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Amsterdam, Israel, and Paris
Thought we'd save a little money by having the middle boy's Bar Mitzvah in Israel instead of a party in Los Angeles like we did for the older boy...boy were we wrong. Though not cheap we had a blast. I'm not going to bore you all with the usual pics of business class on KLM and Air France. There are countless threads with identical pictures to the ones I would have posted.
I didn't have a trip report in mind when I took the pictures so some of these may include me and the family. I'll probably upload these in batches and welcome any questions about the trip along the way. Part I: Amsterdam Only hours after the kids finished school, we headed to LAX to board our KLM flight to Amsterdam. We had three days to fit in as much as we could The end of the Tom Bradley terminal is an absolute zoo. Five different flights were crowded into this large room where we were shuttled to a remote gate where the plane was located. At some point the aircraft was changed from a 747 to a 777. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4265/...89595cf0_b.jpg We stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Centraal Station. Perfect location for walking to the canals, red light district, museum, etc. Very good diamond perks with a nice spread for both evening cocktails and breakfast. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4286/...170e75f3_b.jpg We did a nice little boat tour with boatamsterdam.com that included unlimited soft drinks, beer, and wine. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4288/...84ab1d8a_b.jpg No shortage of bikes in this city https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4256/...526a5c86_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4290/...a43fed5a_b.jpg I'll try to keep the family shots to a minimum. Highly recommend Cafe Bern! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4279/...cc045283_b.jpg Say cheese! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4218/...d1a6cb63_b.jpg The next day, we did a three hour biking tour with We Bike Amsterdam. Thijs was a fantastic tour guide. Great way to see the city. Learned about the architecture https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4233/...b256a9df_b.jpg It is customary there to hang your backpack outside when you graduate. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4240/...769eca0d_b.jpg Excellent fries from Mannekenpis (love that name)! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4209/...eec32c8d_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4279/...14dbef6b_b.jpg Parking is certainly a premium https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4234/...ebaeeb72_b.jpg More bikes and my goofball son https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4261/...474e2569_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4279/...c140a4fa_b.jpg One of many dudes who could not handle the Red Light District https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4215/...05550bc2_b.jpg My kids thought this was an invitation for criminals https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4229/...b49725aa_b.jpg Had we not just missed tulip season we would have seen this instead of looking at a picture of it at the tulip museum https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4234/...24dc49d5_b.jpg The door to the Anne Frank House which is next to the museum. Glad we got tickets in advance. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4209/...105be2c8_b.jpg These were two separate triangles that formed a Star of David at the right vantage point in the Jewish Quarter. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4260/...b0ab8a7c_b.jpg Obligatory I Am Amsterdam shot https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4230/...49650a57_b.jpg Had trouble choosing between the Rijks Museum and Van Gogh. We ended up at Rijks because of the variety with this option. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4285/...6ac40614_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4207/...1d437f2f_b.jpg View from our hotel room https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4285/...7a1d3c4d_b.jpg Gorgeous city. Had an amazing time. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4285/...a4fc635a_b.jpg Next up: Part II: Tel Aviv-Yaffo |
Picture issues fixed. Enjoy!
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Glad I came back a day later to see if the pictures worked. Great photos and a great time to visit! Glad you learned about AMS a little and that you enjoyed it. Always interested in how outsiders perceive it. Looking forward to Israel pix!
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Thank you. Hopefully I didn't scare everyone off not having the pics ready.
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Looking forwrd to the next bit- what a nice looking family you have.
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Mazel Tov on your son's Bar Mitzvah!
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Really great trip report, thank you for sharing and congratulations to your son!!
Looking forward to the rest ^ |
Thank you for the kind words!
Part II: Tel Aviv-Yaffo Our KLM flight left AMS on time at 9PM and arrived at TLV at 2:30am. The airport was as busy in the middle of the night as most airports might be midday. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4286/...f2a9483d_b.jpg We checked into the Sheraton Tel Aviv with points for the night because they allowed a 4pm checkout. We got an upgrade to a suite which we appreciated. Amazing location! The Mediterranean water has a gorgeous light and deep blue. I don't think my iPhone accurately captured the beauty. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4206/...26cfb535_b.jpg Our next few nights were spent at a Penthouse in Yaffo. The location was nice, but it was a pain to go into Tel Aviv. AirBnb can be hit or miss. The penthouse was very nice, but the little things like broken sliding doors became frustrating. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4206/...7662df80_b.jpg The next day we explored Carmel Market where you can find every kind of food (and every kind of tchotchke) under the sun. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4257/...30eef729_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4217/...d5798c92_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4254/...bc73bc1d_b.jpg We headed down to Beit Guvrin where we crawled through unexcavated cave systems and dug through ancestral homes. We found pottery and bones (not human) that were thousands of years old. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4206/...5ffff1aa_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4284/...e2613e5a_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4285/...d2a34cc5_b.jpg The next day we took a drive down to Mitzpe Ramon where we went sandsurfing with Dror BaMidbar. It was recommended by a friend and did not disappoint! We snowboarded down sand dunes in the middle of the desert...unreal for us Southern Californians. My wife (please don't tell her I posted this) https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4206/...cb3e461b_b.jpg Oldest boy https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4287/...fd1fe819_b.jpg Sorry we are in the way for this one, but wanted to share the vastness https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4289/...57d367fa_b.jpg Carefully drove back to Tel Aviv https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4208/...df788f32_b.jpg While in Tel Aviv, we also visited the Palmach Museum and Ayalon Institute which is a working kibbutz that once housed an underground bullet factory. No exciting pics to share...just more of me and the family. The truly fascinating and scenic part is up next as we head up the coast to the Golan in Part III: Northern Israel |
Mazel Tov on your son's Bar Mitzvah!
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Nice. I was not scared off from the original photo issue but was once I saw your son wearing a habs t-shirt….:D
the photo of your wife surfing looks great. |
Great pictures. Handsome boys. What a great trip to honor his faith.
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Thanks again for the nice posts...Go Habs Go
I love hearing the feedback so I wrote the next entry this afternoon. Part III: Northern Israel At this point five other family members joined my immediate family to make a group of ten. We hired a private tour guide, luxury van, and driver for six days to take us up to Northern Israel and a couple of days in Jerusalem, Masada, and the Dead Sea. Our first stop was Caesarea, a port city originally built by Herod, then rebuilt by Jews, Christians, and Muslims giving you layers of rich history. In these pictures you can see the remains of Herod's castle, where they had chariot races, and breathtaking views. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4206/...a11024ce_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4218/...bd48cbf2_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4264/...b644444e_b.jpg Just a small piece of the highly sophisticated ancient aqueducts https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4253/...d955e3d6_b.jpg From there we headed up to Akko where I had my third shwarma meal out of at least ten https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4255/...a5fb71d6_b.jpg Akko is best known for its notorious ancient fortress, used as a prison during the British Mandate. This is a view of a piece of that jail. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4285/...4f437e65_b.jpg From there we drove up to Israel's northwestern tip, Rosh Hanikra. Here we took a short cable car ride, the steepest in the world, straight down from the bluffs to the sea grottoes. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4290/...4b8f5d34_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4236/...89a68d68_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4206/...c7c0ce2e_b.jpg After the ride back up the car, it's a one minute walk to the Israeli/Lebanese border. The first of three borders we visited. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4263/...1d687b93_b.jpg Here we are taking a picture with an Israeli soldier. Because the two countries don't have a treaty, there is an Israeli gate (seen below), a neutral area for the UN, and then the Lebanese gate. The Israeli soldier and the Lebanese soldier are not allowed to speak to each other. Any requests must be mediated via the UN representative. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4284/...99e51189_b.jpg We spent three nights at Merom Golan. I highly recommend it. Outstanding food and an interesting location being so close to the Syrian border. The next morning we took a 4x4 Jeep tour off road into the demilitarized zone and along the Syrian border, viewing hidden Israeli army bunkers and positions. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4290/...3b9b06fc_b.jpg Anti-tank ditches https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4236/...23f9bfab_b.jpg There was an active tank near us however this is a relic from '67 https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4261/...c4df6801_b.jpg We toured the inside of this bunker that seemed to go on forever https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4217/...2a2e658f_b.jpg Amid this dry desert air, they grow kiwi, strawberries, you name it... https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4212/...47305eb2_b.jpg If you look closely you can see the wall that separates the fertile Israeli land and the dry undeveloped Syrian land https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4240/...055e1a2f_b.jpg As we headed out, our Jeep tour guide, ex-military, got word that the Syrian civil war fighting was going to be close to the border within the hour and that it was not safe to stay... Like clockwork, we later read that the fighting did indeed get close to the border and stray shells inadvertently landed exactly where we had visited. Though Israel doesn't stand with either side and aids wounded civilians, they quickly countered and destroyed the areas where missiles were launched. More on that shortly... From there we visited Banias Spring. For Christians, the Banias holds particular significance as the place where Peter recognized Jesus, and Jesus named Peter the “rock” on which his church would be built. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4287/...2dca3dd7_b.jpg The falls are particularly impressive because you cannot see where the water flow begins in this huge desert however it is a swift tide. Group shot! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4277/...b85a6e85_b.jpg We ended the day rafting down the Jordan River https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4238/...240a69eb_b.jpg My kids dared me to dab on the zip line overlooking the Hula Valley, crossing he river. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4253/...2ed1d6a7_b.jpg That night they shut down any roads that led close to the border https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4280/...1bbf5b3a_b.jpg It was LOUD throughout the night. We could hear rockets landing, lighting up the dark sky. Jet fighters could also be heard. We never felt like we were in danger though. As is typical in Israel, there were shelters all over the campus if needed. The next morning we headed up to Mt. Bental which had an amazing view down into Syria. The smoke you see in the distance is due to the civil war fighting. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4289/...9f885391_b.jpg I apologize in advance to those who support the UN. These guys are totally useless. Nice, but useless. These observers watch the infighting from a distance and take notes. They clock in in the morning and clock out in the evening like any other job. They just watch. The magnification of the binoculars allow them to see detailed faces of people on the street from this great distance. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4286/...745a0775_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4257/...fae22356_b.jpg More Mt. Bental https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4237/...0f05d9e2_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4238/...2faaaa73_b.jpg From there it was off to Tzfat. Famous for the galleries, old synagogues, and of course candles. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4208/...d188fab9_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4239/...60fe8e59_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4260/...7b57ecfc_b.jpg Peeking into one of the many yeshivas https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4286/...8c618280_b.jpg Later that afternoon we took a cable car ride up the Manara Cliffs with a beautiful view of the Hula Valley https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4287/...bd0f2973_b.jpg Cool little roller coaster near the bottom of the mountain https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4289/...2a675c73_b.jpg Next we travel down the West Bank with a stop in Galilee (I'll spare you all from the pics of us in bathing suits) and Genesis Land as we travel to Jerusalem. Next up is Part IV: Jerusalem |
Mazel Tov on your sons Bar Mitzvah.
Awesome to see some amazing pictures of a wonderful country, many memories, the new border at Lebanon has been done well. Glad you came out of the fighting safe, and were able to convey what really happens alongside Isreal's borders. Looking forward to the rest of your trip |
I visited the Lebanese border in the early 1990s when the border was unofficially open and saw the Lebanese coming to work in Israel. I also stayed at the Sheraton and liked it. They have a nice pool.
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Part IV: Jerusalem
We stopped for a swim in the Sea of Galilee which seems like more of a big lake than a sea, but I didn't major in geography. The plan was to go to Gan HaShlosha and swim in the fresh water springs, but we got word it would be packed since many people head there to celebrate the end of Ramadan. We stopped by Genesis Land where we took a short camel ride down to "Abraham's tent". https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4233/...1313af30_b.jpg He greeted us with a fun story about how he arrived there and treated us to tea, apricots, and dates. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4264/...bbd46dcc_b.jpg We then had fun making fresh pitas which turned out to be quite tasty https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4234/...c9753663_b.jpg This place was just as touristy as it sounds however I have to tell you we had an amazing time. It really was fun...and most importantly the kids had a blast. The whole thing was probably somewhere between 60 and 90 min long. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4231/...5079a924_b.jpg We then continued the climb up to Jerusalem and checked into the Dan Boutique Hotel. It was very clean with a very nice breakfast. We walked everywhere once in Jerusalem. I'd say it was about a 30 min walk to Ben Yehuda from here and a little less to the Jaffa Gate to give you an idea. Those not looking to spend the extra bucks for King David or the Waldorf would be happy with this option. That night we wandered to Ben Yehuda for some bargain shopping. We bought a bullet necklace for 15 shekels which was "75% off just for me." It was so lively there. In fact it's lively everywhere in Jerusalem every night except for Shabbat. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4259/...f1209d31_b.jpg The next morning we headed up to Mt. Scopus which had beautiful views of the old city https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4256/...aa205aef_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4206/...d5ce39d5_b.jpg We entered the old city and visited David's Tomb (not a great shot, but still wanted to share) https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4232/...315396f9_b.jpg Stopped briefly where the last supper occurred. The room (besides being empty) looked very different than Da Vinci's painting, but I didn't research why. From there, we walked to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This isn't a great shot of the people in it, but the background gives you a good idea of the many, many markets in the city. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4116/...354e3738_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4229/...fd142582_b.jpg This is the only picture I can find inside the church. It was packed! The old city just fascinates me. People visit for so many reasons. Muslims visit the Dome of the Rock, Jews visit the Western Wall, and Christians have this Church and Via Dolorosa. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4253/...2d97666e_b.jpg We then headed to the Western Wall where the women and men pray separately. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4287/...20e24e9d_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4281/...e24464e6_b.jpg Some prayers that people hope will be answered https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4259/...6d60f0d6_b.jpg Unfortunately the women don't get a sheltered portion of the wall like the men do https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4218/...5a858fbb_b.jpg They needed my brother-in-law to be the tenth for a minyan https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4254/...493675eb_b.jpg One last shot of the wall before we check out the tunnels https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4263/...8dec7142_b.jpg The tunnels certainly were fascinating. It's an ongoing excavation with layers upon layers of history revealing itself. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4214/...d3e33b7e_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4280/...074c3761_b.jpg After a long day we headed back to the hotel. Located just a couple of blocks away is First Station. This is an old train station that has been converted into a modern shopping area with many restaurant and bar options. I can't remember the name of this bar. They served over a dozen types of beer. According to my pictures (think end credits of The Hangover) we were there for many hours. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4206/...b79f15ea_b.jpg Next up we end our Israel portion of the trip with a visit to Masada, Dead Sea, and celebrate a Bar Mitzvah in Part V: Our Final Days in Jerusalem |
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