Expensive Tel Aviv

Let it go
Tel Aviv was on the expensive side. I would have spent much more if I had not paid a lot of attention to my spending… I really had to reign in the brakes at one point and deliberately stopped going out, eat out or spend anything except for the parasol and sun chair at the beach… Accommodation […] Read More

Heading west

Let it go
My time in the Middle East is already up. Today I fly back to Zurich, with a short stop over in Istanbul, and then tomorrow on to Montréal. Here are the stats: Flight 22 to Istanbul Date: 24/06/2014 Code: THY795 from IST to TLV Airline: Turkish Airlines Plane: Airbus 321-200 Distance flown: 775 Miles Duration: 1h50 […] Read More

Last days, wrapping up

Let it go
These are the last days in TLV. My foot is fine again, but I am still struggling a bit with my cold, mostly my sinus are blocked and i have a headache… so the last days have been slow, again. I decided I would not run around like a mad tourists on those last days, […] Read More

Music…

Let it go
… makes the people come together… (yeah)! A friend told me about the Palestinian queer party that happened once a month in a club in Tel Aviv. Friday evening, we went there, to a club called Comfort 13 in the Florentin neighborhood, one of the oldest in Tel Aviv. It was early though, Davidi asked me […] Read More

Is it kosher?

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I am a vegetarian. Ovo-lacto. So I do eat eggs, drink milk, I love cheese. No fish though. It’s not a plant. I love Mediterranean cuisine… The vegetables, the olive oil, the pasta, the tabbouleh, the meze…. keep ’em coming! And there’s always a falafel place somewhere close-by. And here I love the kosher version of […] Read More

Summer cold

Let it go
I haven’t been sick much on this trip, besides an initial cold in Rio (triggered by the jet lag, a cold wind and general exhaustion after the move), a cold in Buenos Aires (total exhaustion from going out) and a light one in Auckland. All in all, good score. Now I came down with a […] Read More

Golden

Let it go
I am still spending most of my days at the beach. With my summer cold, there’s not much to do, I need to rest, but I won’t do it in my room. I might as well sleep at the beach. Each evening, when I go home, something truly magical happens in this city. There’s a […] Read More

Feeling safe

Let it go
I know I do live in a special bubble in Tel Aviv. This city is not representative for Israel, and the country around is different. At least that’s what I hear, besides the trip to Jerusalem I have not seen anything, so I must rely on what my friends tell me. With its young, somewhat […] Read More

Recovery

Let it go
The day after pride, Sven his friend Tsjerk wanted to take the bikes and ride around town and over to Jaffa. I was too tired for that. I sent them on their way and took up residence at the Hilton Hotel pool, until the boys were back. I am really tired, and the little sleep […] Read More

Proud days

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TLV prides itself to host the biggest pride event in the middle east, and rightly so. Not only the march is impressive, but also the number of events happening the the days and weeks around it, from the TLVFest to endless parties. Sven picked the right time for his visit. What a coincidence…! We started […] Read More

Sven

Let it go
Sven arrived on Thursday afternoon. He’s staying in the Hilton, right on the beach, with all the boys, and of course on the top floor, with a great view over Tel Aviv. Leave it to him to find a deal, get upgrades and end up in the hot spots… He has been to Tel Aviv […] Read More

Being German in Israel

Let it go
Visiting Israel as a German will never be a totally normal thing to do. Mostly because you do not know what to expect. When I first visited two years ago for the start of the last Madonna tour, I was a bit nervous about people’s reactions. And I would have understood if people acted weird, […] Read More