Ten Things You Notice When You Leave Jerusalem for Vienna

  • The recycling: In Vienna, stores do not give out plastic bags and drinking mugs at Christmas markets require deposits, so there is almost no garbage and few waste bins. 
  • The lack of street noise: In Jerusalem, car honking is ubiquitous. In Vienna, unnecessary honking is a ticketable offense, making for a quiet city of 2.6 million people.
  • The cost: Is Vienna pricey? Yes. But are prices for everything listed and consistent? YES. 
  • The fashion: Parts of Jerusalem dress as they did in 1795. Vienna loves Mozart and Beethoven, but skips the powdered wigs.
  • The holidays: According to Austrians, on New Year's Day and Sunday, "everything is closed". "Everything"?  I beg to differ. 
  • The schnitzel: in Jerusalem, schnitzel is chicken, full stop. In Vienna a Wiener Schnitzel is veal or pork. 
  • The pork: Did I mention they serve pork in schnitzel? Also, bratwurst. Also bacon. Etc.
  • The lack of fresh bread: Sure there are plenty of types of bread in Vienna, but none as delicious as a Jerusalem pita or sharaq. 
  • The lack of fresh fruit: Produce in Vienna comes from far away. And the hotel juices are very much concentrated. So uncivilized. 
  • The airport security: Somehow, the Viennese agents were far more thorough on our departure than their legendary Israeli counterparts. Auf wiedersehen, habibi!
Location: Vienna, Austria

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Woe To Me After Eating: Shopping With Google Translate

Image
A daily challenge in Jerusalem is grocery shopping. Most products are made in Israel with Hebrew packaging. Imported products typically have a sticker listing the ingredients in Hebrew, usually slapped over the English list. This leads occasionally to bad purchases: Maleaha bought a beetroot dip based on its beet-oriented packaging. It also included a picture of sliced horseradish (quick: what does sliced horseradish look like?). Her sandwich was inedible. To prepare, Mike learned some basic Hebrew, including the alphabet, so he can sound out a lot of products. For example: ש ו ק ו ל ד is shukulad , so chocolate. Maleaha, on the other hand, relies on Google Translate. She takes a picture of a label and it instantly translates the text. It is amazing that a phone app can bridge linguistic divides. However, the algorithm still needs work. For example, what appears to be an iced coffee translates to High Caffeine Rainbow Grease Mouthfeel. We have also checked ou...
Read more

Ten Things About Camels in the Negev

Image
On our way to the Red Sea, we decided to stop for a night in the desert at the Negev Camel Ranch near Dimona. Dromedary camels are found throughout the region and are still a major part of Bedouin culture, including in Israel's Negev Desert. The Israeli-owned, Bedouin-run ranch offers rides and Bedouin-style stays in huts, with dinner, breakfast and generous servings of sweet tea. The camels are well-treated by regional standards, with plenty of fresh hay, modern equipment and a light walking schedule. Lena also made friends with an adolescent she named Charlie, who followed her and enjoyed neck scratches. Camels move slowly, but do play, especially juveniles, who frolic, wrestle (with their necks) and chase each other in circles. W e took a morning ride near the Nabatean ruins of Mamshit (real place), where our guide told us many, many camel facts. All our riding camels were female, as the males are more aggressive, particularly during mating season. Dromedari...
Read more

Jordanian Getaway

Image
After several weeks in Jerusalem, we took the advice of seasoned residents and booked a getaway to Jordan. Our bus tour took us to the ancient Roman ruins of Jerash, a massive archaeological site. The town was destroyed by earthquakes in the 8 th and 9 th centuries and discovered only in the 1800s. Jerash is highly walkable and Lena enjoyed scaling the various ruins, especially the amphitheatre.   Next was a day in Petra, the Nabatean “Rose City” carved into sandstone valleys made famous by Indiana Jones . We walked over eight km past ancient tombs, caves, temples and a church, then hired mules for the trip back. We camped nearby Bedouin-style at a hotel with passing camels, starry skies, tea and – most importantly – puppies.   Our last stop was Wadi Rum, site of King Abdullah I and T.E. Lawrence 's 1916 Arabian revolt (and more films). We rode in pickup trucks around the Mars-like landscape, climbed a sand dune and Lena joined a camel caravan. Th...
Read more