This past week we have been on vacation between Summer Hebrew Ulpan and the Fall academic semester, and it couldn't have come at a better time! I already wrote a bit about our camping trip in the Jerusalem foothills, which was a great way to start my vacation. On Sunday, some friends and I decided to go to Haifa (a city about 2 hours north of Jerusalem and on the coast) for the night. Haifa is known for being a very secular city, meaning not very many kosher restaurants, etc. Basically Haifa is the opposite of Jerusalem, and it was the perfect place to go on vacation.
Usually when travelling between cities in Israel we take either a sheirut (10 person taxi) or the bus. The bus is the cheapest way to travel but the central bus station is a balagan (chaotic mess)and can be very difficult to navigate. Plus, you have to deal with the scary driving on Israel highways. For this trip, we traveled by train, and it was a great experience! this was my first time on a train besides the mini-trains at the railroad park by my parents' house. There are trains between jerusalem/tel aviv/haifa every half hour or so. The train station is very easy to navigate and the trains themselves are much nicer- there is air conditioning, comfortable seats, a bathroom, and you can get up and walk around. It took about an hour longer to get to Haifa, but we put Planet Earth on our laptop and had a blast!
Usually when travelling between cities in Israel we take either a sheirut (10 person taxi) or the bus. The bus is the cheapest way to travel but the central bus station is a balagan (chaotic mess)and can be very difficult to navigate. Plus, you have to deal with the scary driving on Israel highways. For this trip, we traveled by train, and it was a great experience! this was my first time on a train besides the mini-trains at the railroad park by my parents' house. There are trains between jerusalem/tel aviv/haifa every half hour or so. The train station is very easy to navigate and the trains themselves are much nicer- there is air conditioning, comfortable seats, a bathroom, and you can get up and walk around. It took about an hour longer to get to Haifa, but we put Planet Earth on our laptop and had a blast!
We arrived in Haifa in the afternoon and headed straight to the beach. All due respect to the beautiful Oregon Coast, the Haifa beach is amazing. The weather was perfect, not too hot or humid, and the water was beautiful. I channeled my father for a couple of hours letting the waves bang against me and push me around the water, soaking up the warm saltwater and sand. We had dinner at a restaurant right on the beach, and I was able to snap a few pictures of the beautiful s
unset.
unset. 
After dinner, we made our way to the top of Haifa where we heard there is an incredible view of the city and the bay. It turns out, they are right about the view. It was so beautiful! People there say that the view of Haifa at night rivals the view of San Francisco at night, and I can see where they get that idea from. From Haifa you can see into Northern Israel cities as well as the bay on the Mediterranean sea, definitely a sight to behold.
The next day we made plans to see the Baha'i Gardens. I'm not an expert on the Baha'i Gardens, so if you'd like to learn more about their history, go to this website: http://www.ganbahai.org.il/en/. and I strongly suggest that you do read up on the Gardens, it is fascinating! It is very interesting for me that the strongest religious presence as far as land/property in Haifa, is not Jewish, but Baha'i. The Gardens start at the top of Haifa, and there are 17 (I think, it could actually be 19) beautiful terraces going down the hill. From the top of the Gardens, you can see most of the city and the coast. Here are some pictures!
After the Baha'i Gardens we were supposed to get back on the Train and head home, but we were having such a good time that we decided to stay another night in Haifa! We mostly relaxed the rest of the day at the hotel and the beach! It was a fantastic vacation!
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