Destination: paradise

In Israel the absolute must-see is Jaffa, located on the Mediterranean coastline. This city is nowadays a part of Tel-Aviv and is believed to be the oldest harbor in the world, which has been in use since the Bronze Age.

To get there I started my trip in the heart of Tel-Aviv, strolling around to see some areas of the city. Wandering, I saw the diversity of Tel-Aviv — the mixture of different buildings: charming and run-down, the mixture of different people: orthodox or religious Jewish, Arabs, Armenians and a lot of tourists from many countries. During the day the city didn’t seem so bustling, even though I could feel the atmosphere of it. However, my goal was to reach the beach.

Tel Aviv seen from Jaffa

Surfing in Munich

A few days ago I went to a cafeteria, where travelers can give speeches about their experiences in countries all over the world. That time there was a speech about Kurdistan. Three students went to see the eastern part of Turkey and northern of Iraq. Staying there they were moving mostly by hitch hiking and sleeping in private places. To organize an accommodation they had used CouchSurfing and it reminded me of my own story.

It took place last year. My friend and I were looking for a short trip to any country, where was sunny weather that time, just to relax by swimming in the ocean, getting sunbathe, and reading books. After two months (such perfect decision makers!) my friend found a trip organized by German travel agency to Cape Verde. It sounded so exotic for us. I had never thought about going there, but we found it as an excellent opportunity to visit that place for a very low cost. But before there were two problems to solve. Firstly, we had to get to Munich. Secondly, we had only two days for it.

Ochota

Just before 69th anniversary of Warsaw Uprising I went for a thematic walk with a guide to see some places connected with this war operation. The second walk in the same area was a few days later, but instead of Warsaw Uprising’s facts I learnt more about history of this part of Warsaw, which is called Ochota.

Ochota is one of Warsaw districts, located in the central part of the city. Its name means “willingness” in English. It comes from the name of the old inn.

Grójecka Street

Żoliborz already?

Before the unbelievable heat, near 40°C, got started I went for three thematic walks: in Żoliborz and Ochota, which are the districts of Warsaw. Żoliborz is the smallest district, and is located directly to the north of the city center, that’s why the title of the walk was “Is it still the New Town or Żoliborz already?”.

Warsaw is always under construction. Always!

In Góra Kalwaria

While I was writing about Sri Lanka a few interesting things happened: a couple of thematic walks in Warsaw, one day trip to my favorite village somewhere in the middle of Poland, and one short trip to a small town near Warsaw, where I could visit the Jewish cemetery again closed for everyone. So let me show you some photos from the last mentioned trip first.

With a group of people interested in Jewish culture I went to Góra Kalwaria, a small town located ca. 30 km southeast of Warsaw. The town was called Góra at the beginning, which means “mountain” in English. Then the name was changes into New Jerusalem, because the urban design was based on medieval maps of Jerusalem, but Jewish weren’t allowed to settle there that time. At the beginning of 19th century the ban on Jewish settlement was lifted, and Jews shortly became the predominant group in the town.