbat shalom from Jerusalem,

Peggy and Sid

Tech Wars

Weekly round-up ...

Sid's 2-week stint in the army was over last Thursday. It was more physically demanding than in the past, and the weather was very cold which made it not so pleasant. But for all the discomfort it's very rewarding, and you go away knowing you've made an important contribution to Israel.

There's always an interesting group of volunteers, from all over the world and from all walks of life. This time one of his two barracks-mates was from Northern Ireland. He will be on base for several more weeks, and will spend the weekends in Tel Aviv with his Phillapina girl friend.

 Sid's roommates Ted (upper photo) and Steven from Northern Ireland

 Local volunteers - something for retired LOLs to do

 Sid's jury rigged man cave

 Co-workers

Mashiah, the warehouse manager


The painting and ceramics classes are going well. I dragged Sid with me this week and he sort of liked the ceramics part. I stayed for an extra class - vegetable carving.



My first attempt at pastels.
It's really occupational therapy.

Here's the tech part...

Israel is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world. Hardly a surprise, since most of the technology in use today was invented or developed here. So it never ceases to amaze me when I run into a situation where a little technology would go a long way.

This particularly applies to banking. Even when I lived here, in the dawn of the computer age, banks had computers. But they were used as oversized adding machines. Transactions were not simplified nor streamlined. You still had to wait in line at your bank, and when it finally got to be your turn endure the inevitable jerk who elbowed his way in front of you with the excuse that he just had a quick question for the clerk. If you wanted to withdraw cash, you had to wait in a second line, with a form that was filled out in the first line, and again the same jerk elbowed his way in front of you, this time saying he was in a big hurry. The concept of a teller, who could perform all basic bank functions (like deposits and withdrawls) was unheard of until the First International Bank opened in Jerusalem. The other innovation was to install  revolving door, which was quite a curiosity at the time. The only other revolving door in Jerusalem was at the King David Hotel, and most locals hadn't been there. For several months people would go around and around in the revolving door at the bank, like kids like to do today. And branch banking? Fugedaboudit. The reason there were so many banks all over the city was because your bank was, literally, your bank. You couldn't go to the location down the block because that's not where your account was. Besides, it kept employment numbers high.

Change came about, as it inevitably does, and today you can take care of most business at any bank branch. For the simplest transactions ATMs accept deposits and dispense cash, and there are even designations as to which ATM does what.

After spending several months here, I finally decided to open a checking account and get a local ATM. No need to bring large amounts of cash with me, no need to go to a money changer every week or so. And with the strong dollar, the timing was right. So I went to Bank Hapoalim to open my account. Not one of the neighborhood branches, but the fancy main branch downtown that takes care of foreigners. I made the deposit and asked for some of it back in cash. The teller said this branch doesn't have a cashier. I was dumbfounded. I had just deposited a reasonable amount of money but had to go elsewhere to withdraw a relatively small sum. Not only that, but my ATM card wouldn't be ready for 5 more days. So what they had to do was issue a temporary ATM, good for one day only, so I could get some walking around money.

As I said last year ... embrace the chaos.



Shabbat shalom,

Peggy and Sid

The week that was

The news this week has not been good. On average there's one terror attack a day in the current knife intifada. Fortunately most attacks have not been lethal, and most have been so-called "lone wolf". I personally don't subscribe to the lone wolf theory.

But what happened Wednesday was different. Three terrorists from Jenin attacked two border patrol women at Damascus Gate, killing one and wounding the other. This is what happened:

The border police were stationed at Damascus Gate, a major entrance to the Old City's Muslim Quarter. An Arab behaved in a suspicious manner, and according to protocol, one of the women (girls, really; they're only 19) asked for his i.d. He reached into his coat, supposedly to pull out his papers, but instead drew a gun and shot her at point blank range. Although seriously wounded, she reacted instantly and shot her attacker. Her partner then shot a second attacker who had pulled a knife and was about to stab her. What the second patrol woman didn't know what that this was a group of three terrorists. The third one was behind her and stabbed her. The third terrorist was shot and killed by soldiers who were near the scene. The first patrol woman succumbed to her wounds and was buried today. 19 years old. The second was seriously wounded but is expected to recover.

According to the foreign press, 3 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military. No mention of the fact that they were armed with knives, guns and pipe bombs, and had the clear intention of carrying out a suicide attack somewhere in the Old City. The 2 wounded Israeli border patrol women were glossed over, making it seem as though 3 innocent Palestinians just going about their business were pounced on by the Israeli military. Another day in the paradise of the foreign press. Even the current Fox Middle East correspondent, Connor Powell, reported the story according to the Palestinian Authority Playbook.

All this pisses me off, and makes me grateful for organizations such as Honest Reporting, CAMERA, StandWithUS and SPME (Scholars for Peace in the Middle East).

But it's not all bad news ...

Sid finished his volunteer service and got home yesterday. Dori (and her stuff) are here. She returns to base on Sunday. She gets released in a couple weeks (time off for good behavior) even tho her official mustering out is on March 3. It's fun to have her around.

I realize this is short and whiny, but I want to post before candle lighting which is in 20 minutes. I welcome comments from anyone who is reading.

Shabbat shalom,

Peggy and Sid