Day 5: Some Days are Holier than Others
I think I still have some mild jetlag or I was just emotionally drained yesterday. I did not get up until almost 9am this morning, Paul got up before me, which is pretty unusual. We had to finish packing and head out to take a train to Haifa. We wanted to see "the" Baha'i Temple (or I really should call it the Baha'i Gardens), supposedly the holiest ground for the Baha'i faith. Aside from that, we planned to have a nice lunch by the Haifa Port, a restaurant called Nemo recommended by Misha, Paul's friend in Tel Aviv. His boyfriend Arty and Misha have been very generous to Paul, been his free guide the past few days and shared their favorite restaurants. Nice people. After Haifa, we would take the train back to Tel Aviv to pick up our bags before we change to a bus to the holy of the holiest, Jerusalem.
Train to Haifa was a beautiful ride, perhaps it rode along the Mediterranean Sea, the land was fertile, it was much greener than I expected. Beautiful blue sky, no cloud. Dry. I was wearing shorts today, which was such a big contrast to the past few days in Germany where my Kenny (heavy jacket) was out. The train was reasonably fast actually, I think it only took about an hour or so. Looking for a bus to go to Baha'i entrance was a challenge, the lookout was and the tour started at the top of the gardens, but the bus took us to the bottom. Changed to a taxi to the top. Taxi rides are still not my favorites, I did not like that many of them tried to scam you. Can we just use a freaking meter? Be civilized. I don't even mind to pay a little more, but like a helpless cat and just let you skin me, I don't think so.
The view of the gardens on top was amazing, it sat on the hillside facing the Haifa Port, it had a San Francisco feel to it. The terrace was beautifully designed, the temperature was just perfect, it remains green all year around, I imagine. The tour was a one-way down tour, and we walked 700 plus steps back down to the lower entrance. The tour was free and was very crowded. I think it is still a must if you ever get to Haifa. At one point in my life, I was looking for a religions that might be suitable for me, and I considered Bahai for a little while, since they focused on peace internally as well as externally. Until I found out about all their strict rules and the ritual part of things. I think that was what turned me off. Their temples are extravagant, I would like to visit all of them if I could, so far, I have been to the one in US, the one in Chile, and now this one in Israel.
We ate at the Nemo Restaurant for some seafood for obvious reasons, the foods was delicious and it was just nice to sit for a while after a long walk. Before we left Haifa, we also visited the Stella Maris Church, a church of Carmelit Order. I have never heard of this caramel flavor of Christians, have you? Took the cable car back down the hill and sat by the Mediterranean Sea for a while before taking a train back to Tel Aviv, and onto Jerusalem by bus.
Observations of the day: (1) Paul had also warned me about last night, we need to keep hydrated, the dry hot can suck out your energy and your last drop of moisture before you know. I felt a little light-headed in the afternoon. (2) In Israel, the ratio of the population of stray cats to human is close to 2:1. (3) There are so many people wearing black coat and the little hat with full beard in Jerusalem, it feels like a giant nunnery from my first glance of this holy city.
We did not eat at the McDonald's obviously, even though it is Kosher!
See the other photos from Day 5 here.
