Shalom Y’all

After three years of trying to finagle a business trip to Israel, I finally was given the opportunity to go last week.  There was a 3-day training session in the Israel-Haifa office, and I was one of the 4 colleagues chosen to attend.  As work blogs are boring, I will skip talking about the days at the office, and instead write about everything else (mainly dinners and the day off we were allotted).  Even sticking to these topics, I still managed to write a very, very long blog….

The week before the trip, the four of us all agreed to meet at the airport around the same time on Saturday morning.  The flight is at 11:30a?  9:30a sounds like a good time to me!  What?  The others are suggesting 8:30a??  Ok… fine.  I can be German about this and come ‘extra’ early to be super prepared.  Plus we had been told that security is more heightened when flying to Israel.  I had no idea….

Saturday morning arrives and Noah drops me off at Terminal 2 – it is a Lufthansa flight and all.  I make my way to the check in counter and am not able to do the bag drop.  I head over to a manned counter and the woman tells me that flights to Israel leave from Hall F, and that it is probably too late for me.  It is 8:40a.  For an 11:30a flight.  What is she talking about?  How can I be too late, and where is Hall F?  I only have ever heard of Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.  Based on her directions/warning to hurry up before the last bus leaves (whatever that means), I hustle out of Terminal 2, past the hotel, and find my way into Hall F.

Hall F is a very high security building that requires you to show your passport/tickets before even entering.  No big deal – I am prepared with both.  Unfortunately for me, the family of 15 that I am behind is not.  So I wait 5 minutes for them to sort out their papers before I even enter the building.  I see my colleagues already in line for the baggage check.  The only thing between us is this giant family.  Somehow I am assigned the bad luck of the group, and this family proceeds to take over an hour (combined with the fact that the ticket printing machine at one of the three counters breaks) to check in themselves and their luggage.  The line behind me grows increasingly long – eventually out the door.

Finally I get my turn and am ready for the second passport check and the security screening.  They only allow 2 people through at a time through the scanners/Xrays.  And I forgot to mention that there is security/police officers pacing around a wrap-around balcony above us the whole time.  After one more passport check, I am with all my colleagues in a large room waiting on the bus!  Ok – now I get the lady’s earlier comment about the last bus leaving.  We take the next bus and are transported over to Terminal 1 in a special area where our only food option is the vending machine.  Finally I am on the plane with the group and I am heading to Israel!! 

I unknowingly got a photo of my Tel Aviv hotel from the plane 

We land in Tel Aviv, grab our luggage and an entry visa (another snag where somehow everyone makes it through and I still am standing trying to get the girl at my counter to look at me), and hop in a cab to Haifa where our training will be. 

Back of the taxi

After checking into the hotel, it is time to find food!  The concierge lets us know that just down the street a bit are quite a few restaurant options, so we head out walking.  After passing some burger places, and Italian places, we see a sign across the street for Sleek Bar and Restaurant.  Curious we head over only to find a fro-yo shop with a couple plastic tables.  No thanks. 

At a loss, I pull out the TripAdvisor app to see what other options we have in the area.  Sleek comes up, and the photos look a lot nicer than what we are seeing.  I realize that the fro-yo shop is something else, and we have to head down this long creepy staircase to try to find the real restaurant.  With Fabian (the largest guy in the group) leading the way, we cautiously make our way down the steps, past a strange empty room with no signs, and through some felt panels.  We step into a really cool, mostly empty, bar/restaurant.  And while they don’t have the typical Israeli food on the menu, the BBQ sandwich I ordered was delicious. 

I have no idea who that creepy guy is on the left

The next day, Sunday, was our first day of training.  Yes, I worked on Sunday.  When in Rome Israel…  The nice thing was that we finished around 4pm, and the office is really close to the beach.  We made our way to the coast with a bit of sunlight to spare, and I was able to dip my feet in the Mediterranean Sea. It was rather hazy, but still a very pretty coast.  Sure I can see the Alps from the Munich office, but it’s not like after a 10 minute walk I am dipping my feet in the mountains. 

Dinner was at Fattoush – a restaurant in the German Colony.  The restaurant was adorable and the food was fantastic.  I went 50-50 on two dishes with my colleague, so I was able to enjoy both the Chicken Fattoushia and the beef shawarma.  For dessert we had hot kenafi – a sweetened goat cheese spread covered in crispy noodle things soaked in sweet syrup. 

Before heading back to the hotel, we walked up the street a bit to check out the Bahai Gardens lit up.  Then once we were back at the hotel, we went up to the top floor to enjoy the club lounge with its panoramic views of Haifa. 

After a failed sunrise photo shoot (the haze was back in the morning), it was another day of training.  The highlight of the day though was lunch.  Near the office is the restaurant ‘הבוקרים הנועזים’, or Daring Cowboys for those of us who don’t read Hebrew.  Yes, this is a Southern themed restaurant, covered in Cowboys and Indians, and the requisite saguaro.  They even had a ‘Texas Hamburger’ on the menu – though I steered clear of that.  I am here for Israeli food!  I ended up with the most delicious chicken kebab I have ever had, along with falafels and hummus and veggies.  The lunch came with dessert for everyone, but no one at the table had any room left in their stomachs. 

The haze owes me some sleep

Hummus and Falafel and Chicken, Oh My!

Back at the office, I see this guy casually standing at the reception desk.  While I saw many people with the M16s casually slung behind their back, I couldn’t get used to it. 

Training ended early that day, and the sun was finally out.  While we had some more work to do, I (easily) convinced the group that we should take a pause from working and pick it back up once the sun was gone.  With ~2 hours of sunshine at our disposal, we walked around our hotel to the top of the Bahai Gardens.  We were staying at the top of Mount Carmel, which gave us some impressive views of the city.  Unfortunately at the Bahai Gardens, they only let you into the very top tier of the tiered park, but it was still a very pretty overview. 

After such a big lunch, dinner was kept simple – a sandwich shop near the hotel called Ruben.  I just have to write that I had the best sweet potato fries here – I would go back to Haifa just to eat more of their fries.  That is all.

After the third/final day of training on Tuesday, we piled into a cab and made our way back to Tel Aviv for the second half of our stay.  I got a taste of the horrible Tel Aviv traffic, and was thrilled to make it to the hotel and rest a bit after a long cab ride.  Amit from the Israel group was nice enough to take us out to Meatos – a yummy restaurant near our hotel.  As expected, the food was amazing.  The one more ‘Israeli’ type dish we ordered was the halva mousse.  Halva is a tahini-based sweet, and this restaurant turned it into a mousse.  It wasn’t really my cup of tea, but the others raved about it.  I happily stuck to my chocolate soufflé while the others devoured the mousse.  

The rectangle building of the three was our hotel 

The halva mousse dessert (I ate the souffle too fast to photograph it)

After a quick FaceTime with Noah, I hit the bed early to prepare for our day off/day tour the next day. 

I just wanted Noah to be included in this blog too

Our tour guide Dave (found via TripAdvisor, and I swear I am not getting a commission from them!) picked us up bright and early at 7:30am.  We headed out of the city towards the Dead Sea.  Apparently there had been quite a bit of rain, so the normally dry, brown landscape was actually quite green.  We also passed some Bedouin tent villages and a Bedouin man with his flock.  

While our two ‘big’ destinations were the Dead Sea and Jerusalem, Dave squeezed in a few other stops for us.  The first was right at sea level (still a ways from the Dead Sea which is 429 meters below sea level).  There is a Bedouin man that sells tourists camel rides for 20 shekels.  I went first, which was lucky. When it was Peter’s turn, the Bedouin man decided that it should be a 2 for 1 and made Stefi join him.  I don’t think the man realized we were a group of colleagues and not good friends traveling together, and neither Peter nor Stefi were thrilled to lose out on the opportunity to ride the camel solo. 

Once we reached the Dead Sea, Dave pulled over to show us an old abandoned beach resort.  The interesting thing here was to be able to really visualize how much the sea has disappeared – you could tell where the water used to be just a few decades ago. 

Further down the road we reached Kalia Beach.  I have to say, the Dead Sea is not a place with gorgeous beaches.  It is rather brown and dirty looking, but 100% worth the visit.  The bottom of the lake is all muddy and squishy, and it is hard to wade in.  When I was in knee-deep water, Dave told me to just sit back and float.  I didn’t think I was in deep enough and was sure I would hit the bottom with my bottom.  But I did as told and was surprised to find myself floating so high up.  It really is a cool feeling to float so easily.  Of course I covered myself in the mud to really get the full experience.  

I also was able to get my photo taken with some soldiers thanks to Dave talking them into it. 

Back on the road, you could really tell the difference of the terrain/weather in the West Bank vs closer to Jerusalem. 

Our next ‘small’ stop was to Kasser Al-Yahud – the spot on the Jordan River where Jesus was supposedly baptized.  Because the Jordan River (the border between Israel and Jordan) is so narrow here, there is a sort of ‘No Man’s Land’ near the banks which is closed at night and not patrolled.  It definitely gave the whole area a bit of a scary feel to it.  While I didn’t dunk my entire body in the river and get baptized, I did take my shoes off and roll my pants up and stood in it.  That was enough to earn me a certificate. 

All these buildings in this photo are on the Jordan side of the border

Next we stopped quickly at the Monastery of St. Gerasimos, which is known for its great mosaic workshop. 

Finally we arrived in Jerusalem!  After all we had seen/done so far in the day, it was hard to believe that it was only time for lunch!  We hustled over to a small café that Dave preferred, and based on my google streetview research, I believe it was the Lark Hotel Armenian Restaurant (or at least near this address of 4 Ha-Patriarkhya ha-Latinit St.).  We had a huge spread of fresh hummus, falafels, and chicken shawarma, and I would pay a lot to repeat that meal. 

Our guide Dave on the left

Before and After

 Next we walked around the markets in the Old City, and I did a little bit of shopping.  I bought Noah an antique dreidel and a shirt that said Texas Longhorns, but Longhorns was in Hebrew.  I bought myself a necklace made of old Roman glass from the time of Jesus.  One shop we stopped in was filled to the brim with stuff – you could spend an entire day there! 

I am ready to be a Bedouin bride

We made our way through the narrow streets towards the Wailing (or Western) Wall.  Along the way we came across a really nice overview of the Dome of the Rock and the Mount of Olives. 

Mount of Olives - all those stones are grave markers

Once we went through security and found ourselves at the Wailing Wall, Stefi and I had to separate from the men and head to the women’s side of the wall.  This didn’t stop me from peeking over the barrier to take a few photos of the men’s side. 

Our next journey was to follow the Via Dolorosa, or the Stations of the Cross.  This is believed to be the path that Jesus walked carrying his cross towards his crucifixion.  The first 9 stations take you from the Muslim Quarter and into the Christian Quarter. 

The last stations, 10 through 14, are all in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 

This ended our big day tour, and we all piled back in the car and made our way back to Tel Aviv.  We ended the night at a Sushi restaurant near our hotel, and while it was above average compared to Munich – my expectations from all my meals in Israel were just too high. 

Nothing really notable happened Thursday – just work.  We didn’t do anything crazy our last night as we had to leave the hotel at 1:30a to make our 5:20a flight the next day.  

Security at the Tel Aviv airport was even more intense than in Munich.  Before even making it to the building, our taxi had to go through a check point where the doors were opened and we were all stared down.  Next you go through an initial security check point where you hand over your passport and explain what you were doing in Israel.  They also flip through your passport to see if you have been to any other Middle Eastern countries… which I had. I had a huge sticker from my trip to Istanbul in 2012.  This prompted an entire separate list of inquiries, like what were you doing there?/who were you with?/where did you stay?/do you have family or friends there?/etc.  As a completely innocent person who was there simply on vacation, I still felt anxious with the rapid fire accusatory questions at 2:30a.

After checking my baggage (at least 2 full hours before departure), I headed to the X-ray security screening.  Even after sending your carry-on luggage through the scanners, they still unpack everything and wipe everything down multiple times with pads to check for suspicious residue.  And this isn’t done at random – each person goes through this additional screening. 

After one more check point where I am granted my exit visa, I finally am done with the security stuff!  I now get to spend 3a-5a hanging out in a food court.  Whoo hoo!!  With the lack of sleep and the two flights (a layover in Frankfurt), it was inevitable that I would catch a cold.  But it was 100% worth getting sick to finally get to explore a bit of Israel, even though most of the exploring was via my stomach.  L'chaim!