Israel: Bicycles, Birds and Buildings

This week also saw a lot of sitting around the house, mostly because it has rained almost every day.

One afternoon we went with Eyal (Yasmin's Bro) to HaYarkon Park in the north of Tel Aviv. We saw people, trees and a Nutria.

The next day we walked along the Tel Aviv port area which is now shops, restaurants and a little market.

The highlight of our week was a visit to Agmon Hula in the super north of Israel.

As mentioned in a previous post, lots of birds stop in Israel for a rest as they migrate south for the winter.

Here are some of those birds. (Clockwise from Top-Right: Marsh Harrier, White-Throated Kingfisher, European Stonechat,  Female Mallard, Spur-Winged Lapwing & Eurasian Collared-Dove)

At the park we met Gaia (Yasmin's second cousin once removed). She works in this hut and told us about all of the birds. Later we had dinner with her in Metula which was as nice as it was north.

The blue one is a common kingfisher

 In the evening, hundreds and thousands of common cranes returned to the park to sleep. 

Behind you!!!!

A few late comers

It's getting close to the actual Odyssey, so we have finally begun making plans. Yaz even did a walking tour of Strasbourg on Google Street View.

The week finished with another great day in Tel Aviv spent with Meir (Yasmin's Parents' Friend of Over 40 Years)

We first went to the new wing of the Tel Aviv Museum. The building has a really cool design with wide open spaces but unfortunately we couldn't take a camera in.

Meir has lived in Tel Aviv his whole life and explained to us the history of the city and importantly the architecture. Here a few snaps of the buildings from the 20's and 30's which have been restored. Many are of the Bauhaus style and are preserved as a UNESCO site.