Prague Journal

Monday, April 11, 2005.

Our plane took off shortly after 1:30am, but it was hard to sleep on a 3 1/2 hour plane ride, especially when the first hour consisted of seatbelt and safety instructions loudly broadcasted on TV screens, followed by a full breakfast an hour or two later. We were awakened at 5am, to prepare for our 6:10am arrival at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv.
We took the 7am train to Haifa, where Rick’s uncle Ray and his wife Helen were waiting for us at 8:30. The train terminal at the airport was opened last October, and many of the train routes have recently been refurbished, having been suspended and rerouted after the terrorist attacks in September 2001 and April 2003. Just this month, a new line opened between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, which we will take next week. There are plans underway for trains to the Jordanian border, with links from there to other Arab countries.
Haifa is a principal seaport city, in the north of Israel. It lies on the Mediterranean Sea, at the point where it touches the Carmel Mountain. With a population of about 250,000, Haifa is the third largest city of Israel, and site to the Technion, the technical institute, and Haifa University. Haifa is the location of the Bahai World Center, well known for the golden domed Bahai Temple and its surrounding gardens. The remains of the Bab – the prophet of Bahaism, executed in Persia in 1850, were moved here in the beginning of the 20th century. Recently, the new hanging gardens were opened to the public, but the gardens were closed during our stay here so we could only view the grounds from outside the gates.
We had a lovely day with Helen and Ray – very leisurely walking around, talking, and resting – and of course eating Helen’s wonderful cooking. Helen took me shopping with her to a very large supermarket – almost like Costco but with regular-sized packages – with a huge produce section. There are still small markets, but these large markets are proliferating.
Helen was able to get us tickets for a Beethoven concert at the Haifa auditorium this evening. The program consisted of the Leonara Overture No 3, Symphony no 7, and the emperor piano concerto no 5 with soloist Revital Hachamoff, who was absolutely tremendous. Conductor Omri Hadari was also splendid – as was the orchestra.

posted by JWinn @ 10:41 PM