I'm trying to see the life through the eyes of a traveller, even if I stay in one place for a while. I like to write about cool places, life experiences and things that impressed me. Read on >>>
Food plays a great role in the life of Israelis, mostly due to Jewish traditions. Every Jewish holiday involves eating a certain kind of food: apples and honey for Rosh Hashana, cheese for Shavuot, for Purim - “enough wine so that it is difficult to distinguish between Mordechai and Haman“, and of course matzah for Pessach. But above all meals is the Shabbat Meal, when mother (traditionally) would cook up to 15-20 salads, 2-3 meat and fish dishes, and all this would be followed by a desert(s). When you eat like a king each Friday, how can you not be picky in your daily meal?..
Another important thing about food in Israel is its multiculturalism: Jews from Morocco, Algeria, France, Poland, Russia, Argentina, Brazil, Spain live here side-by-side with Arabs and Ethiopians. This gives Israelis access to all possible kinds of cuisine. Add to this importance that they traditionally give to food and you will understand why most restaurants (I’m not talking here about cheap hummus places, ok?) have such high standards in Israel, and especially in Tel-Aviv.
I’ve travelled to many countries and of course I’ve tried local food everywhere, but nowhere it was as good as in Israel (ok ok seafood and cheese in France cannot be taken into account). However, many tourists come to Israel with only hummus and shakshuka in their mind and, unfortunately, leave the country without tasting the “real” Israeli cuisine.
So now, I want to share my favourite places to eat, drink and enjoy life in Tel-Aviv >>>
1. Start your day with a perfect breakfast
http://www.lehamim.com/
First of all, Lehamim (meaning “breads”) is a bakery. So everything you get here is as fresh as it can be. Just-out-of-the-oven bread (oh that gorgeous smell!) is stored on the trays right in the middle of the cafe to prove that you are getting something that has just been created, here and now.
Here you can get all sorts of bread, amazing local cheese, as well as salads and sandwiches with tender Norwegian salmon. Each Friday, they serve a special breakfast for two which includes an omelet, a basket with different kinds of bread, salmon and herring, several kinds of cheese, desert and salad. Add coffee and fresh orange juice and you will feel happy and energized enough to run a whole day around this dynamic, sunny city.
La Bonne Pâtisserie is the only place in Tel-Aviv where my Parisian husband agrees to eat a croissant :D Specialists know that the right French croissant should have a super-light texture and just a hint of butter taste. Unfortunately, Israelis love heavy greasy food with a very strong taste (otherwise, what’s the point eh?). So most bakeries (including French place Fauchon, which had to adapt to local tastes) will serve you with an “Israeli croissant”, heavy both in your hand and in your mouth. Actually, I’d rather call this thing “butter with croissant” than otherwise... Luckily, this little pâtisserie is located in a place where French mostly live so they cook for their taste: imagine eating a cloud - that’s how the true croissant should taste :)
Address: Basel 40, Tel-Aviv
3. The MUST-visit place of Tel-Aviv
http://theoldmanandthesea.rest.co.il/
HaZaken VeHayam (”the old man and the sea“) is The Middle Eastern place of TLV. It’s an Arabic restaurant, but if there is something uniting in Jewish and Arab culture is the food they love.
As soon as you sit down at a table, you’ll be served with about 15 different salads and snacks. And this is just a warm-up before the real thing. Located in the port of Old Jaffo, it’s an amazing seafood restaurant, where you can get fresh shrimps, fish and other “gifts of sea” (as we say in Russia).
Address: 85 Kedem St., Jaffa, Tel-Aviv
4. Unexpected. Vegetarian. Georgian. Brilliant.
http://nanuchka-tlv.com/
If you are more or less acquainted with Georgian cuisine (or any cuisine of that region) you’d be surprised to know that vegetarian Georgian restaurants even exist (those guys add meat almost to everything), so imagine how I was surprised to find one in Israel! Nanuchka is really unique, ‘cause on the one hand, it allows you to discover genuine Georgian dishes, on the other hand, it proves that vegetarian food is far more than grains and veggies. Love their mushroom burgers <3
Address: Lilienblum St 30, Tel Aviv
5. Best cocktails, most original burgers
http://www.conciergetlv.co.il/index.php
Concierge is most known for its cocktails and the original way they serve them here. But we come here again and again for 2 things: bun burgers and artichoke salad. The bar itself is masterpiece: original design (mix of a classical French restaurant with dark wooden furniture and dark red light with some crazy modern decorations), good DJ, professional stuff and relaxing atmosphere. The place is very-very popular, so book in advance.
Address: Dizengoff 95, Tel-Aviv
pics are taken from @concierge_telaviv
6. Come here to see real Israel
http://shakshuka.rest.co.il/he/home/default.aspx
Dr Shakshuka... Ok, this one is for tourists, honestly. And maybe it’s not even the best shakshuka in town (too greasy), BUT I personally think it’s a must to go there one time. For this place is the representation of the Israeli culture: it’s loud, it’s messy (balagan!), it’s not so clean (sorry), it’s sooo multicultural (mix of Arab-Israeli-Ethiopian stuff + lots of tourists from all). Sit outside, ‘cause this will give you the feeling that you are really OUTSIDE, I mean there, among people, mixed with this crazy noisy crowd. Of course, the best is to come on Friday before Shabbat - that’s when you get the real action.
As to their speciality, it’s of the most knowns (among tourists) Israeli dish - shakshuka. Basically, mix of fried eggs with tomato pasta. Then, there are variations: you can fry eggs different, you can add additional stuff like onion, shawarma, spinach, mushrooms etc. And here they offer about 10 different kinds of this dish, plus some other local dishes. Well, I guess you simply can’t avoid a place like this if you are visiting.
Address: Beit Eshel St 3, Tel Aviv
pics are taken from @dr_shakshuka
And here is a nice short video about the real local food of Israel :*
It’s been a year since I started my life in Tel-Aviv. I think unlike most big cities Tel-Aviv is a perfect place for living. It gives so many things that many people who grew up here take for granted: sun, warmth, sea, fresh tasty fruits and vegetables, positive people and charming mess which often surprises you, but still... still you love being here :) To feel the real spirit of Tel-Aviv, you should spend more time in its streets, in markets, or even in public transport.
I think it’s hard to get the right opinion about this city unless you know where to go and what to look at here. So if you have just one day in Tel-Aviv and you want to get a good first impression, see what makes this city unique, be where most locals would be on a weekend, and to find out the style of its main districts, this post might give you some idea.
Sightseeing
Old Jaffa. Many big cities have their “old“ part. That’s where you can find out how the city used to look like centuries ago. Jaffa of Tel-Aviv represents not only history, but the present of the city (and of the country), because it demonstrates how two cultures, Jewish and Arab, co-exist in Israel. Most restaurants here belong to Arab citizens and have long history. On the other hand, here you will find modern Israeli exhibitions, small artistic shops and expensive yachts parked in the port of Jaffa.
Right outside Jaffa you can find the biggest fleamarket (shuk hapeshpishim) of Tel-Aviv. Here you can get anything from accessories of eastern design to antique furniture and local designer shops. Prices really vary, so you can easily find something nice and affordable for your house here. And of course that’s the best place to get some souvenirs from Israel.
Namal. Opposite from Jaffa, in the North part of the city, Namal is a very modern dynamic place with shops and cafes open even for shabbat. Famous brands and big Israeli companies like Wix.com have their offices here. Very young, very cool kind of place where you can dive into the crowd of locals and tourists.
Buildings here look like warehouses or simply huge white boxes. If you ask people you might discover that one of them is a big indoor market with cheeses, fish, fruits, wine etc - thanks to the location and popularity, prices are above average here.
My recommendation is to take a cup of coffee, sit on wooden steps right in front of the sea and simply enjoy the view.
Neve Tsedek. One of the most European areas in Tel-Aviv. Here you can find boutiques of local designers, art galleries, cosy cafes and some of the most known restaurants. Shabazi is the main street of the district, but it’s enough to make a turn elsewhere, and you’ll find yourself in a quiet, empty street with cute 2-3 story houses decorated with colourful flowers and windows painted in blue, green, red... Lovely place to explore “different Tel-Aviv“.
Eilat street. This place will be interesting for artistic people who like to draw or at least to buy paintings. Original pieces of art, or huge mirrors decorated with heavy sophisticated frames - this is what you will find here.
Sarona market
Opened in July 2015, it’s the largest indoor market in whole Israel. You can make a parallel with Chelsea market in New York or La Boqueria in Barcelona. The history of the district where it’s located is quite interesting by itself. At the beginning of the 20th century this territory was occupied by British troops, who opened here a field hospital and military offices. During the Second World War this place was the settlement of Germans living in Palestine at that time. Then Brits got it back in 1945–1947, when Israelis fought against British rule. In short, the place has a great historical meaning but now it’s a beautiful spot to spend a weekend playing with kids, lying on grass or enjoying delicious food from local restaurants and shops.
Museums
Tel-Aviv Museum of Art (27 Shaul Hamelech Blvd) is a piece of art by itself due to the twisting geometrical shape of its building, and spacious, easy to breath and to think in interior. You come here like to a temple: to relax, to be on your own, to think, to absorb. The main collection of the museum consists of paintings by Jewish artists - it helps you to discover culture and history of the country.
Beaches
Telavivian beaches are amazing! White clean sand, blue transparent water (super-warm in summer), cafes, workout spots here and there, places to play volley - what else do you need for a perfect weekend/vacation? The only thing I hate about being on a beach here is (f******) matkot! It is a very popular game in Israel, and many people play it on a beach. It’s a mix of tennis and badminton: the ball and rockets are big and heavy but the ball shouldn’t touch the ground. So hearing this damn ball hitting the damn rockets every second (and imagine 10 couples playing at the same time) can completely ruin your mood and destroy the relaxing atmosphere on the beach, so try to stay as far as possible from them. Ah yes, also people play it right in front of the entrance to water so chances are high you’ll get a big heavy ball hitting your head :)
Shopping
During my first month in the city I’d go to Dizengoff and hated it for its illogical structure and mass market only shops. Later on I found out about Azrieli shopping center and Ramat Aviv, which gave me much more pleasant experience. But the right place to do shopping in TLV is Dizengoff street. In Moscow people buy clothes mostly in huge shopping malls, so it took me a while to understand that in Tel-Aviv all the best shops with unique pieces, designer brands and more or less affordable prices are the small private boutiques in Dizengoff. I love Banker (American vintage), Blueberry (modern Israeli brand), Story. And there are so much more!
Well, I guess it’s enough for one day :) Hope you’ll find this post useful if you decide to visit this amazing city one day!
Well, actually this post will be more about the food and travelling in Cyprus :)
So, Cyprus is a small island divided into 2 parts, the Greek and Turkish one. You can easily cross the border (if you have your passport with your, of course) and go to the other side.
We spent most of the time in the city of Larnaca. This cute place offers lots of bars, seafood restaurants and a modest beach. Thus, it’s a perfect place for people who want to relax and enjoy a quite and peaceful holiday.
Many people come here to avoid big and costly wedding ceremonies, many of them pronounce their vowels in shorts and sandals (Israelis are first among them). This island is also a little heaven (easily turned into hell) for those who love gambling. Though it’s completely illegal on the Greek side , you can get in no time to the luxurious resort city Girne (Kyrenia) where you will find a casino in every corner.
After you’ve lost most of your money in one of them, you can spend the rest on delicious (and not so expensive) food in one of the beautiful Turkish restaurants.
Crossing the border is another adventure you shouldn’t miss, ‘cause when you come from the European Greek side, you suddenly find yourself in a completely different world: you appear in the labyrinth of an old city with bazar, shabby houses, people who have no idea what the word “exit” means... So after a while you start to panic and imagine headlines of local newspapers talking about 2 ignorant tourists found dead in the street. Luckily, this wasn’t our case and we managed to get out before the dusk.
The last part of this post I want to devote to what I loved the most in Cyprus: food. Of course, I mean the Seafood...
Our gastronomic tour began at Yevsei En Lefko - very authentic place, where the chef likes to come to his guests and chat about food and life. You’re likely to get a free desert here, which will be a perfect finishing to a plate of delicious seafood (shrimps, mussels and fish). Don’t forget to ask for a glass of the local wine.
Another place you shouldn’t miss if you love seafood as much as I do is the Aquarium bar. This cosy place is located on a boat; for 38 euros (2015) you can get here a plate of different shrimps, sea bass, salmon and calamaries. Recommended with apple cider.
If you happen to be in the Greek part of Nicosia, search for this small bar (next to the bus station) called TABEPNA. I am almost sure that it’s one of the oldest and most authentic places on the whole island.
So, after 2 months of job search in Israel I’ve finally made it, I’ve got a job! Some of you might be interested in my experience or maybe this information will help you to get your way through these jungles. Anyway, read on.
As a newcomer to acountry and someone who doesn’t even speak the language, you understand fastthat you don’t have much choice. Knowing Russian and English, I decided to searchfor a job where I can use foreign languages. Options are the following:technical support, translator or, due to my background, online marketingspecialist. I’ve tried all and in the end I got a job in the marketing field(thanks G-d, Israel works closely with the US and many companies are satisfiedwith just English). I consider myself to be lucky to get such a job after I’vejust done my aliyah. Most new comers get jobs as nannies, cleaners, waiters,secretaries (if you speak Hebrew) or something like that, which is also fine,but not what I was looking for.
From what I’ve seen,in Tel-Aviv there are many jobs in real estate, in IT or in personal services(chef, nanny, cleaner and so on). But if you want to get a good job you reallyneed to push hard.First rumor I want torefute about Israel is that connections are the only thing that matters herewhen you look for a job. I tried to get a job in a company I worked for before and where I knew several people, but the fact is that any company looks for a candidate who is the best fit for it and for the position. So if you are not qualified enough or if you don’t fit in for some reason, your connections won’t help.
The worst thing is that it is really hard to know what is the “right” answer, when you are on an interview. I mean you can go the company’s website and read all “About Us”, you can check their LinkedIn page, but still you won’t be able to get into HRs’ heads to know what exactly they want from you. And this may result in a failure. However, there is something you can do before an interview to feel more comfortable: if you know the names of people you are going to talk to, do some LinkedIn and Facebook research to understand who they are and what are their interests.
Actually, this is something you can use in any country, but if we talk about Israel there are some specifics:
1) Personal questions. Don’t be surprised to be asked if you are married, if you are planning to have kinds soon, if you can work overtime and so on. They also pay attention to you attitude to religion, if you are orthodox (keeping Shabbat and so on) or not so much.
2) Army. In Israel it is very important if you’ve done service in the army, especially for guys.
3) Personality. Despite what I wrote about qualification (which is true), in some cases here employers look carefully at what kind of person you are, and if they see that you are willing to work, have brains and eager to learn, they may take you.
And the last thing is where to look for a job in Israel (if you don’t speak Hebrew):
1) Israemploy. I found my job with this service. You register, choose preferred types of work and pay for a month. Then they start to send you emails with all the suitable positions. You just need to contact an employee. Not bad, but doesn’t help employers to find you at the same time.
2) Aliyah Job Center. Made specially for new residents and is available only 3 months after the registration.
3) Facebook. There are many daily-updated groups where you can find lots of job offers.
4) LinkedIn. I had been contacted by a company via LinkedIn when I was not even looking for a job. On the other hand, when I was looking for a job and updated my account to Premium it gave no results. Also, I didn’t see many vacancies in Israel there. I guess it is not the most popular way to hire people here.
I guess the hardest thing about starting a new life in another country is to accept that everything you have achieved before doesn't really count here.
Now you will have to make connections, gain people's respect and trust, persuade them that you are worth working with again, again and again. And it's very tiring. It makes you feel desperate sometimes, but you can't just give up and go back to your comfort zone, 'cause otherwise you gonna stay there forever without moving forward.
To make things worse, you make so many stupid mistakes because you couldn't imagine yourself in a certain situation before it happened. And now the chance is lost, and it feels like you'll never get it again, because it demands much more effort to get something in a new country than in a place, where you know the rules of the game.
Having finished the ulpan, I moved to the most modern and developed city in Israel - Tel-Aviv.
Though it's smaller than Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv seems to me much more sprawling and chaotic. Everything is spread here and I have to travel a lot round the city to get any business done. There is nothing to say about its architecture. It was built just a century ago, in 1909, and has very tough history. The modern city has very practical style: it's divided to the central area with streets of restaurants, shops, banks and other necessary constructions, and a residential area surrounding it. As to the buildings themselves, they are either shanty towns or 4-5 store accommodation buildings. There are some skyscrapers here and there and we've got one nice European area called Neve Tzedek. Well, for now it looks a bit boring to me, if you compare to Paris or Barcelona, of course.
I still feel attached to the cozy houses of sandy color in Jerusalem with everything necessary wisely gathered in the center, with its clean market, where you can find everything at once, with "black&white people" creating a special, unique atmosphere. I miss all this.
In the mean time, I'm trying to build my regular life here, meaning finding a job and settling down for now. And this is another story. Communication with each company takes almost a month. It's normal to have 3 interviews at the same company, not more than 1 per week. Even with some money put aside in advance I feel frustrated by all this waiting and guessing if the interview went good or bad. The thing is that the questions they ask here have no general right or wrong. You say what you think is right, but anyway the result fully depends on the opinion of the people who question you. So you never know, even at the end.
On the bright side, the weather in Tel-Aviv is much better than in the capital. In winter it's raining heavily, but at least there is no snow and we've got some sunny days. If you compare to other big cities, people are rather nice here, but still I cannot avoid mentioning the fact that you need to know how to count here, 'cause someone is trying to overcount you here all the time and everywhere. On the other hand, when it doesn't concern profit people are very helpful and open here.
There are many green areas in the city and you can go everywhere by bicycle. There are special roads for them, but again not as wide as in Barcelona or Amsterdam, so many people just don't bother and go on the same road with cars.
So this is it, this is how you start a new life: it's not that much exciting, most of the time you feel really dull, 'cause for a long time you just don't understand how the system works and what you should do. But disregarding all these (pretty normal in this situation) feelings, I don't regret a single moment leaving Russia and starting this new life.
Black and white people running in the yellowish city starred with green oases. Ethnic music mixed with lots of languages (some of them you've never heard). Gay flags on the walls of the city where you should put meat and milk on separate shelves in a fridge. Arab discricts, where you feel comfortable and welcomed if you speak English and afraid to say a single word in Hebrew. Terrible heat during the day time and fresh breeze at night. Everything is so strange to a foreigner here, but for some reason it feels like home in this city. I guess it's the atmosphere created by the people who had longed to get here and to finally call Jerusalem their home.
There are several places you should visit in Jerusalem to get its spirit. And of course, you should start by entering the Jaffa Gate of the Old City, like all the pilgrims did. If you go down David Street you'll find yourself in the market, where Arabs and Jews trade together, as if there were no conflicts and wars. Still, the Old City is divided into four parts: Christian, Jewish, Arab and Armenian. You can easily enter the first two, but you have to belong to the relevant religion to step into the last two. Take the second turn right in David Street, go up the blue stairs and you'll get to one of the rooftops of the Old City from where you can see the most well-known buildings of Jerusalem. However, the best view to the Old City you can get only from the Tower of David. Unfortunately, to get there you'll have to pay, but it's definitely worth it. The Western Wall is a great spectacle on any Jewish religious holiday, when hundreds of people in the most authentic clothes gather together to say their prayers towards the place, where the First and the Second Temples used to be.
If you don't want to get lost in zig-zag streets of the Old City, I recommend to take a free walking tour offered by the NewEurope organization.
Exit the Old City and go down Jaffa road. It’s easily recognized due to the tram track, which runs along this street. Having passed dozens of shops and 2-3 Cofizz places (everything’s for 5 shekels there, and I really recommend to try their Ice Coffee!), you’ll arrive to the Shuk. This is the second authentic place in the city. Here you can buy fresh fruits, spices that smell stronger than the soup in the LASH shop, local wine, tea and mixes for salads and other dishes. Actually, food is like second religion in Israel (or as local people say, it’s the national sport). Israelis REALLY love to eat. Therefore, you can safely go to any restaurant here and take any dish – it will be made the best way possible with all the love Israelis put into food.
And those who love extreme can exit the Shuk and cross Jaffa Road and go down the street. When you notice that more and more people around you wear traditional black and white clothes or black suits with thin white stripes – congrats! – you are in the most religious district of the city – Mea Shearim. To walk here more or less comfortably you should wear only high-necked clothes and cover your knees and feet. But I really recommend going there with a guide. For example, The Jerusalem Village offers tours to the neighborhood, but only in Hebrew.
However, normally English is more than enough to travel all around the country. But even if you get lost and your potential saver doesn't speak English well, he'll demonstrate his knwoledge of body-language with pleasure ;)
I remember leaving Russia with only anger and irritation in my heart. I was so tired of all the stupid, non-sense and ridiculous things that happen there every day. Even now I feel this rage, when my parents or friends remind me of how it is there. But recently I’ve noticed that I started to think much more about my country than I used to when I lived there. I guess in the last month I’ve watched more Russian movies than I did in the past few years. And now I feel like reading more books on Russian history and some classics like Solzhenitsyn or Pasternak.
I realize that it’s ironic to think about your country more after you’ve left it. But don’t get me wrong, I don’t miss it and I don’t want to go back. The thing is that when you are far away you start to forget about all those little things that used to bother you everyday when you lived there, and you start to think about big things that will stay there, even when we are all gone. Like our history, culture and one of the most sophisticated languages in the world.
Now I’m living in one place with people all around the world. And we all want to compare life in our home countries to life everywhere else; and we ask each others questions mostly about those little things that distinguish different cultures; and when I answer them I start to think in a different way about Russia. When you talk to foreigners, instinctively you want to defend the place where you were brought up. Of course I speak truly about all the weaknesses Russia has, but now I think much more about its strengths. At least about those strengths we used to have in the past, and I guess with time my anger will pass and I’ll start to feel differently about this huge and clumsy country.
Ulpan, aliyah, “laasot haim” and other new words in my life in Israel
Aliyah in Hebrew means “ascent”, spiritual and physical, since you are finally in the Holy land of your ancestors (and because most likely you had to go through lots of bureaucratic, customs and personal problems to get here). You get the citizenship right after you land in Israel. In the airport you have another interview and show all the documents proving that you have Jewish roots (nothing to do with the religion), and you get your ID.
It’s been practically 2 months since I made my aliyah and moved to Israel. And of course it feels great here, since the main reason of my move to another country was that I didn’t like it where I was before. Russian mentality in many cases felt like foreign mentality to me, because I often didn’t understand why people behave the way they behave, and their values and aims above all. But now I think it is not about Russia, or even Moscow itself. I hear exactly the same opinion about life in Paris, London, Buenos Aires and other big cities. But people have come here for many different reasons, and lots of them say that it’s just hard to be Jewish in a non-Jewish state. However, not everybody feels completely comfortable here. A lot of people miss their homes, families and those things they are used to. As to me, I love the feeling of a new beginning.
Uplan is a school, where new repatriates study Hebrew. There are many organizations that help people to make aliyah and adopt to the Israeli society as fast as possible. The most well-known organization is the Jewish Agency for Israel, which offers different programs (taglit, masa, and the uplan itself). If you succeed in getting the visa that allows you to move to Israel, they help you to sign up for an Ulpan and give you a free airline ticket. And then you experience the most pleasant (from my point of view) 5 months of you life, when basically all you have to do is to study the language and explore the country and its culture.
And now we get to the best phrase in the Hebrew language – laasot haim, which translates as «to do life» and means something like enjoy life and have fun. And this is what most of us do here now: the state of Israel gives us money during the first 5 months of our life here (no matter if you do a program or just move here and start to work). Half of this money we pay for the program and the other half we keep to «laasot haim» :)
Israel is very diverse, because it’s right in the middle of East and Europe, and because people coming from other countries bring their culture with them. And this can be seen in the way people dress here, or what they eat, what music they listen and what accents they have. And it’s the country, which is always misunderstood, because you have to go really deep inside it to see its real face. People, who come here as tourists, see only its religious part, or in some cases they even think that it’s no different to Egypt or any other Eastern country, which is sad, because it’s really far from being the truth.
To understand Israel you need to know a lot about its history first, and I'm not talking about the last century, I mean the last 5000 years, because this is actually when it began, and you can't just skip this part. However, many people don't want to go far, and as a resault they see Israel as an aggressive and radical state. Same with the culture - it's much more than just a religious center for Christians, Muslims and Jews. It's an amazing mix of the most authentic things from all around the world. And the most surprising thing is that you can feel very comfortable among all this.
So after all my talking about how much I don’t like to live in Russia and want to move somewhere I’ve finally made my decision to move to Israel. Since my grandfather is Jewish I have the right to get the citizenship of this country and work and live here.
I’d visited Israel many times before I moved here. My first Israeli experience was actually in the US, where I worked for an Israeli company as a part of Work&Travel program for students. That’s where I met my first Israeli friends and became really attracted to this country. Later I visited my friends and grandparents in Israel traveling around the country and getting to know its people, their customs and the way of living here.
And living here is not easy at all. Being involved in the prolonged war with Gaza, the country has been regularly bombed and attacked. For years! But no matter how horrible this sounds people here are the most positive and optimistic I have ever met. I mean, do you know many people who can make jokes or drink coffee while hearing alarms and explosions? Well, here it’s quite normal. And that’s why I admire them so much.
But I don’t want to make this post political – we all have our opinions, so I’ll just continue describing how it is to make Aliyah, which basically means to move to Israel and get the citizenship.
To make Aliyah you have to prove that you have Jewish roots (either on your mother’s or father’s side). If you can prove that you are a child or grandchild of a Jew you have the right to get the citizenship. It took me 2 years to collect all the documents, and then on my 24th birthday I finally got it.
The most important thing when you move to another country is to know the language of this country (unless you move to such countries as Iceland or the Netherlands, where English will be enough). So I signed up for a 5-month-program for young people (up to 35-year-old I believe) moving to Israel to learn Hebrew and settle down the most comfortable way. This program costs around €1,500, but this money is taken from the absorption basket (about €3,000) paid to us by the government. This is the help for the first 5 months in Israel. Each homecomer gets this amount of money no matter if he/she takes a program or start working here as soon as they arrive.
The program offers intensive course of Hebrew (5 hours per day, 5 days a week for 5 months), cultural activities which help to get to know the country and accommodation + 2 meals a day. We live and study in the same building sharing rooms with other people coming here from all around the world. There are young people from France, Russia, Ukraine, South America, US, England and even India. There are different reasons for their arrival. Being Jewish, many of them didn’t feel comfortable in the countries they lived, while others just like this country and want to build their future here.
We got the citizenship right in the airport even before we got our luggage. It took several hours, but we were given food and beverages – actually so far I haven’t been disappointed even once in the way we were treated here. I never felt so welcomed in my home country…
On the first day of the program we opened an account in a bank and got insurance in a hospital – these are two main things you should do right after you move here.
Our Ulpan (or school) is situated in a residential area of Jerusalem. I always thought it was a rather religious and strict city, but in reality people live here as anywhere else. Well, maybe it’s better not to go to certain districts unless you want to get into trouble, but it’s always up to you :) And luckily, Gaza’s rockets don’t reach this area, so we haven’t heard any alarms yet.
As some of you know a while ago I planned a trip to Iceland with my friends. Four of us rented a car, booked accommodations around the country and made a round trip going clockwise from Reykjavik to the Northwest and further.
Since we arrived late at night we took a Flybus from the Keflavik airport to the city bus station. Our first hostel was not far from it. We liked the place mostly because of the friendly staff. Then we took our Toyota RAV4, which we had booked in advance with SadCars. The name speaks for itself: you get a car with dents and scratches, but you don't feel that scared to break something when you drive on gravel.
Day 1. House on a farm.
The next day we went West to our next stop, which was a beautiful house situated in a valley right behind the farm of its owners. There were three rooms, a terrace, kitchen and lots of games for those who come to stay for several days and with family. But we ignored all of this since we found a hot tube on the backyard. As a result we spent 4 hours in this bath admiring mountains in front of us. Due to white nights we didn't even notice when the night came.
But before this we decided to go to the Snæfellsnes peninsula. It's pretty big, so we only managed to reach the city of Sjavarpakkhusid. It's worth visiting because of the fjords, lighthouse on the hill and beautiful view to the Atlantic Ocean.
Day 2. Going North.
While 80% of the population (320,000 people in 2012) in Iceland live in the capital, 20% of them are spread around the country working in fishery and farming mostly. As a result, you can see thousands of sheep, cows, goats and famous Icelandic horses, of course, walking along the Ring Road. Icelanders don't place fences between their private properties, but they do place a small one to prevent animals from coming close to the road. But still they do so - once we had to stop, because sheep was lying right in the middle of the road with two lambs.
As to the roads in Iceland, all of them are numbered, so you don't have to deal with unpronounceable Icelandic names. The Ring Road, or the 1st one, is the most popular one to travel around Iceland if you have no more than 7 days to see it all.
There is no heavy traffic even in summer, and it's a usual thing to see some tourists stopped right in the middle of a road to take some pictures or just look around. Especially if they see a rainbow in the mountains :)
The quality of the 1st road is very good, no matter how far you go from big cities. However, if you want to see some beautiful waterfalls or a caldera, you'll have to drive on gravel, that's why it's better to rent a Jeep for your tour.
To get to the central part of the country you should drive a so-called "big foot", otherwise you'll get a fine. The police is rather strict here, so are the driving rules: your lights should be always on, all the passengers must be fastened, there are cameras everywhere and so on.
Weather in Iceland changes pretty fast. Additionally, nature is incredibly diverse here: you'll see green fields, then snowy mountains, then rocks, then black sands - all in just one day. The average temperature in summer is 10 °C, while in winter it's a bit lower than 0 °C.
In the meanwhile, we arrived to the "North capital" of Iceland - the city of Akureyri with a population of 17,754. Iceland is really remarkable for its architecture, especially when it comes to churches.
And this one we found in some small city called Blönduós.
Day 3. Lake Mývatn
The next point of our trip was Lake Mývatn. Right before it we found the first big waterfall on our way, Godafoss. I don't know why, but I think of it as of the most peaceful place we've seen in Iceland.
We lived not far from the lake in a farm house, but this one was well equipped and was more like a hotel with a farm behind. One curious thing about Iceland is that there is no McDonald's. No wonder! Who would eat fast food, when you can buy products (such as meat, vegetables, milk, butter etc.) from a farm in every part of the country?
Right after you pass Lake Mývatn you'll arrive to the Mývatn Nature Bath. It's a natural reserve of thermal water, both hot and cold. And I really advise to try the local ale there - incredibly delicious!
If the water inside the bath is nice and warm, the wild springs smell of rotting eggs (that's actually the smell of sulphur). Though of an awful smell, this water looks really lovely due to its milky, slightly blue color.
The next stop was the Krafla caldera. I had found the name of it in the Lonely Planet guide and didn't even know where exactly we were going. Which resulted in a comic chat with a German hiker, when we tried to ask him what interesting was there mixing English, Spanish and German words... Somehow he managed to understand us and told us that there were too large calderas right up the hill. In the end, it became my favorite place on this trip. It looks like a hypnotizing bright blue ice lake. I could stand there and watch it for hours if there wasn't a strong cold wind.
And then we arrived to the place, which I as a fan of "Prometheus" was longing to see. Even on the way there you already feel as if you've just landed on another planet: the road leading there has nothing but rocks and black sand. To get to the place from the parking you need to take a path marked with red flags, which show a hiking route. After 1 km of walking you start to hear water falling, and then you see it: 45 m wall of water, 100 m wide falls, this is one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland, Dettifoss.
The biggest city in the East of Iceland is Egilsstaðir, but we decided to cross the mountains and stay in a small city called Seydisfjordur, situated in a beautiful valley, which bay overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. It seems that rainbows are a common thing in Iceland, since we'd seen many of them on the way. But for tourists it's as meaning as catching the Northern Lights, so when we saw it while crossing the mountains we also saw 2-3 cars stopped literally in the middle of the road to take pictures of it. This looked quite amusing. The city itself has just a couple of streets, but since none of them was written on any sign we somehow managed to get lost there...
Icelanders have very cute houses, which make this fairy place look even more unreal.
Talking about unreal, the Russian car "Niva" is very popular in Iceland! We've seen at least three of those, and one of them was driven by two German guys (my friend had chased them until they stopped at a gas station to ask where they got the car). 0_o
Day 4. Getting to the Wonderland
Nature in Iceland is so diverse you can never know what exactly you will see after the next turn. For example, there are many black-sand beaches in the East part of the country. They look a bit depressing by themselves, but we tried hard to make them look like fun :D
Our way to the South part of the island was pretty tranquil until the car started to make zigzags on the road out of the blue. We are still not sure what happened, but this only proves that you'd better keep an eye on the road in Iceland considering sheep getting out of the fence, big fat birds flying over the road, gravel areas and so on.
Then we saw a huge glacier mountain and decided to go off the main road. So we made a turn on the road 986 (before the Hofn city), which was not even on the map. We came to a fence, moved it and came in what seemed to be a national reserve. We wanted to cross a river and get closer to the glacier, when I saw a deer just 3 m away from me. After chasing the poor animal for 20 minutes we finally gave up and went back to the car. It turned out that there was a whole flock of those in like 100 m from us...
Day 5. Seeing it all in one day.
Remembering all that we saw in the South part of Iceland I understand, that if someone has only one day here, he/she is ought to see this part, since it combines everything Iceland can offer: glaciers, waterfalls, fjords, Geysir and the rift between the tectonic plates in Thingvellir National Park.
Jökulsárlón glacier
Hiking in Hjorleifshofdi
Skogafoss waterfall
Geysir
The most entertaining thing about Geysir is watching 15-20 people standing frozen around a hole with boiling water and waiting for it to burst, while this lazy-ass [Geysir] is playing with them going a bit up and then down again, making all those people so tense and angry. I spent more time looking at them than at Geysir itself :)
Day 7. Chilling out in Rekjavik.
It turned out that people are calm and friendly not only in the country side of Iceland, but in its capital as well! We've walked around a lot, since the city is actually much bigger than it might seem on a map. We went to the National Museum, which gave us a lot of new information, I finally had a look at Ingólfur Arnarson's monument, which they are planning to rebuild so its size would be the same as the size of the Statue of Liberty, and then we ran onto a bar, Kaffibarinn, where Bjork hangs out from time to time. They have good music, awesome Icelandic ale and a very cool atmosphere, where even newcomers feel like they're among friends. Someone on Foursquare informed me that there was a waitress, who knew Russian, so we immediately found her and had an interesting chat about locals and living in Reykjavik. Nothing new actually, all capitals are the same :)
And on the day of our departure we visited the famous Blue Lagoon, which was the brilliant ending of our adventure.
For those who think they've seen all the beautiful cities in Europe I've got good news - you still haven't been to Gdansk! Very few people know that there is a wonderful riverside city hidden somewhere on the outskirts of Poland closer to the border with Kaliningrad, Russia. By the way, for Russian citizens the cheapest way to get to Gdansk is to fly to Kaliningrad and take a bus from there.
The city has rich history, and you'll find lots of its traces left here. To start with, here in Gdansk/Danzig began the second World War in 1939. Though about 70% of its buildings were destroyed by the Soviet army in 1945 (it was no time to separate military objects from the civilian ones, I guess), the city has been rebuilt in the same prewar style, so you'll find the beautifully decorated Main Town Hall, St. Mary's Church of really impressive size, Royal Chapel and gates of the XVI-XVII centuries keeping the best pieces of history for you. The historical center of the city is very compact - practically it's all around the Long Street. Be attentive when you walk around the city and you'll find lots of marks of the history, like traces of shells on a building not far from the main Railway Station.
Cuisine is something really outstanding here. Portions are huge and prices will seem to be surprisingly low for anyone from Western Europe or even Russia. Fish and meat are the main dishes in any restaurant here. I personally recommend visiting Velevetka restaurant (try golonka or trout). And coffee! God bless the coffee they serve in Poland!
Another attraction I recommend to try is sailing on a pirate boat. The whole journey takes about 1,5 hour, but you'll see all types of ships, boats, arks etc. here (Gdansk used to be and still stays a hugely important international trading route). A glass of beer and chat with a waiter will definitely make this trip more pleasant for you :)
In the evening you can crawl from one pub to another, drinking tasty beer or wine and listenening to the most pleasant live music I've heard since my last year visit to Spain: the Polish chanson singer or a Liverpool fellow singing the Beatles or even amature young folks singing Metallica songs in the streets - somehow all of them feel completely natural in this city full of history and so modern at the same time.
Oh yes, about being modern. Gdansk is actually a big city, and you won't be able to get somewhere fast on foot. So here is another attraction for you: take a trolley bus. They run at a speed of 50-60 km/h! We once took a stroll on one of those to pass the time before a bus - just to have some amusement.
You can also catch a toylike train to go to a resort city called Sopot. Clean beautiful beach and a peaceful landscape will make you want to come here again to forget all your troubles and routine.
The biggest problem for all the foreigners coming to work and live to Moscow is finding a good apartment to rent. This is the impression I got after reading lots and lots of desperate messages on CouchSurfing and articles on other websites. So, I've decided to put myself in shoes of an expat coming to Moscow and trying to find a suitable place to live in. To start with, rental is freaking high in Moscow. Especially if you want to live not THAT far from the center and in a building which doesn't look like it should have been destroyed and rebuilt completely 20 years ago. I’ve googled it to see what a foreigner would get trying to find an apartment in the Internet.
www.expatflat.ru
The first option I got. Looks nice. The service offers a local “flat-hunter” who would look for an apartment for you, send you all the necessary information to get your approval or continue looking. What is more, they offer to help you learn the ropes in shopping, paying the accommodation, using transport etc. Have no idea about the prices.
www.only-apartments.com
I would call it a bad version of Airbnb – design was obviously copycatted from their website. Prices look too overstated considering that they show only expensive fancy apartments in the center. Well, go for it if you don’t know a better way to spend your money.
www.airbnb.ru
I know you know it. But what if you forgot? Well, anyway it's not the best option if you're looking for a cheap long term rental. I’d recommend to use it only if you come for several weeks/months and have a rather deep pocket.
www.cian.ru
The biggest online rental service in Russia. And as all the important things in Russia (like metro, most restaurants, shops, hospitals etc.) it does not have a word in English. So unless you have a Russian friend, who will help you out, you will find it completely useless. Another disadvantage (in my opinion) is that most proposals there involve an agent. Might seem more reliable, but you'll have to pay them as much as the first month fee.
www.thelocals.ru
Personally I love it and prefer to all the rest. Why? There are no agents. There are pretty few shitty apartments I would not even enter. Usually people who place ads here are rather young and well-educated, and this is the people I'd like to deal with. But even this cool service doesn't have the English version (shame on them!). There are not many offers on this website, but if you look well, you'll be able to find a nice apartment/room in a good district at a reasonable price.
www.couchsurfing.org
Don't be surprised! I'm not offering you to look for a host here. But they do have a group there, where you will find lots of offers in English – good place to find an apartment and meet some friendly locals at the same time, who won't refuse to tell you how things work here: https://www.couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=10975
I love this city so much that I enjoy seeing it from all the possible angles. But the best view is from the top of course. So, I decided to continue the topic of the previous post and switch to the best view points of Barcelona.
Tibidabo
Tibidabo is definitely the most breathtaking and exciting place to admire the city from. Here you can get to the very footsteps of the Christ monument which is situated at almost 500m height. Apostles will be standing next to you gazing with a very deep and sad look at the city. I guess it's a real torture for them to see this beauty being unable to get to it. I've described how to get there in the previous post about Barcelona.
Montjuic castle
Not many people visit this fortress, though it’s not that hard to get there. Just take a funicular or bus which will take you from the Montjuic park to the castle. Apart from the castle itself you'll enjoy a great view of the city and Tibidabo mountain, which is right in front of it, on the other side of the city.
MNAC
The national museum of the Catalan art has a great viewpoint: la Plaza de Espanya with its amazing Magic Fountain, the Venetian towers, Arenas de Barcelona, and of course the city itself.
Sagrada Familia
The most famous attraction of Barcelona I guess (or at least the most promoted one). For 20 euros not only can you go inside the building, but go up one of its towers as well.
Torre de Collserola
If looking at the city from the Tibidabo monastery seems too old-fashioned for you try Torre de Collserola. It's located on the Tibidabo mountain, but the top antenna only reaches 288.4 m – well, it can't be higher than God, you know.
Columbus Monument
The statue of 60m has a view point, from where you can look at La Rambla, Port Vell and the sea. Not high, but easily accessible with no need to leave the city.
The best way to get the city is to look at it from above: you'll see its structure, its color, its mood.
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
Kropotkinskaya metro station, Volhonka 15
Excursions +7 (495) 637−28−47, from 10am till 4pm
Tickets for foreigners: 450rub.
The central Moscow cathedral with a view of the Moskva river and the old October factory building. You can visit its four viewpoints only with an excursion, but it’s really worth it: you’ll see the Kremlin, Gorky Park, Arbat street and Poklonnaya Gora – to cut the long story short, all the best of what Moscow has to show.
The cathedral itself’s worth visiting too. Its grotesque architecture might seem charming to those who like massive buildings. Foreigners will recognize it as the place where the Pussy Riot “concert” took place.
Russian Academy of Sciences
Leninskiy prospect metro station,
Leninskiy prospect 32a-1
The viewpoint is situated outside the
Russian Academy of Sciences
, so you can visit it day and night for free. What you’ll see from here: the building of the Russian Academy of Sciences itself (which we call “golden brains” and you can guess why), Andreevskiy monastery, Gagarin monument, part of Neskuchniy garden and the Moskva river. Those who have good appetite and fat wallet can go up to the 22
nd
floor to have a glass of wine for 700-2500rub and enjoy a better view.
Observation wheel at VVC
VDNH metro station, VVC
Tickets: 250/350 rub.
Since it takes 7 minutes to make one round on the biggest observation wheel in Moscow, you’ll have enough time to see the whole VVC (
All-Russia Exhibition Centre
), the Kosmos hotel,
Worker and Kolkhoz Woman
monumentand Ostankinskaya tower.
Vorobyovy Gory
Vorobyovy Gory metro station
The name means “Sparrow hills” (recalls to the Vorobievy village of the XIVth century). This place is the most famous viewpoint in Moscow, and if you have just a couple of days to see the city, you should start from here. You’ll see the Luzhniki stadium, Moscow city (a group of skyscrapper forming the major business center of Moscow), all the Seven Sisters buildings (really stupid name for the most fundamental buildings of the Stalin’s period) and most importantly the Moscow State University – this one will be standing full-size just behind your back.
The “Ukraine” hotel
Arbatskaya metro station
Kutuzovskiy prospect, 2/1
The best view is from the Ginza Project restaurant situated on the 29th and 30th floor. Wall size windows and cyclorama will make the view really spectacular. From here you’ll see the White House, Seven Sisters again and the Moscow city center. But don’t forget that being sited at a high point demands paying high prices (for food, of course).
Swissotel Krasnye holmy
Paveletskaya metro station
Kosmodamianskaya naberezhnaya, 52-6
From 5pm till 3am
As you can guess we are talking of another hotel. The City Space bar on the 34th floor allows you to get 360 degree view of the city. This is the best place to get the spirit of this enormous, greyish and indifferent to “small people” city.
Ostankinskaya tower
Alekseevskaya/VDNH metro station
Akademika koroleva 15-2
Since 10am till 9pm
Obviously the best view is from the highest tower of the city. 540 meters. You can get as high as 337-340 meters, since it has 2 view points – an open one (for the warm season) and a close one. Visiting them is a part of the excursion of the TV tower and its museum, which costs 1200rub for both viewpoints.
The original text in Russian and photos were taken from The Village.
Barcelona - Girona - Figueres. Part 2: Girona and Figueres.
It's very easy to get to Girona or Figueres from Barcelona. Take a RENFE train (one way ticket will cost you 10-12 euros depending on the time and date). You can buy them online not to worry about this when you arrive to Spain. Important thing to remember: nevermind the train number, but remember the time of departure and the final destination of the train.
Since I knew there was a lot to see in Girona, I decided to stay there for a whole day (took a room at Equity Point Hostel Girona) and the next day to go to Figueres, which saved me both time and money.
Girona is an amazing historical city, where Spanish, Muslim and Jewish cultures meet. There is an enormous cathedral and University building with the defensive wall you can climb and walk on; the Jewish district with a really nice museum and lots of small vintage shops. The architecture of the city is the mixture of classic Spanish city of white houses with small yards on the one side of the Onyar river (old part of the city) and modern buildings which look rather typical for Catalunya on the other side of the river. As you can guess, there are lots of bridges in the city, which make it look even more romantic, especially at night.
Same as in Barcelona, there is a Jewish district Call and the Montjuïc (or hill of the Jews in medieval Catalan) in Girona, since before 15th century this city had a strong Jewish community. The exhibition of the Catalan Jewish Museum represents the life style and history of the Jewish community and the place it took in the Catalan society.
But the main attraction of Girona, as of most Spanish cities, is the central Cathedral. It has unique architecture and style due to the fact, that initially it was a Moors mosque. After the Moors expulsion it was rebuild, but some parts of the building typical for Moors design were left on their place - thus, the cathedral looks very unusual and can tell lots of interesting historical facts.
The best view of the city you can get climbing the defensive wall connected to the cathedral. To my surprise, it's open both during the day and at night.
The city itself is rather small, and you can definitely see everything there in one day. So next morning I took my train to Figueres.
Figueres is known for the Theatre-Museum Dalí, which is quite an interesting place to visit even if you are not a fan of this painter. The building itself looks to me as crazy as the person whose name it bears. Dozens of tourists make it almost impossible to walk there, but you can find a group of your compatriots and listen to the excursion for free :)
Another spectacular place in the city, which I liked much more, is the Sant Ferran Castle. For some reason not many people know about it when they arrive to Figueres, and even group tours skip it. In the meanwhile, it's an enormous 32ha castle with well-preserved palace, barracks, its own prison (which is rather rare) and most amazingly stables, which look really impressive and even frightening, especially if you walk there alone.
Apart from that, there is nothing to see or do in Figueres. It's a typical residential city. I guess lots of its residents even work somewhere else (in Girona and Barcelona). So, planning a trip keep in mind that 3-4 hours would be enough for this place.
I've just had a 5-day-trip to Spain, where I visited three cities mentioned above. Since it was my third visit to Barcelona I skipped all the common places of interest there, but found some nice bars and other new places for me.
I also bought myself a Polaroid camera Instax 210 by Fuji, but was too lazy to scan the shots, so don't think bad about it judging by what you'll see below - these are just "photos of the photos". But they still have a certain atmosphere I love.
This time I stayed at a hostel called Equity Point Centric, which is great because of its location at Passeig de Gràcia. Another big advantage of a hostel is that it's easy to meet people there. On my first day I ended up eating dinner prepared by an Italian guy, who I'd met like an hour before.
These are the German guys I met at the same hostel. Love the photo for its dynamics.
Barcelona always looks beautiful, but of course if you want to swim end of February is not the right time. It's sunny, but windy.
So I decided to visit the Castle of Montjuic and a couple of parks.
Castell de Montjuïc
Parc de la Ciutadella
Parc de la Ciutadella
Jardins de Laribal
Tibidabo
I failed to go up to Tibidabo on two previous trips, and finally I've made it this time. The place is breathtaking with the striking and suppressive beauty of its monastery and stunning view at the city.
It turned up to be pretty easy to go up there. You just need to take train S1 or S2 from Plaza Catalunya, get out at "Peu del Funicular," take funicular to "Vallvidrera Superior" and then 111 bus straight to Tibidabo. The whole trip doesn't take more than 40-45 minutes.
To those who like old stuff vintage I recommend to visit Els Encants Vells, where you can find everything from books and photos of begging of 20th century to ancient radios and vynil. Here is the list of other flea markets in Barcelona.
Poble Espanyol
Another "must do" in Barcelona is visiting the Spanish Village. It costs 11 euros just to enter, but it's worth it as well as the audio guide (+4 euros). The place used to be an international exposition back in 1929. But it impressed the public so much that the government decided to keep it. It represents all kinds of buildings you could find in Spain at the begginng of 20th century and before. It took 2 years for the architects to travel around the country and make mock-ups.
Eat cheap in Barcelona
A friend, who used to live in Barcelona, advised me a couple of good places to eat cheap. First I went to 100 Montaditos - a perfect place to start the night with beer and tapas.
Then I ran into a very cozy restaurant called Taller de tapas with delicious menu, perfect service and not that expensive to my surprise. Other places to consider could Domino Bar and Mar de cava.
My personal recommendation will be Mediterraneo - amazing bar with live guitar concerts.
Just don't forget that most bars in Spain are closed before 7-8 pm.
