Riding the night train

September 3, 2010 - 2:59 PM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Israeliness, Life, Pop Culture, Travel 

I had the enlightening experience last night of riding the ‘kavei laila’ (night lines) of the Egged bus system.

In most Israeli cities, bus service stops at around 12:30 am every night. But in recent years, Egged, the national bus company, has initiated late night service on Thursday and Saturday nights (not on Friday, of course).

This enables youngsters from suburban Jerusalem neighborhoods and the surrounding areas like Ma’aleh Adumim to enjoy the Jerusalem nightlife late into the night and still be able to get home – it also lets them to leave the driving to Egged, so if they happen to drink too much, there’s no danger on the roads.

I hadn’t been in downtown Jerusalem at 1:30 am for quite a while, but a late night farewell party for a friend who’s leaving the country combined with my car being at home, led me to search out the night line to get home.

First of all, I was amazed how hopping the downtown area was at 1:30 am – hundreds if not thousands of kids, mostly teens but also 20-somethings – bouncing around the streets, filling the clubs, pubs and cafes, and generally creating exuberant mayhem.

My teenage son, who has a wealth of experience in the matter, told me to just look for a bus stop with a lot of people at it, and that would be the one where I’d find the bus to take me home on the half hour until 4 am.

Sure enough, there were hundreds of people at the stop on Shlomzion Hamalka St. as buses arrived to take them to Gilo, Talpiot, Mevasseret, and to my home. Despite the crowds, everyone got a seat, and I was home before I knew it.

So, don’t worry about staying out late as long as it’s a weekend – the kavei laila are a real service – and you don’t have to be a teen to enjoy it.

Tags: , , ,

Nostalgia Sunday – Little Israel

August 9, 2009 - 11:37 PM by · 1 Comment
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Nostalgia Sunday, Pop Culture 

Maybe it’s because cable TV has been running “Pleasantville”, or maybe it’s because I was going through a bunch of old stuff. Suddenly, I was seized with a desire to visit the Israel we once pictured in our mind’s eye…

Little Israel_school_sm (For full-sized version click here).

After school maybe do some shopping…
Little Israel_shops_sm (For full-sized version click here).

Or go to the movies…

Little Israel_cinema_sm (For full-sized version click here).

And maybe even take a drive!

Little_Israel_cars_sm (For full-sized version click here).

Go ahead, don’t be shy! Print, cut out and glue your own Little Israel.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

 

© 2012 ISRAELITY | Sitemap