The flight from Newark to Tel Aviv was about 10 hours. A tail wind of over 100 mph really helped.
About 4:15 AM Eastern time, 10 or 15 of the Orthodox men on the flight stood in the open space where meals are prepared. They had prayer shawls, phylacteries, kippas, and black hats. It was well past sunup where we were over the Atlantic.
United served us two meals, a snack, and several drinks on this flight. The plane was a 777. Our seats were at the window just behind the wing.
We landed in Tel Aviv at 4:30 PM local time.
The lines for passport control were long. We got the B2 Visa slips with no problem. Israel provides a slip of paper for the Visa instead of stamping it in your passport. Depending what countries you enter, you may not want them to see you’ve visited Israel. At least, that’s how it started.
After what seemed like a long wait for our suitcase, we went to an ATM and withdrew some shekels. Then on down to the train platform.
After finding our apartment on Jaffa Street, we visited Mehane Yehuda Market. We got a bite to eat, then walked back to the apartment to get some rest.
