By: Rebecca

At the very northern tip of Israel's Mediterranean coastline is a place called Rosh Hanikra. From our balcony on a clear day, we can see the white cliffs marking the Israel-Lebanon border. But despite it's proximity to Haifa, and the fact that Rosh Hanikra is on everyone's must-do list, we had yet to make the trip. 

Having finally made it there last week, we know why everyone says "you have to go to Rosh Hanikra!" Rosh means "head" in Hebrew and Nikra means "cave/cavern" so Rosh Hanikra translates literally to "Head of the Cavern". The main attraction here are the grottoes carved by the sea into the chalk cliffs over thousands of years. You get to them by taking, apparently, the world's steepest cable car ride 200 feet down from the top of the cliff to the grottoes at the bottom. The ride is not for the faint of heart or those with a fear of heights. Once inside the caves, you are treated to beautiful scenes of turquoise water flowing through a maze of caverns. After wandering through the grottoes, you come back into the bright sun at the edge of the sea. The chalk cliffs are peppered with flint and fossils. We found several beautiful fossils of sand dollars and shells. 

The cliffs of Rosh Hanikra 

Inside the large grotto

The cable car ride to the grottoes

Fossils!

Rosh Hanikra is not just a place of natural beauty. For the history buffs, Rosh Hanikra played an important roll during the British Mandate period in Israel (then Palestine). The British, with help from thousands of workers from British colonies and Israel, built two railroad tunnels through the cliffs. The railroad connected Haifa with Beirut and Tripoli in Lebanon and was one of the primary means to deliver supplies to the British military from 1943-1948. It also served to bring Jewish refugees from concentration camps in Europe to Israel in 1944. 

The tunnel on the Lebanon side is now sealed, but you can walk into it for a distance. We were pretty sure we were at least under the border fence, so I suppose you could say we've been to Lebanon now as well. 

By: Rebecca 

Despite its small size, Israel has over 60 national parks and nature reserves. We have had the good fortune to explore many of them. From our first weekend in Israel, to this past week while my dad was visiting, we've been north to the Lebanon border and the Banias, south to Masada, and lots of places in between. We've discovered some great places, some of which are common knowledge and some of which seem to be hidden treasures. 

Just this past weekend we went to the Bet She'arim national park. Just 30 minutes from Haifa, it's an unbelievably cool place. The site of an ancient Jewish city where, instead of a regular cemetery, the dead were buried in catacombs carved into the side of the hill below the town. After the town was abandoned (in the 6th century), the tombs were ransacked, so when excavations began in the 1930s there wasn't a whole lot left. There were however, 135 sarcophagi - some of them large enough to fit 2 or 3 people. It was the final resting place for many famous rabbis and wealthy Jewish families of the time. Aside from the huge burial caves, many of which are open to explore, there are also hiking trails and a beautiful picnic area. We highly recommend it to anyone visiting (or living in) the Haifa region.

Cave of Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi - Bet She'arim N.P.

Thanks to a tip from our friend, and resident archaeologist, Alex, we also visited Belvoir Fortress -  known in Hebrew as Kohav HaYarden (Star of the Jordan). Just south of the Sea of Galilee, Belvoir was the last holdout of the crusaders against the invading Arab army under Saladin. The knights (called Hospitallers) held their fortress even as other Crusader forts fell under Muslim rule (Akko, Tiberias, even Jerusalem). After an 18-month siege, the knights surrendered and were allowed to return to Tyre in Lebanon unharmed. Described by 12th century Muslim historians as: "... but a nest of eagles and the dwelling place of the moon." The fortress stands at the edge of a plateau over 1,800 feet above the Jordan Valley. The castle is well-preserved and you really get the sense of what it must have been like at it's peak. The views are stunning and you can imagine the knights fighting to keep their stronghold.

View of the Jordan Valley from Belvoir N.P.

This time of year, the parks are quiet. We spent hours at Belvoir and saw 2 other people. As spring arrives, many of the parks will be awash with wildflowers and crowds of people enjoying the warm weather. We have more family visiting in the next month so we are looking forward to the excuse to go enjoy all that Israel's parks have to offer.

Ibex near Ein Gedi N.R.

I don't think we will get to all the parks before it's time to return to the U.S., but we are certainly going to take advantage of as many of them as we can! 

More photos of Israel's National parks and reserves here!

You can explore the parks online here. 

By: Jason & Rebecca

We splurged just a bit on joining a gym.  But then we justified it by knowing we would be healthier, have more energy, and be better people.  The truth is neither of us are very accustomed to visiting a mall regularly, let alone to go to some hoity-toity place like this up-scale gym called, ‘Holmes Place’.  Actually, it’s not that upscale, just in comparison to the other more or less dingy and dodgy places we've heard about in Haifa.  Nonetheless, because Rebecca had a free-month membership (complements of one of our Israeli friends who left the country for law school), she got to check it out first-hand. 

The first day, Rebecca came home and saying things like ‘I am in heaven at the gym’ and ‘you won’t believe what they have there’.  This went on for days.  Naturally, I needed to check it out for myself and that was that.  One of the membership staff convinced us to sign up for a modest plan and we've never looked back.  So, why do we brave going to the Grand Canyon Mall (for real, this is the name!) and fighting crowds to venture on the elevator to the -4 floor (yes, it is called, minus 4!)?  The gym has a great layout and is big even by American standards. There are terrific people and great amenities.  Not only is there the usual complement of workout equipment, but also a small but fantastic indoor pool (so I can finally get back into swimming), classes (yoga, pilates, zumba etc.), steam rooms and saunas, and the most fantastic showers! The showers are especially nice now that it's winter and the solar heater at home must be augmented by the electric one. 

Is it worth it? YES!  And with all the daily hustle and bustle, it’s a great way to clear our heads and treat ourselves to something. 

So when we are feeling sluggish, unmotivated, and out-of-shape (because the living on a mountain just ain’t enough exercise!), we click our Teva sandals and say, “There’s no place like Holmes!”

By: Jason

Like all Friday evenings in Israel, it is Erev Shabbat (Shabbat evening) and as the traffic lessens, buses and trains stop and shops close, the atmosphere becomes one more laden with rest, and spending time with friends and family for a festive meal, a walk, or a visit to one of the many local synagogues (about 240 in Haifa alone!) for Friday night (Shabbat Kabalat) services.  I have been doing sort of a tour of the synagogues in the neighborhood since each one (and the people that attend) is completely different.

Ohel Avraham Synagogue, Haifa (photo: ynet)

In Hadar (my neighborhood) most the synagogues are, ironically, somewhat cryptic and often tucked away amongst the homes and businesses.  They are small, utilitarian, and most could use a bit of a makeover.  Nonetheless, they are filled with a diversity of people from all over the world, speaking among other things, Persian, Spanish, French, Russian, English, and yes, of course Hebrew.  An Iraq-based synagogue I have been to (extremely nice guys!) is situated on a busy street corner downtown but in a resident apartment building, while the Great Synagogue in the adjacent Geula neighborhood is a massive building with a predominantly Haredi presence.  

Haifa's Great Synagogue (photo: Wikipedia)

This past Friday night, we heard about a Friday service at a synagogue on Masada Street which we had walked by, but had never been to. The service was advertised as songs and singing in the theme and spirit of Sholmo Carlebach, the legendary Rabbi, considered by many as one of the most influential religious songwriters of the 20^th century.  You can read up on the entire life of Sholmo Carlebach here if you are interested: 

In addition, we read that there would be a dinner following the service that we intended to check out as well.  Like the other synagogues in Hadar, this one fit the bill: small, not too many seats, and rickety bookshelves.  However, the flip side was the jubilant and passionate group of people singing and yes, dancing to the beautiful sounds and tunes of Carlebach.  We were greeted by such a great and friendly group of folks afterwards and invited to partake in dinner. We were not  exactly where the dinner was (this, by the way, is the Israeli way: knowing that there is something but not knowing the details!) but decided just to follow the crowd.

We eventually made it across the street to the home of our host, the ‘Rabbi’, his wife, and their family (this was our dinner location, unbeknownst to us!).  We were welcomed in not just as guests, but as family.  Also there was a mix of neighborhood locals, visitors from around Israel, and my favorite, two hysterically funny and bright Mexican Jews who we sat next to.  I don’t think we could have staged a more eclectic mix of folks (virtual strangers) with such diverse backgrounds if we tried.  Although the conversations were mostly in Hebrew, we also had the opportunity to practice Spanish and a few words of Russian, give some college advice to an aspiring Israeli psychologist, and quote movies and talk politics with our Mexican friends.

As we finished up desert and said our after-meal prayers, I realized how lucky we are to have had such and experience and be welcomed into the homes of such warm and friendly folks.  We hope we can do it again!