We left Tel Aviv on a Sunday and took the train north to Haifa, a city also located on the Mediterranean Sea.
It is a relatively quick one hour ride, every now and then giving us glimpses of the beaches along the route. We still cannot get over how close everything is so that travel time is practically nil.
Arriving early in the day, we had time to do a little exploring after getting settled. So with our trusty map in hand, we headed in the direction of Wadi Nisnas, one of the oldes
t neighborhoods in the city. The area has supposedly retained a Middle Eastern flair with narrow lanes and a bustling street market. We arrived in the area but continued to ask where the market was as the streets were deserted. As it turns out, this particular day was Memorial Day, a National Holiday in Israel to commemorate the Veterans of War. So the market was ‘cerrado’ - closed.
However, with no one around, it gave us an opportunity to view the ‘public art’, much of it obscurely placed on walls in the area. And no, I’m not talking about graffiti. This is a city project for individuals to display their talent.
There are tiles and figurines and modern wrought iron displays, some of it I’d characterize as art but other pieces? – I guess you need to be an art aficionado to even begin to appreciate it (and that’s being polite).
From here we walked over to Hadar, a busy area with shops and restaurants.
The main thoroughfare certainly had the people out and about but we had our sights set for Nordau Street, a pedestrianized street with a heavy Russian influence. Little did I know that I should have brushed up on my Russian before coming to Israel. Unfortunately, all businesses along that street were ‘cerrado’ as well, due to the Holiday. 
That being said, there was still Russian in the air everywhere; the signs, the language being spoken and all the ‘red heads’. It seems the hair fashion for these Israeli women of Russian origin is to dye their hair some fake shade of red, from flaming and fiery to burnt and everything in between, we saw the whole spectrum.
Then it was off to the so called German Colony, really a single street that has been refurbished with shops and restaurants. The Germans first visited this area in 1898 until the end of World War II when the British took over, but the name still stands today. The street is backed by the Baha’I Gardens
which is one of the main draws of Haifa (but more on that later). It was now about 5:20pm and feeling hungry, we decided to find a place to eat. We asked at one restaurant and they told us that they were closing up soon as it was the National Holiday. In fact, everything would be closed by 6pm.. Next thing we know, we are scrambling to find a place that will serve us before closing. We were lucky and did find a restaurant in time. However, we noticed many people being turned away from the establishments.
Back at the hotel, we figured we were in for a quiet evening. At 8pm, a siren sounded in Haifa for a moment of silence in commemoration.
But the evening was hardly quiet for us. Gilbert met another couple from Slovakia. There are now 5 of us in the hotel courtyard (2 couples and the hotel owner’s son who works there) and the Slovakians bring out their homemade Slivovitz. This is a plum brandy that is downed in one gulp – goes down easy with a slight burn – and a tradition with Slavic cultures. After 3 rounds, we had learned how to home brew the concoction and had also received a ‘Reader’s Digest’ history lesson of what life was like under Communist rule. Very fascinating and interesting stories. I only wish we had time to learn more.
Day 2 in Haifa and our plan is to visit the Baha’I Gardens. Of course, our mornings always start with breakfast, which in Israel, is often a feast fit for a King (and Queen!).
An omelet will come with a variety of small salads, a large salad of cucumbers and tomatoes and fresh hot breads. When you’re on vacation time (and not responsible for doing dishes) it’s the perfect way to start the day. This particular morning we had forgotten to order only one breakfast instead of two (as it is plenty of food) so ended up with two tomato/cucumber salads. I was about ready to send the 2nd one back when the waitress admonished me to eat my salad – it’s good for me!
It is a relatively quick one hour ride, every now and then giving us glimpses of the beaches along the route. We still cannot get over how close everything is so that travel time is practically nil.Arriving early in the day, we had time to do a little exploring after getting settled. So with our trusty map in hand, we headed in the direction of Wadi Nisnas, one of the oldes
t neighborhoods in the city. The area has supposedly retained a Middle Eastern flair with narrow lanes and a bustling street market. We arrived in the area but continued to ask where the market was as the streets were deserted. As it turns out, this particular day was Memorial Day, a National Holiday in Israel to commemorate the Veterans of War. So the market was ‘cerrado’ - closed.However, with no one around, it gave us an opportunity to view the ‘public art’, much of it obscurely placed on walls in the area. And no, I’m not talking about graffiti. This is a city project for individuals to display their talent.
There are tiles and figurines and modern wrought iron displays, some of it I’d characterize as art but other pieces? – I guess you need to be an art aficionado to even begin to appreciate it (and that’s being polite).From here we walked over to Hadar, a busy area with shops and restaurants.
The main thoroughfare certainly had the people out and about but we had our sights set for Nordau Street, a pedestrianized street with a heavy Russian influence. Little did I know that I should have brushed up on my Russian before coming to Israel. Unfortunately, all businesses along that street were ‘cerrado’ as well, due to the Holiday. 
That being said, there was still Russian in the air everywhere; the signs, the language being spoken and all the ‘red heads’. It seems the hair fashion for these Israeli women of Russian origin is to dye their hair some fake shade of red, from flaming and fiery to burnt and everything in between, we saw the whole spectrum.Then it was off to the so called German Colony, really a single street that has been refurbished with shops and restaurants. The Germans first visited this area in 1898 until the end of World War II when the British took over, but the name still stands today. The street is backed by the Baha’I Gardens
which is one of the main draws of Haifa (but more on that later). It was now about 5:20pm and feeling hungry, we decided to find a place to eat. We asked at one restaurant and they told us that they were closing up soon as it was the National Holiday. In fact, everything would be closed by 6pm.. Next thing we know, we are scrambling to find a place that will serve us before closing. We were lucky and did find a restaurant in time. However, we noticed many people being turned away from the establishments.Back at the hotel, we figured we were in for a quiet evening. At 8pm, a siren sounded in Haifa for a moment of silence in commemoration.
But the evening was hardly quiet for us. Gilbert met another couple from Slovakia. There are now 5 of us in the hotel courtyard (2 couples and the hotel owner’s son who works there) and the Slovakians bring out their homemade Slivovitz. This is a plum brandy that is downed in one gulp – goes down easy with a slight burn – and a tradition with Slavic cultures. After 3 rounds, we had learned how to home brew the concoction and had also received a ‘Reader’s Digest’ history lesson of what life was like under Communist rule. Very fascinating and interesting stories. I only wish we had time to learn more.
Day 2 in Haifa and our plan is to visit the Baha’I Gardens. Of course, our mornings always start with breakfast, which in Israel, is often a feast fit for a King (and Queen!).
An omelet will come with a variety of small salads, a large salad of cucumbers and tomatoes and fresh hot breads. When you’re on vacation time (and not responsible for doing dishes) it’s the perfect way to start the day. This particular morning we had forgotten to order only one breakfast instead of two (as it is plenty of food) so ended up with two tomato/cucumber salads. I was about ready to send the 2nd one back when the waitress admonished me to eat my salad – it’s good for me!Finally, we were off to the Baha’I Gardens.
The gardens are one of two holy places for members of the Baha’I faith. With 19 terraces, 1400 steps and every tree and blade of grass seemingly cut to perfection, not to mention the beautiful flowers, it is truly a sight to behold. The golden domed Shrine of the Bab, contains the remains of a spiritual leader, Baha’ullah, who died in 1850. 
It is open to the public each day until 12 noon. We visited the Shrine and gardens nearby, then went to the top for the English tour which begins at 12 noon. The tour (also offered in Hebrew and Russian at different times) takes you from the top down to the Shrine and is really the only opportunity the general public has to descend the stairs. For the tourists, it is 650 stairs in total.
Some interesting facts. We learned that Baha’I members will climb up the entire 1400 stairs as part of their pilgrimage, which should be completed once in their life time.
There are 100 gardeners working fulltime to maintain these gardens in their impeccable beauty, 50 being volunteers from the Baha’I congregation. And finally, the gardens were designed by a Canadian architect. As you can imagine, it was a digital cameras ‘nightmare’ as we took way too many pictures and have the unpleasant chore of sifting through them.The task of getting to the top of the gardens can seem daunting but there is a subway
, the only one in Israel, that takes you to the top of Mt. Carmel for excellent views of Haifa and the gardens. This underground funicular railway is a fun little ‘2-car jobby’ running on one cable. It originally opened in 1956 and in 1992 underwent extensive renovations. It still seems like 1956 for all intensive purposes.
Once our day of garden sightseeing was completed, we walked the entire length of Mt Carmel from the gardens westward, eventually taking a cable car back down to sea level. Then a long walk back to the vicinity of the hotel for dinner. Our legs being spent, we did enjoy a quiet evening – Gilbert chatting with the hotel owner about life in Israel. Unfortunately we forgot it was Independence Day and missed the fireworks later that evening.
Day 3 and we took a day trip to the town of Akko, just north of Haifa.
There is an old city surrounded by walls which read like it might be interesting. However, it paled in comparison to other walled cities we have seen. That being said, I enjoyed seeing a few foods 
for sale in the Souq (market), such as nuts, sweets and the shark (quite fresh as it was still dripping a few drops of blood on the floor). 
We also watched kids jumping into the sea from one part of the wall. Apparently this is a favourite past time for many youth as we later learned.
We took the train back to Haifa and finished our time in the city enjoying the beach and Mediterranean Sea. The weather has continued to be ideal so we are just soaking up the sunshine. We’ll now be heading inland tomorrow for a quick stint in Tiberias.
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