Seriously Anna?! You are going to Israel? Isn’t it dangerous? That was the first reaction of most of the people I told about my travel destination. And the answer I gave was almost always pretty much the same: “Everything is gonna be alright and nothing will happen”. I felt optimist and outgoing about the country, even when I had a little bit of fear in me. For that I had different reasons...
First – of course – I knew that Israel hasn’t the best reputation because of their internal conflicts. Maybe you are familiar with the words Palestinians or Gaza Strip. There are less other countries that have so many different religious and cultures than Israel. Many different ways of thinking lead to different friction points. But exactly because of the different cultures and traditions is Israel such an interesting and incredible country.
My other concern about our unusual trip was my mum, who was worried most. She always said that I should never remove far away from my uncles. (As mothers say it constantly, we all know that). I understood her worries, but I had trust, gave her a big hug and promised her that we will see each other in on week.
So that was my mind BEFORE the journey. What I am going to tell you is what we see, the mentality and lifestyle there and my conclusion after the trip.
ARRIVAL IN JERUSALEM
When we landed at Tel Aviv airport we straight go by bus to Jerusalem. Maybe I should mention at the beginning that there are excellent bus connections almost everywhere in Israel. After we throwed our luggage into our hotel rooms and made a little deodorant-shower we started to explore the city. What we noticed immediately were the plurality of traditional Jewish orthodox dressed people with the black suit, the black hat and often with a long beard and the curious sidelocks called “Payot”. Male Jewish people also show their belief with the so-called “Kippah”, that’s a brimless cap made from cloth, maybe you have already seen it. At the beginning there were many questions open, alone because of the appearance of the people there. But we had a whole week to play Sherlock Holmes and to find the meaning and background of the dubious rules and different traditions of the Jewish people.
Mahane Yehuda Market – THE bazaar in Jerusalem
A short time after our arrival we were in the middle of the big bazaar in Jerusalem the Mahane Yehuda Market, who is a labyrinth of market stands, alleys and crossroads, but luckily there are signposts around nearly every corner. The bazaar of Jerusalem is a colourful mix of porcelain, original spices, religious symbols, smoothie stands, damn-good-smelling falafel and hummus stands (one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to leave Israel without eating falafel and hummus, just said it!) and much more stuff for tourists.
Experience the spirit of the Western Wall
When we found out of the lively and tight bazaar alleys, we went our better we were blindsided by the entry of the Western Wall. To visit the Western Wall was definitely on our To-do list, but that we found it that soon had nobody thought. The Western Wall is a big Wall – oh really Anna what a surprise!? – joking aside, people go there to complain their worries, to pray and I also saw some people who actually cried. They mood there is very spiritual and intimately in front of the old Wall made from chalk.
Some things you absolutely should know before you are going to visit the Western Wall is that there is a separate area for men and women. No one is allowed to enter the area of the other gender. The next strange rule is that women have to cover their knees and shoulders before they enter, and the men have to wear a kippah. Weird, but it’s their religion.
Glory Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Nearly everybody learns as a child the holy story about the rising of Jesus, that he lay two days in a grave and then he revived from the dead. Probably the most incredible thing and central point of our catholic believing. Over the grave of Jesus Christ, they built a big church. And in the church, there is another small chapel with the grave of Jesus Christ inside. Stop, stop, stop, can we all site down, please! Yeah, I literally was next to the grave of Jesus… crazy. I mean whether is that really true or not is another question, but if we suppose that, I can only say these three fitting words: OH MY GOD!
Golden hour at the Mount of olives
Probably my highlight of the gorgeous and culturally valuable city Jerusalem was the sunset at the Mount of olives. In the past Jesus went on this Mountain for praying – especially on the Holy-Thursday, if you know the story. However, we went on the mountain in the late afternoon and waited there until the sun went down and until the sky showed us its most wonderful pastel colours. The golden cupola of the Dome of rock blazed in the magical light of the golden-hour-sun. All in all, it sounds very kitschy, BUT it was really like in a book of fairytales. I assure you that going on the Mount of olives shortly before the sun is down, is one of the best decisions you could make in Jerusalem.
INSIDER HOTSPOTS & FUNNY STORIES Good kosher restaurant in the Jaffa Street: Mike’s Place You should try the vegan burger and they also have a very good reginal beer – just in case (comment from my uncles). The mood is very casual and cool and sometimes at night they have live music in the cellar. - Jaffa Street 33
Fantastic place for nice Instagram pictures: colourful umbrella street - Yoel Moshe Solomon Street 1-5
Taking a picture at the I love JLM (Jerusalem) sign is a total must!
After we came out from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, we took a little break and sat down in front of a house. Suddenly the door opened, and my uncle got frightened because he was sitting in front of the door. An old lady came outside and gave us a bowl of fresh cut melon slices and said we can have them. Either she wanted that we should go away fast, or she was extremely friendly.
When we hiked on the Mount of olives, we surprisingly met a new friend. We met Freddy, Freddy is a 3-meter-high and friendly, funny and just cute looking camel.
ON THE ROAD TO THE DEAD SEA
New day – new adventure! After we stayed a few days in Jerusalem, we spontaneous rented a car and drove to the Deas Sea. As a said before the bus connections are principal good but we decided that it would be more comfortable to drive with the car. The imagination of waiting at a bus stop in the middle of nowhere with 42 ° Celsius outside wasn’t very attractive to us.
Stop in Masada
Whatever, our first point on our list actually wasn’t the Dead Sea. We made a hike in Masada. In the former times Masada was a Jewish settlement in or better on the mountains, until the Romans besieged it. You can only reach Masada with a gondola, because it is located very high, even the drive to Masada is an absolute highlight. Once you are up it doesn’t seem like it is real, because the view is like a dream. It is an indescribable feeling when you look around and see giant areas of mountains, desert land and of course the incomparable Dead Sea, which stood out of the dry desert landscape with its deep blue colour. I think there are no more words needed, than look at the pictures.
Float in the Dead Sea
FINALLY, the moment we have all waited for… how is it to swim in the Dead Sea?! The first thing you should do is to organize your ultimate essential for the Dead Sea: a NEWSPAPER. Why a newspaper? Good question, the Dead Sea is the lowest elevation on earth with 430 meters under the sea level and has a salt content of 30 %. That means you can easily float on the water and read your newspaper without going under. Of course, we took the famous newspaper-photo in the Dead Sea – it was the great idea of my uncle. Taking the picture was probably the coolest photo shoot a have had ever done, even when it was very risky because I went in the water with the borrowed camera of my school – but it was totally worth it!
DO & DON’TS AT THE DEAD SEA Never and I mean never, never dive under in the Dead Sea. The water is so salty that it burns as acid in your eyes. But no worry, there are freshwater showers everywhere on the beach.
Don’t think “Oh it is so hot today; we should cool down in the Sea”. The Dead Sea is in reality a warm soup, because it’s most of the time very very hot in this area. Well, when you want to refresh yourself, the Dead Sea is probably the wrong location for you. But most people go there to experience the crazy float feeling and not to have a normal beach day.
What you shouldn’t miss is to pamper yourself with a good Dead Sea sludge mask. It is very healthy for your skin and looks really funny.
CITY/BEACH LIFE IN TEL AVIV
We started our layover in Tel Aviv with a chill walk on the beach and a very good lunch at a cozy beach restaurant with very friendly waiters. Everybody was a little bit tired because we covered long distances with the car. There is actually not very much to say about the first day in Tel Aviv– pretty chill beach day with delicious food, swimming in the sea and a beautiful sunset. To tank energy was very important for all of us. So, keep it cool.
On the contrary to Jerusalem is Tel Aviv a very modern and big city. The people there are very open minded. Almost everywhere in Tel Aviv you can see the rainbow flags. Much tourists say you first come to Jerusalem for praying and then you come to Tel Aviv for partying… and I think that says all. But before we shake off on the dance floor, we will talk about a few sights.
Hipster Quarter Florentine
Disregarding from beach and business downtown, there are a lot of interesting quarters, for example the cool and arty streets of Florentine. You can find there many and some really great street arts, crazy bizzar shops, bars, little restaurant and coffee shops. When you want to see all the great graffities, I recommend you to go the Florentine at the daytime. But at the day Florentine is more like a ghost city because nearly all shops have closed. It even gets interesting at night when the bars open and the pure night life starts. But all in all Florentine is a little bit crazy and honestly I think you can get everything there and I thereby mean everything.
Café in Neve Tzedek
The district Neve Tzedek is perfect for an afternoon coffee. You can find there lots of cool shops, coffee shops and alleys, who are not full stuffed with tourists. If you look closely you can also find some small really good street arts. So, enjoy you chill Neve Tzedek afternoon walk!
Old Jaffa
Old Jaffa is – as you can imagine – the old town of Tel Aviv. We you walk along the harbour, there is a very small entry arch to Jaffa, almost to overlook. Old Jaffa isn’t very big but a really nice place to visit. Follow the stairs and you will come to an amazing view all over Tel Aviv, the beach and the skyline, old houses and one of my favourite places of journey: the fairy lights-palm-stair! Great for taking pictures and for realising the aesthetic of this wonderful place. There is also a small wishing well, of course we throwed coins inside and a rainbow frame where we took many cool pictures with the skyline to our back.
OUR FAVOURITE PLACES TO CHILL Absolut coolest beach restaurant all over Tel Aviv: LALA LAND You can sit directly in the sand (which is what we do) or you can take a normal table inside. The food is fantastic, and the waiters are all very very friendly. We were there nearly every day plus the name of the restaurant is similar to my favourite movie ;) INSIDER TIP: order a Shawarma, it is a traditional Arabian meal and tastes like heaven - Herbert Samuel 131 Gordon Beach, Tel Aviv Israel
Portion fish and chips at the harbour in Tel Aviv – honestly, I can’t remember the restaurant where we ate those delicious fish and chips, but I think it is not really difficult to find. It is located next to the harbour around a random corner, near several brand shops.
Tel Aviv also has a huge park called Yarkon park, good place to look for some trees to lay under and to enjoy the shadow on hot days. A nice idea could be to bring some food and make a little picnic. While we chill in the grass, we saw a big family who was making a picnic under the palms, they also had some really good old jazz music. All in all, it looked very cozy and inviting.
And OF COURSE in the sea and preferably on the beach while sunset!
So, that was it! My over 2000 words long blog post about the fascinating country Israel. Hopefully I answered some open questions in this post and give you another way of thinking about this country, who hasn’t the best reputation. Fear shouldn’t control our life, but reliance.
Love Anna
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