Daniel in Israel

Jordan Day 2

2007-09-18T18:35:00.000+02:00

moin moin!

ok lets review my last weekend trip more!

breakfast at 7 - but my hotel serves it from 8 on... no problem we are flexible - perfect. so i could started to Petra at 7.30... jordan highways looking nice... but more the landscape around... until... until a camel mum gave milk to camel baby - on the highway!!!
ok... arriving petra and paying entrance. >21EUR... tourism in jordan can be expensive!
anyway i dont know when i am comign again... so stop thinking, started just doing :-D

Petra - the ancient city. well to be honest its hard for me to describe it. its one of these 1000 places you have to see before you go to your next life! see pics

back form petra i tried the beach south of aqaba... how is it feeling to be just 2km away from saudi arabia - i really thought about just going to border and asking for a stamp... but due to the israeli stamp stigma they wouldnt let me in even for a single second. and they require a visa ahead... ok so time for beach... almost no one here... so it looks when off season is... thai off season was not so dead...

being back in aqaba city showed be that ramadan started - because it was ca. half hour after sunset... all Muslims were eating and drinking. and i thouhgt about who they survive working in desert (even in the shadow) without drinking any water for 12h? respekt!!!

i took a shower and looked for a local restaurant or at least local meal. with a fruit cocktail, service & tax and tip 5EUR... outside the restaurant i saw an old mercedes with interesting car plates... a cloer look and you could find the original german car plates. they just fixed the jordan ones on the top...

afterwards i walked thourhg the nightlife, bought post cards and looked for local beer - but its ramadan, so no one is selling anything with alc... even not to tourists... i found mango, strawery and lemon heineken...

... and slept early again. petra took a lot of my energy!

"Seven days in 'Jewish Germany'"

2007-09-18T10:56:00.000+02:00

For at least another dozen generations or so, flying into Germany will remain an unsettling experience for Jews, even if the Jews in question haven't experienced a single moment's turbulence.

It's also a feeling, for better or worse, that will stay with most Jewish travelers as they continue on their trip, which in my case was a seven-day tour of "Jewish Germany" organized by the country's Tourism Ministry.

'Wilkommen', in other words, to the Germany of 2007, a place actively seeking Jewish visitors and hoping to show off, if that's the right expression, the remnants of a culture it almost wiped out.

17th September 2007

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1189411416218

some more things i recognized in israel

2007-09-18T10:53:00.000+02:00

traffic... using the horn as car driver seems to be allowed only when someone hasnt gone on after red traffic light within 0.1 second after getting green...

sun glasses everywhere... in trains, busses, ... and if not latest before leaving you must put them on your nose... cool baby

while walking around you see much less reminders concerning the (holocaust) history than in germany - wow

- smoking is allowed - (alomost) everywhere :-( i saw a hair cutter lady which smoked during serving a client - cigarettes are cheap... ca. 1.5EUR per package

- food and drinks are horror... expensive... milka is 250%, milk just 50%, meat same level, noodles/spaghetti... dont ask, fruits are a bit cheaper

experiences, impressions and what else got my attention

2007-09-17T15:43:00.000+02:00

Moin moin!

today its time to reflect things i recognized during my last 7 weeks...

Israelis... are quite relaxed at work... but when they come out in the streets they are always in hurry... bus drivers not waiting until you have a seat... and at bus and train stops you must press yourself out... the locals dont think about let the others first getting out and then entering... nooo

traffic lights for human beings have an interesting function... like in Paris they illuminating something... most of Israelis not taking care if red or green... and crosswalks at streets... just go the israelis slowing down or even stopping... more than at traffic lights :-)

food... i asked my supervisor - originally from england he does not know typical Israeli food... its a mix from everywhere... i think the arabic humus and falafel comes at closest

trash, waste and environmental issues... my co worker, native US guy, said its even worse than in the USA... well at least the reach the same level... always taking one way cups (2 because otherwise it would be too hot) and plates and... and plastic bags in supermarket are used for everything... even salami packs :-/

money matters... your 3rd question can be about incoming - its normal. the minimum salary is like in Germany, academics too... just the average is much lower...
the great thing of israel is that you can pay every really small amount everywhere by credit card. every coffee machine on platforms accept credit cards for an amount of <0.5EUR :-)
i dont have the problem with coins...

security... baby face soldiers with machine guns everywhere. you must know even at the wekend for family visits they have to take there gun home (or at the western wall in jerusalem for starting shabat or going out in the night to disco or...). in general army service for men is 3 years and for women 2 years. mostly after high school. in this tiem they are earning 350 schekel (ca. 60EUR) per month... but free transport in the whole country.
every supermarket, every dorm, every trainstation has at least one armed guard checking your bags and pockets and sometimes also your ID card. even every buidling of work places have guards. like in the USA everyone has the right to carry a gun. so its a really normal querstion when at a mall or train station the guard asks if i have a weapon. "no sir"
if you drive in the golan hights or in the negev desert close to the eastern borders you see the anti aircraft missiles and other defence equipment around... aiming to - you know where

education & travelling... high school ends after 12th class... and 56% of an age group getting the university allowance... wow. after army service many yound people saving money for a trip to latin or south americe for several month... europe is to expensive and the people i talked havent really considered asia instead. from adults i think every second one was at least once in germany.

family - parents are mostly proud when their kids are soldiers. they defending the country. and the avreage family has 3 kids...

language... ok for me its like last year thailand. pressing in brain how 'exit', 'toilet' and so on looks like. but israel is the first country where i am not asking the people if they cans peak english... i just approach them in english and ca. 98% can speak english!!!

public transport... tel aviv new bus terminal is supposed to be the biggest in the world. the domestic bus company egged is definetely the second biggest in the world (after london buses). all egged buses have a line number which is unique in the whole country... besides that in tel aviv Dan buses running on lines too (most of them) and you have sheiruts, kind of service taxi in form a mini bus.
the train schedule for the whole country fits on two A0 pages (!!!) like the departure schedule for hanover or dusseldorf central station. one is for direction north, the other one for south driving trains.
during shabbat almost all buses and for sure all trains are stopped... and at yom kippur also taxis and sheiruts...
(besides that its more than recommended not to drive as 'alien' - for jewish its forbidden like washing, eating, tv, sex, ... 26h)

waether... hmm... during my first 6 weeks i never used a blanket to cover myself while sleeping... in august an early morning temperature of <25 degrees was rare... like clouds at the sky. for desert see my report of the trip.

i think i will add more impressions soon

Jordan Day 1

2007-09-16T18:37:00.000+02:00

moin moin!

well last weekend we had jewish new year - 4 days off... great for a longer trip... jordan with the ancient city petra was calling.
i took the night bus (the national bus company Egged operated 17 busses on this one line at this one departure time!!!) and arrived next morning close to sunrise in eilat. thanks to god that i had to take the bus just oneway :-)
I took a coffee and passed the border. just walking through and stopping for exit fee and passport controls. a few m9inutes later i was in aqaba.

at arrival in aqaba it was already 8am... time to find a budget accommodation... wasnt so easy because not everyone had 24h reception and most of the otehrs were openeing at 10 or so...
but done quickly - afterwards i slept a bit andf started preparing my trip to petra next day (and wadi rum teh day after)... several options like paying a taxi (after negotiating) or taking the minibus which is 'scheduled' for 7am but leaves when full... or a tour operator... after a while this was managed too. time to get to knwo aqaba... yeah

while walking on the footprints of lawrence of arabia i discovered this city... later swimming at the public beach which was horrorable full of glass and so on... swimming with sandals... as i was the one and only non arabic there i was teh attraction for the kids. half an hour i played with them in the water.

sitting at the beach i enjoyed the sunset over teh egypt mountains and talked with yound arabics like my age. one invited my for a drink and we exchanged email addresses. was really nice. his grand parents are originally form palestine but he was really neutral and opend minded. a wonderful talk and nice way to get an impression of local minds.

at 9pm i left for shower and dinner... the locals told me already its off season and have is closed (thats why my hotel was empty). humus, falafel... everything i know from israel... i headed on for local food. later i enjoyed the promenade with perfect view on illuminated eilat and went to bed early. i could the bus riding night in my bones...

"Shas ministers refuse to accept German-made cars"

2007-09-11T12:51:00.000+03:00

Providing Israeli cabinet ministers with German-made cars is "offensive" and "irresponsible," Shas ministers said Monday, adding that they would not accept the vehicles as their new official transport.

[...]

"I think it is very inappropriate for the government to provide ministers, its highest elected officials, with German cars," Minister-without-Portfolio Yitzhak Cohen (Shas) said. "It is a very sensitive issue, especially for Holocaust survivors and their descendents."

During the Second Reich, Adolf Hitler and other top Nazis were often photographed in Mercedes cars. Mercedes and other German-made products became associated with the Nazi regime and were subsequently boycotted by Jews across the world.

"Israel has a long history of avoiding products that are associated with the Nazi regime," Cohen said.

[...]

11th September 2007
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1189411379645&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Golan heights, sea of galilei...

2007-09-10T23:34:00.001+03:00

Moin moin!

last weekend we traveled to the north east - well known as golan heights. and for everyone who does not know it -it belonged to syria until teh 6 days war in 1967. if you think this is enough to be too dangerous... the evening before syria proclaimed that the israeli air force entered their air space and the thinking about a 'suiting answer'...

ok... except the air defence troup with there anti aircraft misslies standing around (well hided more or less between trees) nothing pointed out the war history and presence of this region. after it should change soon... we arrived at our first destination... fences with a nice yello plate saying that behind everywhere are mines... and to teh other side too... particular the path wide was less than one (!!!) meter. and of course its desert region. desert... i think form movies you should expect dead animal bodies and bounes laying around next to streets... almost right... but the cow with broken leg was directly in the middle of the path... well the bones left form the cow... further ahead our way we found many more...

after a while the trial got really cliffy - i couldnt follow the others with my right leg (still after last years november shit)... i lost them and hiked on 2h... i asked before if we will go tback or if the trail is a circle... yes its a circle - hahaha... 2h later it became already dark i asked a local for help, gfirst i got water and then we tried to call my mobile phone because i left it with my wallet in someone else backpack for water and loose protection. after picking it up the connection was so bad that they just understood names i said... but replied in english... i got scared - may be i was wroing with my number. anyway without my mobile i had also not the numbers of the others.. internet should be teh solution because i got other mobile number s by mail or commjunities. the nic elocal guy dorve me to the next police station. they were more than helpful but without internet they oculdnt help me in any way. they advised my to call my embassy... welcome to the visa department - ahhhh... in emergency case please call... finally
the woman at the german embassy emergency phone asked we what she should do. she had no idea - me neither at the beginning. i just gave her my log in data and password and guided here though my mailbox... after a while and mor emember sin this 'rescue' chain i got the others and they picked my up. later they told me the ywanted to alrert the army... not thinking about police. alright :-D why taking just half things.

the night we spent at a camping ground at the sea of galilei... nice expect the horror duck walking around and the flies form sunrise on. last one is everywhere in israel :-(
the day was perfect for spa... recovering... 36 degrees outside... with hto thermal water of 42 degrees - welcome in a cooking pot :-D
anyway i more than enjoyed it. on our way back we stopped in tiberias for dinner and little sight seeing... you knwo its the place where jesus walked over the water accoring to the bible... i think we all thinking it was the dead sea where i walked over...

Daniel the potential terrorist

2007-09-10T23:23:00.000+03:00

Moin moin!

The last 7 days.. hmm... lets start today. Like every day i went to the train station today. The security guard checked my and randomly (at leats in my eyes) they are asking for passports. I showed him my German ID card. He took it with my backpack to the side and i had to wait :-(

then he lokked closer to it. After checking the content of my backpack he saw my digicam and told me not to take pics in the train. yes sir, but sorry i am commuting every day - dont take pics... rest you can think on your own... while i waited a lady told him in hebrew that i am every day taking the train. we are taking the same bus... it was the first time my german Id card blocked me! normally it fasten up the security check... hmm... i need an id card showing me as an IDF officer - its like god here

ok i went up to the platform. half minue later an other guard came and before passing by at my point he took his gun in his hand...

i am dangerous!!! even without having real weapons.

oh by the way last week i was at the rabin memorial (whewre the prime minister was assacinated in 2005). its just 4x4 meters but for a better photo positionj i put my backpack on the ground next to a chair and walked around... thanks to god no one called the police or IDF but many passing by people looked at it more than scared

besides that i asked my supervisor for a typical israeli or hebrew restaurant - we dont have typical local food. its a mix form everywhere esp. russian and arabic food...

Trip to little Arabia and Beaching

2007-09-04T20:55:00.000+03:00

Moin moin!

Hmm the week is half over - or still half to go?

Anyway last weekend i really recreated... a whole day at the beach without accident or similar things. On thursday night i went to Haifa, the big city in the north. The had a beer festival - i got local, german and irish beer :-)

on friday we went to Akko, a small city half hour ride from Haifa. What is so special? Its arabic dominated. Besides typical markets and mosques and water pipe smokingwe walked a bit around the former fort of the city directed to the sea. just a half day trip. in the evenig we just went out for a drink

as you can see i can spend my time are on an energy filling way too.

Oh i just forgot to mention the best Humus restaurant in whole Israel - even the Israelis saying that the arabs can make better Humus

Dead Sea & Red Sea

2007-08-29T00:11:00.000+03:00

... the rest i wrote yesterday already.

But lets start at the beginning... i slept to long / fall in sleep before i could get up... perfect start... so we reached the Dead Sea slightly after sunrise... but it was still incredible. Afterwards we jumped in the Dead Sea... shit i forgot my Bild newspaper... so no perfect photo :-D
the feeling is unique... and when you get a drop in your eyes or mouth... too!

Hereby we shouldnt hide the thing that someone lost the key for our rented car in the way he put it in his bathing trouser returning form car and forget to take it out before going in the sea... later we met 2 nice israeli ladies

Ok after Dead Sea we drove down to Eilat. A few photo stops on the way are obligitory... Eilat welcomed us with 45 degrees in the shadow - unpack the sauna car and jump into the sea!!! in the evening going out.... well how if you hostel is closed at midnight?
next day i woke up so early that i enjoyed a beautiful sunrise of the mountains of Aqaba.

btw Aqaba should every one know form movies ;-). i will go to Aqaba when i pass the border to Jordan.
In the laste morning we went into the sea underwater observatory... great! afterwards to a close by diving and snorkeling station at the beach - what then happend i wrote it alreday.

roudn about 4pm we started our trip home... and around beer sheva we tried to see #the border# between israel and palestine... the part we saw is like the border to Jordan... a fence on the whole way... but here with military control :-o

dead sea & red sea.. and teh hospital

2007-08-27T11:06:00.000+03:00

moin moin!

i wil start at the end. at the beach in Eilat i stepped into a really sharp coral or glas in the sea... was nice bloody at the beach afterwards... ok where is the first aid? other tourists ask at the lifeguard station... they dont have... they got a few kind of napkins with jod for me... ok i have to go to hospital... taxi!
after i arrived at the hospital i had to go to the reception... my ID card and 849NIS (ca. 150EUR)... even before they had a short look at my foot... no comment
next day a co worker told me taht an emergency is fixed... if i had to stay overnight and kept the doctor busy for ages... it woudl be still 849... ok...
after i had to clean my leg and foot on my own i got 2 anesthesia injection... uuuuuaaaahhhhhh they were more than painfull... the poor pillow on the treatment table... after these roudn about 4 min. i havent felt anythign anymore expect the last stitch... the made 3 to close the wound...

well... and the comment of other trainees... its my left foot so i still can drive the automatic car back to Tel Aviv (i was the only signed driver...)

more with pics comes later!

impressions from tel aviv

2007-08-22T23:29:00.000+03:00

Bus map & routes

Area of Old Jaffa

Drying...

hmm...

2007-08-22T13:37:00.000+03:00

... i just came back from lunch - and i couldnt enjoy nor relax during my break

2 co workers asked me if i want to join them - for lunch! yes of course!
at the table the spoke hebrew... after a few minutes they realized it and said "sorry for the hebrew"... but continued. 5 minutes later again "sorry for the hebrew"... and of course the spoke only hebrew too... some others around realized that and talked english with me. even this hasnt influenced them...

i left without them

The holy city

2007-08-21T23:06:00.000+03:00

Moin moin!

living abroad keeps me more busy as i always thought... well ok...
last weekend we went to jerusalem - what should i say an impressive city but so touristic....
after arrival we went walking form the mount of olives, where the dom is located form whom Jesus went to god. we went down to the old city where the western wall the jewish most holy place is and right when we came there the ceremony for shabat started. impressive, unbelievable...

respecting the jewish people it was forbidden to take picture - when we left our digicam sin our bags. but being inside while they arre praying and enjoying - i cant find words to tell you what i got´by this!
we walked also thorugh the arab quarter - and tried to see the golden temple on the rock - but we were not allowed because the arabs started there ceremony also.

other stations were grave of jesus, his way woth the paiungful cross, the last places of him, ...
i can write more here... but i dont want, because you need to catch it on your own... you know some things in the world... to get a bit of it you need your own 'sensors'

just a small thing...

2007-08-16T23:38:00.000+03:00

... to smile or think about

cars driving on the right side... trains on the left...

just a crazy thing or a hidden sign of their history?

a down&up day

2007-08-14T22:35:00.000+03:00

moin moin!

last night we went to a park m0re or less close by because they had english open air cinema for free :-) after teh movie we ended up at and later in a huge playground.

today i think i had a lot of stages you pass through when you go abroad.

in the morning i was frustrated. i asked sth. to IAESTE by email and i felt i only got a too much generalized answer which were not really helping me.
later my co workers went to lunch - they invited me to join - but spoke just hebrew... only if i was with one alone he spoke in english. when the others returned to our table... only hebrew...
also i had to change my desk twice today. first i stayed in the office and just moved to an other table because the owner came surprisingly back from a business trip. 5 min later our secretary moved me again because there are meetings in the office now. i got an other desk in an other office room. but there i was sitting in the direct line of the air con. i talked with the other lady in the room and we agreed to switch air con of. later she had meeting and switched it on because we were 4 persons now. i was freezing and afraid to get a cold. i switched off - 3 min later they switched on... think about how it ended... when i asked her how to solve the problem because i dont know how long i will be there i said joking that i will stay till end september and switching on and off means 3m sprint always... her reaction 'i hope not'
hmm... 3 times i didnt feel welcomed...

i left work ealier... the air con was too much for me.
and my luck started even before i left home for work... my stomach was running crazy and kept me clos eby our toilet for almost half hour... yesterday i had the same at work... ok the food adaption process started...

on my way back i decided to go out for sight seeing - on my own... wanted to be a bit alone.
the oldets skyscraper in Tel Aviv, Shalom Tower, has a observation desk - better i should say had. its broken... forever. but the friendly guard told me i should go to Azreli tower. this has one. but not around the corner... an other day i was looking for the indepence hall and the kamel market... at last one i bougnht cheap fruits and got to k now cheap places for shopping. on my home ride an old man was sitting next to my - ca. 80 years young. after a few seconds we started to talk. surprisingly his 1st question was not wher ei am from. and later when he aksed i replied he took no manner of it... great. when we passe dthe rabin square, where the former prime minister was killed in the nintees, he told me many details about that and Tel Aviv. Also why the have a head over pyramid as a monument. he was really nice! like a star on my today's day...

on my sight seeing trip i saw a lot... many different architecture styles and pragmatic solutions of life... have a look at my pics... and make your own thoughts
do you know what is typical for Tel Aviv? I think impressions were mordern skyscrapers and cdentury old building standing next to each other...

Kindergarten at work

2007-08-12T22:29:00.000+03:00

moin moin!

today i will make it short - its summer break time in israel. that means all kids are at home. but what to do when the parents can not take off? YES the kids coming with them to work. during the day HP organizes day trips for them... and round about 4pm they are returning, the parents can pick them up in the entrance area and take them to the office if they havent finished yet. and then these kids playing around, crying in my room... imagine who much concentration and work is possible for all of them... but its accepted!

not possible in germany!!!!!

the first week is over

2007-08-09T23:38:00.001+03:00

moin moin!

my first week is over. for 2 days i wont have view...
time to review my first impressions... doesnt matter if they will change or not in the future

- taking care about environment or just using single-use dishes... last one is more comfortable
- train station and a train arrives: no one is faster when entering the train before the exiting passenger could get off... honestly dear Israelis!
- the first country the population is knows more english as there signs and prints...
- israel isnt cheap
- the population has different opinions about the situation with the arabic neighbor countries
- laws existing but no one is interested to control them
- traffic is more aggressive than german one
- the weather is great, almost no clouds, no rain till now
- more immigrants as i can recognize
- security everywhere!!! EVERYWHERE! but right now i ask myself if they really can do sth. when someone wants to place a bomb anywhere... honestly

ok what else... in front of the train station in rehovot is a construction site... with an interesting scaffold for the workers...

the real start

2007-08-07T00:53:00.000+03:00

ok yesterday my small vacation was over and i had to go to my first day of work... before moving in, buying a monthly ticket and finding the way... in sum it took my 7h...

ok some more details:

I am working in the headquarter of HP Indigo in Rehovot. The Indigo devision is the group which develops, produces and sells big printing machines for commercial use. Like we have at home but much much bigger

i am in the strategic marketing team. my job is to find out 'interesting' data about the top 50 printing companies in north america. they are also dealing with europe ;-)
ok today i got my notebook for work - why i brought my one form home??? :-D anyway besides this everything is free there - water, coffee & cakes. a huge lunch (respective dinner) buffet is waiting everyday... the last time i saw it so big and good - i was in a 4* hotel... today we had also breakfast.

i dont have real working hours - i have to do my task - when??? its (more or less) up to me :-)

but 1h commuting per direction is... scheiße

my 1st day

2007-08-04T12:18:00.001+03:00

... was my arrival day (3rd Aug) - just to make it clear

After being picked up form train station and stopping at a mall we ate. Later we went to the beach... wonderful - this is something i really miss in GER. Warm water, good waives (up to 1.5m).

In the evening we went to a beach birthday party with small campfire and always swimming... - and guess what - I was the only international.. but they all spoke English... sometimes after showing I am here too ;-)
The beach party lasted were long - anyway at 3am or so the birthday child asked me if I want to go home or stay and sleep there - guess what i said - yeah i stayed and till sunrise I didnt need a blanket or so :-) ... the whole night we were just wearing our swim clothes...

now its 1pm and i am back, took a real wonderful shower and rest till 5pm - the IAESTE trainees in Haifa meeting then - guess what is planned :-D

Arrival in IL

2007-08-03T15:35:00.000+03:00

Moin moin!

a few hours ago i arrived safely in Tel Aviv. the journey itself was not spectacular, just a few delays, snoring neighbor, ...

and the climate shock was not as worse as last year... nice 38 degrees... 70 rel. humidity... i already saw the Mediterranean Sea.

directly form the airport i went to Haifa, where Boris, a trainee from 2004, picked me up :-)

ok more comes later...

99h till take off

2007-07-29T22:30:00.000+03:00

Moin moin!

Yeah... as you may be know I will go to Hewlett Packard Indigo in Rehovot, Israel. Its close to Tel Aviv.
Right now I only know that I will be accomodated in a double-room at Tel Aviv University - which I have to share with an other guy. Hmm... not like last year ;-)

Anyway... 3rd Aug - 1.30 am (!!!!) Hanover Airport - and I am supposed to arrive at 8.45 local time in Tel Aviv

But before... checking the allowed luggage weight and doing my last exam...