Forget Georgetown — The German Colony in the Place to Be

November 5, 2006 - 7:26 PM by Allison

The Washington Post has discovered the flourishing Jerusalem neighborhood and offers an extensive guide. Does that mean we can expect a barrage of tourists from DC? And why do I get the feeling that the reporter had to walk about two blocks from her house to do all of the reporting for this story?

Had Your Fill of the Ancient Charms of Jerusalem? Relax in the German Colony.

Jerusalem was originally less than a square mile encased in city walls. Nowadays, that’s called the Old City, and it attracts most of the tourists, drawn to some of the holiest sites in Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

But for a destination younger in all senses, head to the German Colony, less than a mile to the southwest and more than a millennium newer.

Established in the middle of the 19th century by devout German Christians, the area still features lanes lined with ivy and fruit trees, Arab-style mansions and limestone cottages. And now it also overflows with eateries, boutiques and nightspots — plus security guards and iron fences to prevent bomb attacks. (The majority of the sporadic violence in Jerusalem has taken place on buses and in the busy city center, which is a 25-minute stroll or a 10-minute cab ride away, but tourists should always be alert.)

The Colony, in short, is what passes for yuppie in this eternal city: Orthodox 30-something moms strolling with babies, university students flirting with each other, and diplomats and foreign correspondents of all ages scouting the scene

Esther at Jewlicious has a critique:

Where is praise for the free wireless access that’s available most everywhere in the Colony? And the bagels at Tal? Or the breakfast special at Coffeeshop that has enough food in it to serve an entire unit of the IDF, and what about bartender Benny who gives me free mini-versions of the restaurant’s specialty shakes? And what about that erotica shop hidden in plain sight next to Cafe Hillel? (Not that I’ve been there, but you catch my drift…)
Obviously, the writer has a maximum word count, but the article gets credit for including phone numbers and websites that can be checked for those whose curiosity about visiting Jerusalem is not sated by the brief rundown in the article.

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