After a very busy final week in Haifa, I've finally gotten around to writing about our trip last weekend to Jerusalem. It was a pretty packed weekend, so there's a lot to cover. On Friday morning (July 2) we departed very early from Haifa for the ride south to Jerusalem.
"The Old City of Jerusalem just before sunset"
Photo by Stephen Kushner
After a sleepy ride south, our first stop was at Yad Vashem, Israel's official Holocaust memorial and museum. Established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament, the museum is a 45-acre (600,000sqft) complex located at at the foot of Mount Herzl on the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem. It contains the Holocaust History Museum and memorial sites, such as the Children's Memorial and the Hall of Remembrance. The origin of the name is from a Biblical verse: "And to them will I give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name (Yad Vashem) that shall not be cut off". Annually, it is Israel's second most visited site behind the Western Wall.
"Inside the Hall of Remembrance at the Holocaust Museum"
Photo by Kristin Thompson
Even for those among us who had previously visited either the US Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. or visited the concentration camps in Europe, this was a very somber and sobering experience. As a few of us noted, the internal architecture of the museum felt intentional - leading visitors through a confined and crowded space - with the cement walls seeming to fall inward as one walked through the exhibits - recreating the feel of the concentration camps. In contrast, the exterior grounds were beautiful, with many memorial statues and gardens. All in all it was an experience we will all remember for a long time. "Looking out at Judea after emerging from the Holocaust Museum"
Photo by Kristin Thompson
After Yad Vashem, the group traveled to the Mahane Yehuda market (the souq) for schwarma and snacks. I had a delicious schwarma with hot peppers and - my new favorite topping - spicy mango sauce. Amazing! Afterwords, I bought some dried pineapple and coconut (which is cheap and tasty) and then grabbed coffee at a small cafe while waiting for the rest of the team to finish. I will definitely miss the food and smells of the souq once I get back to the US. Don't get me wrong - Eastern Market is great - it's just not Mehane Yehuda.
That evening (Friday) the team had Shabbat dinner at the home of our on-the-ground coordinator - Shelby. An American (now having lived in Israel for about a year) Shelby was kind enough to open her house to us for the night. After a great meal we settled in to watch the World Cup match between Ghana and Uruguay. Late that evening we retired to our hotel for the weekend - Ramat Rachel Hotel located in Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. A little bit secluded from the center of the city, the place was located on a hill offering gorgeous views of Bethlehem, Jerusalem and the Judean Hills.
Another three weeks have passed since our arrival in Israel. The time continues to go by extremely quickly and a lot has transpired in this very short period. As such, I think it's time for another brief summary - for readers both new and old.
Week 4: I wrote about our first class presentations to Israeli venture capitalists at the Technion here. Additionally, the fourth week found the Smith team traveling to Jerusalem during the middle of the week for the Hi-Tech Investment Conference, which I blogged about here and here. Additionally, Israel's Prime Minister made a surprise visit to the conference, which I posted about here. The weekend found the team traveling back to Jerusalem once again - this time for tours of the city's cultural and historical sites.
Week 5: For week five, the Smith team traveled for company visits in Jerusalem (here) and Be'er Sheva (here). Later in the week we went to a speech by Better Place's Shai Agassi at the Technion. This same week I also wrote about our esteemed photographer Kristen Thompson and also posted the latest trip video by Stephen Kushner. Finally, I blogged about the various meetings we've had with entrepreneurs since arriving in Israel. On the weekend, the team traveled to the Galilee and Golan (here, here, and here) - touring Tsfat and rafting the Jordan River. We had a BBQ near Gamla and a water hike at Nahal Yehudia.
Week 6: In the sixth week, the team continued our travels in the Galilee and Golan. We visited Nazareth and the Druze villages, before returning to Haifa. Back in class at the Technion we presented on our "Go to Market" plan. On the weekend, we had free time to travel or relax. Some of us traveled to Bethlehem and the West Bank, while others decided to relax. For me, I used the free weekend to travel and see my wife in Europe. Read about all of our free weekend travels - both inside and outside of Israel - here.
After almost six weeks of work and travel throughout Israel, the team was ready for some down time and relaxation! For some of us, that meant an opportunity to travel to other destinations both in Israel (not included in the main agenda) and abroad (e.g. Europe), while for others the weekend was time to catch up on sleep and visits to the beach.
Three members of the team - Stephen, Sean, and Kristin - decided to visit Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and the West Bank. Departing early on Friday morning, the group arrived in Jerusalem after about an hour and a half. In Jerusalem the three went to the local bus station for transfer into the West Bank. The trip south was relatively without incident - though there were two brief stops by the Israeli military - who checked Palestinian work permits. In Bethlehem, the group stayed overnight at a hostel located in the Dheisheh Refugee Camp. Established in 1949, this camp is currently home to about 14,000 residents. On Saturday the group visited the Church of the Nativity, the Mosque of Omar, as well as other local historical sites - before returning to Jerusalem late that evening. In Jerusalem they stayed at the Citadel Youth Hostel - which had an amazing view of Jerusalem's Old City. Sunset on the roof was quite spectacular! Late on Sunday - after some more exploring - the group caught the late bus back to Haifa. All in all, this trip was a pretty cool experience!
Photo by Stephen Kushner
For me, this weekend was an opportunity to see my wife, Kim. After changes to Kim's work schedule, we decided last-minute to meet up in Europe during my free weekend. I flew out from Tel Aviv early Friday morning, arriving in Zürich, Switzerland around 8am (Kim had arrived from the US the previous day). After renting a car, I drove to my wife's hotel. We had a quick breakfast and then hit the road for Lausanne. I opted to take us through the Swiss Alps - from Zürich to Luzern and then on to Gstaad via Interlaken. Once we came down from the mountains, we drove along Lac Léman, arriving in Lausanne around 5pm.
Photo by Daniel Branscome
On Saturday, Kim and I went to Broc and Gruyères - the chocolate and cheese capitals of Switzerland respectfully. After lunch in the town of Charmey, we toured the Cailler factory. Now a subsidiary of Nestlé, Cailler was the first Swiss chocolate company, founded near Vevey in 1819. Afterwords we toured Gruyères Castle and sampled some local cheeses. Dinner was back in Lausanne. On Sunday, we had a pretty casual morning, then an afternoon BBQ at a family friend's place in Lutry. Monday found us on the road to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc - where we had an hour long hike to a beautiful alpine glacial lake.
Photo by Daniel Branscome
On our final day we departed Lausanne after lunch for the drive back to Zürich. This time, we went though the Jura past Lake Neuchâtel. Since we had some time before our flights, we decided to bypass Zurich proper and drive north into Germany to the Rhine Falls. After some time touring the site - Europe's largest waterfall - we returned to Zürich and grabbed dinner. Late that evening, I caught my flight back to Israel. Upon landing in Tel Aviv, I caught the train to Haifa, arriving at our house in Ramat Eshkol around 5am. What a weekend!
The views expressed on this site are those of Daniel Branscome, hereafter referred to as "the owner", and do not necessarily represent those of the University of Maryland, the Robert H. Smith School of Business, or the Technion. All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this blog or found by following any link on this blog. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.
