Lehitraot

My visit to Tel Aviv was short and sweet. Too short, really! It was great to just walk around and go to places I used to hang out at when I studied in the city as well as see new places, meet friends and enjoy the beach. I'll definitely go back soon!

As usual the security at the airport did not quite know what to make of me. "What did you do during your stay? Do you have any family here? Where did you learn Hebrew and did anyone in your family also learn Hebrew?". At least no questions about why I was traveling to Amsterdam on a British passport! Bags checked twice and both times swiped for, I assume, explosives residue. All in all not a bad airport experience.

Dizengoff

 

My last moments in Tel Aviv are spent on Dizengoff Street with Daisy at one of the many cafes along this shopping street. The weather is perfect, the Indian chai delicious and both Daisy and I wouldn't mind staying on instead of returning to Amsterdam.

 

Wedding party

 

A wedding needs a party and this one was no exception. Even in parties there are rituals and in this case the bride and groom being danced around on chairs held up by friends and family.

 

Besides the inevitable DJ an interesting band stepped on stage later in the evening. A DJ, drummer, guitarist and didgeridoo-player mixed Aborigine sounds with Western beats and got the crowd breaking into a sweat!

 Until late in the night the, mainly youngish, crowd kept dancing and drinking.

Mazal Tov!!

The reason for coming to Israel was to be present at the wedding of our friends Boaz and Eva. Dressed up after our afternoon at the hotel drinking bubbly, Daisy and I headed to Arca, the venue at the Tel Aviv port where the festivities were to be held. 

When all the guests had arrived and enjoyed some drinks and snacks the ceremony commenced. In Israel there are no civil weddings, so every marriage is per definition a religious one, but in this case not an orthodox one. A young, quite trendy looking rabbi performed the ceremony with the parents of bride and groom joining the happy couple under the chupa that was up by friends and family of the couple.

The ceremony itself is not that long and consists of prayers and words of wisdom of the rabbi. Unfortunately I could not understand what was said, but the outcome was a pair of very happy newlyweds,  two delighted families and many joyous friends! 

Kosher Dutch courage

Daisy and have come to the Sheraton Tel Aviv to keep Boaz company in his last hours of bachelorhood as he is banished from the hotel room as his wife to be Eva gets ready for the big event. The prospect of matrimony is of course a daunting one that needs some liquid encouragement in the form of kosher cava. 

Shoarma ba Pita

Behold the Middle Eastern Dish of Dishes: shoarma in a pita. Who invented the shoarma is not known, but for many Dutch it is a singular Israeli delicacy as Israelis introduced it in Holland (hence the phenomenon that many shoarma places in Holland have names such as 'Exodus' and 'Jerusalem' even if they are not run by Israelis). The Dutch shoarma does not come close to it's older Israeli brother though......There's nothing like an Israeli one with fresh pita bread stuffed with succulent shoarma, cold chips, a generous helping of humus and some spicy onions.  

Don't we look good in black??

This afternoon Hilla and Talia took me on a little tour of Neve Tzedek, one of Tel Aviv's oldest neighbourhoods with great architecture and wonderful streets and alleys. We ended up at a beach bar not far from Jaffa and after consuming just one alcoholic beverage the chilling wind and black shawls made us conform to the wishes of the orthodox Modesty Police.

My beach

Daisy arrived in the middle of the night so we both didn't feel like an early morning. After skipping breakfast and catching a few extra zzzzs, we headed towards the Tel Aviv shore. When I studied here I often hung out and in my hammock at Frishman Beach. It wasn't quite warm enough for a dip, but I hope to relive the past and enjoy reading a weekend Jerusalem Post in my hammock this Friday!

Shopping mall extravaganza

Anand and I had the pleasure of being invited to the opening of the new 'K in Kortrijk' shopping mall that has been developed by friends of ours. These last years we have heard lots about their projects and philosophy with regard to shopping mall development, but unfortunately never had the chance to visit one of their malls. 

The mall was absolutely beautiful and full of Dutch, Belgian and international shops. The opening itself was a big party (2300 guests) with the mayor and goverment officials present to congratulate the developers as well as the city with this wonderful addition for shopaholics from near and far. Besides good food and wine, the guests could enjoy a little opera as well as the Belgian winner of 'Dance like Michael'.

Undercover Princesses

I was about to go to bed when a last flip of the channels landed me on BBC3 and Undercover Princesses. One might say it is the ultimate dumbing down: three princesses, from India, Uganda and Germany, are put together in a house in Essex for three weeks, are given 'normal' jobs and go out looking for love whilst the general public is unaware of their noble births. 

'Simple concept, horrible show', you might say, but the slumming of royalty is surprisingly captivating and I could not stop watching it! The three girls struggle to manage without the servants and constant attention of their home countries, stumble with approaching men for the first time and undergo their new experiences with childlike wonderment. It's simply fantastic TV!! And what's more, it proves that there's an Essex Girl in everybody, royalty or not!!

Blast from the past

When I visited my Nana after Christmas I took a picture of an old photo of me she had in her room. Aren't I a cute kid???

My blog has moved

Google, in its wisdom, has decided that it is no longer worthwhile to host blogs via FTP. As a result my blog had to be moved to Blogspot and is now located at benjaminbremmer.blogspot.com.

In keeping with this new start I decided to give my blog a makeover and give it a facial, a hair cut & a little colouring and a brand new outfit. Enjoy!!