shalom!
israel was really cool and interesting to visit. the tel aviv beach is quite nice and very clean for a city beach! there's a good mood. we all felt pretty safe in israel, regardless of the place (even in jerusalem).
generally israel is not the cheapest place to go, but there's a lot of stuff to see and do there. food is awesome and available 24 hours, while most bars (and clubs in port area) are shut around 3/4 am, regardless of the weekday. there's a lot more to eat than hummous & falafel. nightlife generally is okay, but for some late nights you really have to know where to go. so probably a local guide is the best to have to get around. for some reason in that section i have expected a bit more. especially as it seems to have a bit different picture as in reality.
we flew with el al, the israeli airline which is known as the most secure airline in the world. and now i know why. already at the gate el al-employees are awaiting you to ask you a repetoire of questions about your travel plans in israel as well as questions about things of your past travels, concerning your passport history. very interesting seem visits to muslim countries (especially middle east). after those questions which everyone has to answer separate (even when traveling in a group), everyone is asked to get the hand baggage checked. therefore you enter a small room with one or two el al-employees which ask you to unpack all the luggage, especially electronics. the latter are checked manually first. after that all the luggage gets brushed with a small tissue thing, which then gets analyzed for explosives. once you have overcome that procedure (which takes quite a while) you are not anymore allowed to leave the gate with your luggage. i had to leave it with an el al-employee to look for the bathroom. but i guess they have reason for all that procedure and it is very understandable, even if a bit uncomfortable.
everyone in israel speaks english, so i did not have to learn hebrew ;-) people are very nice and open minded. almost everything written is also written in english. it's easy to find your way around. people are from everywhere in the world, very international. this is also a result of the countries policy to bring as many jewish people to isreal from everyhwere in the world as possible. there is a federal integration programme that helps migrating people on job search and even with financial packages. it seems to work and it keeps the countries majority jewish.
jerusalem is really interesting to see...if there would never have been issues with religions, it could be a role model of all major religions to live together within the smallest place. maybe one day it will be. but as i saw this is not now and maybe not for some next generations. israel just ceelbrated its 63rd birthday of independence.
at the end: i'm happy i went there, was absolutely worth it. i wanted to go there since a longer time and can absolutely recommend this country to be on your list for the next journey.
to see the full photo gallery, use the link further below.
