back to europe-hungary and switzerland

During the second week of Pesach I went to Hungary and Switzerland with my friends Sara and Lauren. We bought a multi-city roundtrip ticket from Tel Aviv to Budapest on Sunday and from Zurich to Tel Aviv the following Saturday night. It was an unforgettable trip...I will include as many details as possible!

The only experience I've had in eastern Europe is in Poland for a week, Austria as a little girl on tour with my violin group, and Prague for 9 hours last semester. I've never spent a significant amount of time touring eastern Europe, and Budapest was a great place to start. We left Tel Aviv at 4am and arrived in Budapest with a full day of touring ahead of us. Wondering why the city seemed so quiet as we drove through the city at 9am to our hostel, we asked the taxi driver what was up. He looked at us oddly, and said, "Easter." Oops, I guess living in Israel we don't hear much about Christian holidays. Our hostel, the Budapest Bubble, turned out to be a very cute place! They only have about 12 beds spread out between a few rooms which made for a very comfortable, welcoming atmosphere. Sara Lauren and I actually got our six bed room to ourselves all three nights! The lady who works there was so helpful. She sat down and talked us through the entire city; where to go, what to do, when to do it, etc. Even on Easter Sunday, she had great suggestions of things to do. We started out the day at the Easter market where we had delicious cinnamon bread-like cake that was hot out of the oven. We heard two different bands and there were kids dressed up in funny old-school dresses parading around the market. Sara (the vegetarian of the group) had some trouble finding non-meat dishes in the market..a preview to our few days in Budapest. After a few more rounds of the market, we headed towards the Buda side. The Buda side is much older than Pest, and had beautiful old palaces that we loved exploring. It was a hike up to the top of the palaces, but we enjoyed getting some exercise. We saw a statue of a lady who is considered to be guarding the citadel where there was a cool view of Pest. On our walk back, we passed Budapest's biggest synagogue, which is the third largest synagogue in the world. It is beautifully lit at night and has an impressive silver tree Holocaust memorial behind it. Being the last night of Pesach, we were not surprised that it was closed to the public. We asked the guard outside if it would be open tomorrow, and I quote, "No, the Jews have an 8 day Easter celebration."








On Monday, we woke up early and walked to St Stephen's Basilica. It was pretty on the inside, and I thought very similar to many of the churches I've seen in Europe. I wasn't feeling 100% that day, and I let Sara and Lauren walk up the hundreds of stairs to the top of the tower while I hung out in the museum downstairs. Then, we took the metro to the famous Szechyni bath house. This was my favorite part of Budapest. There were three pools outside with three different temperatures that felt awesome in the slightly drizzle-y cool weather outside. Then, we went around the baths inside. There were different minerals in each bath, and again were different temperatures. There were saunas and steam rooms throughout. To complete our spa experience, we got Thai massages! We didn't know what we were getting ourselves into...my lady stepped on my back and legs and twisted my body every which way. But it felt awesome. We got back to the hostel only in time to drop our stuff and run with wet hair all the way to the opera! We bought 2 dollar tickets to earlier that day to see Tosca's Puccini in the old famous opera house. They were standing room tickets, but whoever knows the Debbie (or Israeli) way would guess correctly that we were sitting in pretty good seats by the time the lights went down. There were excellent acoustics, and although there was no English involved--Italian play translated into Hungarian on a screen above the stage--we really enjoyed the play. After we were culturally stimulated, we walked across the street to a bar a friend recommended to us. For 3 US dollars, we paid the cover charge, coat check, and got three beers each! Hungary is so cheap. It was student night, and we met a lot of cool young travelers in addition to some Hungarians (like a dude named Ishmar, who told us to call him Steven). It was a half karaoke bar, half dance club, and we had a great time.





On Tuesday, we met Sara's friend at the Terror Museum. The building was the former Nazi headquarters, and afterwards was Soviet headquarters. It is a very powerful modern museum, and a highlight of the trip. I would recommend it to anyone who visits Budapest. We walked around the city for awhile and ended up at the market. It was nothing like the shuks in Israel, but we had some delicious fried dough with nutella on top. We got the giggles (maybe had something to do with the overwhelming amount of sugar we consumed in only a few minutes) and had the best time running around and playing with the chochkees and taking pictures. The time then came to say goodbye to Budapest and its cheap prices--we took Malev Hungarian airlines that evening to Zurich.



Lauren's parents were nice enough to put us up in a nice apartment-like hotel room for our two nights in Zurich. We woke up on Wednesday to a huge breakfast laid out in our room! We filled up and headed out to a trolley tour of the city. The trolley drove around the entire city (it's not very big) and we heard through our headphones a lot of cool info about the city. The weather was perfect--I was surprised that it was so warm and sunny at the beginning of April in Switzerland, but I didn't complain! Although we saw a lot, we didn't feel that we had a grasp for the city yet, so we took a long walk through Zurich after the tour. The first stop was obviously at a famous chocolate shop (named Sprugli, or something) and we walked up and down the river. Sara bought two Swatches, and Lauren and I spent most of our francs on chocolate. The exchange rate is about 1 franc to 1 dollar, much easier than the 190 Hungarian forents to 1 dollar. We met my friends Stephanie (from Zurich) and Daniel for a drink, and went to an excellent vegetarian restaurant called Hiltl for dinner.




Chagall windows


We woke up early the next morning to catch a train to Interlaken. We were very close to the train station and with only backpacks, it was an easy commute. Throughout my year abroad, I've really learned to appreciate trains. They're so much easier and more convenient than planes, and in many ways, have a much prettier view! I wish they were as useful and efficient in the states. It was not a long ride, and we arrived at the hostel by 10AM. We stayed at Balmer's, the hostel that my mom and uncle stayed at in Interlaken 30 years ago! It used to be THE hostel, says my mom, and everyone used to go there from across Europe. It's cool for me to think about how backpackers traveled in those days without hostelworld.com and all the networking we use today to make travel plans. We chose to stay there because it was voted number one hostel in Switzerland on hostelworld even before I knew that my mom stayed there...it definitely lived up to its reputation. We dropped our stuff off, met Lauren's friend Tom who is studying in Geneva, and headed up to the slopes! It took longer than I expected to get up there...after renting gear and taking the bus and two trains required to get to the top of the mountain, it was already noon. It was Sara's first time skiing, and she ended up with a cute personal instructor named Christian. Lauren, Tom, and I had a great time skiing. Although the beautiful weather (Tom skied in a t-shirt!) and late date in the season made the snow a little slushy, the scenery was unreal and it felt great to be back on skis. Totally pooped after our long day, we carbo-loaded at the Thai restaurant nextdoor to Balmers and went to bed early, looking forward to the next day...

that's me


Friday, April 2 became an epic day. Sara, Lauren and I went skydiving!! Papa Bill asked me if I fell out of the plane by accident or on purpose. He suggested getting a window seat next time if I wanted to see some scenery. The skydiving company picked us up in a van from Balmer's, and we joined a group with three brothers from Buffalo and a few Swiss people. We all bonded quickly over our nerves as we signed the waivers and suited up. An intense skydiving man told us to position our body like a banana as we jumped, and that was about all the instruction we got. We were then introduced to our tandem dudes. Mine was named Roland. Rolley, as they called him, put my harness on and directed me towards the tiny airplane. Four jumpers plus tandem dudes plus two photographers plus the pilot barely fit in the airplane. Sara was sitting on the floor, and the rest of us were squashed like sardines. Before I knew it, the plane took off and we were flying between the Swiss Alps. The pilot thought it would be a funny joke to tilt the plane 180 degrees towards the ground and open the door that Sara was basically leaning on. Her mouth dropped open, she started screaming, and clutched onto the guy's foot that was sitting next to her. No worries, the videographer got Sara's freak-out on tape. Roland started harnessing himself to me (or maybe me to him), put goggles on me, and all of a sudden the door opened again. By the time I looked left and right, Sara and her dude were gone. The other three couples jumped, and then it was my turn. Roland and I scooched to the edge of the plane, he tilted my head back, and I was flying through the air at 120 mph! The feeling is impossible to describe, but I will say that it felt like the ultimate freedom. I put my arms out, waved at the camera, and smiled. It was so windy and my cheeks were so floppy, but I didn't even notice how fast I was falling. That is, it didn't feel like it does on a rollercoaster where your stomach feels like it's 10 feet above the rest of your body. I just felt free. Roland tapped my shoulder, signaling that he was about to pull the parachute and I should tilt my head back. I realized that it had been extremely windy and loud before, because all of a sudden it was silent and we started descending ever so slowly. Gliding down in the parachute was peaceful, and I was able to notice the beautiful Swiss Alps around me. Roland handed me the straps to the parachute, and I could control where we were going. I held one side for too long and we did a flip. Soon, we had a smooth landing on the grass onto our feet. I was so exhilarated, and could feel the adrenaline still pumping through my body as I ran to my friends and jumped and hugged both of them. Lauren was chill (as usual) afterwards, and Sara felt like she was going to throw up. But they both loved it as much as I did. As soon as I landed I knew that I wanted to do it again.







After the extreme sport of the morning, we needed some nourishment. We went to have lunch with the three brothers we met skydiving. We walked around Interlaken afterwards...it's a cute little ski town that I would love to see with some snow on the ground! That evening, we went to a chocolate show recommended by the hostel. We ran into some girls from OSP who are also chocolate lovers. The show turned into our big group of girls eating chocolate for two hours in the basement of a chocolate shop. Not bad. We met some people from the hostel later and tried out the hostel bar before passing out no later than midnight.




On our last day, Sara and I took three trains up to Jungfrau, the "top of Europe". It's the highest point in Europe at some 12,000 feet and we took some beautiful pictures before being too frozen to be outside. We also checked out an ice castle up there. We met Lauren and a million other Swiss people on the way down at the Snowpen Air Music Festival. Grabbed a bite to eat there and took the two long trains and a bus back down to Interlaken. Grabbed our stuff, and took the bus to the train station, two trains to Zurich, cab to the airport, and boarded our 10pm flight back to Tel Aviv. (That's 8 trains, 2 buses, 1 cab, and 1 plane all in one day!) We were pooped when we arrived at 3:30am in Tel Aviv, and so happy with our vacation together. I'll always remember it, girls!

Sherman Party in Israel!

all photos in this post by Jonathan David Sherman

Two hundred and sixty five days away from the Shermans is not easy. Since October in Madrid I had not seen my parents and I hadn't Leora and Paul since September. Their visit to Israel was wonderful! The timing worked out perfectly--Leora and Paul were on spring break from high school, and I was on Pesach break from TAU. They arrived the day before Pesach started, so we had time to eat some rugallah and other hametz before it was not allowed. We spent the first few days of the trip in Tel Aviv, taking long walks down the tayelet, exploring the shuk, showing my parents around the university, taking Leora out for a drink, and watching our cousin Eilam's handball game. The Pesach seder was awesome. Every year we say, "next year in Jerusalem," and we were finally here in Israel all together! We had the seder at Bela and Eser's house in Rishon LeTzion with most of our cousins that live in Israel. I've always wanted to have Pesach here, and it definitely lived up to what I imagined. Bela made delicious food, the kids sang the four questions extremely cute-ly, and I even learned about a ransom tradition Israelis have in order to get the afikomen prize.

showing Tiny some love

After the few days in Tel Aviv, the five of us flew down to Eilat. This was so much easier and than the crowded five hour bus I took last time, and it was a beautiful flight over what looked like a map of Israel. We had a relaxing first day on the beach. Leora, Mom and I went kayaking and Dad and Paul went jet skiing! The next day we were picked up very early by a jeep man to take us to the Israeli-Jordanian border to begin our trip to Petra. After the organized Israeli side, we crossed into a balagan-we didn't know exactly who to give our passports to on the other side, and once we trusted a random Jordanian man with our entire group's passports, he walked away with them and didn't return for what felt like hours. He told us to go into the store and buy things while we wait. Well, he eventually returned and after waiting for the wandering members of our group to return to our spot we got onto a bus with a Jordanian tour guide. I thought I went deaf on the drive to Petra because the tour guide was screaming into the microphone about hotels the entire time, but we made it. Although my parents bought five 60 dollar tickets to Petra for our family, the tour guide wouldn't give Paul a ticket, as he said he didn't need one to get in. (They did not get their money back for Paul's ticket.) There was a large map of the middle east next to the entrance to Petra. Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and many cities within their countries were proudly written in bold letters. I was confused when I was unable to find the country in which I live now on the map, and I thought maybe it might be in smaller letters. I squinted and walked closer to the map. No, Israel was not written anywhere on this map. I was shuffled along and forced to put this uncomfortable situation behind me...we had exploring to do. It was a cool walk into the forgotten city, and the tour guide had some nice facts to tell us about the rocks. We saw amazing heiroglyphics, big old buildings, and lots of Bedouins. Paul went on a camel ride in a small circle. Later, Paul and I rode donkeys--his was named Michael Jackson. I fell off my donkey near the end of the ride. It was an interesting trip to see such a drastically different city from Eilat although they are distance-wise so close to each other, and it was fun to be there with the Shermans.

The following day we flew back to Tel Aviv and while Dad, Leora and Paul went straight to Jerusalem in a cab, Mom and I stopped in my apartment to put down the Eilat clothes and grab some things for Jerusalem. She and I took the student route to J-ru: a bus from my apartment to the bus station, and the 480 bus to Jerusalem! It was crowded and smelly, like usual. We had some nice people watching and eavesdropping time in the short 45-minute drive up to J town. We met the rest of the fam at our hotel, and enjoyed our time walking around the old city, visiting the kotel, exploring the shuk, sitting by the pool in our hotel, and visiting with old friends. Great planning by Fran--it was a whirlwind of a trip, but we spent enough time in so many places around Israel. It was so nice to be with all my family, and I hope we can return to Israel together soon.


Side note: Mazal tov to Leora Sarah for her acceptance to Washington University in St Louis!!

הדרום

The weekend of March 19-21 I went to the south with OSP. On the first day, we did two hikes. The first was at the Big Crater and the second at a nice stream (I forgot the name). We stayed at a hotel in Arad--a poor town constructed in the middle of the Negev desert. That night (with no mention of Shabbat) OSP arranged an interactive concert in the hotel for us. A few men dressed up as Bedouins played some cool instruments like the digeridoo and a steel multi-toned drum from Switzerland.




On Shabbat, we hiked for four hours in the Negev around Sde Boker, the army base where I did gadna on seminar three summers ago! It provoked many feelings to see the base from the outside; many memories were running through my head that I hadn't thought about since leaving that base almost four years before. I remembered being forced to stand in the formation of a ח for long periods at a time in the summer heat of the Negev wearing a longsleeve green army uniform, doing 25 pushups at a time when we did something incorrect, and sleeping on a mattress that felt like a rock in the tent I could see from our hike. I remembered when my best friend hooked up with a soldier named Tzvika, shooting an M-16, and when Neumie asked me to be his girlfriend. At the end of the hike, we went to Ben Gurion's grave. We learned that he requested to be buried in the Negev, where he worked on a kibbutz and that he hoped the Negev would bloom like the rest of the country. There is a beautiful view of the Negev from his and his wife's graves. That night, we had dinner in a Bedouin tent. It wasn't as memorable as it was on Seminar, maybe because I realized this time that the people serving us were Israelis dressed up as Bedouins. Under their white tunics they were wearing jeans. Also, the famous tea and baklava did not taste as good as I remembered. Oh well.

team bonding-the classic sitting in a circle game


David Ben-Gurion's grave


On Sunday, we went to Ein Gedi. The hike there was nice, and it also brought back a lot of memories from Seminar (for example, remembering the spots where I ate ice cream before and after the hike). It was the perfect time of year to go as it's not too cool and not boiling hot like in the middle of the summer. The hike is through a few streams and little waterfalls, and we even got to have a dip in our bathing suits. Afterwards, we went to the Dead Sea. The sea has noticeably shrunk since I was there three summers ago! There is not enough rain in the desert to sustain it, and it is evaporating very fast. After a stop in the smelly sulfur pools, having a mud treatment (falling into a tub of mud) and an effortless float with a newspaper in the sea, the trip was complete (and my skin was silky smooth for weeks!)