Joe’s May 2008 Trek Thru Israel, Eastern Europe & The Balkans En Route to Auschwitz Along the Same Rail Transport Lines my Ancestors Rode to the Death Camps

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Sunday Morning-Arrived in Tel Aviv airport at 2:30am.  Went through customs and hopped in a cab.  Nice Russian guy driving.  When we approached the City now it is 3:15am as we go through a lit intersection arriving in the City.  Lots of Prostitutes on the sidwalks.  So he says in his broken English:  You want to take any of the girls to the hotel, I can negotiate good price.  “Welcome to Israel!”  Now I have Russian pimps driving my cab.  No, just take me to the hotel I have been traveling for the last 36 hours.  The hotel lobby is empty and the night clerk does not even help me with my bags off the cab and up the steps.  His name is Igor of course, also from Russia.  So I give him my confirmed reservation number.  Same broken English.  “You have a reservation, but we do not have a room.  But you are lucky, some people just left we will clean it.  You stay in the lobby here and I will call you”.  Well what does that mean…its 3:30am and no room.  So I sit in the lobby and nurse a beer for the next hour until I get in the room at 4:30am.  The boys call me at 4:30am in response to my e mail sent from the lobby and we make plans for them to come to the hotel at 9AM.  Now I know if they are out on the town at 4am that Israel has not changed them enough for me to expect them to show at 9AM.  They call from the lobby at noon and wake me up.  Up to the room and open their care package duffel bag with all the things they miss from the USA.  Sunscreen that is not overpriced as in Israel, computer hard drives, skype headsets, summer clothes, sex wax and lots of food snacks.  Turns out that the size large clothes do not fit Jacob because he has thinned out not having his fast food of LA; particularly when they were on the Kibbutz for three weeks upon arrival in the intensive language immersion course. 

We went across the street to the beach which was packed as today is a National Holiday being Israeli Independence Day.  The beaches are packed with spectators.  Everyone was waiting for the start of the Air Show which was not a disappointment.  The show of the Israeli Air Force and Navy was impressive.  See the photos will upload to this blog.  After the 1pm show, we lounged at the beach drinking beer and swimming with Josh and Jacob’s new cadre of friends from around the world.  Great kids.  Josh and Jacob each have their girlfriends they met in Israel….. Jacob’s from Detroit and Josh from Deerfield, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago (next to Fake Forest Migs-She had the same impression of the closed society in Fake Forrest with their pinkster mentalities).  After the beach, we dragged the bounty of care packages to the boy’s place five minutes form the beach which they each have their own studio apartments completely wired for internet and ipod broadcasting.  They are in their own element and living a great life here.  Their videos of their escapades in Israel that they were willing to share with me were great.  A cruise with their whole group to Turkey, videos of their late nights in Tel Aviv, etc.  They are living a fantastic life here.  Its a lot like being in New York City, but with amazing beaches in the City.  Weather is in the low 80’s and I am there one month before it heads to the very heavy humidity and high temperatures typical of the Middle East.

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