Again, because 1/2 hour's composition seems to have disappeared into cyberspace. Well, one more try. I had written about the King David. This was Hank's idea, let the record show, but I was in full agreement, although it costs the national debt. However, Jerusalem is strenuous, both physically and emotionally, and it is good to have the pampering, the concierge services (which we have used extensively, the "complimentary" wine, and all the rest. And this place has so much history. It was, as some of you now, the headquarters of the British Army in 1946, before the war of independence, and as such was bombed by the Hagana, the precursor of the Israeli Defense forces. ( One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter!) In 1967, guests st the hotel were warned that they ate on the patio and sat on their balconies at their own risk - the hotel is mere minutes from the Old City, which, at that time, was in the hands of the Jordanians. (We could see our room clearly from the ramparts!) Pictures to follow.
Tuesday our first day here, we started out at Yad Vashem, Israel's official memorial to the six million victims of the Holocaust. It is a huge campus, starting with a museum showing not only how the Jews died, but how they lived in Europe prior to the war. Hank and I were both amazed at the amount of live footage from the time they had collected, The museum ended on a (somewhat) positive noe, showing the liberation of the camps. Then we came our for air on the Avenue of the Righteous, with thousands of trees dedicated to those Gentiles (and we often forget that there were many) who risked their own lives to save the Jews. Continuing down the hill, there is what is called The Valley of the Communities, stone columns instribed with the names of 5,000 Jewish communities wiped out by the Nazis.
We were there for three hours and didn't begin to do it justice. Hank did indulge me in a search for lost relatives (they have an incredible data base), but I was unable to locate any. Not surprising, really. My parents, like a lot of Jews, had changed their names, and, also like a lot of Jews, did not want to talk about any of it once they got to America. (They pretty much threw their religiin over on the boat too.)
How did I feel when all was said and done? It is hard to put into words, but I think pride sums it up. Hitler tried his damndest, but still wasn't able to destroy us all, and I don't think we'll bow our heads like that again, and there is a lively, vibrant country!
Today (and tomorrow too) is a day of taxis. Yad Vashem was too far to walk, as was the Israel Museum, our next stop. After a lemonade break (fresh squeezed lemons with mint - no sugar added (or needed), we attacked the museum, a must see, even for the Lonely Planet. (Have I said that the Lonely Planet has not been the Most Valued Player that it usually is? Their pro=Palestine bias clearly shows through, and a lot of sights are not even mentioned.)
The museum seems to be a hodge-podge of archeology, Jewish History and Life, and yes, Israeli art. We started with some archeology, and then saw a special exhibit on - who else? - Herod. It was a fantastic exhibit, with models going from what remains of his builfing works now to what they must have looked like back then. Again, we are eimpressed with his energy, his attention to detail, and his engineering. Caesaria, Herodium, of course, The Temple, and much more owe their continued presence to him.
We got back to the front desk in time to catch a guided tour of the model of Jerusalem and the Shrine of the Book, which shows the history of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Then, the Judaica wing, which has madels of four synagogues brought from Germany, Italy, Cochin in India (which David and I
had actually seen in situ when we were there) and Surinam. Again, we hadn't begun to do the place justice when they threw us out at closing time
Thus is the Shrine of the Book
By this time, post 5 o'clock, we thought we would walk home, but our radar was clearly not working (the street s are definitey not in a grid, and, a la Prague, change names every few feet. Ultimatly, we conceded defeat and hailed a taxi, which seem to be plentiful if not cheap!
After an hour's recccuperation at the hotel, we took the concierge's recommendation, and ate at a small Italian joint not 15 minutes walk from the hotel. (I don't think I could have made it any further - not only was I exhausted, but a cold, cold wind was blowing us about. The meal was lovely, although I was really too tired to eat, and so home to bed
I'm oing to pubish this now, before it disappears again, and will contine with Wednesday in Jerusalem in the next post. (and by the way, yes, there is "free" Wi-Fi here, albeit only in the lobby. But a nice lobby it is, so it is not a great hardship!)
Tuesday our first day here, we started out at Yad Vashem, Israel's official memorial to the six million victims of the Holocaust. It is a huge campus, starting with a museum showing not only how the Jews died, but how they lived in Europe prior to the war. Hank and I were both amazed at the amount of live footage from the time they had collected, The museum ended on a (somewhat) positive noe, showing the liberation of the camps. Then we came our for air on the Avenue of the Righteous, with thousands of trees dedicated to those Gentiles (and we often forget that there were many) who risked their own lives to save the Jews. Continuing down the hill, there is what is called The Valley of the Communities, stone columns instribed with the names of 5,000 Jewish communities wiped out by the Nazis.
We were there for three hours and didn't begin to do it justice. Hank did indulge me in a search for lost relatives (they have an incredible data base), but I was unable to locate any. Not surprising, really. My parents, like a lot of Jews, had changed their names, and, also like a lot of Jews, did not want to talk about any of it once they got to America. (They pretty much threw their religiin over on the boat too.)
How did I feel when all was said and done? It is hard to put into words, but I think pride sums it up. Hitler tried his damndest, but still wasn't able to destroy us all, and I don't think we'll bow our heads like that again, and there is a lively, vibrant country!
Today (and tomorrow too) is a day of taxis. Yad Vashem was too far to walk, as was the Israel Museum, our next stop. After a lemonade break (fresh squeezed lemons with mint - no sugar added (or needed), we attacked the museum, a must see, even for the Lonely Planet. (Have I said that the Lonely Planet has not been the Most Valued Player that it usually is? Their pro=Palestine bias clearly shows through, and a lot of sights are not even mentioned.)
The museum seems to be a hodge-podge of archeology, Jewish History and Life, and yes, Israeli art. We started with some archeology, and then saw a special exhibit on - who else? - Herod. It was a fantastic exhibit, with models going from what remains of his builfing works now to what they must have looked like back then. Again, we are eimpressed with his energy, his attention to detail, and his engineering. Caesaria, Herodium, of course, The Temple, and much more owe their continued presence to him.
We got back to the front desk in time to catch a guided tour of the model of Jerusalem and the Shrine of the Book, which shows the history of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Then, the Judaica wing, which has madels of four synagogues brought from Germany, Italy, Cochin in India (which David and I
had actually seen in situ when we were there) and Surinam. Again, we hadn't begun to do the place justice when they threw us out at closing time
Thus is the Shrine of the Book
These are pictures of the Jerusalem model.
By this time, post 5 o'clock, we thought we would walk home, but our radar was clearly not working (the street s are definitey not in a grid, and, a la Prague, change names every few feet. Ultimatly, we conceded defeat and hailed a taxi, which seem to be plentiful if not cheap!
After an hour's recccuperation at the hotel, we took the concierge's recommendation, and ate at a small Italian joint not 15 minutes walk from the hotel. (I don't think I could have made it any further - not only was I exhausted, but a cold, cold wind was blowing us about. The meal was lovely, although I was really too tired to eat, and so home to bed
I'm oing to pubish this now, before it disappears again, and will contine with Wednesday in Jerusalem in the next post. (and by the way, yes, there is "free" Wi-Fi here, albeit only in the lobby. But a nice lobby it is, so it is not a great hardship!)
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