Tel Aviv!

I stayed in Tel Aviv for a couple of days in between Prague and beginning my pilgrimage. Tel Aviv, which means "hill of spring" is the second largest city in Israel and the technological and economic engine of the country. The city is located on the Mediterranean Ocean and the reason cruise ships can stop in Israel. 

My friendly cabbie wanted me to sit in the front seat and then took me on a death-defying, half hour ride from the Ben Gurion Airport to my AirBnB place in Tel Aviv. The city was hopping in part because it was hosting Eurovision and in part because it is always hopping.

I had never heard of Eurovision before, but it was a big deal, with an article in the airline magazine and signs everywhere. The cabbie pointed it out to me as we drove by the beach. Eurovision is a singing contest that started after World War II to promote unity in Europe. Each country sends one performer to Eurovision to compete for a trophy and the glory of winning. The only two winners whom you may have heard are ABBA and Celine Dion. If you're interested in learning more, here is an article for confused Americans about Eurovision.

Above is the building I stayed in and below is my room. The other residents--mainly young people-- staying there looked more upscale than the building would indicate. Groups of young people walked the streets. Many of them looked very American to me but then I would hear them speaking Hebrew as they passed.

I got a box of crackers, a package of Swiss cheese, some coke, and a screw top bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from the store down the street and those were my provisions for the next couple of days.

Tel Aviv is an interesting place, which I would have enjoyed more if I hadn't been obsessing about my lost luggage. It reminded me a little of Santa Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Also Manhattan and West Berlin, when it existed. The city and the whole country are not quite first world but definitely not third world. Or maybe they are the first world, certainly parts of Tel Aviv and Israel are, but first world that is scruffy around the edges.

It seems as if a lot of young people live in Tel Aviv. On my first night there, a Tuesday, I looked out the window at 2 am, and the streets and sidewalks were packed. This was probably in part due to Eurovision, but I have a feeling that Tel Aviv is like this all the time. It's a, Wild West, party mood kind of place.

Above, an example of construction.

I went for a walk and came upon this great market.

Such an abundance and so colorful!

When I was worried about my lost luggage, I made a list of my blessings regarding this: 

1. I have my glasses (so could take out my contacts)
2. I have my phone charger. Very important
3. I have an Israeli adapter so I can use my important phone charger
4. I have the toiletries bag from El Al.

I also wrote a prayer addressing the situation.

Dear God,

I'm sorry about my near panic and despair in the face of minor problems and setbacks. Help me to feel the deep down alrightness in all circumstances, especially the trying ones. Help me cultivate calmness and attention so that I might focus on others and problem solving and so dissolve any unhelpful anxiety. Let me be a ray of sunshine in all situations. Amen.

I'll leave you with this fun street scene as the last image of Tel Aviv. (I think the street singer sounds better than Lionel Richie!)

The Saga of the Missing Luggage

I arrived at the Prague airport and got through the extensive Israeli security check, with an interview. (What religious community do you belong to?) The guy above in yellow standing outside the plane I will soon board, was the one who interviewed me.

Look! There is my suitcase being loaded onto my El Al plane, which will take me on a three hour, nonstop flight from Prague to Tel Aviv. How falsely comforting!

I love taking photos from the plane. Here are the lovely fields of the Czech Republic.

These clouds make me think of Zeus.

Not sure what mountains these are. 

But they are beautiful.

Israel above and below

I made it and stand in the passport line for about 15 minutes.

The luggage carousel is only about 100 feet from passport control. But this is what I find when I walk there: no suitcases or people.

I double check that I am at the right carousel. Yep. I mill around for about a half hour checking other carousels before I give up and go to the lost and found.

Where they have me fill out some paperwork and give me the above toiletries bag, complete with pajamas! There are stacks of these bags behind the TEN lost and found windows, making me suspicious that lost luggage is a common occurrence at the Tel Aviv airport. I spend the next 24 hours wondering if my luggage will turn up and how many clothes, etc. to buy in Tel Aviv if it doesn't. The next evening, I call the airline and a recording tells me my luggage has been located. I hope this is accurate and will try to claim it the next morning when I meet my tour group back at the airport.

In the meantime, people in the United States have been praying to St. Anthony on behalf of my missing luggage. Thank you to them and St. Anthony! I have him on speed dial.

It works! I hunt down an airline rep, she takes me into the bowels of the airport to the most beautiful sight! Not sure where it went, but very glad to have it back!

One last glimpse of the Tel Aviv Airport and the mylar balloons that have escaped to the ceiling. 

Parting Thoughts About Praha

Prague--love how they spell/pronounce it, Praha--really seems to have it together. A European capital in lovely natural setting

With historical, well-maintained, beautiful buildings integrated with capitalism.

Low crime rate, reasonable cost of living, free university education for citizens.

I was only there a few days, hardly long enough to get a complete feel for the place. But I sensed a kind of gentle melancholy about the city.

Maybe it's part of their national personality. Maybe it's a part of their World War II experience. The reason Prague was so untouched during the war is because parts of their country were given away under the Munich Agreement and thanks to threats from Hitler--Prague is so beautiful. It would be a shame if the Lufwaffe had to destroy it--the president conceded the rest to Germany.

There was a Czech government in exile and a resistance, whose greatest success was assassinating Reinhard Heydrich, an architect of the Holocaust and ruler of the former Czechoslovakia during the war. But the Czech's didn't pay the price the Poland and other countries did.

Them there were their decades under the Iron Curtain. They too came through this unscathed with the Velvet Revolution led by

High Above Prague Part 2 & the Charles Bridge

We climbed the tower at one end of the Charles Bridge for some more fantastic views of Prague.

Here is a not-very-good photo of the tower.

Overlooking the bridge. The Charles Bridge was built in the 1300's. Mind boggling.

It's a little bit scary up here!

Meanwhile, down on the bridge are statues.

Above is St. John of Nepomuk, the oldest statue on the bridge.

At the base of St. John, is this carving. Everyone pets the dog. No one really knows why (other than we like to put real life dogs)

Elizabeth has been a great tour guide!

The Charles Bridge from a distance.