Thursday, June 30, 2011
Thursday, June 30, 2011
It is late, and we are tired as we had to pack up tonight. It turns out that our landlord (or his son) has changed his mind and instead of letting us keep the apartment until Sunday now wants to charge us to stay past Friday. Who needs to pay him to store our luggage? So we will shlep all of our stuff to Rechovot for Shabbat and then to Jerusalem. So - in typical Israeli fashion - we took a "pilot trip" today. We brought down our empty suitcases to see if they will fit in the car. We think they will (or might), if we squeeze all 4 kids in the middle seat and fold the rear seats down. Wish us luck. The Arab spring has spread to the Oberlander summer - the kids' revolt has continued. But, no (or very little) violence. So, instead of our planned hike near Yokneam the kids stayed in the apartment all morning staring at various screens of different sizes. We walked down the tayelet along the beach and then to the ATM that has English and we know takes our card. We gathered up the kids and then went to Yokneam to meet up with Judy Yuda, who works for the Jewish Agency and is the Regional Manager for the partnership between St. Louis and Yokneam. Again, in typical Israeli manner, we met her on the side of a street. We followed her to a wonderful restaurant, but Sima is really getting tired of eating so much meat. So, she had fish. And, Naomi had stir fry, but no chicken. Everything was arranged ahead of time - we sat down and appetizers and drinks were brought to us. No paying, no signing, no nothing. Thank you St. Louis (and Atlanta) for a wonderful lunch. During lunch the kids got a lesson on the work of the Jewish Agency, and the partnership between St. Louis/Atlanta and Yokneam/Megiddo. The kids asked really good questions and we hope will retain some of what they learned. We then went with Judy to Beit Cham (Warm House) to see one of the programs in action. At Beit Cham, 30 students (1st to 6th grade) from disadvantaged families come after school to work on homework, get a bit of tutoring, spend time with friends, eat a hot meal, etc. Today was their last day of school, so we did an art project with them. None of them spoke English, and so we tried our best to communicate as we cut out felt flowers and sewed beads onto them. Mike is really glad that he doesn't have to sew on many buttons. After a very rewarding couple of hours at Beit Cham, we decided to make a short stop in Zichron Yaakov (which was on the way) so we could have on more chance to look for property (no, not really, spend a few minutes in the shops, and enjoy the atmosphere and the amazing views. We then drove (and got a bit confused) to - again in typical Israeli fashion - a junction to meet up with Chaim and Shifra Weiss, Yaara's wonderful parents. They guided us to a Moshav called Kfar Haroeh and we went to Yaara's favorite restaurant, and now one of ours. Not sure it has a real name - just the cafe in Haroeh, we believe. We will check with Yaara. We ordered all of Yaara's favorites, salads, ravioli, quiche. And, of course milk shakes for the kids. We really do think the dairy restaurants are better than the meat restaurants. We then packed up most of our stuff and told the girls that if they cooperated that we would walk with them to the kikar to look for earrings. They did (sort of) so we did. Ilana got a cute pair of dangly butterflies and Naomi realized that she has expensive taste. After only like the silver and gold jewelry, she finally settled on a cute anklet. Mike couldn't get his falafel as the stand was closed, but we did give tzedakah to the Na Nach Nachman Meuman guys (3 times) and got 2 bracelets and a sticker. The best souvenirs so far!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
We had a wonderful day on the Golan Heights with the Teperbergs. We were said to say goodbye to them, but most of us will see them in Jerusalem. We must admit, however, that were not too unhappy to say goodbye to Hispin and the youth hostel. Hispin is wonderful because of the Teperbergs, but it is not a "beautiful" place. Dusty, dirty. No real view. Not much to do right there; there are much prettier places in the Golan.
We let the kids sleep a bit later. Breakfast was not as good. We really must have been the only family there and they forgot we were there. It seems that families get a better breakfast (fried eggs, cheese, etc.) as well as place mats instead of plastic table cloths. So, the staff quickly made us room at a bigger table and promised us fried eggs. By the time we got them, however, we were mostly done. Guess what some of us had for lunch? Fried egg sandwiches. We went to the Teperbergs, and after waiting the typical amount of time for Camp Teperberg, we headed off on a drive up the eastern most road of the Golan. We learned about some of the preparations the Israeli army is taking in case of another tank war. Our first stop was Tel Saki, an Israeli army position that was overrun at the beginning of the Yom Kippur war. We saw an old jeep, an old tank and some artillery. We explored the trenches and saw the bunker and could even take up position with the fixed machine guns (no firing pins, but Uria says they are operational). Uria told us the story of how the few soldiers there took the first fire of the war, received reinforcements, were overrun and how one injured solider convinced the Syrians that all of the others were killed, saving the 27 others who were hiding in the bunker. At the end of the war, that soldier returned to Israel as part of a prisoner exchange. We even had our own casualty at Tel Saki. Eitan was bravely exploring the trenches when he fell backward (about 6 feet). Visions of broken bones or worse were quickly replaced with some bad scrapes on his side and leg. He was a real trooper and kept going.
Our next stop was about 4/5 up Mt. Peres, which has a military base at the top (like many mountains in the Golan). This point presented us with a view all the way to Haifa. We also saw a cool spider that many of us believed to be poisonous. The drive to had us path through a lot of rock strewn fields, but also some beautiful vineyards and orchards. And, many "unofficial" memorials, including one to a unit that included the name Yoel Shalit, Gilad Shalit's uncle. Then on to Mt. Hozek - almost in the middle of the eastern border of the Golan, with a great view of Syria. We were about 1 mile from a Syrian town and could see Syrian traffic. We also saw Israeli troops keeping on an eye on Syria and clearing some brush from no-man's land. Next stop will not be on any maps. Even the Teperbergs had to pull to the side of the road and call a friend to make sure that we were in the right place. We parked the cars and walked about 100 meters down a dirt road that had barbed wire fences on both sides warning of mine fields. At the end of the "road" we found 3 soldiers putting up a shade covering and some tables and flags for a ceremony later in the day. We took advantage of the shade. Also at the end of the road was a Syrian made "pool" - it was circular, about 5-7 meters in diameter (none of us figured out how deep), and the source of the water was the matter of some debate. Vardit thinks it is spring fed and Uria things it is like a cistern and catches rain water. Regardless, Noah was the first to jump in. It was quite cold, but we all jumped and swam, except for Sima and Vardit and Noa. We even coaxed Ori and Shlomo into the water. The soldiers looked on jealously. Vardit was in charge of the pita/bread sandwiches with hummus, hatzilim and agvanyot (tomato). The kids had a great time, even the ones who freaked out about trying to find some privacy in which to change clothes. Then, off to De Karena chocolate factory in Ein Zivan. The tour was a bit of a disappointment in that it was all in Hebrew, the tour guide spoke really fast and she wouldn't even pause to let the Teperbergs translate. But, we did get to taste some chocolate on the way out. After our sad parting, we headed to Rosh Pina because Uria told us it was beautfiul. Not sure what we were supposed to see, but we parked near the "historical sight" sign, left the kids in the car (better than fighting with them) and we went exploring and found cobblestone streets that looked like the streets from the early days of the settlement. We were following a group of 20 to 30 middle-aged to older Israeli men on an outing. They came across a bride and groom taking pictures and broke into song and encircled the newleds and danced for them - only in Israel would you see that. Back to the car and off to Tiberias for dinner at Deck's. We have heard so much about this place that even the great meal could not live up to the hype. But, the view was tremendous (and the steak not bad). Home in Netanya and the kids all collapsed.
We let the kids sleep a bit later. Breakfast was not as good. We really must have been the only family there and they forgot we were there. It seems that families get a better breakfast (fried eggs, cheese, etc.) as well as place mats instead of plastic table cloths. So, the staff quickly made us room at a bigger table and promised us fried eggs. By the time we got them, however, we were mostly done. Guess what some of us had for lunch? Fried egg sandwiches. We went to the Teperbergs, and after waiting the typical amount of time for Camp Teperberg, we headed off on a drive up the eastern most road of the Golan. We learned about some of the preparations the Israeli army is taking in case of another tank war. Our first stop was Tel Saki, an Israeli army position that was overrun at the beginning of the Yom Kippur war. We saw an old jeep, an old tank and some artillery. We explored the trenches and saw the bunker and could even take up position with the fixed machine guns (no firing pins, but Uria says they are operational). Uria told us the story of how the few soldiers there took the first fire of the war, received reinforcements, were overrun and how one injured solider convinced the Syrians that all of the others were killed, saving the 27 others who were hiding in the bunker. At the end of the war, that soldier returned to Israel as part of a prisoner exchange. We even had our own casualty at Tel Saki. Eitan was bravely exploring the trenches when he fell backward (about 6 feet). Visions of broken bones or worse were quickly replaced with some bad scrapes on his side and leg. He was a real trooper and kept going.
Our next stop was about 4/5 up Mt. Peres, which has a military base at the top (like many mountains in the Golan). This point presented us with a view all the way to Haifa. We also saw a cool spider that many of us believed to be poisonous. The drive to had us path through a lot of rock strewn fields, but also some beautiful vineyards and orchards. And, many "unofficial" memorials, including one to a unit that included the name Yoel Shalit, Gilad Shalit's uncle. Then on to Mt. Hozek - almost in the middle of the eastern border of the Golan, with a great view of Syria. We were about 1 mile from a Syrian town and could see Syrian traffic. We also saw Israeli troops keeping on an eye on Syria and clearing some brush from no-man's land. Next stop will not be on any maps. Even the Teperbergs had to pull to the side of the road and call a friend to make sure that we were in the right place. We parked the cars and walked about 100 meters down a dirt road that had barbed wire fences on both sides warning of mine fields. At the end of the "road" we found 3 soldiers putting up a shade covering and some tables and flags for a ceremony later in the day. We took advantage of the shade. Also at the end of the road was a Syrian made "pool" - it was circular, about 5-7 meters in diameter (none of us figured out how deep), and the source of the water was the matter of some debate. Vardit thinks it is spring fed and Uria things it is like a cistern and catches rain water. Regardless, Noah was the first to jump in. It was quite cold, but we all jumped and swam, except for Sima and Vardit and Noa. We even coaxed Ori and Shlomo into the water. The soldiers looked on jealously. Vardit was in charge of the pita/bread sandwiches with hummus, hatzilim and agvanyot (tomato). The kids had a great time, even the ones who freaked out about trying to find some privacy in which to change clothes. Then, off to De Karena chocolate factory in Ein Zivan. The tour was a bit of a disappointment in that it was all in Hebrew, the tour guide spoke really fast and she wouldn't even pause to let the Teperbergs translate. But, we did get to taste some chocolate on the way out. After our sad parting, we headed to Rosh Pina because Uria told us it was beautfiul. Not sure what we were supposed to see, but we parked near the "historical sight" sign, left the kids in the car (better than fighting with them) and we went exploring and found cobblestone streets that looked like the streets from the early days of the settlement. We were following a group of 20 to 30 middle-aged to older Israeli men on an outing. They came across a bride and groom taking pictures and broke into song and encircled the newleds and danced for them - only in Israel would you see that. Back to the car and off to Tiberias for dinner at Deck's. We have heard so much about this place that even the great meal could not live up to the hype. But, the view was tremendous (and the steak not bad). Home in Netanya and the kids all collapsed.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
We think we've found our kids limit. The Teperbergs were busy with an all-day school trip today, so we said a quick hi to Vardit (and picked up forgotten items from last night) and headed out on our own. But, before that, we enjoyed our first "official Israeli breakfast" at the hotel/youth hostel in Hispin. Why "youth hostel"? Because it seems that we are the only family staying here this week - the rest of the guests are Israeli youth groups and Taglit/Birthright trips (and French and British teen groups). There was a lot of noise last night, but it seemed to quiet down around 12:30 p.m. Breakfast consisted of salads, peppers, bourekas, cereal, fried eggs, cheese. But, no cottage cheese as the hotel is showing solidarity with the cottage cheese rebellion. And, Sima snuck some bread and cheese for lunch sandwiches and Mike saw some "take away" bags by baguettes, so we don't think we actually needed to sneak them away.
We headed to our first hike - Nahal El Al. No, it is not just an airline. The El Al is the southernmost river in the Golan and runs from the northeast to the southwest and into the Kinneret. The hike started at second yishuv down the road - called Avnei Eitan (so, Eitan was happy). This hike was pretty official, with a parking lot (gravel) and bathrooms and even a snack bar (that was closed). The hike took us down a pretty steep incline to the river bed and then through dense and beautiful vegetation (lots of flowers of all colors, so some thorns - it was almost like being in a jungle) and then around to a beautiful waterfall. We only saw one group on the way down - a group of guys in their late teens/early 20's. They decided to head off the marked path and we asked where they were going. They said they were going to find another waterfall, but suggested we stay on the marked path. Good suggestion. We got to the pool/waterfall by climbing down a steep incline and only made it with the assistance of metal handholds knocked into the rock wall. The water was sure cold, and Mike was the first to dunk himself, but all the kids soon followed. Only one of us needed to make a deposit way off the beaten bath, and Sima had to help, and it seems that others needed to do the same thing at some other time. Glad we brought handy wipes with us. As we were getting ready to leave (and Noah finding a secluded spot to change his clothes) a man in black pants and white shirt walked on us and asked us in Hebrew when we were leaving. We told him 5 or 10 minutes, but he kept pestering us. Sima knew that he was the scout for a larger group and very soon we were inundated with 40 or 50 screaming kids who all began stripping even before we were out - we just didn't need to see 10 year olds swimming in their tighty whiteys. The climb back up was much easier than the climb down. We came across the same group of 20-somethings they asked us the way to the waterfall. We asked them what they found on their detour, they said "it was a secret" - code for they were lost, glad we didn't follow them. The kids were already tired and kvetching and it wasn't even lunch time. We went back to the rooms to change out of our wet swimming clothes and into normal hiking/walking clothes. The kids revolted and demanded that we not go to another hike. So, we headed to Aniam - up the road - that has an artists colony. We each had an ice coffee and bought them all fruit shakes (prishake) to go with our purloined sandwiches. We browsed in the shops and then headed to Katzrin. Katrzin is the only city on the Golan and we went to a strip mall to watch a movie at Kesem Golan. The movie was in 4D (fans blew on us and we were shpritzed with water a few times) and showed great views of the Golan. It was essentially a great commercial for the Golan. Only problem - we were already here! Then we went upstairs to a really interesting 3D topographical map and there was a multi-media presentation that talked about the geological and political (and military) history of the Golan. One of us was sure freaked out to find out that there was a war right where we were standing only 38 years ago. The only assurances that worked were that this is where the Possicks are moving (we think), would they come anywhere that is unsafe? Of course, Katzrin didn't exist during the war anyway, it was founded in 1977. After the official show was over, we spent a long time looking at the map and finding all the spots we had visited on this trip (including finding what the boys are adamant was the Teperberg house) and last trip. The relief sure puts everything into perspective - why the Golan is strategically important, not only because of the high ground but also because of the control of the water feeding the Kinneret and the Jordan River. After the movie, and a short stop at a memorial that included 5 old tanks, we headed to Gamla. The park was closing in 90 minutes, so we were not allowed to hike to the city of Gamla that was destroyed by the Romans in the first century. Instead, we hiked the other way to get to an overlook for a wonderful view of the Gamla Falls - the tallest falls in all of Israel. Noah ran ahead to get in shape for lacrosse and Mike and Eitan walked fast. The girls fell behind and didn't quite make it the whole way. The boys decided to catch up with girls and were jogging, which was fine until Noah turned back to make sure that Mike had not had a heart attack and tripped and fell over a rock. Glad we had more handy wipes. We then walked a paved path to see the vultures and an overlook of ancient Gamla. The views were great, but watching the soaring vultures was truly amazing. We took some pictures and even some video - hope they come out. Then, the kids were hungry and crabby (did we say that they were in full revolt yet?). So, back to Katzrin to the food court - pizza for the girls and Burger Ranch (yuck) for the boys. (Folding the case to hold the Burger Ranch meal for 2 took the clerks 5 minutes.) We brought the kids back to the room and they ate, watched a movie and we (the adults) went back to Aniam for a nice dinner at Suzanna's. The highlight was that Sima got a Poykepot! Yup - cholent on a Tuesday night. We bought the boys and Ilana steak burgers to go as a peace offering (and Naomi a salad). Didn't work, so we are outside in the wind, with Sima drinking a beer and Mike drinking a 375 ml bottle of Gamla wine. And, watching (and listening to) more teenagers. How many times do we need to say that we don't have an aish (a light) for these idiots who shouldn't be smoking.
We headed to our first hike - Nahal El Al. No, it is not just an airline. The El Al is the southernmost river in the Golan and runs from the northeast to the southwest and into the Kinneret. The hike started at second yishuv down the road - called Avnei Eitan (so, Eitan was happy). This hike was pretty official, with a parking lot (gravel) and bathrooms and even a snack bar (that was closed). The hike took us down a pretty steep incline to the river bed and then through dense and beautiful vegetation (lots of flowers of all colors, so some thorns - it was almost like being in a jungle) and then around to a beautiful waterfall. We only saw one group on the way down - a group of guys in their late teens/early 20's. They decided to head off the marked path and we asked where they were going. They said they were going to find another waterfall, but suggested we stay on the marked path. Good suggestion. We got to the pool/waterfall by climbing down a steep incline and only made it with the assistance of metal handholds knocked into the rock wall. The water was sure cold, and Mike was the first to dunk himself, but all the kids soon followed. Only one of us needed to make a deposit way off the beaten bath, and Sima had to help, and it seems that others needed to do the same thing at some other time. Glad we brought handy wipes with us. As we were getting ready to leave (and Noah finding a secluded spot to change his clothes) a man in black pants and white shirt walked on us and asked us in Hebrew when we were leaving. We told him 5 or 10 minutes, but he kept pestering us. Sima knew that he was the scout for a larger group and very soon we were inundated with 40 or 50 screaming kids who all began stripping even before we were out - we just didn't need to see 10 year olds swimming in their tighty whiteys. The climb back up was much easier than the climb down. We came across the same group of 20-somethings they asked us the way to the waterfall. We asked them what they found on their detour, they said "it was a secret" - code for they were lost, glad we didn't follow them. The kids were already tired and kvetching and it wasn't even lunch time. We went back to the rooms to change out of our wet swimming clothes and into normal hiking/walking clothes. The kids revolted and demanded that we not go to another hike. So, we headed to Aniam - up the road - that has an artists colony. We each had an ice coffee and bought them all fruit shakes (prishake) to go with our purloined sandwiches. We browsed in the shops and then headed to Katzrin. Katrzin is the only city on the Golan and we went to a strip mall to watch a movie at Kesem Golan. The movie was in 4D (fans blew on us and we were shpritzed with water a few times) and showed great views of the Golan. It was essentially a great commercial for the Golan. Only problem - we were already here! Then we went upstairs to a really interesting 3D topographical map and there was a multi-media presentation that talked about the geological and political (and military) history of the Golan. One of us was sure freaked out to find out that there was a war right where we were standing only 38 years ago. The only assurances that worked were that this is where the Possicks are moving (we think), would they come anywhere that is unsafe? Of course, Katzrin didn't exist during the war anyway, it was founded in 1977. After the official show was over, we spent a long time looking at the map and finding all the spots we had visited on this trip (including finding what the boys are adamant was the Teperberg house) and last trip. The relief sure puts everything into perspective - why the Golan is strategically important, not only because of the high ground but also because of the control of the water feeding the Kinneret and the Jordan River. After the movie, and a short stop at a memorial that included 5 old tanks, we headed to Gamla. The park was closing in 90 minutes, so we were not allowed to hike to the city of Gamla that was destroyed by the Romans in the first century. Instead, we hiked the other way to get to an overlook for a wonderful view of the Gamla Falls - the tallest falls in all of Israel. Noah ran ahead to get in shape for lacrosse and Mike and Eitan walked fast. The girls fell behind and didn't quite make it the whole way. The boys decided to catch up with girls and were jogging, which was fine until Noah turned back to make sure that Mike had not had a heart attack and tripped and fell over a rock. Glad we had more handy wipes. We then walked a paved path to see the vultures and an overlook of ancient Gamla. The views were great, but watching the soaring vultures was truly amazing. We took some pictures and even some video - hope they come out. Then, the kids were hungry and crabby (did we say that they were in full revolt yet?). So, back to Katzrin to the food court - pizza for the girls and Burger Ranch (yuck) for the boys. (Folding the case to hold the Burger Ranch meal for 2 took the clerks 5 minutes.) We brought the kids back to the room and they ate, watched a movie and we (the adults) went back to Aniam for a nice dinner at Suzanna's. The highlight was that Sima got a Poykepot! Yup - cholent on a Tuesday night. We bought the boys and Ilana steak burgers to go as a peace offering (and Naomi a salad). Didn't work, so we are outside in the wind, with Sima drinking a beer and Mike drinking a 375 ml bottle of Gamla wine. And, watching (and listening to) more teenagers. How many times do we need to say that we don't have an aish (a light) for these idiots who shouldn't be smoking.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
The Teperbergs! We could stop right there and that would be the highlight of the day.
We woke the kids up and packed up for the trip up north. We have no idea how we will get the luggage in the Mazda 5 for the trip to Jerusalem next Sunday as we had to put part of the back seat down just to fit in a few backpacks. We are glad we brought the bungee cords and just hope that we don't lose our luggage on the road up to Jerusalem. We have been listening to the seventh Harry Potter book on CD in the car and the kids were so engrossed that they didn't want to stop the car. Our first stop (after stopping for gas for the umpteenth time) was Har Tavor, or Mt. Tabor. Christians believe that the mountain is the sight of Jesus' transfiguration. According to the summary on wikipedia, that is the story where Jesus transfigured into rays of light and spoke to Moses and Elijah. Har Tavor is mentioned in Tanach in Yehoshua as the point where 3 of the tribes' areas met as well as in Shoftim as to the place where Devorah and Barak fought battles. It was also the sight of battles in Roman times (where in this country is that not the case?) and there are the remnants of a wall that Josephus Flavius built. In order to get to the top of the mountain, we drove through a very interesting Druze town and up a very steep and windy street. At the top are a Franciscan monastery and a Greek Orthodox church. Only Eitan and Mike went to visit the Franciscan church, saw a monk dressed in monk's garb and watched as pilgrims took communion as part of a Mass. (When we used the bathroom on the way out, there was a box that asked for 1 shekel for using the WC - we paid.) The hike essentially circled the top of the mountain. The absolute hardest part of the hike was finding where the path started (or ended). We started and stopped several times and even drove the car to look for the trail markings. We found 3 girls who were hiking from Tel Dan (way up north in the Golan) all the way to Jerusalem. The pointed out the path they took up and down the mountain, but we found the black trail that circled the mountain and off we went. The hike was not terribly strenuous, pretty short (an hour in total) and afforded beautiful views in all directions.
After the hike, we went to Kfar Tavor at the base of the mountain to visit a fascinating museum - the Museum of Marzipan. That's right, a whole museum dedicated to almond paste and sugar. We saw amazing sculptures made out of marzipan, watched a short video on the history of marzipan and how to make it, and then Naomi, Eitan and Ilana went to the marzipan workshop to make their own works of art (pizza, flowers, a hot dog and corn on the cob). We each had a taste, and none of us like marzipan. That didn't stop the girls from buying marzipan in the shape of a dog and a chick. It was 2:30 and we still had not had lunch, so off to SuperSol to buy bourekas - pizza, onion, mushroom, cheese and potato - we all snarfed it down in the car and then headed out. The drive took us to the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) and then along the border with Jordan and up to the Golan Heights. Just as windy and steep a drive, but a lot longer and more trucks coming down. Once on top of the Heights, it was a quick drive to Hispin (or Chispin or Haspin), where the Teperbergs live. After a wonderful greeting by Uria and some of the kids, we settled in like it had not been 3 years since they left St. Louis. All of the kids felt so comfortable with each other (even Noa, who was not yet born when they left) - we did miss Tehilla as she is on a school trip). Noah joined us as Uria took us on a tour of his school. He is the head of school of a high school called Bnai Golan in Ramat Magshimim, the town just next to Hispin. Uria seems to be doing an amazing job helping 70 at risk teenagers become productive members of society. For many of these kids, if not for Uria's school they would be in prison. The school is actually a small village, with dorms, a shul, different buildings for classrooms, administrative offices, a music room in the old air raid bunker, etc. Several of the buildings were built by the Syrians when they controlled the Heights, including Uria's office and part of the shul. If only the Syrian army knew what is going in on in the buildings formerly used by their officers. After the tour of the school, we got a quick tour of Hispin (that is all it takes is a quick tour). Let's put it this way, there are no street names - you just count the number of streets over (there are only 3 or 4). We saw the plot of land where the Teperbergs will be building their house soon. Uria the barbecued for us (on the grill they brought from the US) - the meat was straight from the butcher on the Golan, and was probably the freshsest meat we have ever had.
We woke the kids up and packed up for the trip up north. We have no idea how we will get the luggage in the Mazda 5 for the trip to Jerusalem next Sunday as we had to put part of the back seat down just to fit in a few backpacks. We are glad we brought the bungee cords and just hope that we don't lose our luggage on the road up to Jerusalem. We have been listening to the seventh Harry Potter book on CD in the car and the kids were so engrossed that they didn't want to stop the car. Our first stop (after stopping for gas for the umpteenth time) was Har Tavor, or Mt. Tabor. Christians believe that the mountain is the sight of Jesus' transfiguration. According to the summary on wikipedia, that is the story where Jesus transfigured into rays of light and spoke to Moses and Elijah. Har Tavor is mentioned in Tanach in Yehoshua as the point where 3 of the tribes' areas met as well as in Shoftim as to the place where Devorah and Barak fought battles. It was also the sight of battles in Roman times (where in this country is that not the case?) and there are the remnants of a wall that Josephus Flavius built. In order to get to the top of the mountain, we drove through a very interesting Druze town and up a very steep and windy street. At the top are a Franciscan monastery and a Greek Orthodox church. Only Eitan and Mike went to visit the Franciscan church, saw a monk dressed in monk's garb and watched as pilgrims took communion as part of a Mass. (When we used the bathroom on the way out, there was a box that asked for 1 shekel for using the WC - we paid.) The hike essentially circled the top of the mountain. The absolute hardest part of the hike was finding where the path started (or ended). We started and stopped several times and even drove the car to look for the trail markings. We found 3 girls who were hiking from Tel Dan (way up north in the Golan) all the way to Jerusalem. The pointed out the path they took up and down the mountain, but we found the black trail that circled the mountain and off we went. The hike was not terribly strenuous, pretty short (an hour in total) and afforded beautiful views in all directions.
After the hike, we went to Kfar Tavor at the base of the mountain to visit a fascinating museum - the Museum of Marzipan. That's right, a whole museum dedicated to almond paste and sugar. We saw amazing sculptures made out of marzipan, watched a short video on the history of marzipan and how to make it, and then Naomi, Eitan and Ilana went to the marzipan workshop to make their own works of art (pizza, flowers, a hot dog and corn on the cob). We each had a taste, and none of us like marzipan. That didn't stop the girls from buying marzipan in the shape of a dog and a chick. It was 2:30 and we still had not had lunch, so off to SuperSol to buy bourekas - pizza, onion, mushroom, cheese and potato - we all snarfed it down in the car and then headed out. The drive took us to the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) and then along the border with Jordan and up to the Golan Heights. Just as windy and steep a drive, but a lot longer and more trucks coming down. Once on top of the Heights, it was a quick drive to Hispin (or Chispin or Haspin), where the Teperbergs live. After a wonderful greeting by Uria and some of the kids, we settled in like it had not been 3 years since they left St. Louis. All of the kids felt so comfortable with each other (even Noa, who was not yet born when they left) - we did miss Tehilla as she is on a school trip). Noah joined us as Uria took us on a tour of his school. He is the head of school of a high school called Bnai Golan in Ramat Magshimim, the town just next to Hispin. Uria seems to be doing an amazing job helping 70 at risk teenagers become productive members of society. For many of these kids, if not for Uria's school they would be in prison. The school is actually a small village, with dorms, a shul, different buildings for classrooms, administrative offices, a music room in the old air raid bunker, etc. Several of the buildings were built by the Syrians when they controlled the Heights, including Uria's office and part of the shul. If only the Syrian army knew what is going in on in the buildings formerly used by their officers. After the tour of the school, we got a quick tour of Hispin (that is all it takes is a quick tour). Let's put it this way, there are no street names - you just count the number of streets over (there are only 3 or 4). We saw the plot of land where the Teperbergs will be building their house soon. Uria the barbecued for us (on the grill they brought from the US) - the meat was straight from the butcher on the Golan, and was probably the freshsest meat we have ever had.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
We spent the better part of the day in Ramat Hanadiv, a nature preserve/gardens at the southern end of the Carmel, between Zichron Yaakov and Binyamina. (It is a 2 minute drive from the Tishbi winery.) We thought it would be just a short visit and we would then venture onto Zichron Yaakov for lunch and a visit to the Nili museum (a museum to the resistance against the British). But, we were pleasantly surprised with how much there was to do at Ramat Hanadiv (we tried to go there the last time we went to Zichron and Tishbi, but arrived when it was closing). The highlight (for most visitors) are the beautiful gardens surrounding the burial place of Baran Edmond de Rothschild and his wife, the Baroness Adelaide. True, the terraced gardens, the rose gardens and the other botanical beauties were amazing. But, we were there to hike in the nature preserve. There are three marked trails - the helpful woman at the information center suggested we take the blue-marked Spring trail, which is recommended for families and the map (that cost us 2 shekels) says should take an hour to cover the 2.5 Km. We decided to take the red-marked Manor trail instead. It is 4 Km long an is supposed to take 2 hours. Well, being us we would have finished the trail in an hour or so, but we took a bit of a detour and our path was more like 6+ Kms. Why? Well, we would like to think that we planned it that way all along but the answer is much simpler, and one word. Cows. Lots and lots of cows. But, more on that later. So we started out on a dirt path, realized we were on a service road and not the trail and double backed. On the hike(s) (more on that later too), we only saw 2 other hikers, and extremely little litter. We were very happy to only have to dodge the cowpies that marked the trail (that should have given us a clue, but we are a bit clueless sometimes). We came to the first signpost (marked with a #1) and dutifully looked at our map for an explanation. But, the map we bought didn't tell us anything (we found out later that the Hebrew map includes explanations - sheesh, talk about discrimination). That was when we came across the first hiker - a woman who was documenting the number and types of butterflies she saw. She told us that we were standing by a ancient quarry and we headed on down the path. The boys were trailblazing ahead, Sima and Naomi were in the middle and Mike was trailing back with Ilana who seemed to be in her own little (happy) world most of the morning. That was when Noah and Eitan sprinted back to Sima yelling "turn around, turn around!!" Naomi asked in a panic "Why, wild pigs?" as were told at the information center that pigs do live in the park but hide during the day and come out at night. The boys screamed, "No worse, cows and horses!" Recall, ever since the unfortunate horse bite incident Eitan is terrified of horses. So, Mike took the lead, Sima took charge of the girls and Noah was charged with throwing himself between any wild, vicious horses and his brother. As we moved forward in our defensive positions we came across the first of the wild horses - with engorged utters and looking an awful lot like a cow. (Noah said later that he was the boy that cried "Horse".) Then another cow, and another, and a few more. They were just chomping away at the grass and showed little interest in us, but the path was blocked, and not only by cows but by a yellow rope that seemed to be directing us off the path. So, we dutifully followed the rope naively thinking it would take us back to the red path. But, alas, we found ourselves off the path and on some unmarked dirt roads. We aimed ourselves for the cliff overlooking the coastal plain (the red path eventually turned at the cliff and has several amazing overlooks) so we figured the worst thing we would do would cut to the north or south of the path and rejoin it. Well, we ended up going further south than we thought and found ourselves in a Tumuli field. What is a tumulus - good question. A tumulus is a Caananite grave site, marked by a pile of rocks,and quite cool. We were several Kms south of were we should have been but we found ourselves on the Israel National Trail and took that north until it met up with the red trail, at a very cool excavation of a Byzantine farm house. The house was 2 stories tall, and the foundation is well preserved. That farm was built on the same spot where there was a Second Temple Era agricultural site. We saw wine presses from both eras, a mikveh and an olive press. The red path took us down into a wadi (valley created by a stream) and then back up to the trailhead. A very cool hike that we (meaning Sima and Mike) would definitely do again. But not cool in the sense that we were drenched with sweat and thirsty as much of the water in our camelbacks was still frozen.
But at the visitors center, like an oasis beckoning to us, was a lovely little cafe (called Kerem Zayit - vineyard of olives?). We must say, that it is now our favorite restaurant. The views are amazing, the food was delicious, and we adore the little tiny cheese graters for the parmesean. Even the boys, who are huge meat lovers, agree that our three favorite restaurants are all dairy restaurants - Aresto in Caesaria, the Tishbi Winery restaurant and now the restaurant at Ramat Hanadiv. The boys split penne and a pizza, the adults each had salads (Nicoise and a salad with fried goat cheese), Naomi had lasagna and Ilana had here favorite, ravioli (this time spinach with tomato sauce). The highlights were the focaccia served with the salads (that all enjoyed), the ice mint that Sima and Noah had (think ice cafe with lemonade and mint - crushed ice infused with mint and lemon), and the individual serving of parmesean cheese with a mini grater for the pasta - Mike used up every bit of Ilana's on her ravioli.
After the wonderful lunch, we did the Spring trail, which was supposed to take an hour. The kids all made guesses, and everyone overshot - it took us less than 30 minutes. But the short trail took us be a Roman tunnel and aquaduct (a little one) that feeds a pool/bathouse. A sign said that this was the best preserved aquaduct in Israel and the only one that continuously fed water from its source to its destination since ancient time. We then saw other ruins, but don't know what they were (darn helpless map). Since there was no complaining on that short hike, the girls got ice cream and the boys chose sodas. After the hike, back at the information center, we found out the cows are in the park to graze the greenery and get rid of the vegetation that could feed a fire. Though we only saw their poops, the park also has a herd of goats that serve the same function. As we turned away from the attendant at the visitor center and looked back over at our kids, who were waiting outside, we saw them surrounded by a group of 20 or so Nigerian men taking turns posing with them and taking photos. We went to investigate and found that this group is visiting Israel for 3 months and learning about agricultural techniques. Apparently one of the guys had approached the kids and asked them where they were from, they said St. Louis, in America, and that was the hook. Each of them wanted a photo with the kids, which they obliged until it just got too tedious and we had to move on.
We then watched a short movie (thank you air conditioning) about Ramat Hanadiv ant the Baron de Rothschild. Unsurprisingly, the movie did not share any of the negative perspectives on Rothschild or his overseers that we heard at the First Aliyah Museum. But, we learned that his father was from Frankurt and was renowned for his honest business dealings. The father asked his 5 sons to spread out across Europe and deal with each other honestly - they did, to London, Paris, Vienna, Florence and .... 1 other city. The youngest, Edmond, went to Paris. It was there that he joined the French, Jewish aristocracy and became interested in the fledgling Jewish communities in Palestine. He was a patron of towns from Rosh Pina to Gedera, including Zichron Yaakov. He died in 1934 and his will asked that he be buried in Israel, but did not indicate where. His wife died the next year, and in 1954 their bodies were brought from France aboard an Israeli naval frigate and they were reinterred at Ramat Hanadiv. (Rothschild was known as Hanadiv Hayadua - the Known Benefecator - because of the humble way that he gave of his fortune.) We then walked the gardens and visited the Rothschild crypt.
Afterwards, we returned to Netanya, the girls and Eitan swam a little and we all got cleaned up to go to Modiin, to have dinner with Nava and her family. Although we were afraid of getting horribly lost in Modiin, we only made one wrong turn and found the Brief's house easily enough. We had a wonderful home cooked BBQ with Nava, her parents and siblings, a cousin (and her friend) who just finished a Birthright trip and, of course, Yehoshua. The conversation was lively and interesting, and the Brief children were wonderful hosts to our kids; we even had the opportunity to watch all of the kids gang up on Nava and try to wrestle away her bat mitzvah album. Any of the Brief kids (or Yehoshua) who post pictures from Nava's bat mitzvah up on Facebook will get special prize from St. Louis. We then sadly said our goodbyes as Nava is leaving for camp up north and we will not be seeing her again this trip, and made our way back to Netanya. The kids are, again, exhausted. They already complained about getting up early tomorrow, but tomorrow is a big day - we head up north to the Golan and to the Teperbergs!
But at the visitors center, like an oasis beckoning to us, was a lovely little cafe (called Kerem Zayit - vineyard of olives?). We must say, that it is now our favorite restaurant. The views are amazing, the food was delicious, and we adore the little tiny cheese graters for the parmesean. Even the boys, who are huge meat lovers, agree that our three favorite restaurants are all dairy restaurants - Aresto in Caesaria, the Tishbi Winery restaurant and now the restaurant at Ramat Hanadiv. The boys split penne and a pizza, the adults each had salads (Nicoise and a salad with fried goat cheese), Naomi had lasagna and Ilana had here favorite, ravioli (this time spinach with tomato sauce). The highlights were the focaccia served with the salads (that all enjoyed), the ice mint that Sima and Noah had (think ice cafe with lemonade and mint - crushed ice infused with mint and lemon), and the individual serving of parmesean cheese with a mini grater for the pasta - Mike used up every bit of Ilana's on her ravioli.
After the wonderful lunch, we did the Spring trail, which was supposed to take an hour. The kids all made guesses, and everyone overshot - it took us less than 30 minutes. But the short trail took us be a Roman tunnel and aquaduct (a little one) that feeds a pool/bathouse. A sign said that this was the best preserved aquaduct in Israel and the only one that continuously fed water from its source to its destination since ancient time. We then saw other ruins, but don't know what they were (darn helpless map). Since there was no complaining on that short hike, the girls got ice cream and the boys chose sodas. After the hike, back at the information center, we found out the cows are in the park to graze the greenery and get rid of the vegetation that could feed a fire. Though we only saw their poops, the park also has a herd of goats that serve the same function. As we turned away from the attendant at the visitor center and looked back over at our kids, who were waiting outside, we saw them surrounded by a group of 20 or so Nigerian men taking turns posing with them and taking photos. We went to investigate and found that this group is visiting Israel for 3 months and learning about agricultural techniques. Apparently one of the guys had approached the kids and asked them where they were from, they said St. Louis, in America, and that was the hook. Each of them wanted a photo with the kids, which they obliged until it just got too tedious and we had to move on.
We then watched a short movie (thank you air conditioning) about Ramat Hanadiv ant the Baron de Rothschild. Unsurprisingly, the movie did not share any of the negative perspectives on Rothschild or his overseers that we heard at the First Aliyah Museum. But, we learned that his father was from Frankurt and was renowned for his honest business dealings. The father asked his 5 sons to spread out across Europe and deal with each other honestly - they did, to London, Paris, Vienna, Florence and .... 1 other city. The youngest, Edmond, went to Paris. It was there that he joined the French, Jewish aristocracy and became interested in the fledgling Jewish communities in Palestine. He was a patron of towns from Rosh Pina to Gedera, including Zichron Yaakov. He died in 1934 and his will asked that he be buried in Israel, but did not indicate where. His wife died the next year, and in 1954 their bodies were brought from France aboard an Israeli naval frigate and they were reinterred at Ramat Hanadiv. (Rothschild was known as Hanadiv Hayadua - the Known Benefecator - because of the humble way that he gave of his fortune.) We then walked the gardens and visited the Rothschild crypt.
Afterwards, we returned to Netanya, the girls and Eitan swam a little and we all got cleaned up to go to Modiin, to have dinner with Nava and her family. Although we were afraid of getting horribly lost in Modiin, we only made one wrong turn and found the Brief's house easily enough. We had a wonderful home cooked BBQ with Nava, her parents and siblings, a cousin (and her friend) who just finished a Birthright trip and, of course, Yehoshua. The conversation was lively and interesting, and the Brief children were wonderful hosts to our kids; we even had the opportunity to watch all of the kids gang up on Nava and try to wrestle away her bat mitzvah album. Any of the Brief kids (or Yehoshua) who post pictures from Nava's bat mitzvah up on Facebook will get special prize from St. Louis. We then sadly said our goodbyes as Nava is leaving for camp up north and we will not be seeing her again this trip, and made our way back to Netanya. The kids are, again, exhausted. They already complained about getting up early tomorrow, but tomorrow is a big day - we head up north to the Golan and to the Teperbergs!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday/Saturday - June 24 and 25, 2011
Friday was another "vacation" day for us. We stayed in Netanya and went to the beach/kikar/pool. The beach was beautiful, and as it was Friday it was a bit more crowded. At one point we had a very Israeli beach experience. To the left of us was what looked to be a Russian couple on lounge chairs. He was wearing a speedo type suit and she was tatooed and wearing a thong and usually not her bikini top (but lying on her stomach). To the right, we saw an elderly couple walking down the beach towards us - probably in their 70's. He was wearing a black suit with his pants rolled up to his knees, still wearing his black hat, and she was completely covered. The juxtaposition was just amazing. The kids came up to the apartment for lunch, and the adults went to get more cash out of the ATM. We just had to stop for a smoothie (for Sima) and a shwarma (for Mike). We then picked up some more food for the apartment and Mike took the girls and Eitan swimming. This time, we were asked for the cartis (the card that shows that our landlord paid the dues for the pool). Well, it turns out that he hasn't yet. So, Noah will just have to call him to talk about that too. (And, that someone else keeps parking in the spot that we were told is for our use.) Still can't beat the location and views from the apartment.
We then showered and got ready for Shabbat and started our trek into the Shomron (Samaria - part of the "West Bank") to spend Shabbat with the Kampler family. Sara lived with us 2009-10. We have a very "liberal" GPS; no matter how hard we tried, it just would not give us directions to Karnei Shomron. We tried "bypassing Area C Override" and it still would not work. So, we called the Kamplers and they gave us easy directions. The GPS wanted us to take a route that would take 4 hours and it took us less than an hour. We encountered the first checkpoint of the trip, and they waived us right through. Driving through the Shomron, we saw Arab towns and Jewish towns. And, for the first time in almost 2 weeks, we saw a bit of a military presence. On either side of the road was a fence and a military road and the road was not so busy -- it was very different from the driving we have been doing through the central corridor. We passed through the gate in Karnei Shomron, found our way to Ginot Shomron, and found Sara there waiting outside her house for us. It was so great to see Sara and to meet her family. All of her siblings were home for the weekend, except for Shlomzi, her sister who just graduated from high school, who was at a shabbaton for her class. Sara's parents, Fruma and Mark, and her siblings Noam, Beneyahu, Shivi, and Adi made us feel so welcome. While Sara's dad worked on the Shabbat cooking, Sara and her mom took us on a short driving tour of the area. They took us through the Ginot Shomron hill and the Karnei Shormron hill. They also took us up to a caravan settlement on a nearby hill called Ramot Gilad. The views were amazing; you can see Hadera, Netanya, and Tel Aviv. And we got to meet Shlomzi as we passed her and classmates driving decorated cars in a "graduation Parade" around the yishuv. After the tour we met Sara's next door neighbor, Sara, who housed Mike, Sima, and the girls. We went to shul, and enjoyed a delicious meal with lively conversation. After dinner Noah went out to walk the streets and find the teen social scene with Beneyahu, and Merav's mom Rutie stopped by to say hello and we chatted for a while. She is so amazing, we will miss her visits to St. Louis when the Possicks return home.
On Shabbat morning we all went to shul/synagogue/beit knesset, which is much faster and more efficient than at home. The girls and Sara and Sima sat with Ruthie and made it in time for mussaf. We were back at the Kamplers by 10:30 to visit a bit before lunch. Mike and he boys went to a minyan that started at 9 a.m. and was over by 10:30. Sara's grandfather Jay Shapira stopped by to say hello; we had met him when he visited St. Louis a year and a half ago. Again, lunch was delicious. The kids all really hit it off and hung out together all afternoon. The adults napped, and then Sara took us for a walk around the yishuv, she showed us the wadi next to their hill, which is the nachal that separated the land of the tribe of Menashe from the tribe of Ephraim. The kids went to b'nai akiva, and the adults had a much less chaotic seudah shlishit, and before we knew it Shabbat was over. After saying our goodbyes, we got back in the car with our uncooperative GPS. The trip was easy, except for our delay at the checkpoint traveling back across the green line. We did not know which line to get into so of course we got into the slowest one, and the border patrol soldiers checked our passports and the back of our car, and then let us pass through and on to Netanya. So, now we are watching Israeli tv and blogging.
We then showered and got ready for Shabbat and started our trek into the Shomron (Samaria - part of the "West Bank") to spend Shabbat with the Kampler family. Sara lived with us 2009-10. We have a very "liberal" GPS; no matter how hard we tried, it just would not give us directions to Karnei Shomron. We tried "bypassing Area C Override" and it still would not work. So, we called the Kamplers and they gave us easy directions. The GPS wanted us to take a route that would take 4 hours and it took us less than an hour. We encountered the first checkpoint of the trip, and they waived us right through. Driving through the Shomron, we saw Arab towns and Jewish towns. And, for the first time in almost 2 weeks, we saw a bit of a military presence. On either side of the road was a fence and a military road and the road was not so busy -- it was very different from the driving we have been doing through the central corridor. We passed through the gate in Karnei Shomron, found our way to Ginot Shomron, and found Sara there waiting outside her house for us. It was so great to see Sara and to meet her family. All of her siblings were home for the weekend, except for Shlomzi, her sister who just graduated from high school, who was at a shabbaton for her class. Sara's parents, Fruma and Mark, and her siblings Noam, Beneyahu, Shivi, and Adi made us feel so welcome. While Sara's dad worked on the Shabbat cooking, Sara and her mom took us on a short driving tour of the area. They took us through the Ginot Shomron hill and the Karnei Shormron hill. They also took us up to a caravan settlement on a nearby hill called Ramot Gilad. The views were amazing; you can see Hadera, Netanya, and Tel Aviv. And we got to meet Shlomzi as we passed her and classmates driving decorated cars in a "graduation Parade" around the yishuv. After the tour we met Sara's next door neighbor, Sara, who housed Mike, Sima, and the girls. We went to shul, and enjoyed a delicious meal with lively conversation. After dinner Noah went out to walk the streets and find the teen social scene with Beneyahu, and Merav's mom Rutie stopped by to say hello and we chatted for a while. She is so amazing, we will miss her visits to St. Louis when the Possicks return home.
On Shabbat morning we all went to shul/synagogue/beit knesset, which is much faster and more efficient than at home. The girls and Sara and Sima sat with Ruthie and made it in time for mussaf. We were back at the Kamplers by 10:30 to visit a bit before lunch. Mike and he boys went to a minyan that started at 9 a.m. and was over by 10:30. Sara's grandfather Jay Shapira stopped by to say hello; we had met him when he visited St. Louis a year and a half ago. Again, lunch was delicious. The kids all really hit it off and hung out together all afternoon. The adults napped, and then Sara took us for a walk around the yishuv, she showed us the wadi next to their hill, which is the nachal that separated the land of the tribe of Menashe from the tribe of Ephraim. The kids went to b'nai akiva, and the adults had a much less chaotic seudah shlishit, and before we knew it Shabbat was over. After saying our goodbyes, we got back in the car with our uncooperative GPS. The trip was easy, except for our delay at the checkpoint traveling back across the green line. We did not know which line to get into so of course we got into the slowest one, and the border patrol soldiers checked our passports and the back of our car, and then let us pass through and on to Netanya. So, now we are watching Israeli tv and blogging.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Today we headed north and east, in the direction of the eastern Galil. We passed lots of picturesque Arab villages, beautiful scenery, and a ski slope on the way (not kidding, there was a complex with two short snow covered "slopes" - read, "bunny hills" - and kids skiing and snowboarding down them near Maale Gilboa). Our first stop was near the border with Jordan in the old city of Beit She’an. This city has been the site of many civilizations, including Caananite, Egyptian, Philistine, Jewish, Hellinistic, Hasmonean, Roman, Byzantine, and Arab. In 749CE a huge earthquake destroyed the city and it was never rebuilt. This is the city where the Philistines displayed the bodies of Shaul and his sons on the city walls after their defeat. The tel at Beit She’an has been found to contain over 20 layers of civilizations!
The ruins of ancient Beit She’an include an amphitheater, 2 complexes of bath houses, a road lined with columns (it used to have a roof and be shaded, we were really missing that roof today as it is darn hot there), a Roman temple, and hippodrome that was converted into another amphitheater. The Romans had much leisure time -- plays were put on over 140 days a year, the bathhouses were a public meeting place with multiple pools, massage and other luxuries available, and even space for lectures – as their slaves did all the work. The city is quite a large expanse, very impressive even as ruins, and did I say it was very hot? Mike thoroughly enjoyed exploring the ruins, the kids tolerated it for about half and hour, and then Mike and Sima climbed the tell for a spectacular view of the Jordan River Valley and checked out the rest of the city while the kids went to wait in the air conditioned gift shop.
Soaked with sweat, we were ready to spend the rest of the day in water. We drove about 10 minutes to Nahal Kibbutzim, a river that runs about 3 km near Kibbutz Reshafim. The river is set just off the road; we parked and then walked a bit to where the nachal (river) ends in a few small pools. There are picnic tables in that area, but if you keep walking the river narrows and is surrounded on both banks by high reeds that make you feel like you are wading through wild terrain even though you are really in the middle of a farm. At a couple of locations, the river flows through large metal drainage pipes that double as a series of waterslides. This nachal was pretty busy, lots of families and a couple of school groups were enjoying the water as well. We ate lunch on the shores near the pools, and then climbed in and swam and waded and frolicked up stream, stopping to slide through the tunnels, for about half an hour and then we waded and swam and frolicked back downstream, again sliding through the tunnels. The girls, who had complained bitterly all morning, said in unison “Sorry we didn’t trust you Mom, thank you for bringing us to this wonderland of water!” The only casualty was Noah’s North Carolina hat, which came loose from the backpack and is now permanently living in the nachal.
We had to drag the kids out of the river (did I say that it was hot outside) in order to take them to another wonderland of water another 10 minutes down the road. This was Gan HaShlosha, also known by its Arabic name of Sachne. This park is beautiful. It is on Nachal Amal, which used to flow through Beit She’an and provided water for their bathhouses. The Nachal was dammed, initially for a mill but later for recreation, and a series of beautiful pools and small waterfalls was built into the natural surroundings. The park is huge -- there are 3 or four large pools, each almost the size of a small lake – and it is so green and beautifully landscaped. It was an interesting mix of people here, we heard a lot of English and some other European languages, saw many Israeli Arabs, and of course lots of Israeli Jews. Apparently there are some historical and informational elements in the park but all we did was swim and climb around the rocks along with the rest of the crowd there until the park closed and they kicked us out. We will just have to go back – this could easily be an all day experience, and it is only about an hour from Netanya.
Back in Netanya we met Shany and Elianna (who came up from Tel Aviv to see us) for dinner at Marrakesh. Marrakesh is our favorite Netanya restaurant; they serve Moroccan food and atmosphere. The food was delicious, the company was good, and then we all walked back to the apartment to hang out and drink some of the Carmay Avdat wine. Alas, Shany and Elianna had to leave and as Shany is leaving on motzei Shabbat for Switzerland, we will not see her again this trip. It is very hard to say goodbye all over again… Tired and glowing from the sun, we are all ready for sleep.
The ruins of ancient Beit She’an include an amphitheater, 2 complexes of bath houses, a road lined with columns (it used to have a roof and be shaded, we were really missing that roof today as it is darn hot there), a Roman temple, and hippodrome that was converted into another amphitheater. The Romans had much leisure time -- plays were put on over 140 days a year, the bathhouses were a public meeting place with multiple pools, massage and other luxuries available, and even space for lectures – as their slaves did all the work. The city is quite a large expanse, very impressive even as ruins, and did I say it was very hot? Mike thoroughly enjoyed exploring the ruins, the kids tolerated it for about half and hour, and then Mike and Sima climbed the tell for a spectacular view of the Jordan River Valley and checked out the rest of the city while the kids went to wait in the air conditioned gift shop.
Soaked with sweat, we were ready to spend the rest of the day in water. We drove about 10 minutes to Nahal Kibbutzim, a river that runs about 3 km near Kibbutz Reshafim. The river is set just off the road; we parked and then walked a bit to where the nachal (river) ends in a few small pools. There are picnic tables in that area, but if you keep walking the river narrows and is surrounded on both banks by high reeds that make you feel like you are wading through wild terrain even though you are really in the middle of a farm. At a couple of locations, the river flows through large metal drainage pipes that double as a series of waterslides. This nachal was pretty busy, lots of families and a couple of school groups were enjoying the water as well. We ate lunch on the shores near the pools, and then climbed in and swam and waded and frolicked up stream, stopping to slide through the tunnels, for about half an hour and then we waded and swam and frolicked back downstream, again sliding through the tunnels. The girls, who had complained bitterly all morning, said in unison “Sorry we didn’t trust you Mom, thank you for bringing us to this wonderland of water!” The only casualty was Noah’s North Carolina hat, which came loose from the backpack and is now permanently living in the nachal.
We had to drag the kids out of the river (did I say that it was hot outside) in order to take them to another wonderland of water another 10 minutes down the road. This was Gan HaShlosha, also known by its Arabic name of Sachne. This park is beautiful. It is on Nachal Amal, which used to flow through Beit She’an and provided water for their bathhouses. The Nachal was dammed, initially for a mill but later for recreation, and a series of beautiful pools and small waterfalls was built into the natural surroundings. The park is huge -- there are 3 or four large pools, each almost the size of a small lake – and it is so green and beautifully landscaped. It was an interesting mix of people here, we heard a lot of English and some other European languages, saw many Israeli Arabs, and of course lots of Israeli Jews. Apparently there are some historical and informational elements in the park but all we did was swim and climb around the rocks along with the rest of the crowd there until the park closed and they kicked us out. We will just have to go back – this could easily be an all day experience, and it is only about an hour from Netanya.
Back in Netanya we met Shany and Elianna (who came up from Tel Aviv to see us) for dinner at Marrakesh. Marrakesh is our favorite Netanya restaurant; they serve Moroccan food and atmosphere. The food was delicious, the company was good, and then we all walked back to the apartment to hang out and drink some of the Carmay Avdat wine. Alas, Shany and Elianna had to leave and as Shany is leaving on motzei Shabbat for Switzerland, we will not see her again this trip. It is very hard to say goodbye all over again… Tired and glowing from the sun, we are all ready for sleep.
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