Touring a Bomb Shelter, Israel

When we arrived at the Tel Aviv Airport on Friday, one of the first things we noticed were signs indicating the nearest bomb shelter.  Given the current situation in Gaza right now it seems like a good precaution.  Other than the the airport shelter signs I couldn't tell that anything was going on in the city.  Things in Israel definitely looked worse on the news.

Jaffa Free Walking Tour

After lunch in the city and a stroll by the beach, it was time for our free walking tour of Jaffa.  Again, everything was fine.  No worries.


About an hour into our tour, around 6 pm, we heard the air raid sirens go off.  Our guide, Yariv, calmly said that we had about 70 seconds to seek shelter.

Our bomb shelter

He guided us to the nearest shelter where we safely waited underground.

We heard a few explosions that indicated that two rockets were taken out by the Iron Dome.  We then just had to wait for the debris to fall.  After a few minutes we resumed the tour.  Thanks Yariv!

 
Now how many people can say that their holiday included a trip to a bomb shelter?  It was amazing to me that it all happened so quickly.  And as soon as it was over, life went right back to normal.  You would never have known that something had happened.      

Around 9:30 PM we were walking back to our flat and we heard the air raid sirens go off again.  It was now dark and we took shelter in a building archway.  It was dark and I actually saw three Gaza rockets get intercepted by Israeli missiles.  It was all over after a few minutes and we made it home safely.  I ♥ the Iron Dome!!

This was our only excitement in Israel.  No further incidents in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.

Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel

Jaffa is one of the world's oldest ports and dates back about 4,000 years to the Canaanites.  It's thought that this is the port that Jonah left from in the story of the whale.

Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 on the outskirts of Jaffa but Tel Aviv's growing population eventually outpaced the port city.  In 1950, Tel Aviv and Jaffa merged into a single municipality and Jaffa became Tel Aviv-Yafo, תל אביב-יפו.  Jaffa is home about 60,000 people.

The clock tower was built in 1906.  It was built to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Sultan Abdul Hamid II's reign over the Ottoman Empire.

Built in 1897, the facade and columns are all that remain of the Saraya which was the center of the Ottoman government. 


The Mahmoudiya Mosque is the largest mosque in Jaffa.  Initial construction began in 1730 but most of the complex was completed in 1812.

 

The Statue of Faith sits on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean.  The sculpture depicts several biblical scenes including the Binding of Isaac, the Conquest of Jericho and Jacob's Ladder. 

St. Peter's Church is a Franciscan Church.  The Baroque style church was built, in 1888, on top of an old Crusaders' citadel.


Mar Michal Church is a Greek Orthodox monastery complex.  It was first built in the second half of the 17th century.  Today, services are held on Saturdays and Sundays in Russian and Romanian.



The Floating Orange Tree was done in 1993 by sculptor Ran Morin.  The orange tree in an earthenware pot hangs from chains in an alley.  The work is a representation of the Jewish people who were uprooted by the Romans in 135 AD.

The House of Simon the Tanner is an important site for Christians.  This is where Peter the Apostle had a dream which he interpreted as divine permission to teach Christianity to Jews and Gentiles alike.  So this is where Judaism and Christianity started to split.



The Sea Mosque is built from sandstone blocks.  The exact date of construction is unknown but it dates back to at least the early 17th century.  Muslim sailors and fishermen would pray here before going out to sea.

Apparently, 157 Americans sailed from Maine, in 1866, with wooden houses to establish an American colony in Jaffa.  Not sure if it still exists but there's a monument for it.

The Jaffa Railway Station was built in 1892 as the terminus between Jaffa and Jerusalem.  This was the first railway in the Middle East.  The station was closed in 1948.  Today, it is part of an entertainment and leisure venue. 

Iron Dome

Tomorrow I'm off to Tel Aviv for a long birthday weekend.  I'm sure that my mom is not thrilled about me going there right now.  The thing is...there is almost always something going on in Israel.  If I waited for a perfect time then I would probably never get the opportunity to visit.  However, in my defense, I booked this trip before this most recent round of fighting started up.

Back in June, three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and murdered, in the West Bank.  Israel blames Hamas.  A couple of weeks ago, seven Hamas militants were killed in a tunnel explosion.  Both sides blame the other.  One thing that can't be denied is that missiles have been fired on Israel from the Gaza Strip.  In June, 66 rockets were fired in 30 attacks on Israel.  In the first week of July, about 250 missiles have been shot at Israel.  It's amazing to me that with all of this going on, less than a dozen Israelis have been injured.  Thanks to the Iron Dome.

© BBC

The Iron Dome is Israel's mobile air defense system that is designed to intercept and destroy rockets and artillery shells from 4 km to 70 km (2.5 to 43 miles) away.  The Iron Dome systems tracks rockets launched at Israel.  When the system determines the rocket it is headed for a civilian area then it launches two intercepting missiles to neutralize the threat.  The system has proven to be very effective.  And expensive.  Each Iron Dome missile costs $50,000 and with two missiles fired for every Hamas rocket that's $100,000 a pop.  Expensive but, of course, far better than the alternative.

© BBC

Yes, there is always a risk.  But Tel Aviv is far enough north that I hope there won't be too much missile activity.  Hamas rockets can't be weighted down with too much explosives in order for them to reach Tel Aviv.  Knock on wood.   

Torrents

Prior to moving to Czechland I had never heard of a torrent.  However, I've never met an expat anywhere, not only in Czechland, that hasn't benefited from torrents. 

I am unable to watch American TV shows here.  Sure, some are shown on Czech or Austrian TV.  Sometimes the programs are dubbed in to the local language and sometimes they are in the original English with subtitles.  Quite often though, the shows are one to three seasons behind the USA.  And not every American show is broadcast here.  And it's not just me.  I have mates that miss out on UK shows, French shows, Italian shows, Brazilian shows, etc.  So what's a torrent?  Here's a simple video I found out on YouTube that explains how torrents work.

     © Cornel

Isohunt shut down

A torrent is a very fast way to share files (TV shows, movies, ebooks, software, whatever).  Torrenting itself is not illegal.  Where people get in to trouble is downloading copyrighted or illegally copied material.  I heard that one of the big torrent sites, Isohunt, was permanently shut down last year for violating copyright law.

Update:  On December 9, 2014, police in Sweden raided and closed The Pirate Bay, another popular torrent site.  The police seized computers, servers and other equipment.

Update:  Don't torrent in Germany.

An English Sign

My building is definitely a Czech building and it is full of Czechs.  Other than a Croatian girl who lived in the building for a year, I'm the only foreigner here.  At least I was the only foreigner.  Now a Portuguese couple have moved in.  They are Erasmus* students so they will only be here for six months to a year.

*Erasmus is an EU-wide foreign exchange programme.

I guess that since there are now more foreigners the door sign has been translated in to English.  In typical EngRish, I love how instead of "occupants", the word "occupiers" was used.

The Mexican Wave

Next week are the finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.  Football, known as soccer in the USA, is a big deal in Europe.  I was proud that the USA almost made it to the quarter finals.  Neither the Czechs nor the Slovaks qualified to the tournament.  They must be focused on getting ready for the upcoming hockey season.

One thing that drives me batty is when people refer to "the wave" as "the Mexican wave".  Here's the deal.  The wave is when, in the stands at a sporting event, briefly stand, yell and raise their arms before quickly returning to their seats.  

Outside of the USA and Canada, people call it the "Mexican wave" because it was first brought to world-wide attention when it was broadcast during the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.  Since this is when most people saw it for the first time, the name stuck.  However, the wave had been around for many years before that.  It was even used during the opening ceremony of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. 

And if you don't believe me then watch the movie "Teen Wolf".  Towards the end of the movie, you see kids at a basketball game doing the wave.  The film was released in 1985 (before the 1986 World Cup) which means that the scene was probably shot in 1984.  However, the wave had been around for years before that.  So to my Eurocrew, quit calling it the "Mexican wave"; it's just "the wave". 

Rybička

There is a Czech saying that Každý správný muž má u sebe nůž which basically means that "Every real man carries a knife."

I'm told that all Czech boys (and Slovak boys too) at some point receive a small pocket knife with a fish-shaped handle.  It was very popular during communism but the tradition continues today.   

Rybička means "little fish" and it has a hole at the end so that it can be carried on a key chain or worn around one's neck.  The knife comes in handy for mushrooming.

Thanks to Martin and Katka, now I too have my very own rybička.  Between this and my sock and sandals I feel like I'm starting to fit in.

5 Year Fiesta

July 1st marked my fifth anniversary of arriving on my Czechland adventure here in Brno.  Plus, July 4th was American Independence Day and July 5th was St. Cyril and St. Methodius Day, today is Jan Hus Day and my birthday is in a few weeks so there is plenty to celebrate this month.  Therefore a nice, respectable shindig was in order. 


I rented a venue out by the Brno Dam for some BBQ and good times.  Everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves.

Apparently I've been in Czechland long enough that I should be able to blend in more with the locals. 

Sporting socks & sandals

In order to make that happen some friends gave me socks and sandals.  The funny thing is that later, Martin and Katka also gave me socks and sandals.  So two sets of socks and sandals.  Maybe they will bring me luck when I take my state Czech language exam.

As a complete surprise, later on in the evening the pub started pumping our bubbles for a foam party.  Lots of fun!!  Thanks everyone for a great time.

Brno's Twin Cities

The concept of twin towns is designed to foster friendship between different cultures and to develop international business links.

In British English it is known as "twin towns" while in the USA we refer to them as sister cities.  In Czech it is known as partnerské město (partner city).

Brno is currently twinned with fourteen cities.  These include Bratislava, Slovakia; Dallas (Texas), USA; Kaunas, Lithuania; Rennes, France; Kharkiv, Ukraine; Leeds, UK; Leipzig and Stuttgart in Germany; Poznań, Poland; St. Pölten and Vienna in Austria; Utrecht, Netherlands; and Moscow and Voronezh in Russia.

Atlanta has 21 sister cities but none in Czechland.  Perhaps someone should look in to this.

Update:  September 2018 - Lviv, Ukraine is to become the newest twin city.
Update:  Brno has sister city agreements now with Daejeon, South Korea and Debrecen, Hungary.  This brings the number of twin cities up to 17.

Update:  March 2023 - Taoyuan, Taiwan, is the newest twin city.  

5th Anniversary

It's been 5 years!!  Five years ago I set foot in Czechland for the first time ever.  I so can't believe that it's been five years. 

I have learned so much during my time here.  Now that I've crossed the five year point I can officially apply for permanent residency so that I won't have deal with any more work and residency permits.  That is assuming I can pass my mandatory Czech language exam. 

Thanks to all of the people who have made this such an awesome adventure.  And special thanks to my family and Steven & Michal for all of the care packages.  See everyone at the party on Saturday.