Where is Roberg?

Haifa has recently become the most important port city of northern Israel, taking over the role from its nearby northern neighbor Akko (aka Acre), which dominated from the Middle Ages to 1900. Before Akko, Caesarea was the most important port during Roman times. With a population of about 270,000 people, it is about the size of Albany, NY and has all the amenities (luxuries) of a modern city, including a subway that goes up the mountain. Because of its central location and good transport links, the city will act a base from which I will explore Northern Israel.

The impact of geography

This development didn’t just happen, though. The relations between the history, geography, and development of Haifa are particularly unique.

Location on the Sea

A park in Haifa

The first known reference to the city was in 3^rd century literature of the Talmud, which is a record of discussions by rabis pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. Haifa eventually grew into an important Arab town, but it was destroyed in the early 12^th century during the Crusades, and remained insignificant for the next few hundred years (Lonely Planet, p.192). (Note for students – see how I cited that in order to avoid plagiarism; I actually do practice what I preach J) With the growth of Zionism (the movement of people who wanted to create a Jewish homeland and government), Haifa’s population began to grow. The growth accelerated during the early 1900s due to persecution of the Jewish people throughout Europe (especially due to the Holocaust).

Up the Mountain – more like a big hill, even for us Catskill Mt. people

Haifa at dusk Haifa at night

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The last post I wrote, I was looking out over the Mediterranean from the coast of Tel Aviv. Luckily, I’ll be back in Tel Aviv for a few days before my flight home, and I’m hoping that the weather is good so that I can visit the beach and swim in the Mediterranean.

My trip to Haifa was a bit shakier than planned. Before I left my hotel, I asked for the best way to get to the bus station. Unsurprisingly, she said to take a bus. After boarding, I was unsure what to look for, but figured that the bus station would stand out, or be a main stop. I used my rented cell phone’s GPS (global positioning system) to try to keep track of our route along the way. I waited patiently and enjoyed the ride.

A city bus in Tel Aviv

Lesson #1

After 15 minutes, I started to wonder how long the ride would be. We had stopped at one or two stops that had looked busy, but I had not seen any busses anywhere. I was really torn when we came to the train station, but I decided to stick with it. After a few more minutes, I noticed that we seemed to be moving out toward the suburbs – it looked like I had missed my stop. Now I had a decision to make. Should I get off and try to get another bus going the other way, pay 10 times as much to have a taxi take me there, or wait and see what happened?

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Newly updated Tuesday, 3/12 10:15 am (see More):

Flat Kat and I have arrived here in Israel, and we are ready to go.

Our trip over was safe, though there were some more glitches than we would have liked. For example, we almost losing our return plane tickets and backup credit cards at a security checkpoint at JFK., we experienced some nauseating turbulence over the Atlantic, and suffered from a stomach bug that kept me up 1/2 of the night.

Because of those glitches, our first day in Tel Aviv was even more low key than we were planning. After sleeping in and recovering from the 12 hr sickness, we took a 3 hour self-guided walking tour of downtown. Based on first impressions, Tel Aviv is a clean, modern, and active city that has a hip energy. Although it has the conveniences of any modern city, its location on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean encourages a low key nature. Most people wear jeans and cafes are ubiquitous.

I’ll write more, when I get a chance, but for now, I’ve got to have some dinner. I’ll try to add more within 24 hours, so check back soon. (click More below for update)

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To see all of my observations and pictures from my trip to India with Mr. Roberg in January-February of 2008, click on the “Read More” link below. Hope you enjoy!

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Here I am, with less than 48 hours until I arrive in Israel, and I’ve still got a lot to do as always – like pack! It’s no problem though. I’m good at taking care of things last minute. I guess it comes from a life where I used to be a procrastinator.

I feel really good about my preparation for the trip. I’ve talked to half a dozen people who have visited or lived in Israel, and read about each spot I’m visiting in the Lonely Planet travel guide. My itinerary is all set (see below), and I’m mentally prepared for anything that comes my way.

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Thank You… and Sorry for Not Posting Sooner

First, let me thank all of you who have been such supportive and enthusiastic readers of this blog. I can’t tell you how rewarding it has been to hear from so many of you. When I first set up the blog, I feared that very few people would read it. In fact, I wondered if anyone would read it! Read more »

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Thank you for all of the students, faculty, staff, and community members who came to the presentation I gave about India in the Coxsackie-Athens High School Library today.

For those of you who would like to see the pictures and videos, I’ve uploaded them to a web album. Just click this link:

Overview of India – In Pictures

Also, for a different take on India, don’t forget to check out Flat Kat’s page (click this link or select the “Where is Flat Kat?” tab above) for a lot more pictures and impressions of India.

Unfortunately, I was not able to ‘advertise’ the presentation widely because it was rescheduled twice due to snow days (I didn’t want to have confusion because I there was such short notice. However, I have had a number of friends and community members mention that they would like to see a short presentation on my experiences. If you are one of those people, write a comment below. If I get over 10 people who are interested, I will set up a time in April to do a 1 hour presentation in the C-A auditorium some time in the evening (maybe 6:30 – 7:30 pm).

I only have 9 DAYS left before I leave for Israel. I’m finalizing my itinerary, and will post a preview of my trip soon.

Thanks for checking in, and don’t forget to leave a comment if you are interested in a presentation about India (or Israel for that matter).

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What a game! The Giants win, the Giants win!! I couldn’t believe my eyes, and I was jumping around the lobby of my hotel in celebration, with the workers at the hotel looking on in wonderment and curiosity. The challenge of trying to watch the Super Bowl in India was a bit different than I anticipated.

Trying to Find a Place to Watch With Other Fans 

When I was first planning my trip in the fall, I knew that I was taking a chance that I would miss the SuperBowl completely. I knew the Giants may have a chance to make it, but most of the pundits didn’t give them much of a chance. As the season progressed, it was unsure whether they would even make the playoffs (Playoffs, did somebody say Playoffs! – remember that commercial with Jim Mora?).

Unfortunately, I missed all of the playoff games, but my family kept me up to date through e-mails. When the Giants won the NFC, I started thinking about trying to watch the game. By chance, I was going to be in Delhi! I figured I could definitely find a place to watch it in a city of 12.8 million people!! Regardless of the difficulties, I was determined to 1. watch the game, and 2. watch it with other people.

On the day before the game, I called 6 of the most expensive hotels in Delhi (rooms averaging $400 per night) figuring that they catered to rich business people from across the world. There had to be some American Football fans in the hotels that wanted to watch the game at 4:45 am in the morning in the hotel bar, right?! Wrong.

Everyone I talked to was baffled at the idea that I wanted to watch the game at 4:45 am with a bunch of strangers. They were shocked that I would even get up that early. Many people asked me why I didn’t just watch it in my hotel room. No one could understand why I wanted to watch with other people. I couldn’t help but wonder if I could find a place in NYC to watch a cricket match between India and Australia at 4 am if I wanted to.

Eventually I gave up on the idea that I could find a bar or other social place to watch the game, and extracted a promise from the people behind the reception desk in my own hotel that I would be able to watch it on the TV in the lobby. During my calls to the hotel, I found out that the game was going to be broadcast on a channel called “Sports Ten”. I also found a 24 hour internet cafe close to my hotel that I could watch or keep up with the game on the internet. Setting my alarm for 4:30 am, I went to sleep relatively confident that I would be able to watch or follow the game one way or another.

Watching the Game:  1st Half In My Hotel Room, 2nd Half in the Lobby

When my alarm went off, I turned on the TV in my room and saw the coin toss in black and white. I went down to the lobby and found that everyone was sleeping soundly, so ventured to the internet cafe to see if they had a TV nearby. No luck. So I decided to watch the first half in my hotel room, in black and white, with only Flat Kat as company (at least he was another Giants fan!).

As you already know, the first half ended with the Patriots leading the Giants 7 – 3. After calling my wife, parents, and sister, who were watching together, I returned to the lobby to find everyone awake. We turned on the TV on a larger, color TV.

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Delhi, the capital of India, is the last city I’m visiting on my trip. I not only stayed with my itinerary, I made it here a day ahead of time, which surely surprises those of you who know me well.

I purposely scheduled 4 days in Delhi so that I could have some time to shop, relax, or cut out a day in case things went wrong earlier in the trip. Thankfully, I have an extra day, so I am going to reward myself by playing golf tomorrow at the Delhi Golf Club ($45). I am also trying to find a place to watch the SuperBowl, though it will start at 4:45 in the morning! I haven’t had any luck yet, but I hope it will happen.

So far, I’ve visited some monuments on a full day tour, and done a lot of shopping (which is not my favorite thing to do – but I want to have some souvenirs to show students when I’m back teaching).

I’ll arrive home on February 6th and look forward to seeing people on Thursday down (2/7) at the Blue Water Bistro, or some other time soon. As always, thanks for checking in.

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Agra was one of my favorite cities.  It was relatively clean and easy to get around.  It also had some of the best monuments in all of India, as you’ll see from the pictures below.

I arrived in Agra and found my hotel (Hotel Kamar) with few problems.  The room was the nicest I’ve stayed in while I’ve been in India, and it only cost 600 Rs (about $15).  I immediately went up to the rooftop, where I could see the Taj Majal!!  I was amazed that I could get a hotel for less than $20 within sight of the Taj.  I tell you, India just keeps getting better!

Here’s Flat Kat and I at the Taj Mahal! (Check out his page for a lot more pictures of him)

Because it was a bit chilly (only 55 degrees or so), my hotel was not serving dinner on the roof, so I went next door to the next hotel (Hotel Shanti) for dinner.  Although it was busy with customers, people kept to themselves, service was a bit slow, and the food was only ‘ok’.  For the evening, I spent a couple of hours updating the blog and responding to e-mail.

Fatehpur Sikri: A palace built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in the 1500s

The next day, I decided to head to the train station where I could get a tour of Agra.  I called to make sure I was heading to the right place and to double check on the time it departed.  When I arrived, they told me that the tour wasn’t running because they didn’t have enough people.  How FRUSTRATING!

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