The Flight In

We ended up on U.S. Air's 330-200 Airbus from Philadelphia, non-stop to Tel Aviv, after an abortive attempt to make our earlier Continental reservations. We were not able to depart as intended, so Plan B put us on U.S. Air. It was altogether a pleasant trip without incident, perhaps due to my doctor's little magic pink pill to counter my flight-induced panic.

Just as an aside, consider this airplane when you fly. I like Airbus, and although a smaller plane than the 777, it was considerably more comfortable than many of our transatlantic flights. We ended up in the middle two seats toward the back of the plane, bracketed by two pleasant ladies, but have no real complaints of the company we were forced into. The flight was full, and was heavily invested with children. However, even the kid behind me kicking my seat back couldn't get through my pink cloud.

We arrived early morning at Tel Aviv's new (to us) airport, which is as modern, efficient, featureless and lacking in character as any other major airport. We expected some delay in immigration, but this didn't materialize for me. N. however, had to wait almost two hours while the Ministry upgraded 20-year-old files; I sat with the luggage. One of our nephews met the plane and escorted us the moderate distance into Jerusalem. I recognized very little of the route.

If there is one pervasive change I've noted so far it's the urbanization of Palestine. Israel is almost completely built from Tel Aviv into Jerusalem, the latter city now becoming huge without a noticeable improvement in character or beauty. Traffic was fierce, but that deserves separate comment.

I felt a great comfort to be back in Jerusalem after over two decades. I used to know it very well, but while there are aspects that welcomed me, I was also saddened by the loss of quality of life for the Arabs, and the decline in the city's almost rural charm. Much of this will be blogged upon during the time I'm here, but for now, at the beginning, it's good to be back in this truly historic and wonderful place.