Drinking religiously in the Holy Land

Well, the Jerusalem Beer Fest was a real blast! On my way to the Jerusalem Hostel, one of my fellow volunteers, a Chabadnic, introduced me to two of his friends we ran into on the street. Both of them were going to the festival so I met up with them. We talked beer and some other things and eventually we played a little Jewish geography finding out that one of the guys went to school with my cousin Joe.

I found some beers from a wonderful micro brewery outside Tel Aviv called Dancing Camel. Nice ales, a real nice wheat beer, perfect for summer swigging. I couldn't bring myself to try any of the heavier brews. It's just too hot out for really dark ales and stouts. Even at night.

On the way back to my hostel I ended up tagging along with a few guys from the Givati Brigade as the went for burgers at a faux Irish pub. Oddly enough, it was one of the best burgers I've ever had. Juicy, spicy, just the right amount of carbon crunch on the outside- even the chips (fries for you Yanks.) were right on.

Friday was spent wandering around on foot. I stopped at the Kotel (Western Wall) and put in a word for, well- if you're reading this probably you if by association not name. Because it was Friday and Ramadan the police in the Old City were loaded for bear. I actually saw one walking by with a full bandoleer of 40mm shells. I went the other way. Wherever a guy like that is going, I don't want to be. On my way out I stopped to look for some things for people back home, thus began one of the funnier episodes so far.

I saw some Judaica and asked about a Jerusalem stone Mezzuzah, “Sure, this Judaica shop, I have!” Yeah. Judaica shop. You've got Mezzuzot, Shofars and Mogen Davids next to Rosary beads, prayer rugs, crucifixes an icons. Add to that you're reading an Arabic newspaper. Let the fun begin. I eventually found all I was looking for and that begun the most fun part: Haggling. 1300 Shekels? I think not. Maybe if I were getting a Mezzuzah that has documentation saying that Theodore Herzl himself carved it on the train to the first Zionist Congress back in the 1800's. I got everything for 500. The best part was as I was leaving the shop owner said, “A'salaam aleikum.” Judaica shop. I guess if a Jew walks in the door, yeah. I answered in kind, “Aleikum salaam.”

Today was a trip to the newly remodeled Israel Museum for a bit of culture with some friends who came in from Tel Aviv. We didn't get to the whole museum, it's pretty huge and there is all of recorded history to cover. My friends did not appreciate the modern art sections and that kind of bugs me. Granted, there is a historical context which makes “getting” Cubism, Futurism and Dada difficult, but still, the notion that somehow something is not art just because you can't understand it at a glance bugs the hell out of me.

Right now I'm killing time until Shabbat ends and I can get some chow. Then I have to pack up so I can get to Takanah Merkazi (Central Bus Station) and get a bus to meet the group on time In Beer Sheba.