Tel Aviv: The Price Is Wrong

Warning: Coupon Cutters take caution before reading.

Some of the following content may be shocking and disturbing in nature.

Simple pleasures, like milk and eggs:

Milk: roughly $5.00 per quart, or you can go for the more affordable plastic bag version for $3.00/ quart

Eggs: $8.00/ dozen

I have been totally caught off guard by sticker shock. When preparing to move overseas for the first time, one takes some measures to prepare themselves for culture shock and cultural immersion. Somehow I missed the part where spending $5.00 on a quart of milk would leave me losing sleep at night. I just can't get over it. Everything here is sooooo expensive, and I mean EVERYTHING. It also doesn't help that I have spent the last 11 years buying my groceries at the Commissary, where things are priced at a considerable discount. We heard Tel Aviv was expensive, but it is not until your Grocery bill for the week is $400.00 + that you start to realize.....yes Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore.

I have asked as many people as I can (which let's be honest - at this point that is probably about 5), and no one seems to know WHY everything here costs so much.

However, have a gander at these stats:

• Tel Aviv is the 17th most expensive city in the world and the #1 most expensive in the middle east
• Want an iphone here? Be ready to shell out $900.00
• How about a car? More expensive than the US, and then you'll have to pay 100% sales tax. That puts a basic Ford Focus topping $40,000.00. You can only imagine what the luxury cars cost.
• Sales tax? 17%
• McDonald's cheeseburger (hold the cheese if it's Kosher): $4.00
• Pair of crocs: $65+
• Running shoes: $200
• Housing: outrageous

Apparently, the Israelis are all too familiar with this, and they are very frustrated with the high cost of living. Most families here are dual income as they can't afford to live any other way. Currently, they are in the midst of a 3 week long protest demonstration. So, in protest, many have set up a "tent city" in downtown Tel Aviv, where they have been camped out for weeks. Tonight is supposed to be the biggest demonstration yet. Last week's topped 150,000. This week they are hoping to break 500,000. Oh, and I almost forgot: all this started over the price of cottage cheese.

"Tent City" is taking over downtown Tel Aviv.

Read more about the protests here.

Shalom y'all.....we're off to watch the protests.

Galilee & Golan (Day 3/4)

Following our encounter with the bats of Nimrod's castle (yikes!), we decided to slow things down and see something a bit more benign: like a little waterfall. Banias Falls is the largest in Israel. It's no Niagara Falls, but it was worth the trip. We arrived there by way of a a 1/2 hour hike through a nature preserve followed by an elevated trail over the rushing river floor. The water looked cold and enticing, but it was far too strong for swimming. Nice photo-op, though.

the fam smiles at Banias Falls as Lydia breaks out...

for a solo career.

Kibbutz

Meanwhile, that evening we were introduced to life on a Kibbutz. These are communal agricultural communities that basically "built" the country of Israel since 1948. Today, they are still around dotting the countryside. We stayed on Kibbutz Gonan in the heart of the Golan Heights, and it gave us not only an inexpensive place to stay for the night, but a great breakfast, a big pool, a petting zoo, and a very relaxed atmosphere with all the other folks who live & work there. It was far preferable to the commercialized hotels and tourist trap restaurants of Tiberius.

View from our room

Will feeds goats & Lydia runs from them.

Yeah--KIBBUTZ!

Mettula

On Sunday morning we headed North to the town of Mettula, which is almost completely surrounded by Lebanon. It's a quaint little artsy town, with probably the best place to eat steaks in Israel. It also was a chance for us to see "the Good Fence", which separates Israel from their Northern neighbors of Lebanon & Syria.

Mettula: Everything beyond the town that is not green is Lebanon.

In the Golan Heights--do watch your step.

Finally, to wrap up our first adventure in the North of Ha Eretz Israel, we visited Manara Cliffs. This place was cool. Not only did it have a gondola that takes you all the way up the mountains separating Israel & Lebanon, but they had a 2-mile mountain slide that we did with the kids. Very fun--highly recommended, even if the boys finished in record time & the girls rolled down like they were auditioning for the sequel to Driving Miss Daisy.

All in all it was a great trip--we'll have to get back up here again sometime soon.

Skiing on Mt Hermon in January, anyone?

Shalom y'all!

Golan Heights: beware of bats

Our next day in Galilee started with another blazing hot, but beautiful stop at the Mount of Beatitudes. It is only a 30 minute walk uphill from Tabgha and has spectacular views of the Sea of Galilee and surrounding hills and countryside.

From there we traveled to the northern most region of Israel - the Golan Heights. With borders touching Jordan, Lebanon and Syria this mountainous area is breathtaking. It's topography is somewhat similar to parts of Northern California, but only somewhat similar.

First stop: Nimrod Fortress.

"Nimrod Fortress National Park is located in a magical mountain scenery on the slopes of Mt. Hermon, atop a ridge at an altitude of 815 meters above sea level...Nimrod Fortress is one of the largest and most impressive fortresses which have survived in the Mid-East since the Middle Ages." Direct quote out of the park brochure. Nowhere does it mention the wildlife that currently inhabits the ruins.

The kids loved exploring the area, and the air was much, much cooler. Enjoyable, in fact. We were having a blast.

Earlier that morning, we met a nice couple at breakfast who suggested we take a flashlight of some kind in order to explore the dungeon and secret passages of the fortress. This was advice worth heeding, although alas, we did not. So, when we came upon this staircase that was truly pitch black (the picture with flash does NOT do this justice), Stewart's curiosity kicked in and he insisted that we try it anyway. For those of you who know me, you know that I have an intense fear and hatred of snakes. Naturally, my first thought was, "but what if there are snakes?!" Stewart's cheerful reply, "there's no snakes here." Knowing that he didn't really know whether there could be snakes below or not, I ignored my inner fear (wisdom) and proceeded to follow him and lead our 2 children down the stairwell.

"Oh look, it opens up and there's a little light at the bottom," he says. Indeed there was a little light. Enough to see slither tracks on the ground. "Can you name one thing other than what I'm thinking of that could have made those tracks?" I ask. Stewart, seeming unconcerned, shrugged and set off to explore the tunnels. Meanwhile, as I'm internally hyperventilating but staying as cool as possible for the kids' sake, I notice a persistent chirping sound. A bird's nest in the dungeon? Nope. Bats. Lots and lots of bats. I lost it. The kids lost it. Our screaming sent the bats flying and darting everywhere. We bolted for the pitch black stairs that I am now thoroughly convinced were covered in snakes and headed for higher ground.

Stewart managed to snap this photo of the ceiling during our speedy exit.

Of course, Stewart found all of this quite humorous. Me, not so much.

Finally, stepping out into sunlight again.

"Bats! Bats! Bats!!!!"

Here I am, still a little frazzled, and clearly not in the mood for a photo op. But aren't the ruins nice?

On the summit of the fortress. The view was AMAZING!

Not only did we have a close encounter with bats, but there were also plenty of lizards and these furry little creatures living among the rocks. These guys are called Hyrax, and they are like rock-dwelling groundhogs. Much cuter than bats and snakes, I'll tell ya that much.

Shalom y'all,

Elizabeth