Tel Aviv Autumn 2022
Public · 311 · 1.18GB · 12/3/22, 4:26 PM
This is a summary of my short trip to Tel Aviv past autumn when I went to visit my friend Norbert.
At the airport I was greeted by some civilian security guy that asked me about why I am visiting, where I'm staying, for how long, etc. And when I told him I'm staying at my romanian friend, he said he's half romanian too, so apparently there are a lot of romanians living there since 20-30 years ago, or more, that are now more jewish than romanian.
The public transport is nice, very decent trains and busses, but there's only one problem: a lot of the names of stations are written in hebrew so depending where you're going you might not be able to rely on reading the names of the places. There's an app you can use to scan QR codes in the bus and pay with the app. Distances between some of the cities around Tel Aviv can be long and it can take up to 1-2h to go visit a friend in another city.
It is common at every bus stop now and then, to see a young person wearing army uniform because it is a country where people have to do military service.
If you look at the cars on the street, you'll find out that almost 80% of them are the same make/model, lots of asian like Mazda and lots of US.
I stayed in Holon, at my frien's place. It's a city about one hour walk from Tel Aviv city center. And the vibe of the cities is a mix of new and old, beauty and ugly. The area is constantly under construction so expect to get some noise from construction sites around the city.
The weather is quite hot, like Spain or more, in November when in Romania was freezing cold, in Tel Aviv was 20+ celsius, and basically you could get along with a t-shirt.
There are a lot of stray cats, like, a lot, they're everywhere!
Prices are generally high, for everything, I think salaries in Tel Aviv can be twice than Spain but also, with 50 shekel (local currency), that means about 15€, you'll get a shawarma. So comparing to other countries it is expensive, but, I'd like to say the quality of the food is amazing, because it is not some lame fast food, it tastes great, with local condiments and size/quantity is more than enough.
One bizarre thing that really got printed on my mind is the shapes and design of the electric power poles. Let's just say they're different that what one is used to.
The beach is close and looks nice, but for november there was no swiming, but indeed lots of surfers.
I went on a walk from Holon, to the beach, then to Jaffa, that is something like an old city on the coast, then up to the center of Tel Aviv through something like a cool pedestrian area, and then on the coast from Tel Aviv back to Jaffa. The beach in Tel Aviv looks a bit familiar if you lived in Barcelona, must be because both cities share the same sea, and as close as you get to Jaffa the sea side turns into a big park, with lots of people walking around.
When I go to a different place I like to try to live like the locals and get an idea of how everyday life goes in that place, that being said, I think there's still a lot to explore.
