Jerusalem Departure

We finished packing, and walked out through Jaffa Gate one more time. This time we were schlepping the heavy suitcase.

I bought the tram tickets with 10-shekel coins, instead of a card, to use them up. The timing worked out well, as we caught the first tram with little wait time.

But the timing didn’t look good for catching the 8:03 train to Ben Gurion Airport. People were running down the steps, without a 50 pound suitcase. And they didn’t even have to buy tickets.

Amazingly, the ticket machine worked smoothly, and within a minute, we had tickets in hand. We rejoined the mad rush to the platform.

The train was already waiting. We found a spot to stash the suitcase, and were soon seated across the aisle from each in the only adjacent seats remaining in the car.

We watched the scenery of Israel flash by the windows. Desert, orchards, bee hives, the shephala, all appeared in rapid sequence.

Before we knew it, we were at the airport. We followed signs to terminal 3, and rode the elevator to floor 3.

The security questioner was a newbie, with an instructor by her side. We answered her questions, and they let us proceed. The suitcase was a couple of kilos over, but this agent said it was ok.

Then it was through the security. Julia’s hair pins beeped. When she told them she cant take them out, a lady wanded her and let her through.

We spent a few more shekels for breakfast. Chocolate croissant to share, and a latte and cappuccino.

Julia used the airport wifi to catch up on her WhatsApp messages. We were soon on the plane. Looks like the flight won’t take the full 12 hours.

Thanks for following our trip. We feel better equipped for planning a tour next November. Stay tuned for more posts about Israel. But, don’t expect them every day.

Shalom…