With the Palestinians, on my recent trip, Israel did not feel like a country in crisis. As one Israeli explained, "Here, the abnormal is quite normal, so people just try to get on with daily life."
To the east of Jerusalem, the land falls away abruptly into the Judean Desert, a grand "Lawrence of Arabia" landscape bounded by the distant mountains of Jordan. We headed south, following the shore of the Dead Sea and passing the caves at Qumran where the eponymous scrolls were discovered in 1946.
It is a two-and-a-half-hour drive northwest to Tel Aviv (an hour by helicopter), which was founded in 1909 on land purchased by the Jewish National Fund just north of the old Arab city of Jaffa. Today, the two are combined in the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, with Jaffa having become a district of galleries and restaurants.
Masada is inseparable from the psychology of modern Israel: Schoolchildren are taken there to absorb its lessons; army recruits are obliged to hike up its steep slopes in the heat, the better to appreciate its message; and "No more Masadas" has long been an Israeli battle cry. Never again.
On our way down to Jerusalem from Galilee, our guide proposed a visit to Megiddo, or more specifically, to the mound or "tel" that contains the archaeological remains of at least 26 successive cities.
On April 11, 1909, a group of 66 Jewish families gathered in sand dunes a mile north of the ancient port of Jaffa to divide the patch of barren land that had been purchased on their behalf.
The exceptionally elegant Hotel d'Angleterre has recently reopened following a spectacular two-year, $20 million renovation. The 250-year-old neoclassical building is ideally located on Kongens Nytorv ("The King's New Square"), steps from the fashionable Stroget shopping street (home to the famous Illums Bolighus Danish design emporium).
Few places in the world are as pristine as Iceland. The island was formed on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge less than 18 million years ago, and today, it remains a hot spot of geothermal activity, with innumerable hot springs and geysers, as well as glacial rivers, thundering waterfalls and razor-sharp lava fields.
At the time of my visit, two new properties were about to open. It is likely that they will transform the hotel scenes in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust is located four miles west of the Old City on the slopes of Mount Herzl, adjacent to the Jerusalem Forest.
For Jews and non-Jews alike, a visit to the Western Wall is a remarkable experience. It is one of those places that is the focus of such passionate emotions that it is impossible to remain unmoved. Non-Jews are allowed to sit in the plaza and to approach the wall itself.
Israel's chefs employ an eclectic mix of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern ingredients and culinary styles. Here are my favorite restaurants in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Copenhagen now has two Michelin two-star restaurants — much-lauded noma and Geranium — but there is also a constellation of one-star places.
A highlight of our trip to Iceland was the drive around the popular “Golden Circle,” which features three of the country’s most spectacular natural wonders
Much of Iceland is wild and inaccessible. The best (sometimes the only) way to see this dramatic country is by helicopter. Typically, tours circle dormant volcanic craters, land on immense glaciers and permit passengers to observe spectacular waterfalls and geothermal activity at close range.
For many fly-fishing enthusiasts, a trip to Iceland is at the top of their priority lists. The country offers more than 100 rivers in which to fish for Atlantic salmon, between June and September each year.
Ever since the 1950s, Hayman Island has been one of the stalwarts of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Located in the Whitsunday archipelago, the 726-acre private island resort has long been considered comfortable and dependable, if a little impersonal.
We are pleased to say that many more subscribers have come to appreciate the benefits of booking airplane tickets through the Travel Office. The staff in our expanding Air Department support the travel consultants, working tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure that all flight bookings proceed as smoothly as possible.
I am not a big fan of airports, which is a shame, as they’re places in which I spend so much of my life. Not long ago, Terminal 2 at London Heathrow definitely occupied the lowest circle of airport hell. But on June 4, it reopened after a $3.9 billion redevelopment.
A video of our stay at Hotel d'Angleterre in Copenhagen, Denmark as reviewed in the July 2014 issue of the Hideaway Report.
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