Tel Aviv

Wednesday, May 04, 2016
Tel Aviv, Israel
In the morning I get an uneasy feeling about our Jordan visas. Looking on the internet, I can get no confirmation that we can re-enter Jordan over the Allenby bridge, so we decide to visit the Jordanian embassy first.

It's a little tricky, because Google keeps sending us to Netanya . We get into the car and drive over, but the address is a residential street. One lady replies that the Jordanian embassy is here and keeps walking. One construction worker calls his wife who checks the internet and replies we have to be in Tel Aviv.

We return to the house and set Google maps for the same street name in Tel Aviv, and depart again.

This is farther, but we find our way into the diplomatic and office quarter of Tel Aviv. In the embassy we are met by very friendly and efficient people. Our Jordan pass is an unknown in the equation, and we are asked to wait. After a few minutes our gentleman returns: no other visa needed as long as we return over the Allenby bridge.

The man confesses he has not been in Petra, but his favourite place is Wadi Rum. So is ours, so we end up talking a bit about the beauty of the desert there.

We were planning to spend the day in Tel Aviv, so we now follow through by parking the car near the beach and walking and biking along the shore .

Tel Aviv is relatively a modern city, with many highrises. High tech is a market driver here. The city is clean, and though many Israeli's are impatient drivers, they are very friendly and helpful.

For instance, when we return our rental bikes, we cannot lock them. A young man not only tries to help, he ends up calling the rental company, is put on hold, is finally given a code to unlock the system and then he fixes the bikes for us. This kindness we experience many times. 

We take our time, enjoy fish and chips, I swim in the Mediterranean, Sisi buys souvenirs in the tangle of Carmel market, and when the sun sets we return home very satisfied.

Because of a broken bus and the subsequent traffic jam, we arrive later than expected, and Shavit and Yael have left for a speech, because it is Memorial Day in Israel. On TV we watch the national ceremony. Several testimonies of Holocaust survivors. 

How did something like that ever happen in semi civilized societies? And just like today, a national border is so often used as an excuse for not acting. Only a diplomat could argue such...

Mixed thoughts as I fall asleep early.

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