Early one Friday morning, two friends and I boarded a bus and headed for Nahariyya, a city in the north of Israel. Upon arriving in Nahariyya we quickly boarded another bus to a wonderful place called Ahzivland. In the early 1950s, a man named Eli Avivi realized that he had no desire to live under an Israeli government, so he declared independence from the State of Israel and has operated his own "micro-nation" ever since. With his own laws, passport stamp, beach, museum, and guest house, Ahzivland proved to be one of the most bizarre and uncomfortable places I have ever been. The eccentric president and founder invited us to help him move a random boulder, and I feel privileged to have been able to help out the "infrastructure development" of this great nation.
We then headed to the northern port city of Akko. One of the most ancient cities in Israel, Akko is steeped in many thousands of years of history. We wandered the old city, indulged in the most delicious hummus I have ever had, explored ancient tunnels built by the Templar knights during the crusades, and enjoyed the beautiful view of the sea. After getting very lost due to the maze-like layout of the city, we eventually escaped and boarded a bus for the northernmost spot in Israel.
Metula is a quiet town with approximately 150 families. At first glance, it would appear that there is no good reason to visit this distantly removed point on the map of Israel. Why then, did we make the 2 hour shlep? When we arrived at what we thought was a youth hostel, we were shown the guest room in the home of some very nice people. That night we walked the town and took a stroll along Israel's border with Lebanon. The next morning, we woke up and headed for an extremely fun day. As a gift to the state of Israel from the Canadian government, Merkaz Canada was opened several years ago (apparently Canada likes northern regions). Complete with an olympic size ice-skating rink, a bowling ally, a giant indoor swimming pool, a firing range, a spa, and a billiards room, 5 of my Canadian friends, my Minnesotan roommate, and I had hours of fun at a very cheap price. It was a great vacation from my grueling ambulance schedule.
Late that afternoon we headed home to Haifa and caught an 8:00 showing of Slumdog Millionaire, which I highly recommend you see.
Coming soon: A long list of other experiences which I have failed to blog about over the past month.
Always,
Zach
