This will likely be the last post for Divrei Wek until April, when the WK has his Bar-Mitzvah in Jerusalem. Overall, this has been a good trip for us. It was harder than I thought it would be at times, especially because I have been missing Dad, and know how excited he would have been as we prepare for the WK's Bar-Mitzvah. But it was also hard being away from Pentheus and the CK. I'm not sure I can explain it, but when I travel, I usually rely on Pentheus to take care of things like directions while I focus on destinations. I was outside of my comfort zone a little being the "only grown up" for 10+ days. I had to be okay with wandering around a bit lost while we tried to find a certain store or street. However, it was great to spend so much time with the WK, and I'm so happy we had a good time together. Apparently, I must have shared how I was feeling with the WK because every once in a while he would say, "I know, Ima. You're glad that we're here together. You don't have to tell me all the time!" I feel like I need to finish blogging about the trip itself and stop carrying on about my feelings. So here goes.
Sunday morning, Shmulik picked up the WK and me, and drove us to the Old City, so that we could go to the Western Wall, the Kotel. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Wall and https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Western_Wall.html) The WK and I had talked about going to the Kotel last Thursday when we went back downtown to go to Machaneh Yehudah and pick up some more gifts. Later Thursday night when we were with Jessie's family for sushi, suddenly the WK declared, "Ima, we forgot to go to the Kotel!! I agree with the WK; you can't be in Jerusalem without visiting the Kotel. The WK put on his new watermelon kippah ( skullcap, yarmulke http://www.myjewishlearning.com/practices/Ritual/Prayer/Ritual_Garb/Kippah.shtml) took his siddur (prayer book), and parted ways with me as he went to the Men's section, and I went to the Women's. I walked up to the Kotel, inserted my handwritten note amongst the many, many notes filling up every nook and opening in the huge wall, and offered my silent prayer. I stood on a plastic chair to look over the barrier into the Men's section, and I watched the WK pray, bowing at the appropriate moments. I got chills watching him; the Kotel is always an emotional experience.
From the Kotel, Shmulik drove us to the Dan Panorama in Tel Aviv. Along the way, Shmulik and I had a lot of interesting discussions, one of which I recounted in my Conversations post. We talked more about the matzav (situation) in Israel and about our families. Shmulik offered to help in any way to prepare for the WK's Bar-Mitzvah, and it was very sweet. The WK and I were glad to spend some time talking with Shmulik.
We arrived at the Dan Panorama to a long check-in line. When we went to our room, the WK and I were both exhausted but wanted to do something. We ended up watching a little TV and then heading out to get some lunch. Although the Dan Panorama hotel is beautiful, the beach area next to it is fairly rocky and there is no access to the sand or the water. The WK and I bought lunch from some place on the strip (I had a pita with humus, and the WK had a hot pretzel and some gummy candy. I know, not the healthiest lunch, but we're on vacation!), and sat on the rocks while we ate and watched the water. It was actually pretty relaxing. As much as I am *not* a water person (ask anyone in my family about the "George Story"), I love being near the sand and water.
We changed in to our bathing suits after lunch, and headed for the pool at the hotel. The pool was huge, and quite crowded, but we found a chair in the sun. I went in the water (the WK was shocked, but it felt great!) with the WK and then read the Jerusalem Post while the WK stayed in the water. After showering and changing into clean clothes, the WK and I walked North along the beach tayelet (boardwalk, I guess) until we reached Yotvata B'Ir, one of my favorite restaurants in Tel Aviv. (When we were in Israel in 2012, I think we ate at Yotvata B'Ir for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every time we came to Tel Aviv!) Dinner was great. One of the reasons I love the restaurant is because of its location - across the street from a beautiful beach of sand and the Mediterranean Sea.
The service at the Dan Panorama wasn't so fabulous. I had requested a blow dryer from Guest Services and it never arrived. Around 9 pm on Sunday night, we ordered a brownie and some natool from Room Service.After almost an hour and another phone call, the food was delivered but it wasn't exactly what we had ordered. We stayed up watching some TV for a bit and then settled in for a good night's sleep. Unfortunately, the good night's sleep was interrupted by an azaka early the next morning. We and a lot of hotel guests and employees from our floor moved into the merchav mugan ("protected space") for the duration of the siren and ten minutes more. (Ten minutes is the standard time to wait for an "all clear".) Monday was also my birthday, so I especially appreciated the early morning present. (We found out the following day that the azaka was a false alarm, but it sure felt real enough at the time.)
The buffet breakfast at the hotel on Monday morning was pretty expansive with a million options including typical Israeli fare like shakshuka, yogurt and cheeses, fresh fruit and Mediterranean specialties, as well as lots of different breads, pastries and cereals. I was disappointed because the only natool available was instant that I had to pour from the package into hot water. Regardless,the WK and I had a nice breakfast.
We knew we had friends (husband, wife, and 3 kids) from Toronto who were visiting Israel for 3 weeks, and we were trying to make plans to get together on Monday. We decided that late morning we would meet at the Tel Aviv Port to walk around and grab lunch. The Port is in an industrial area (kind of like Tile Mile in Watertown, MA) with all sorts of wholesale design shops, and it took the WK and me almost 35 minutes to find the restaurant after the cab dropped us off. We, apparently, had it easy because our friends took almost an hour and a half to find parking and to meet us at the restaurant. By the time we met up, it was after 1 pm, and the restaurant wasn't that appropriate for the kids. Everyone was cranky and frustrated, and I knew that the WK and I were supposed to meet another friend, Rachel, who made aliyah from Boston 7 or 8 years ago, mid-afternoon. No one knew what to do so I made the executive decision that we were going back to the beach area to dine at Yotvata B'Ir again. It's a great place for kids and adults (like me). I called Rachel and asked her to meet the WK and me at the same restaurant. The family had parking problems again, and Rachel arrived before our friends from Toronto!
After a nice lunch with everyone, the WK went to the beach with our friends while Rachel and I walked a little bit and got some cold drinks from a nearby cafe. (I was so happy the cafe had iced natool!) Rachel and I chatted for about an hour and it was great! I had seen her 2 or 3 times when we were in Israel in 2012, and we have kept up with each other. I felt badly that our plans with Rachel had been messed up so many times that day; it wasn't really fair of me to change everything at the last minute. Rachel was super about it though - Rachel said she figures that if I made the effort to see her in Tel Aviv, then she'll do what she needs to do to see me.
Rachel and I parted around 4:00, and I went back to the beach to claim the WK back. Everyone was in the water, including the adults, and I was persuaded to go in, too, though I didn't have my bathing suit with me. The water was amazing, just the perfect temp, and it was so much fun riding the waves, even in my jeans and Boston Red Sox shirt. I am so glad I went into the water! It was amazing! We felt totally gross as we walked back to the Dan Panorama, where we had stored our suitcases for the day. It was wicked hot (low 90's) and humid, and the salt from the water was sticky. We bought perhaps the two most expensive towels in history from some beach shop (90 shekels) but it was worth it! We changed into clean clothes but didn't take showers, and hopped into a cab to see the Sela Family in Ra'anana, a suburb of Tel Aviv.
Pentheus has known Tami and Yaron Sela since 1991 when Pentheus convinced Digital to hire Tami as an engineer in Hudson, MA. Tami and Yaron had come to the States from Israel, so that Tami could work and Yaron could study. Although Tami and Yaron returned to Israel after a few years, Pentheus has stayed close with them, and when I married Pentheus, I became friends with them as well. We've made sure to see them every time we've been in Israel, and they often came to Jerusalem to visit with us in 2012. Tami and Yaron have 4 kids, 3 boys ranging from ages 17 to 12, and 1 little girl, Zohar, age 5. I am crazy about Zohar!!
The WK and I spent two night with the Selas in Ra'anana. On Monday night, for my birthday, they took us to Moshav B'nei Tzion, near Moshav Batsra, (east of the city of Netanya),where there is an amazing restaurant, Daniel and Gouje, for an awesome dinner. The views were beautiful, and the food was great. They even served me dessert with a sparkler as a candle. It was very sweet. The next day and a half, we pretty much hung out with the family. We watched a few movies. I played a lot with Zohar and the WK played way too much Playstation FIFA with Ori, the 12-year old. The WK swam in the pool with Ori, and one evening we went to the mall and did errands.It was fairly low-key while we were there, but it was good just to hang out and talk with friends.
At 6:30 am the first morning we were there (Tuesday morning), another azaka woke us up. It's frightening and hard to realize that the azakot were part of Israeli daily life, even for us in on vacation. We all moved into Yaron's study which is specifically designed to be the merchav mugan. Zohar was crying, and the WK and I were pretty startled as well by the azaka. I hadn't expected another azaka. This time, however, the azaka was not a false alarm. A little bit after the sound of the azaka ended, we heard two "booms"as the Kippat Barzel (Iron Dome. "kippa" is the same word as the head covering) intercepted the missile. From that point, we all went back to bed, as if nothing had happened. It felt very strange. Later that day, a hafskat-aish (cease-fire and truce) was declared, and at that point, Operation Protective Edge ended. Apparently, right before a hafsakat-aish has been announced, there have often been additional rockets, as if Hamas wanted to show that they could still fight and were undeterred in their goals. Somehow that isn't a very comforting thought. The prevailing view of everyone with whom I spoke is that there will be another war in a few more years and that there will not be a real peace. I find that so depressing and bleak.
The WK and I left Ra'anana early Wednesday afternoon and headed to Ben Gurion Airport. Along the way, Tami called to tell me that we had left some things at their house, including some presents and the WK's beach/shower shoes. The cab driver tried to convince me that we had enough time to turn around, go back to Ra'anana, and retrieve the stuff, but I was too nervous about arriving at the airport late. Of course, we ended up having plenty of time at the airport, but that's okay. Tami will send the things via doar (mail).
I was very sad to leave Israel but glad to know that we would be returning in 8 months. (Yikes! A lot to do before then!!) The WK and I had an uneventful flight from Tel Aviv to Frankfurt. We had intentionally booked our return flight so that we had almost a full day layover in Frankfurt. We arrived in Frankfurt around 8:30 pm but by the time we got our luggage and walked a very, very long way to the Hilton Garden in the Frankfurt Airport it was after 9:30. We grabbed a pretty bad and way too expensive dinner in the hotel restaurant, but had a good night's sleep (although not long enough) in their very comfortable beds. (The WK wanted to make sure I put that part in!) The WK and I spent the day in Frankfurt. We had buffet breakfast at the hotel, exchanged a little money, and figured out how to buy train passes for the day. The train ride was around 15 minutes from the airport station to Hauptwache (pronounced "Hopt-swatche"), the heart of downtown shopping district. We (and by "we" I mainly mean the WK) used the German map of the city and found our way to the Jewish Museum. The Jewish Museum was okay. I am not sure if we didn't love it because of the museum itself, or because we were tired and at the end of our 10 day trip, probably a combination of things. I was very glad we went though. I must admit, it felt strange to be in Germany, especially after having been at the Jewish Museum and reading about all of the restrictions and difficulties in being Jewish in Germany, not to mention, of course, the Holocaust. The Jewish Museum had a temporary exhibit about the Jewish Attorney General Fritz Bauer, who prosecuted Nazis for war crimes following World War II.
From the Jewish Museum, the WK and I took a few different trains back to the airport station We picked up our luggage being stored at the Hilton Garden and headed to the airport terminal. After checking our bags and eating some lunch, we found a way to use up the rest of our Euros (fancy liquorice and chocolates, plus a neat gift for the CK) before we boarded the plane to return to Boston. Pentheus and the CK met us at the airport. So good to see them! So that's it for now. I know this blog hasn't been as interesting or as insightful as when we lived in Jerusalem, but I've enjoyed writing it. Hopefully someone has enjoyed reading it!
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