Day Two: Beach, Jaffa and Abu Hassan

After finally getting a whole night’s sleep we woke up well-rested and excited, ready to get to know Tel Aviv. We took a walk to the neighborhood of Jaffa, which used to be it’s own city but in the 40s it became a part of Tel Aviv (and the official name of the city changed to Tel Aviv-Yafo). Jaffa is a beautiful area and we were walking around looking at all the buildings, narrow alleys and the fishing port. It’s also famous for it’s Flea Market but that was unfortunately closed due to the Sabbath.

For lunch some of us unintentionally ended up at Tel Aviv’s most famous hummus place, Abu Hassan, and it definitely didn’t disappoint us. For a prize of around 40 SEK we got the most delicious hummus served with pita bread, onion, brown beans and some kind of spicy, interesting sauce. While we were eating hummus the rest of the group had the trip’s first (but definitely not the last) falafel, and after what I’ve heard that also lived up to the very high expectations.

After lunch Alicia, Max, Nathan, Joel, Henrik and Hedda took the opportunity to take a swim in the Mediterranean ocean. Some of us started talking to two Israeli girls who were sitting by the beach and who thought we were some crazy Swedes who were swimming in the beginning of December.
One thing that we find amazing about Israeli people is that everyone we’ve met so far is incredibly friendly and outgoing. So many people have approached us and started talking, which is a really fun way to find out more about the country and the Israeli culture.
By Anna Tybrandt