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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
Jon Ozols' LiveJournal:
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| Saturday, May 6th, 2006 | | 4:22 pm |
Dude, Czech Me Out
I left Berlin on the 5th and took a train from the Ostbahnhof to Prague's Nadrazi Holesovice station. I got in around 7pm or so, so everything was closed or closing. I decided to walk around a bit as well as check out the hostel too. The area it is in is not very touristy so that's a plus and there are a few Canadian, Australian and British tourists around (too many Americans though). Today I woke up around noon and took the tram to the subway, taking it downtown and walking around Wenceslas Square, grabbing some lunch and looking around. I am here until the 8th but plans may change so I have no idea. I do have a flight booked for the 8th from Berlin's Schonefeld airport to London's Gatwick though. I just ducked into this cafe here to update the journal and check the mail while rocking out to the Czech rock music being played over the stereo here. | | Saturday, April 29th, 2006 | | 1:23 pm |
Yet Another Pub Crawl
Went out on another pub crawl last night with a few English guys from Portsmouth who hadn't been on one yet. Being English they actually got more drunk before we set off than during the whole crawl I think. The bars we hit are always the same ones but they change up the clubs each time, so I hadn't been to the two we went to last night before. I also met a few Canadians who were on the crawl; two brothers from Saskatchewan, a guy from Vancouver, and two from Ontario. One guy from was from Cambridge and this other girl lives in Bayview Mews in North York which was the craziest thing ever. So I hung out with them and the girl's friends from Hamilton. The English guys and I left the last club around 2am and I showed them where the tram was because they kept asking where the "bloody hell" they were. I met some of the guys again this morning and they say they might go again tonight oh god. | | Wednesday, April 26th, 2006 | | 5:08 pm |
Pub Crawl
Went out on another pub crawl from the hostel tonight with my associates David from Vancouver and Sean from Melbourne, Australia. The night wasn't the greatest but the places we went to were pretty cool. Sean introduced me to some Americans he met while on the last crawl, Jeff and Lexi, who are both from D.C. I believe. So we all hung out at each bar and talked about whatever. After the last bar; David, Sean, Jeff, Lexi and I went back to the first bar we went to because Sean really thinks it's cool, called Silberfisch (Silverfish). When we got there, Lexi, Jeff and Dave went out to grab some food at a 24 hour kebab place while Sean and I had a drink and hung out. There was a group of English girls sitting near us so Sean and I went over and spoke with a couple of them. I met Rachel, who is studying theatre in Berlin from Manchester and is heading back this afternoon. We spoke the whole time before we all decided to leave, so Rachel gave me her email and mobile number and told me to give her a call when I get to England and that I could stay at her place in Manchester if I wanted (obviously I do ;)). I was going to go with her and her friends to a museum this morning around 11 but since we all left the bar around 6 none of her friends were awake when I called so she said they just weren't going to go. I told her that I would call her when I arrived in the UK and see her then. | | Monday, April 24th, 2006 | | 2:43 pm |
Biggest Entry Ever?
Alright, I really need to get up to date on everything that has happened since about...the beginning of April or so, so I shall recap everything I can, starting with when I first arrived in Germany. I am going to do it in summary form for every city so everything doesn't just become one huge bundle of text. Köln (Cologne) - I arrived in Cologne a little bit into April I believe and called Tim, a German guy who I met in Nice that lives in a suburb of Cologne called Rösrath. He said he would come pick me up at the train station and we drove to his house where he introduced me to his parents and his younger brother, Kai, so that they don't just have some random stranger from Canada staying in their house. I was there for 3 days total but Tim introduced me to a bunch of his friends and the first night a few of us went to the KölnArena to watch a handball game which is the most boring sport I have seen after golf and curling, but Tim only wanted to go because he got the tickets free so no complaining I guess. The next morning I went to his school with him and sat in on his classes which was awesome. It was the last few days before holidays so the kids all were dressed up in weird stuff, like most of the dudes came dressed as girls and it was hilarious, I got some photos. That night Tim's parents took us to a bräuhaus (brew house) across from the Dom (huge gothic church in the middle of Cologne) for dinner, which was pretty awesome of them. The final night we went to some party thing at the school for the final night before holiday, and ended up sleeping in the school gymnasium on gym mats, which was oddly rather comfortable. The next morning Tim drove me to the train station where I hopped on my train to Munich. München (Munich) - Munich had probably the worst weather of all the places I have been to, at least during the time I arrived. It was raining the entire time and actually snowed the day I left. I stayed for 3 days and sort of just walked around the city, walked to Marienplatz and took some photos of the square and the Glockenspiel. The weather made me want to leave though and I didn't want to stay any longer. The last day I gave Carmen a call, this girl from Switzerland that I met in Tel Aviv and asked if I wanted to come to Switzerland could I possibly stay with her. I was told it would be cool but she would not be around mucn due to a very busy week of university and work. So that day I grabbed a ticket to Zürich from Munich and left Germany. Zürich - I got into Zürich after about a four hour train ride, which wasn't so bad. I spoke with a man who lives in Zürich who was sitting across from me and he had a couple news magazines that were in English so I could kill some time. I called Carmen from the Zürich train station and she came and met me, where we hopped the tram to her university. We went to the cafeteria and we grabbed something to eat before I came with her to her class and sat in on one of her psychology lectures that was somewhat difficult to understand because it was in Swiss German which sounds crazy and a lot like Swedish and nothing like German. While Carmen would have to go to work, she gave me a key for her flat so I could wander around the city and take photos and whatnot. She really lives in a suburb called Baden which is very small but has a train that goes right to Zürich in around 20 minutes. The last night though we went to a drum and bass club called Hive with a few of her friends and that was pretty cool. The next morning she drove me to the train station and I grabbed the train back to Munich. I spoke with a guy from Manitoba who lives in Texas on the train which made the time go by faster. I stayed in Munich for a night just because it was a bit late when I arrived and didn't want to switch trains immediately. I showed the Manitoba guy the hostel I stayed in the first time I was in Munich because he was leaving the next morning for Prague. From Munich the next morning, I walked to the train station and got my train to Nuremberg. Nürnberg (Nuremberg) - I arrived in Nuremberg sometime in the early afternoon and found my hostel before giving Markus, a German guy who lives in Nuremberg a call and seeing what's up. Apparently I was not able to crash at his place at all but he said we could hang out and he could show me around Nuremberg and whatnot. I met him outside the train station the first night and we went to this mall place called CineCitta, which has a movie theatre inside. We had a drink in the bar area and bought tickets for Final Destination 3 (dubbed in German of course) which after seeing it made the movie a lot more enjoyable. The next day I spent wandering around Nuremberg's Old Town and checking things out. The last day I went with Markus to an Irish pub that his friend's aunt owns but his friend bartends when he has to. So we hung out with his friend Stefan at the pub and shot some pool and whatnot. Markus drove me back to the train station and I walked from the station to the hostel. The next afternoon I headed back to the train station and boarded my train to Leipzig. Leipzig - I wasn't really sure what exactly was in Leipzig to be honest but I still went anyway, just to break up my initially planned trip of going from Munich directly to Berlin which would have been a mind-numbing 9 or 10 hours. I got into the gigantic train station which felt like a mall and walked the 10 minutes or so to the hostel and got settled in. The first hour or so a girl staying in my room from Vienna asked if I have eaten yet and if I want to get some dinner, obviously I do even if I was not hungry so I agreed. She asked the other girl in the room from Düsseldorf if she wanted to join us so she came along as well. We went to this pasta place around the corner and stayed there until around midnight. The two had to check out the following morning though. The next morning I spent the time wandering around the city and pedestrian areas, I also went to the university and hung around with my backpack so everyone thought I was a student and I spoke to some students there in English which totally destroyed any possibility of me being one in the process. The city was really cool but a lot of construction was going on prior to the World Cup coming up. Dresden - I found Dresden to be an absolute craphole really, I got into the train station which looked like it was still bombed out and under construction and hopped on the tram to the hostel. I got there and it was pretty empty except for a few Germans and this other guy from BC, Dave. So we hung out and walked around Dresden a bit before we both checked out the next morning to head to Berlin. We got the tram back to the train station and got the train to Berlin. We had a compartment to ourselves so Dave set up his laptop and we listened to some music on his playlist for the more or less short trip. Berlin - We arrived in Berlin in the early afternoon and had to make our way into East Berlin to find the hostel, since we got off in the wrong station. Ostbahnhof is in the east and Berlin Zoo station is in the west, we got off at Zoo. So with a little bit of time spent riding the U-Bahn (underground) and a couple S-Bahn trains (local commuter trains) we made it to the hostel. The hostel is massive, like 905 beds or something like that. Dave referred to it as "the Walmart of hostels" since it had practically everything, even an ATM in the lobby. The first day we spent sort of hanging around the hostel and talking to people since we had plenty of time to spend in the city. We met a few student groups in the hostel bar, where we spoke to this guy from Sweden and a couple of his friends. There were also student groups from Italy and Estonia there, but all groups were checking out the next morning which sucked. The first morning Dave and I, along with an Aussie we met in our dorm, Ben, decided to hit up some museums. Ben wanted to see the Erotik Museum but to be honest it was too academic and not very erotic so I would claim false advertising. We also went to the Jewish Museum Berlin and that place is huge so we spent a couple hours there. That night the three of us and another guy who moved into our dorm from Brazil, Enrique, all went along on the pub crawl. We hit 3 bars and a club at the end of the night. Dave and myself hung around at the club, Alte Kantine (Old Canteen) with an Aussie guy and British girl, but Ben had to leave early to catch a train to Hamburg in the morning. I woke up at 2pm today and went out to have "breakfast" (kebab in a pita) and am currently at the call shop around the corner from the hostel. Berlin is a really awesome city and I just need to work out booking some more nights to spend a longer time here. I also need to see what Dave plans to do as he is heading to Helsinki, Finland in the next couple days. What an update, I hope that cleared most things up and I hope to keep the entries a bit more up to date from now on that I covered so much. | | Monday, April 10th, 2006 | | 6:41 pm |
Switzerland!
I am in Munich right now after spending 3 days in Cologne and plan to head to Zurich tommorrow morning to stay with a girl I met while I was in Tel Aviv. Her flatmate is out on holidays so she told me I could chill there for a few days or so and she will show me around Zurich and her home city of Baden. Cologne was pretty awesome, stayed with a German dude I met while I was in Nice. I met his friends and went to his school for a day, as well as went to a few parties for their end of school festivities. I hate how I let the journal get so backlogged but when I started moving around so often it got tougher to make regular updates, so much easier when I was in Israel and always in the same spot near a computer. I will update on how Zurich and Switzerland is when I arrive though. | | Thursday, March 30th, 2006 | | 5:29 pm |
Niiiiiice
My last update was when I was in Rome and I had basically been taking trains since then until getting to Nice so I hadn't been able to find the time to update. I've been in Nice for about a week almost because it's really warm here (has been around 25-30 degrees the past couple days) and my hostel is a 2 minute walk from the beach and the Promenade Des Anglais, the main boardwalk of Nice. I was gonna head to Paris a day or two ago but heard that the weather is absolute crap so I am holding off a bit. Staying another night in the hostel tonight and might head out tommorrow morning/afternoon. I've gotten a fair amount of photos in Nice of the boardwalk and sea. I think you can upload photos at this cafe so I should bring my camera next time I come and try to get some up here, as it's been a while since I last did so. | | Saturday, March 25th, 2006 | | 1:54 am |
bad drivers lol
Almost hit by a car in Israel: 0 times Almost hit by a car in Italy: 3 times Almost hit by a car in France: France takes the lead with 4 times Germany pending. | | Thursday, March 23rd, 2006 | | 8:54 pm |
Whoo Italy update finally!
I never really got a chance to update because it isnt as easy, seeing as how I am not in one place long enough and always moving around now that I am in Europe. I spent a week in Rome which was pretty cool because the hostel and the people staying there totally rocked. I took the train from Rome and am in Milan right now waiting for my train to Nice, which does not leave until like 5am Italy time, and it is only 9pm right now so this will be a fun wait. I found an internet cafe so I am here for about a half hour longer, and I would be walking around exploring to kill time but my luggage being dragged around everywhere kills me. I misbooked my hostel assuming I would make it there by tonight but I guess I made a mistake. I am reserved for the 24th as well so I suppose that will be ok. I might head back to the train station after my time is up and find a locker to stash my things in while I walk around a little or maybe try and nap in the station. Not too sure but whatever, cannot do much about it now. | | Saturday, March 4th, 2006 | | 3:42 pm |
| | Saturday, February 25th, 2006 | | 3:38 pm |
Stuff etc.
I came back to Tel Aviv after spending about 6 days in Jerusalem. I had a pretty good time when there and did quite a fair bit I think (walked around all of the Old City, daytrip to Bethlehem, etc.). I checked into a new hostel called Hayarkon 48 which is located on 48 Hayarkon St. (go figure) and is right off the beach practically, right next to Allenby as well. The hostel is pretty awesome and there are a lot of people my age, as well as several other Canadians all around 20-25 years old. I first checked in at like 6pm, and by 9pm I was out at Mike's Place with a guy from South Africa and an American. When I woke up the next morning, I walked out onto the balcony of my dorm and it was hot as hell. You could feel the heat the second you stepped out. I met a couple other guys from Vancouver and a girl from Edmonton yesterday. Last night (Shabbat so every bar and club is crazy) I went out with one of the guys from Vancouver and a couple Israelis who are originally both from Montreal, we walked around looking for a good place to go and decided to check out Joey's Bar. The place was packed but it wasn't that great, the Israeli guys decided to leave and head home so myself and the guy from Vancouver, Trevor, walked over to the crossing to Ben Yehuda. As we cross onto the pedestrian island he walks up to these 3 Israeli girls and asks them if they know a good place to go, we spoke with them for about a half hour at the intersection about whatever before Trevor asks if they want to walk around with us and find a good place to hang out, this was around 2am, Israel's nightlife is very different from Canada's, as bars here open around 11 or 12am but don't actually start jumpin' until around 2am or 3am and then close around 6 or 7am with some having after-parties until noon. So we end up walking down Allenby looking for a place and having the girls speak to the doormen cause they're locals from Ramat Gan which is like a 10 minute cab ride from downtown Tel Aviv. Every place we went to had a waiting list so we kept on walking to King George and went into this place called Bloom Bar which was pretty cool. By the time 3am rolled around Trevor said he had to leave to wake up early and check-out, leaving me with 3 cute Israeli girls (oh no whatever shall I do?). I spoke to one of them for about 4 hours, I think her name is Elahmar, until I found out she has a boyfriend in the air force, bleh. The girls themselves weren't in the army yet though, and I believe they're all 18 and in high school still. We ended up staying at the bar until around 6am and I got one of the girl's pelephone (cellphone, no idea why they call them pelephones here) number, whose name is extremely strange and I can only guess how it's spelled, it's like Nor or Noar or something like that. The third girl is a Russian who moved here as a kid named Katja. We said goodbye and the girls got into a cab to Ramat Gan as I walked back to the hostel and went to bed, where I woke up around 1pm this afternoon. All in all a pretty cool night/morning. | | Sunday, February 19th, 2006 | | 12:01 am |
Bethelem
Went to Bethlehem today with another guy from the hostel who wanted to go. We went around 12:30pm or so and headed for the Old City, walking through the Muslim Quarter to Damascus Gate, which was crazy in itself. There was SO many people heading there, you sort of just had to find a spot in the crowd and gradually shuffle towards the exit. Eventually we got out through Damascus Gate and into East Jerusalem (the Arab side of the city). We walked a little bit down the main street until we got to a small terminal where the Arab version of the sherut taxis, called "specials" were waiting. I bought a can of Coke from a vendor there for only four shekels which is actually two or three shekels less than those back in West Jerusalem and "Coca Cola" on the can was written in Arabic so I thought that was cool and got a photo of it. The special ride only cost 3.50 NIS for the 30 minute or so ride and it drops us off at the checkpoint to get through the border into the West Bank. We walked in and had no problem, they didn't even check a bag or whatnot, apparently they don't care as much who goes INTO the West Bank, as much as who comes OUT. So we come out onto the Palestinian side of the wall and took some photos of the graffiti on it, most of which was incredibly detailed, like a mural of sorts. We headed into the outskirts of town and was approached by like five Arab guys at once, asking if we wanted a cab ride or to buy gum or water or whatever they were selling. One huge intimidating Arab cabbie asks us where we're from and we both say Canada (even though the other guy is from Colorado) and the Arab guy says something like "Canada...good, as long as you aren't fucking Danish" which kind of freaked us out but we accepted the cab ride since it was only 10 shekels. We got out in Manger Square, the center of town after like a 10 minute cab ride. From there we just sort of wandered around checking things out. As we walked, we got bothered by the odd Arab kid asking for US dollars or shekels or whatever but we just kept walking, some of them even followed us for a bit. We also ran into a Palestinian Christian pastor who we spoke to for a bit, and he even offered us to come by his house and have some coffee or tea but we declined as we still wanted to walk around and see more of the city. We went to a falafel place and got some lunch and walked around some more, I got some great photos of the view as Bethlehem is very hilly and has great views of the surrounding city below and parts of the West Bank. At 4pm we decided to head back to Jerusalem, getting a cab to the checkpoint and a special back to Jerusalem. We spoke to this girl from France, named Dorianne, living in a flat in the Old City of Jerusalem and I walked through the Old City with her to the shop of this guy she knows who handcrafts Jewelery, I think his name is Nader. We spoke with him for a while and he made coffee for us. It was getting dark though around 6pm and I walked with Dorianne until she had to go the opposite way to her flat. I headed back to Zion Square and sat around watching some dude play electric guitar for money before running into a guy I spoke with on the PLANE to Israel, that was fucking crazy. Himself and a friend of his walked with me to get something to eat and we talked about whatever. We exchanged email addresses since they had to go attend classes tommorrow. Back at the cafe now and just hanging out until heading back to the hostel. | | Thursday, February 16th, 2006 | | 7:21 pm |
Holy crap it's fucking freezing right now and
I can't believe how cold it is. I'm back in Jerusalem now, left Tel Aviv around 3pm Israel time. I'm at the cafe on Jaffa Rd. right now and it feels like Canada outside, Jesus Christ. When I got to the hostel though I recognized some people which is cool, the two brothers from Pittsburgh who were here a week ago are staying until March 1st and then moving into their own apartment around the corner here which is pretty awesome. The crazy psycho Christian family left a few days ago they said, and the mom got angry at one of the brothers because he was using the microwave and that "it causes cancer". So I dodged a pretty big bullet right there. Tommorrow when I wake up I'm going to head to the souq in the Muslim Quarter and buy a nice warm jacket and maybe another pair of jeans because these layers and a windbreaker just aren't gonna cut it if the weather stays the same, and it's supposed to I think. I'm gonna go to Bethlehem tommorrow as well, my guide says that taxis leave from Jaffa Gate and Damascus Gate every 20-30 minutes and are very cheap, like around 2.50 NIS for the roughly 8km drive. Buses also leave from Damascus Gate for around 3 NIS. Not much else to say that's new, just updating to say I arrived in the city and am freezing my ass off. Current Mood:  coldCurrent Music: cold cold cold | | Tuesday, February 14th, 2006 | | 2:13 pm |
Happy Hallmark from Israel (yeah, it caught on here too apparently)
Sorry there hasn't been an update in a while, was sort of planning out what exactly I'm going to do but I think I nailed it. This week before Shabbat, I plan to head back to Jerusalem and do some of the stuff I never got around to doing the first time, mainly check out the Muslim Quarter and the large souq (market) that is located there. I'll also get more pictures there as I feel my photos from Jerusalem other than the Western Wall are quite lacking, so I think I'll also go up to the Dome of the Rock and get some photos of that up close as well. After I spend a couple nights in Jerusalem, I'm going to get a bus to the Dead Sea and grab some photos of that, as well as check out Masada while I'm in the area. After that, I am going to head back to Jerusalem and get to Damascus Gate in East Jerusalem, as there is a bus I'm told that goes right from Damascus Gate in Jerusalem to Bethelehem's city center, for only about four or five shekels, so I think I will definately do that, Bethlehem is only around 20 minutes away from Jerusalem to the south. I also considered checking out Ramallah while I'm in the area, as it's a bit north of Jerusalem, but I'm not definately sure I will, I might check with the Canadian embassy in Tel Aviv before I set off to Jerusalem. Bethlehem I'm told is perfectly fine though, with the amount of tourists it gets. Tinkie told me I'd be just about the only tourist in Ramallah if I were to go, so I'm not definite. Anyhow, just wanted to outline what my plans are gonna be in the future, and I'll most likely update again halfway through, in Jerusalem perhaps. Current Music: Let's Get Physical I think, I don't know, it sounds like it | | Thursday, February 9th, 2006 | | 7:37 pm |
Reppin' the TA
Back in Tel Aviv now, and checked back into Old Jaffa Hostel, as Jerusalem is just too cold to stay in and has miserable weather. The entire reason I left Canada was to get away from that kind of crap. Last night I got lost in an Orthodox neighbourhood for like a half hour before asking some Hasid who didn't know English which way the main road was. It was so cold and windy that Zion Square was practically empty and some shops closed early, as it was also very dusty from desert winds. The sherut to Tel Aviv was parked practically right outside the hostel in Jerusalem, so I got in and paid (only 20 shekels) for the trip to the bus station in Tel Aviv. When I arrived at the station, the first cab driver I spoke to tried to quote 60 shekels for the trip from the bus station to Yefet St. which is total bullshit and I told him to go to hell (in Hebrew cause I'm a badass). They thought I was a tourist fresh off the plane because I had all my bags with me but when you tell them you've been in Tel Aviv for 3 weeks they stop trying to scam you. Got back to the hostel around 1 or so and stashed my stuff in the dorm before going out and getting some breakfast (two chocolate filled croissants at Aboulafia, the best bakery ever) and more or less just hanging around the hostel to see who was around. Allison decided to stay in Jerusalem until Friday or Saturday so I won't see her until then but Dan, Yakov, and Tinkie are around. There are a few new people around the hostel but they aren't staying for very long, maybe like a couple days. Current Music: REO Speedwagon because this cafe is amazing | | Tuesday, February 7th, 2006 | | 9:15 pm |
Yerushalim Part Shalosh AND PICTURES!!!
Back at the cafe here with my DIGITAL CAMERA AND USB PORT!!! Finally. Went out and walked around a lot today, didn't see anything too amazing. Moved from the private room to the dorm, but it's cool, it's only 4 beds and I got a single bed. I dunno what's gonna go on tommorrow, I want to see some actual sights, instead of just walking around. Anyhow I'm just stalling so here's some pictures, ok? http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=DSCN0181.jpgRetarded "artsy" shot I thought looked cool, from a balcony on Brener off Allenby. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=ab56f7d1.jpgCool looking building on Brener. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=09f2c75e.jpgView of Allenby from the roof. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=ea799c45.jpgRetarded artsy shot #2. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=3c54399a.jpgCemetary for British and Australian soldiers during WWI in Be'er Sheva. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=6445af53.jpgClocktower in the citadel of Akko. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=d3c44e31.jpgCool statue in Akko. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=4e76acd4.jpgThe Ba'hai Shrine in Haifa, I'd go in but it was closed. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=0d8d3b74.jpgTesting out the night mode on the camera on the roof of the Jaffa hostel. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=dc36fe01.jpgBa'hai Garden. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=837ce4db.jpgBa'hai Garden. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=906e5ad1.jpgView of some crazy pavillion from the Ba'hai Gardens. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=5815006a.jpgTel Aviv at night from Jaffa. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=070c4639.jpgJaffa port at night. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=8af7cd19.jpgRooftop garden in Jaffa hostel. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=00d9d378.jpgAlternate view. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=27842460.jpgMediterannean sunset. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=ae150d76.jpgYakov and I chillin' by the beach in Tel Aviv. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=DSCN0303.jpgAmiad St. by the Jaffa hostel at night. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=DSCN0325.jpgMe chillin' by some Byzantine ruins. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=DSCN0320.jpgMe again chillin' by the Wall. Not the Western part, but a part of it. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=DSCN0319.jpgThe Tower of David. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=DSCN0318.jpgGeneral all-purpose shot of Jerusalem. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=DSCN0315.jpgJaffa Gate, entrance to the Old City. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=DSCN0330.jpgThe Western Wall. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=DSCN0313.jpgView from the window of the private room, out onto Zion Square. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=DSCN0321.jpgPlaque before entering the Old City. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=DSCN0323.jpgBulletholes over a gate to the Old City from the many wars Jerusalem has seen. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=DSCN0326.jpgBit of the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=FSCN0243.jpgThe common room/kitchen in the Jaffa hostel. http://photobucket.com/albums/c368/lmaobutts/?action=view¤t=DSCN0340.jpgKabbalah string that the little Orthodox boy tied to my wrist. I realize the photos are in terrible order and don't flow at all, but I just really wanted to get them up. | | 12:41 pm |
Yerushalim Part Shtayim
Jerusalem is COLD at night, it's winter, but geez. The guy on the sherut who said I might be underdressed for the city was right. I forgot to say, when we were at the Western Wall, this little Orthodox boy came up to us and tied a Kabbalah string around my wrist, and then asked for an American dollar. I told him I was Canadian and had no dollars, so he was willing to give me change for a 50 shekel bill. I said no and gave him a single shekel. The string is still around my wrist because Allison said that it has a lot of meaning to it and it's much more sentimental in this sense. I found out that the cafe I'm at DOES have computers that can upload pictures, so the first thing I do tommorrow (or later tonight) will be to bring my camera and USB cable to the cafe and upload whatever I want, I'll do a big update and include photos from both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, as well as the few I took around Haifa, Akko, and Be'er Sheva, all with captions. Zion Square (the area right outside the hostel) is really busy at all hours it seems, and I had a bit of trouble falling asleep, but it was still a lot more comfortable than the dorm in Jaffa. What I might do today is head back to Jaffa Gate into the Old City and walk through the Jewish Quarter into the Muslim Quarter, as they won't bother a lone male, other than to get me to spend money. It's also the biggest quarter of the four, but I don't plan to stay around past dark. We also found a kosher pizza place which can be seen from the front door of the hostel and isn't even a minute walk from it. I didn't know it was kosher when we went in, so I asked what they meant by "Regular" slice and if that is just pepperoni, the woman at the counter was like "Ummm...we're kosher here". Pretty funny of me to assume I could get meat and cheese together on anything in Jerusalem, maybe the Burger King or McDonalds here on Ben Yehuda (Jerusalem has a Ben Yehuda St. as well). I have yet to meet anyone properly at the hostel here, but we spoke to a girl from Argentina briefly, and I had the displeasure of walking into the kitchen as some crazy old guy was talking about Freemasonary, America being the new Babylon, and how there are apparently five thousand Turkish troops in his home state of Minnoesota. So I got the hell out of there. I just hope he isn't in my dorm... | | Monday, February 6th, 2006 | | 6:11 pm |
Yerushalim
I'm in Jerusalem right now, at a cafe on Jaffa St. about a 2 minute walk from my hostel here. I left with Allison at around 1pm today and arrived at around 2, where we got to the hostel and sorted out the room. I had to use my Visa AGAIN because the machines here don't seem to accept my debit card, bleh. Jerusalem is amazing though, we walked to the Western Wall and saw some Roman ruins, taking some awesome pictures. When you go in to the main plaza where the wall is, there's a seperate entrance for men and women as well as a seperate praying area for men and women, that you can see as soon as I get these pictures uploaded. The guy at the cafe in Tel Aviv couldn't do it so I had my own folder on my monitor, it was made so I'd have to choose the photos from his computer or burn them onto a CD, but that wouldn't help much. On the way to Jerusalem I talked to an Iranian guy in the sherut who lived in England for 15 years and speaks really good English, about Toronto and the crazy shit going on because of the Danish cartoons and whatnot. We got a discount at this hostel too because it's the sister hostel of Jaffa's, so the guy gave us a 10% discount right off the bat. Also, we met a girl from the Jaffa hostel who is staying at a different hostel from us, she was just standing on the balcony when we saw her, so Allison gave her her cellphone number and she's gonna call us, as we might go to the Mount of Olives in the morning and possibly check-in to her hostel instead, we'll see how things go. So far though Jerusalem is awesome, everything is really close to the hostel that I'd want and there are lots of cute girls (Orthodox, so they won't speak to me, but still!) around. I'll update on what happens as we go on. Current Music: Some dude next to me speaking French on a cellphone | | Friday, February 3rd, 2006 | | 10:20 pm |
Haven't updated in a bit...
Back at the cafe on Ben Yehuda again. Was originally gonna go out to some dance club on Allenby with Dan, Allison and this Israeli girl but I chose not to because I don't dance. This British guy back at the hostel, Steve, applied for the Sar-El program a while back and has been working on an army base the past week or so said he might try to hook me up with some gear from the base, like maybe a shirt or pants, the official ones they wear in the army currently, so if he can do that it'd be very cool. Forgot to bring my damn camera for about the 3rd time to get pictures uploaded but I promise before I leave for Jerusalem I'll get at least SOME of the 50 or so photos I've taken since get up on here. Some new people have arrived at the hostel since I've arrived, although the closest to Toronto is a guy from Buffalo, NY. Next entry I make will either be when I'm in Jerusalem or ready to depart for Jerusalem. Today is Shabbat and I forgot the buses don't run, so I had to take a cab to get here but it was cheap, only 25 shekels despite never asking the guy for a flat sum but I felt bad because all I had on me was a 100 shekel note at the time. Ah well. I'll update when something noteworthy comes up either way. Current Music: Everybody Wants to Know Your Name - No clue what band | | Friday, January 27th, 2006 | | 4:27 pm |
Oh well.
Plans changed somewhat, Joanne took off to Eilat and this other guy who was there, Freddy, went to go stay with a soldier he met on his Birthright trip over in Haifa. Allison's other friends took off to Eilat too I believe, so I'm hanging at the hostel with Allison. She's running low on cash so instead of going to Eilat, we might end up going to Jerusalem sometime next week for several days or so but for now we're gonna be staying in Tel Aviv. It's been shitty and raining the past couple nights so hopefully it'll be a bit more decent out tonight or the days to come. Also for some of the idiots shitting up the comments with stupid crap, please say who you are because I don't want to disable comments. | | Thursday, January 26th, 2006 | | 2:33 pm |
Decisions...
Woke up today around 11 or so and heard some new people in the reception so I went out to see what's up. Some people from a Birthright trip decided to stay in the country at a hostel after their 10 day trip ended. Also met another person from Canada, this guy from Edmonton who actually lives in Israel and teaches English to high school students in Gaza City, which is pretty cool. Also some girls from the US that were on the Birthright trip. Allison from Georgia, Joanne from California and I think the last girl is from Maryland but I can't recall her name at the moment. Allison wants to go to Eilat and maybe Egypt, to the Sinai or Cairo possibly and wanted to know if I felt like going. If we do though, we might wait until February as she is here until March and there is a chance that when returning to Israel from Egypt on the ground, they shorten your visa down to as short a duration as a month, as opposed to the three month stay you are allowed if flying into Israel. I believe Joanne is here until March as well, so she might go or if we can get in touch with the Canadian guy teaching in Gaza, he might come too, forget his name at the moment as well. Right now they're all sleeping actually, as they barely got any sleep the past few days and decided to have a nap, so I said I'd be hanging around the hostel on the computer or whatever and we'd decide what's going on when they wake up. We might go out tonight but nothing's definite. |
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