Tel Aviv to open new beach – In Vienna
At first glance in what can be interpreted as an odd PR move, the Israeli Embassy in Vienna will open a “beach” in the center of the city along the banks of the Danube River. Yes, a beach. In Vienna. Initially the idea sounds kind of stupid but it goes further than just setting up a gimmick-y beach in the center of a large European city. The unique yet temporary structure will have a huge screen (streaming video of the ocean perhaps?) on one side and on the other side beach chairs which will help integrate the feeling of “chilling out” at the beach. But wait, there’s more! The structure will host film nights and other cultural activities such as concerts. There will also be “quiet” nights where yoga workshops will be held as recordings of the surf breaking in the backgrounds plays.
Initiatives such as this are becoming more and more popular in promoting Israel abroad. Israeli is certainly becoming more and more proactive in promoting Israel as a cultural capital rather than being in a consistent position of constant defense of criticism. A good play for sure, but it will be interesting to see how these initiatives play out in the increasingly anti-Israel environs in Europe.
Foto Friday – Holyland Hashers run Tel Aviv
Filed under: Foto Friday, General, Pop Culture, Sports, Travel
My running club, the Holyland Hash House Harriers, held a traditional Red Dress Run in Tel Aviv this weekend in celebration of our 777th run. The Hash, for the uninitiated (and yes, there is an initiation!), is an international running and beer-drinking dis-organization that specializes in fun runs. And here’s your proof:
Here we are, doing a bit of cult-to-cult dancing with some Hare Krishnas.
Ynet did a really nice video of the run, noting that, as Israelis tend to take their sports very seriously, they seemed mighty perplexed by the stampede of “Ameri-kookim” tearing down Rothschild Boulevard.
But that was nothing compared to the week before, when the Holyland Hash House Harriers met up with 40 Royal Navy sailors and flummoxed Haifa.
We are now getting set for the Tel Aviv Marathon, 10k and 5k runs on April 24th. (Despite all outward appearances, the group includes some very serious athletes). So be on the lookout! Come run with us! Or at least have a camera ready.
Through rose-tinted glasses
Even though we live in the land-locked Jerusalem area, my family’s hearts are loyal to the sea. So whenever we get the chance, we beeline an hour toward the coast to one of our favorite beaches, Hof Ha-Tzuk Hatsfoni (Northern Tzuk Beach), right near the Herzliya Country Club, and just south of the Herzliya marina.
My friend Eliot first told me about this unassuming, uncommercialized beach, and we’ve been hooked ever since. Clean, great facilities, inexpensive entrance fee, and often featuring amazing waves, Hof Zuk presents the Mediterranean at its finest.
On Friday, when we arrived, I ran directly into the surf with my seven-year-old sun Matan. Enticed by the breaking waves, I immediately decided to try my hand at some body surfing, a specialty I picked up from my days at Old Orchard Beach in Maine.
Either I forgot that I was still wearing my prescription sunglasses, or more likely, I thought that there was nothing to worry about and they would stay put on my face, and I dove into the first crashing wave I could find. And of course, when I got up from the decent ride it took me on, my glasses were no longer on my face.
Panicked, I search around where I was standing, but without my glasses, I really couldn’t see anything inside the water. I called out to Matan, who called to my wife and my other kids. And after explaining what happened to the group of bather around me, they eagerly offered to to help. But there were no black sunglasses floating around, or on the bottom of the knee-deep water where I thought they had fallen.
I walked straight toward shore, hoping that the tide had pushed them in, but they were nowhere to be found, nor had anyone turned them in to the lifeguard.
I walked back out into the water, but my orientation was getting skewed, and I wasn’t sure exactly where I had finished my surf ride.
Meanwhile, in a show of Israeli gung ho support, my small support crew had voluntarily turned into about 25 people, and we all scoured the waters and sea floor to no avail. After about 20 minutes, people began drifting off, and I too decided to give it 5 more minutes and then head back to the surf.
Kicking myself in the head for being so stupid to go into the water with prescription sunglasses, I walked around in gradually enlarged circles, kicking my toes into the ocean floor. Suddenly, when I was about to give up, my big toe felt a stick emerging from the sand. Just as I was about to bend down to pick it up, a wave came and forced me off my position.
I poked around some more and found the stick again, bent down and picked it up, and discovered it was an eyeglass arm – and attached to it was the rest of my glasses! I felt like had found a treasure at the bottom of the sea, and I had. Fixing the slightly crooked arm, and placing the glasses on my face, 20/20 vision never looked so good.
Finally ready to surf some more, I ran back out into the deep water. But first, I went to shore and deposited the glasses with my wife
Foto Friday
Harry’s already written about his annoyance with the recent New York Times article on Tel Aviv — with its fairly dismissive mention of Jerusalem — but it did get me to go back and look at the article again, with its simply fabulous photos of Tel Aviv, taken by veteran New York Times photographer Rina Castelnuovo.
Rina is Israeli-born, and has been working for the Times for some 25 years, while her husband, Jim Hollander, is another great photographer who works for Reuters. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Rina off and on throughout the years, although our work together tends to focus on real estate and great homes in Israel, which isn’t quite as creative or stimulating as most of her regular work.
Here are a few more pieces taken from her shoot in Tel Aviv, some shots that didn’t make it into the NYT slide show, but showing just how perfectly she has her finger on the pulse that is the Israeli beach experience in the summer.
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