Scenes from Inbar, Israel's smallest kibbutz (here until July 7)

Set in the heart of the green mountains of the Galilee is Inbar, (the smallest Kibbutz in Israel!).  The setting boasts multiple rooms for guests, a large group room, dining and TV areas with play areas for children.  It's located about a mile down a dirt road with cattle on one side and desert grazing fields on the other where the cattle are rotated for grazing.  Meals were delicious and completely vegetarian.  While there we visited several locations on day trips like Safed (multiple spellings on road signs for this place) an ancient hillside place on top of a mountain (Israel's tallest town, known for art, spiritualism and a mostly religious populace), bathed at a public beach in the fresh waters of the Sea of Galilee surrounded by banana groves, and hiked a bit around Mt. Arbel - too windy that day for the whole climb.  There were other famous Christian pilgrimage sites. 

When off site for dinner, we ate twice at an amazing Druze felafel place - unlimited salad to eat on small plates and stuff into pita bread!  Very friendly staff and patrons.  Also dined our last night at a gorgeous restaurant on top of yet another hillside town, Rosh Pinna, near Inbar.  We stayed at Inbar for 3 nights and were reluctant to leave - especially when we got to Haifa which was way too large, busy, not very pretty and had almost no street signs indicating names of the streets.  

Stone house built into the side of the mountain in Maghar a Druze village
adjacent to Inbar - the artist who lived here built the house and when we paused at
sunset being attracted by his sculptures in the driveway, he invited us into his studio
to see other sculptures and his paintings.   He also did amazing mosaic insets into
statues and permanent sculpted seating around his home.  Photo credit DW.

Unusual setting for this larger than life Liberty statue done by the sculptor we met.
She was perched on the precipice at the end of his driveway next to the home
above.   He research the dimensions of the NYC statue and quoted them to us
as we stood agape overlooking this lovely view.  Photo credit DW

Most restaurants even the small ones with
no indoor seating offered hand washing stations for
patrons - this one was particularly dramatic with
beautiful tile work.   Let's promote this at eateries
in the USA!

New friends we met who were guests here - they reside in Ashkalon
close to the West Bank - it's being lobbed by enemy rockets several times
a day.  Husband wanted some peace and quiet for a weekend -
wife couldn't wait to leave - too quiet!   

Danny and Nahum

    

Twisted tree in the gardens near the tire swing!  

The Swinger at a different tree! 

Views surrounding Inbar on my morning race walk!

More amazing views of farmland and hills

Cactus Garden near the Hummingbird Tree

The Hummingbird Tree 

Arad - a lovely but stark place in the desert

Arad borders on the Judean and Negev Deserts. It is 48 km East of Be’er Sheva and 24 km west of the Dead Sea. It's location near these more desolate areas (Masada), and the very commercial south end area where the high rise Dead Sea hotels are located give the tourists (namely us) an alternative location to stay when visiting the area - especially since the start of AirBnB made spaces available.   We stayed in an unmemorable but comfortable apartment in Russian neighbourhood.  No English speakers here - mostly Russian or Hebrew.  The city was founded in 1962 as the first planned city in the State of Israel, and it offers its residents "a high quality of life and a vibrant, lively community".

Looking back toward our neighbourhood above and below, 

the view looking away.

The surrounding area includes forests, vineyards and an equestrian centre, plus an artists' area with galleries and shops.  We only had time to visit the vineyard and hiking area at the end of a day when it was cooler.   It is known as a safe city and an ideal place to raise children.   There is a large orthodox Jewish community in residence as evidenced by busloads of children at the end of the school day.

Many vineyards are in the hills overlooking the town, along
with bike and hiking trails.  Town temperatures are very hot (>44C)
where woodland temperatures dip to under 34C during the day.

Our little Fiat 500 sits next to a vineyard near where we 
watched a busload of tourists inspecting a ruin.  

A litter of boxer pups behind our building - seven weeks old - total of ten!

IDF troops waiting along with local residents for transport to?

DW at Muza Sportsbar where we ate twice (and watched everyone enjoying
World Cup Soccer).  If there were other eateries serving veggies we never found them.
Many army troops were in here eating dinner the second night we visited - they were
heavily armed and enjoying soft drinks.

The night we arrived, we took a walk to a "place with a view" - we drove fairly close and wandered around.  A friendly neighbour directed us saying, "Go down the road until it ends at a park bench with a big view."  We did, and it was.  In the background, without haze, the Dead Sea was visible but this night we arrived just after sunset and it was hazy.  

Jerusalem String or Harp Bridge

During our stay near Jerusalem, we took the tram or light rail into the city from Ein Kerem. When we saw how short the trip is (4 miles), we walked back (twice) and during our walk, crossed over the foot path beside the light rail tracks.  Looking down, one would expect a river or trains but the bridge crosses a highway. 

File photo from bridge website giving overall view (I couldn't capture this on a cell phone camera!)

The planners of the transportation revolution in Jerusalem discovered that it would be impossible to integrate the Light Rail with the existing traffic arrangements at the entrance to the city, and required a completely separate route instead. They considered building a tunnel, but rejected this option for several reasons: the Menachem Begin tunnel that already traversed the entrance to the city, the destruction another tunnel would cause to Jaffa Road and Sderot Herzl and the anticipated environmental damage.

Spanish architect Dr. Santiago Calatrave designed a chords bridge inspired by the biblical verse, “Praise Him with harp and lyre”.  The bridge, which is 118 meters high, is constructed of four types of materials: steel, concrete, stone and glass. The main rectangular crossbeam of the bridge was designed to reduce the noise of the Light Rail, and the structure of the tracks also minimizes noise.  Although the bridge's design gives viewers a sense of hovering lightness, the bridge actually weighs 4,200 tons. It is suspended from 70 steel chords, in a unique pattern that gives it strength and stability. The bridge was constructed in Israel and Italy in sections by architects from all over Europe, with quality assurance tests conducted from Canada to Germany.

The bridge opened in 2008 and includes a stylish pedestrian walkway with a view of the Knesset, Supreme Court and Binyanei HaUmah (International Convention Center). The chords are visible from the approach to the city, and the bridge which resembles a harp has become one of the prominent symbols of Jerusalem.

Danny taking a photo of the translucent glass floor as we walked
over the bridge.  The curved wall is transparent as well.  

The Hills around Ein Kerem

EIN KEREM

In a peaceful valley between mountains and hills is one of Jerusalem’s most picturesque villages - Ein Kerem. 
It has charming stone houses adorned with arches, churches whose bells chime in the clear air and lovely paths paved with stone. Many of the stone walls have stood for 3000 years according to the host of our Air BnB abode.

Starting point of the trails

Looking up toward town from the gardens

Many fruit trees are being re-planted on the hillsides near town

Ein Kerem is a pilgrimage site for many Christian visitors, who come here year after year. According to Christian tradition, this is where Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, miraculously became pregnant. This is also where he was born.  Allegedly, Elizabeth was visited by a family relative, Mary, who was also pregnant with Jesus. The two women met beside the village well and Mary drank from its cool waters. That place is now called Mary’s Spring. The village around the well grew and its waters are considered holy. Many pilgrims come to drink from the well and take the holy water away with them in bottles. 
The spring was used to irrigate fruit trees centuries ago and has never run dry. Two of the churches here are named after John the Baptist, one Catholic and the other Greek Orthodox. Both were built in the late 19th century on the ruins of previous churches. The Catholic church has a grotto thought to be the birthplace of John the Baptist.

Mary's Spring at the site of the original well - many
tour buses bring students and tourists here daily

Aramaic ceremony with music and dancing next to Mary's Spring the night before
we left. Tours of the four Christian churches begin or end next to the spring.

The Church of the Visitation was built in 1955, on the foundations of a Crusader church built in the original location of the summer home where John the Baptist’s parents lived. The church is built around a large stone behind which Elizabeth hid John the Baptist from Herod’s soldiers, who were ordered to kill all children under the age of two. The Sisters of Zion Convent here was an orphanage and today it is home to nuns who run a modest hostel. The nearby Gorny Monastery, now a church, with its gold domes, is reached via a steep, winding path. All the walking tours in Ein Kerem start at the well.  Signs now announce that the water is NOT drinkable but I don’t believe it!

The breathtaking beauty, the elegant simplicity and the charm of this place are especially pleasant in this conflict torn country.  You can wander through the alleyways, enjoying every moment.  Modern developments have not yet reached this scenic neighborhood, and recently the residents fought a battle against a construction project of a 4 story apartment building and won – much like the fight against high rises San Francisco. During our visit, a backhoe filled in the hole where the building was to be erected.

Terraced hillside with Jerusalem in the distance

Solar powered hot water tank and A/C on most of the homes we saw in Israel

Terraces near town

Retired person enjoying the view - with the former monastery in the background

Climbing Masada at Dawn

MASADA

Many years ago, I read a novel about the siege at Masada - never forgot the story and NEVER thought I would ever see it, let alone climb it before sunrise.  Marley climbed it with BirthRight a few years ago and I was SO JEALOUS.  So when DW said we would sidebar a trip to Israel on this trip, I said climbing to the scene of the siege was the main task I wanted to accomplish.  So we did.  

I had no idea there would be so much more to see at the pinnacle.   

Masada fortress from just above the parking lot - it is an ancient

 fortification situated on top of an isolated rock plateau that looks like a mesa on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. Herod the Great built palaces for himself on the mountain and fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BCE.  The Siege of Masada by troops of the Roman Empire towards the end of the First Jewish–Roman War ended in the mass suicide of the 960 Sicarrirebels and their families hiding there. Masada is located 20 kilometres east of Arad, which is where we

rented our AirBnB apartment specifically to go there for the climb.

Beginning the climb on the Snake Path - 1300 feet over
a rocky path and hundreds of steps

Starting the climb from the tram area - before dawn.  These
were the not so steep steps!  No chance of seeing 
sunrise by taking the tram - it opened at 0800!  
The tram is for the WEAK!

Just before sunrise

Full sunrise

About to climb into the lookout tower

Masada quarry - you just cannot imagine how work was 
done on this site two millenniums ago.  

View looking down from the lookout tower - scaling
this plateau would be a rock climber's paradise - not
sure if it is allowed.  

We started talking to a BirthRight organiser and learned
that BirthRight was responsible for a making video (by drone) we had
heard buzzing earlier - this sign appeared in the video and
most likely so will we when it is edited for the
Birthright website!  Anyway, it was fun to be interviewed
and to be photographed with the sign! 

Masada Selfie - it felt great to get to the top
and after the fact, climbing was easier than the
descent (very steep and by that time super HOT) 

DW at Herod's palace

Palace in perspective

Me taking a sit down break at the palace

BirthRighters on the March touring on top of MasadaBirthRight well represented!!

Our AirBnB digs in Ein Kerem

Entrance to our place here in Ein Kerem

which is an ancient village of the Jerusalem District and now a neighbourhood in southwest Jerusalem. We were turned on to staying here by our neighbours and friends who visited in 2012.  

According to Christian tradition, John the Baptist was born in Ein Karem, leading to the establishment of many churches and monasteries. In 2010 the neighborhood had a population of 2,000.  It attracts three million visitors a year, one-third of them pilgrims from around the world.  There are shops, galleries, restaurants, bed and breakfast locations and hiking trails and it is on a public transportation route direct to Jerusalem (about 5 miles).  

Our apartment is located within a family compound
of stone buildings over 300 years old.  

Not large but
comfortable enough
for our 3 day stay with one adventure
after another kidnappings, murders, forest fires 
surround this 
peaceful place.
Yesterday we took
the tram to Jeru-
salem and walked
back about 4 miles   to where we parked.

Terrace 

Patio corner 

Sweet grapes for the picking

 (even a stool for ones you can't reach)

Tourist enjoying the terrace and patio 

Interesting bathtub

Modern Plumbing (not quite 300 years old!) 

Coffee Habit

This issue is so important, I believe it deserves it's own page!  

Anyone who knows me knows about my coffee habit - gotta have it in the morning, preferably really decent strong coffee.  Peets may not be the best but it works most of the time for our everyday habit in Oakland.

Well the coffee quality that we can prepare ourselves has been going downhill since we ran out of Peets in Haarlem (a very loooong time ago).  We had a Nespresso coffee maker (good but environmentally unsound) AND a French press in London (used our Peets), a Mr. Coffee in Haarlem (but still had decent coffee to make after Peets ran out).  In Berlin, our great apartment came with a not so good drip machine in Germany (with mediocre coffee, not much good to be found).  We searched high and low for some kind of unbreakable French press to carry with us but never found one.   

In Tel Aviv, the place came with an espresso boiler which was ancient and MISSING the filter basket which could not be replaced (we tried).  Plus there were two jars of no brand instant coffee in the cupboard.  I suspected there was a reason for this.  (Pause)

So after two mornings of being really grouchy until I got up and out and bought expensive (and sometimes not wonderful) coffee at a shop, I have succumbed to making instant coffee in the mornings.  Yes, me, instant, never thought it would happen, but frankly, as far as my mood is concerned, it's not the worst way to wake up (haha)!  The good news is that the water boilers work in seconds so making instant coffee is a rapid fire process!  Good thing I'm getting used to it - it's been this way for the past three places we've stayed - instant provided, no coffee pot, and as a back up, I bought some!

Danny, who is way more intolerant of bad coffee than me, and who doesn't seem to need the wake up as much, just waits for later when we go out for a cup.