Pete's Log: Israel
Entry #1684, (Travel)(posted when I was 31 years old.)
So I've now been to Israel.
One of our partner companies is based in Jerusalem, and they invited a few of us to their office for a training. So with two of my colleagues, I flew to Tel Aviv on March 7th. When flying from Munich to Israel, you check in at terminal 1, module F (the Munich airport website calls them modules, so I too shall call them modules). Even if you're flying Lufthansa, which always flies from Terminal 2.
Module F is not even on the map of terminal 1 on the Munich airport webpage:
Module F is where they have checkins for security-sensitive flights. It is actually closer to terminal 2, and to get there, you walk past module A:
The security measures we went through were not nearly as strict as I expected. You got a little bit extra attention, but not much. The flight was uneventful, and it was too cloudy for most of the way to see much. I used my American passport to get into Israel, since my Belgian one has Saudi stamps and I figured it would be easier this way. At passport control I was asked a few questions about the purpose of my trip. My passport was stamped and I got a little receipt. Past passport control there was another checkpoint where they were collecting these receipts. When I handed over mine, the woman also took my passport and handed it to some other woman. She had me sit down off to the side. The same thing happened to one of my colleagues. After a few minutes, yet another woman came and interviewed me, while a fourth woman interviewed my colleague. They asked the same questions about the purpose of our visit. As soon as they realized we were travelling together, they gave us our passports and let us go. Luckily, I do not have to understand the purpose of these security measures.
ATM, grab Sheqels (5 to the euro), and hop in a Taxi. An hour or so later we're checking in at the hotel. We all get rooms on the 18th floor of the Crowne Plaza hotel. Here's my view:
That first night we got advice at the front desk of which way to wander. We made our way into a market area and found a restaurant in a side street that served us up a wide variety of food, including the staple hummus, falafel, and so on. Good start to the week.
The next four days were working days. The hospitality of our partner company was great, they took us out to lunch and dinner at a bunch of great places, and the training was good too. There wasn't much time for sightseeing, but in terms of food tourism we did great. Lots more hummus, falafel, kebab, and so on. I also wound up trying some calf brain. Check that one off the list, I guess.
Thursday we went to a Jewish wedding. One of the employees of our partner company was getting married, and invited us along, since most of the company was going to be there anyway. The only part of the ceremony I understood was "Mazel Tov!" The party afterwards wasn't very traditional I was informed. The music was (with some exceptions) the same you might hear at an American wedding. But it was neat to be invited and to experience.
Friday morning we finally made it to the old city. We managed to see the Western (Wailing) Wall, most of the Via Dolorosa, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and, from a distance, the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque. The place certainly is teeming with history. In comparison to West Jerusalem, where we had stayed so far, the old city was full of security forces. There seemed to be police at just about every street corner. Since we were white westerners, though, they basically ignored us.
After our tour of the old city, we caught a cab back to Tel Aviv. The cab driver nearly drove my poor German colleague insane. The two of us in the back seat lucked out, I guess. In Tel Aviv we checked into our hotel there, then made our way to the beach. We explored Northward along the beach, managing to find dinner and some cocktails along the way.
Saturday we headed South from the hotel, again along the beach, and made our way to Jaffa. There we explored the old city before heading back to the beach near our hotel. Here we found a place on the beach that offered Hookah's in addition to cocktails:
Finally on Sunday we made our way to the Tel Aviv airport and back home. If anything, security was stricter on the way out than on the way in. In the end, the primary purpose of the trip was business, and the training we got was good. And it was also good to put faces to the names of a number of people I communicate with regularly. But I appreciated the chance to see Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and to have time to see some of the sights.
As usual, I partook in some beer tourism:
Goldstar on the left (I managed to bring a couple bottles back) and Malka on the right. Both were decent beers. I also enjoyed the opportunity to have some Sam Adams, Duvel, Leffe Bruin, and various other beers I know and love but can't find in Bavaria.