Israel, Day 10, 31 December

For our last day in Israel we were treated to a wonderful view of the Mediterranean Sea from the hotel.  One family was staying at a hotel right on the water and while we waited for them A. and I were able to run through the hordes of joggers and cyclists to the water's edge.  The breeze was fantastic and we even found a couple shells.  It was the first time I felt sad about leaving and A. said he would return for his honeymoon.

We had beautiful views of the water as we drove to Kiryat Gat for a hands-on archaeological experience.  First, those who were not claustrophobic took a tour through an underground town lit only by candles, which included squeezing though many small openings, one of which was called the toilet hole, much to the delight of the youngest kids.  D. said it wasn't as uncomfortable as visiting old mine sites, maybe because we weren't as far down (or maybe because you don't hear about people being stuck in old cities for weeks or months).

Next we all went down to significantly larger rooms where we were taught the basics of digging.  We were given tools and buckets and each child received help to find at least a bit of pottery or bone.  We weren't allowed to keep anything, but at the end of the tour there were crates of material that had been found but deemed unimportant, so we could take as much as we could carry.  A mad scramble to search for treasures followed that announcement.

We headed off to Rehovat, home to the Weizmann Institute, a potential future sabbatical site.  It is also the home of the Ayalon Institute, the site of a secret bullet factory hidden under a kibbutz.  It was in use from 1945-1948, but didn't become a historic site until 1986.  We were able to see the laundry area that served as the cover and to go below and imagine life for the people who worked there.  I was amazed they were able to acquire materials and keep it a secret.

under this laundry area was a bullet factory

And that was it!  A taxi was waiting for us so we said good-bye and headed to the airport.  Security was just as tight leaving as it was arriving.  Our checked bag was 0.4 kg under the maximum weight and they let us keep the hummus, pomelos, and lotion in our carry-ons - two pieces of good luck.  We found a working outlet, good food from a Kosher restaurant before it closed for Shabbat, and then spent our last shekels on Israeli dates and candy.  Stores closed early for Shabbat and El Al, the Israeli airline, does not fly on Shabbat so the airport was fairly empty.  The last bit of good luck was when we arrived at the Roskilde train station where there were no taxis, but the bus that stops one block from our house and for which we had a free transfer was scheduled to arrive in two minutes, which it did.  A wonderful finish to 2010!