To the Coast, Where Crusaders Once Roamed

Our last morning at the Yavne’el Bed and Breakfast was just as wonderful as the previous few days had been, but given the situation with Asher we were a little less focussed on it. David and I were tremendously grateful that Asher had a decent night and seemed, over all, to be in good spirits.
While we had initially had a very different agenda for the day, our entire plan was now centered around Asher and fulfilling our promise to have his bandages changed by a medical professional. We ended up very lucky once again in that David had an Israeli friend whom he had met at a program at Harvard who had connections at the Rambam Hospital in Haifa. This friend made arrangements for Asher to be seen whenever we arrived and so we headed for the coast.

Before we left the Galilee, however, we had one quick detour. Just ten minutes from where we were staying was a Moshav (settlement) named Sharona. There was no way we were leaving the region without a picture of out awesome Leah Sharona in front of that sign.

Getting to the Rambam Hospital was not difficult. As we travelled, I tried to find suggestions for something mom could do with the kids while we took Asher to the hospital, but my mom had some reservations about getting lost and so we all went straight to the hospital. When we got there, we discovered that the pediatric center of the hospital had its own little science museum, so mom and the kids went there. Actually, they didn’t stay there long. As we later learned, the small café in the Children’s Centre was not to the liking of my children when they got hungry, they somehow managed to discover that in the food court under the main hospital there was a Kosher McDonalds, which is where we found them when Asher was done.

I don’t want to go into details, but I will say that the reception and treatment we received from the staff at Rambam was excellent. Asher’s injuries were examined, and the doctor seemed very confident that consistent bandage changing and making sure to keep it clear of infection (but let Asher be the toddler that he is) was the best course of action.

With Asher well-wrapped, we headed off to another “tourist” adventure. (Yes there are things to do in Haifa that we skipped. We did point out the beautiful Bahai Gardens to the kids as we drove by them.) Directly north of Haifa is the city of Acre, which, like Jaffa, was a historically important port until the newer, more modern city, overshadowed it. Acre was particularly important to the Crusaders. Now not only had several people recommended Acre to us, but my mom and I had strong memories of it as well. And I told my boys that this was a crusader thing and maybe they’d sell swords we could get ... you know, anything to make them excited.

Parking in Acre was yet another adventure. Waze led us to the Crusader Tunnels and we parked by the old ramparts. When we got out, several kids had to use the bathroom, and the only restroom we could find was at a house where a lady charged 5 shekels for public toilet usage. Some of the kids were outraged!

The Tunnels were not the thing I remembered, but they led to the thing I remembered, which was the citadel. Still, the tunnels were very cool. They were used by the Crusaders to get to and from the port, even when under-siege. As we got to the end of the tunnels (farther from the port) the tunnels got shorter and shorter, so that David (wearing Asher on his back) had to bend down a bit.

The tunnels let out into the old city of Acre. Actually, the exit was directly opposite a shop selling ice cream and candy and drinks...and swords. We got Yaakov a cheap sword, as well as refreshments for everyone before following the very long trail through the city to the Citadel. Unfortunately, we got lost on the way there, and that would later effect us in cutting our time at the very cool fortress.

The Citadel (where upon paying the entry fee David also purchased one bathroom pass! for each of us) was not as I remembered it. I remember entering a nearly intact excavation of a Crusader fortress. I guess the tourism ministry also thought it was cool, as they seem to have developed it quite a bit.  Far more of it seems to have been opened up, but I could be remembering wrong. For certain, though, it was more set up for tourists. (Actually, I just looked it up online and I am not wrong. It seems there were structural issues and so there was a massive preservation and reconstruction project in the 1990s, not long after my last visit to this sight, which would have been my BBYO tour in 1990. http://www.akko.org.il/en/Old-Acre-About-Conservation-Fortress-Project)

Anyway, the Citadel, which was the Fortress of the Knights Hospitaller, has soaring, arched ceilings and is really quite incredible. There were tourist boards explaining the history of the city and the history of the Crusaders reign in the Holyland. In one of the main rooms, the ministry had set up an area to mimic a market, with spread out stalls where people sold artisan where that represented the types of artisanship of that era. (Not quite a recreation type situation). One of these stalls belonged to a group presenting a Virtual Reality Experience of Acre. Now I can’t tell you what it was because we only paid for the four big kids to do it, but they were wowed and astounded and said it was incredible.

Alas, not long after that we looked at the time and realized that we were due in Tel Aviv to meet up with David’s friend from Harvard. We still had to trek back through Acre and back through the tunnels to get van, so we hustled along. As interesting as the new displays were, I have to be honest and say it was not the same experience I remember, when you felt more like you were in ruins than reconstruction.

David’s friend, Asaf, lives in northern Tel Aviv. If there is one thing that Tel Aviv makes you think about, it’s the housing pressure in Israel. The area was mostly comprised of soaring apartment complexes, and this was one of the more desirable neighborhoods of the city. (If you can, tell, I am not a city person.) For being so crowded, I must compliment the city, and Israel in general, for including a wonderful number of playgrounds in the areas that we saw. Also, most of these playgrounds had built in shades to keep them out of the intense sun. We hung out at one such playground so the kids (ours and theirs) could run around and it was a lovely visit.

Not wanting to be caught in Tel Aviv for Mincha and Maariv (afternoon and evening services) and then having to get to our next Airbnb in Jerusalem, we left Tel Aviv with the hope of making it to Modiim, about 20 minutes outside of Jerusalem, where we were certain we could find a minyan for Mincha. Alas, what we did not account for was the massive amount of traffic! We had to pull over for David and Avi to do Mincha on time and then we “crawled” toward Jerusalem.
It was dark as we pulled into the city, which was disappointing for me because I had hoped for the kids to have that dynamic first impression of this holy city. Even though it night, both David and I could immediately see that this was not the same city we had last set foot in (separately) 16 or so years ago. There was a really cool bridge with colors dancing upon its wires.

Our new Airbnb location was located in the heart of the city, in a neighorhood known as Rechavia. To get there, we crawled along Agrippas Street, passed the Machane Yehuda Shuk (outdoor-ish market), and we were all enthralled by the throngs of people out. There was definitely a unique atmosphere of a city preparing for Shabbat.

Narkiss 6, the apartment we rented, was up a small street off a small street and we were, in all honesty, lucky to actually find it as it had no number on it. I volunteered to get out of the car and “check it out,” with many rallying cheers (and sneers) about the Ophir Hotel coming from behind me. I let myself in and was delighted to discover that we had hit gold once again. The apartment was amazing: high ceilings, enough beds, fully stocked. The family was greatly pleased. We brought out stuff in, discovered a location for Maariv and crashed not long thereafter.