TEL AVIV: Attack in Eilat

A suicide bomber killed at least three people this morning in a Bakery in Eilat. Maintaining this webpage almost seems to demand comment on such a tragic and terrifying event. This violence may look new, because there has not been such an attack since April. However, Israeli forces have killed hundreds in the occupied territories since then--including civilians. Eilat reflects another turn in the same sad cycle.

What else is there to say, besides that my heart goes out to the victims' families and that I am scared about what will happen next--both in Israel and in Palestine?

Added 30/1/2007--Here is a well-worded condemnation of all attacks that target civilians.

BERLIN: Resistance & Remembering

The bullet marks on this building close to The Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery) were intentionally left unrepaired.













The German Resistance Memorial Center contains images and information about many efforts within German society to fight national socialism (the Nazis). Colonel Claus Stauffenberg, who smuggled a bomb into a meeting with Hitler, was executed in this courtyard along with other planners of the attempted assassination. Most of the exhibit is in German with a short audio guide in English. However, I recommend going regardless--just to see the many pictures of brave people who knowingly risked death rather than simply look the other way.

This image captures the low level of light in most of the Holocaust Memorial at night. You can just make out the separate stones of the walkway.

Another view of the memorial. From the edges, these rectangular structures look like coffins. But, the walking paths ramp downward in the center, transforming the blocks into oppressive walls. Seeing the familiar street scenes at the end of the corridors likely helps visitors refrain from panicking.

Keeping the shutter open for 15 seconds reveals the texture of the pathway and smooth surface of the towering stone structures. There is just no way to escape photographing a crane in Berlin (click to see).

BERLIN: Museum, Market & Music

I started this day in the Jewish Museum, which I've posted about already. In the afternoon, I went to this wonderful outdoor market with Andrea, an American studying sustainable transportation in Germany. We bought an assortment of olives, cheese, spreads, and dried fruit and had a delicious picnic by the water. Those who know me well will not be surprised to learn that I also bought some spicy paprika paste to put on everything.


In the evening, I headed over to the Philharmonie to see a performance. They have special same-day student pricing (standing in the back) for 7 euros. However, I splurged for a seat in the nose-bleed section for 15 euros. Although not familiar with either composer, Dutillieux or Tschaikowsky, I enjoyed both pieces.

BERLIN: Long Day Part 5 -- Tachales

My visit to the north east part of the city started in a Jewish cafe by the Neue Synagoge. Although colorful, this plate of homemade gefilte fish, challah, and salads was only so-so. The waitress was very kind.


Tachales is an artist space within an old industrial building. Here is a picture looking back at the entrance onto Oranienburger Str.














While the entire building reminds me of an old factory in Jersey City taken over by artists, this hallway really draws up those memories. Tachales shows what such an effort can become. I like the balance of studios, stores, and bars reached without losing the graffiti and grit.


The stairways were not well lit and I did not have a tripod. So, this image needed a bit of processing to make presentable. Although there is something unnatural about the colors on the right, I think they are accurate. I mean, they are from spraypaint after all--nothing natural about that!

I had a whisky in this little bar and movie theatre located on one of the upper floors of Tacheles.

BERLIN: Long Day Part 4--Brandenbgr. Tor

Although one of the most famous structures in Berlin, I found the Brandenbgr. Tor a bit disappointing as a tourist. Through the gate, stand a number of construction cranes along Unter den Linden. The city seems to be changing every day.









One way to find good photos is to watch what people with more expensive-looking cameras shoot. While walking to the Reichstag, I saw a woman taking this shot and decided to do the same. I was so exciting to see the big government buildings that I would have missed this nice scene in a parking lot.

BERLIN: Long Day Part 3--The Reichstag

The Reichstag at sunset. The next pictures are from the glass dome and from the roof upon which the dome rests.


This impressive structure is the central column of the Reichstag's glass dome. The mirrors at the top of the image hold subdivided views of me taking the photo (click to see more clearly). The bottom of the photo shows the sun's low position. Daylight hours seemed extremely short during my visit.







I love this picture: old green oxidizing metal, silver new metal, yellow and brown stone, and the ever-present construction cranes.


Here is a picture of me up there with the tower at Alexanderpl. in the background. Notice the fashionable orange admission sticker from another attraction still on my shirt. Classy.

BERLIN: Long Day Part 2 -- History Museum

The German Historical Museum lies on the eastern end of Unter den Linden, a pretty street lined with shops. Last semester, I took a class in Ethnic Conflict at the University of Michigan and learned how recently Germany actually became the nation we know today. That raised questions about what happened earlier. This museum had many of the answers. The permanent exhibit is housed in the older building shown here.





This detail from one of the exhibit rooms in the building above reveals the inner court yard. I took a number of photos of the marvelous door handle shown here (click on the image).


On the left, flanking the older section sits the new I.M. Pei Building, which houses temporary exhibits. If you happen to be in the vicinity and desparate for internet, there are free terminals downstairs. Yes, I spent a bit of time down there.

BERLIN: Long Day Part 1 -- Charlie

While walking north on Friedrichstr. after leaving my hotel, I came across this view. The amazing artwork on the side of the buildings struck me as worth remembering (click to see larger image).

Sometimes, I take my photography seriously. Then, I become happy shooting stuff like this and realize--I'm just another tourist. I spent about 90 minutes reading the detailed information on the walls in the background.











I'm embarrassed to admit that I stumbled upon Checkpoint Charlie accidently on my way to Unter den Linden, a lovely commercial street a bit further north.

FRANKFURT --> BERLIN: Train Ride

I left Boston on Monday January 8th in the afternoon and arrived exhausted in Frankfurt on Tuesday morning at 5:30am. I just cannot seem to find a good position for sleeping on airplanes.

The airport luggage facility stored my two heavy suitcases for about 7 euros a day. Soon I was on a comfortable, quiet, and fast ICE train to Berlin with just a backpack. Everytime I looked out the window, the view was beautiful, despite the miserable gray day. However, I kept falling asleep and only manageed to snap a few pictures. Here is the rolling green countryside, carefully manicured, under a cloudy sky.


This photgraph shows a small town (a village? a hamlet?) under the same cloud-filled sky.
In the distance stand several wind-driven generators (you may need to click on the picture to see them).

I was generally impressed with the energy technologies in Germany during my short visit. Besides alternative power generation methods like this one, clear steps were taken to reduce unnecessary usage. For example, the escalators in the stations and malls stayed off unless triggered on via a motion detector.

TEL AVIV: Iraqi Sandwich

The title of this post sounds like a nickname for a US military operation. What a nightmare. However, I am being literal. This past Wednesday (Jan 24), I ate one of the most delicious pita sandwiches of my whole life.

I was a bit early for a meeting on Ben Yehuda street and decided to look for a place to have lunch. A tiny shop on Tishernichovsky (טשרניחןבסקי) seemed popular. As I waited in line, the guy behind the counter made a sandwich with such care and attention to detail, that the customer was surely his best friend.

He peered inside the pocket as he smoothed around the tehina to ensure no spot was left uncovered. Then he added strips of grilled eggplant, finding a special place for each individual piece. Then a spoonful of salad, a squirt of pickled mango sauce, another of hot pepper sauce, a boiled egg broken into pieces on the spot, a little potato, then various leafy greens. Just when you thought it was over, he reached for a few more slices of eggplant and managed to find some room for them. Oh, and some more of those sauces so the top of the sandwich wasn't dry.

He repeated this EXACT routine for each and every customer. The store and the sandwich are both called Sapich (ספיח). My meal included a side of two grilled hot peppers with a little salt. In response to my question about the type of food, he said "Iraqi sandwich".

TEL AVIV: Campus Tour & Hebrew Exam

On Tuesday January 23rd, I arrived at Tel Aviv University for new student orientation about an hour early. That is when I learned of the campus tour departing momentarily from the nearby dorms. I walked to the meeting place and waited for people to congregate. First, one very young person...then another...and soon a whole squadron. Foolishly, it never dawned on me that at 34, I would be ancient compared to my language study classmates.

I sat next to a quiet guy off on his own and struck up a conversation: from Poland, just finished an undergraduate law degree, headed to Berlin for an internship. My guess is that nearly everyone else on the tour was a Junior in college, making them about 20 years old. They seemed extremely anxious to meet each other.

The organizers of the orientation announced that this semester's class of overseas students was the largest in four years. This struck me as odd, coming right after a war over the summer. Perhaps some students originally scheduled for the fall semester postponed due to safety concerns and the current class represented an aggregated group?

The lack of heating in the dorms emerged as the key issue of the afternoon. Israeli buildings do not appear to be insulated, at least not to the extent of US buildings in the north east and Great Lakes area. In Tel Aviv right now warm sunny days still begin and end pretty chilly. Luckily, the family I am staying with in Ramat HaSharon has a wood burning stove in the living room, a kerosene stove in the entry area, an electric wall unit in the kitchen, and a small portable electric unit in my room.

I am happy to report that I placed into LEVEL 1 Hebrew and do not have to start at LEVEL 0. Clearly, I've learned to take pride in small achievements.

RAMAT HASHARON: Arrival in Israel

I'm living in Ramat HaSharon, a suburb north of Tel Aviv with the extremely generous family of my friends Michal & Ido. I just opened a bank account here (a bit of a painful process) and got a cell phone (same pain). With any luck, I'll move into my new apartment in the Florentin district on February 1st. This area of the city feels a bit like the lower east side of NYC, perhaps even a bit grittier.

I have more photos from Berlin and a few from Tel Aviv to add. Unfortunately, my camera broke so there may be a delay in getting fresh images of Israel. Luckily though, I purchased an international 5-year warranty. Yes, occasionally I do something smart!

Here is the only picture of me on the blog so far. Somebody in a club snapped the picture and posted it on an Israeli music site. I actually did some dancing that night, although I appear attached to the wall here.

BERLIN: Late Night Walk

Soon after arriving in Berlin I took a very long walk through the city at night. I had read that most areas were safe and felt comfortable on my own--with nothing but a decent map. Unfortunately, I do not have that map with me now as I post this and my memory is already poor. So, I'll report on this again SOMETIME (maybe) with more details. For now, please just enjoy the pictures. I did not stay in this hotel on the left--just thought it looked wonderful painted and lit up on a quiet evening.

This picture of the Bauhaus Museum was actually very difficult to take. Every attempt failed to capture the way it looked to my eye. The sign is incredibly bright and visually noisy, but the building itself quiet and dark. Never made it inside.

I liked this view of the river runnning through the city at night, the long reflection of neon on water, and the stream of car lights on the left.


This small pool is in the center of Potsdamer Platz. It may be a fountain but was never running during my stay. Potsdamer was a busy commercial area before the city was divided and then transformed into a security buffer zone (wasteland) from what I could gather from maps and photographs. It is now packed with glass and steel structures like the Sony Headquarters for Europe. I like the blue-light edges on the glass rectangles in the photograph and how they reflect in the water.


This is a Deutsche Bank office building in Potsdamer, right near the Sony Style building.

BERLIN: Jewish Museum (Outside at Night)

The best youth hostel I could find was situated right behind the Jewish museum. So, one night I went out with my camera and portable tripod and shot this series of photographs. The thin diagonal windows that architect Daniel Libeskind employs look like slashes in the metal exterior. You can see what they look like from the inside in another post.

BERLIN: Jewish Museum (Inside)

I spent more than four hours in the museum and barely scratched the surface. One could easily spend a day there (given the attention span, food, and coffee).

In the first photo, you can see the effect of the slanted windows on the lighting inside. (Check out the night views of the outside of the building in a separate post.)

The next two pictures are from a special exhibit on the Jewish diaspara. I liked how the angle of the surfaces added complexity to the photo montage.

The real discovery for me in this museum was the story of German Jews who fled to China to escape the Nazis.