Life in Israel

I came to Israel nearly 2 years ago and is slowly getting a foothold here. But one thing I will never understand is somehow the mentality. It is very hot here in Israel 35-40 nearly all over the country and it seems like that people forget there kids in cars when it is so hot and they would sit there for a long time and in 3 cases too long. Today a 4-year old boy died after left in a hot car in Jerusalem. A 4 months old baby died last week in the North due to the heat. I am a father and one thing I could never do is to forget my son in a hot car on a hot day. Some people here in Israel have a lot of kids but still to forget them....

Weather in Israel

The weather in Israel has lately been very hot and humit and every one are suffering. It was like 38 celcius or about 90 fahrenheit.

ADVENTURE TOURS

I just bought a new bicycle for NIS 300,- and straight away after an Israel women Tali asked to rent a bicycle for 14 days. The first day she was very happy to be able to get around so easy, even thought it is very hot here.

bicycle rental

Today I expanded my park of bicycles with a N50 Releigh quite new bicycle so now ADVENTURE TOURS have 3 bicycles.

life off the bicycle

In 2000 and 2001 I took a 9-months bicycle tour from Beijing to Singapore and met my American/Israeli wife in Thailand. We got married in San Francisco and soon after we had Raphael Madsen, our son. Today I am not living with my wife and we are fighting over my son. A really non constructed fight over when I can see him and for how long. A fight that is also hurting him a lot and it seams like my ex-wife does not care, as long as she gets it her way than everything is okay. June 26th 2007 she and my son were suppose to travelle to the USA to visit her parents in Cincinnati, Ohio. We agreed that the last 4 shabbats before my son should come and sleep in Old Jaffa Hostel. Pietra, 5-years old was here with her mother from Moscow and we have planned that they were going to play with each other. On Shabbath my wife calls me at 17:15 and tells me that Raphael have to be home at 18:00, due to he had to got to dinner at a friend. It was Shabbat which means no busses until 20:00 so I told her that I could be there at that time. She freak out and wrote back that I had to bring him right now in a taxi and that she was going to pay for it. At that time we were just eating so I had no intention to rush him him. She never told me about this dinner either on Friday or in the morning on Shabbath, so I did not know about it until the last minute. When I came to Raphaels front door my wife was waiting like a hock with the door already open and dragged Raphael with force into the apartment. I was pretty shock and I left without saying a word to her. Pietra and her mom were waiting outside the building and were pretty shocked when I told them what have just happened.

My wife is the one filing for a divorce but a the same time when we were suppose to go to court 10.07.2007 she planned a 2 1/2 month vacation to the USA. I have been waiting for almost a year, without any right so see my son so it was just to much when she a few months mentioned that she was thinking of going and live with her parents in the USA. She is 42-years and thoughts from a women in that age is for me scary. So I didn't want to take the chance to have to fight her from Israel to get my son back, so 2 days before she and Raphael were suppose to leave I went to talk to a lawyer and she was moving very fast, in 24-hours we had a court statement that Raphael was not aloaved to leaved the country. I went to Ben Gurion airport with official papers and made sure that they signed them so Raphael could not leave the country on the 26th June 2007. Thereafter I rushed back to my wife's front door to ask her to sign them. I knocked a few times on the the door but she didn't want to sign any papers and threatened me with calling the police. I left the papers under the door and left. In the meantime I have tried to correspond with her to see how my son was doing and basically she threaded me with if I was going to pick up my son after school I was going to be arrested by the police. I can not take him to school and pick him up, she is the Jewish mother who would not allowed. So on the 26th she could not leave the country put on the 28 she showed up in court with her uncle that secured USD 100.000 so she could get a permission to leave any way. She secured NIS 50.000 which she does not have. I was in shock when I found out. I told my lawyer that I AM NOT GOING FOR THE MONEY I want to make sure that my son stays in Israel. Basically her answer was that I will get USD 100.000 to fight with to get him back, simple answer????

So this is nearly a month ago and yesterday the Police showed up because as the told me my wife claims that I have been beating her and I had to follow them to the police staions for an Interview. I agreed on the conditions that I could call my lawyer and the Danish Embassy and they agreed. I spend around 45 minutes in the police car with the police officer Idan and a female officer for a ride that normal would take 10 minutes to drive from Jaffa to the station due to they didn't know how to get there. We made quite a few u-turns, stopped in the middle of the road and Idan was all time time on the phone asking for directions. I asked them if I should start getting scared and if they were from Tel Aviv, the last question they answer was Yes. Jaffa is like 10 minutes away from TLV so I could not understand that they had absolutely no idea of how to get back to the station.
When we reached the station at last I was interview by Mrs. Liat Vaknin and treated like a criminal, everything record on tape. I asked again and again why am I here and she told me because of e-mails and that I showed up at my ex-wife front door to ask her to sign official papers coming from the Judge himself. So her I am in a country where it seam like that fathers have absolute no right what so ever and where a American women can destroyed you life that easy. I know where I am coming from I am Danish and my family have been helping a lot of Jewish people during the 2rd world war to escape to Sweden and this is the way to be threaded back. At that moment I was so ashamed of being Danish and I told the officer in the car, I am sure that he didn't care.

So basically my point is if you are not from here and you are married with somebody from here (American Jewish) make sure that if you have problems that you are the first one to call the police and remember to have a copy of the rapport you might need it later on, maybe in court and if you want a divorce which I also want so badly do not file from here but be cleave file from your home country. I should have file for a divorce from Denmark than I would have had more rights than I have today, at least be able to see my son and not like today where my ex-wife keeps my son hostaged. One day pretty soon son will start hateting my ex-wife for making sure that he can not see me. Today he is 5-years old so it would not be long.

Birthday on TOP OF THE ROOF

Today we are celebrating Zoa's birthday here on top of the roof. We bought a cake from a Piece of Cake here in Jaffa It is very good. we bought some wine 4 bottles (NIS 100,00) of Italien wine from wine and more here in Jaffa.

Party on top of the roof

Last night we had a very nice eating together dinner on the Old Jaffa Hostel complet new roof, which we for some time have been working very hard to get finish. It is going to be a very nice tradition to have dinner on the roof.

But before an lot of preperation was done in the kitchen and everyone was participating. Stuffed pepper and onions with rice, salad, garlic bread and wine.

TLV - Eilat

I have had quite a few adventures people interested in touring in Israel and today my first German couple half book a tour from TLV to Eilat, with their kids of 14, 12 and 10 years old, through Beer Sheva and Mitspe Ramon. They are going to bring their own bicycles and are going to use the time from now one until Spring time to train with the kids before coming here in Spring 2008. It is going to be a tour of stages because of the kids, so first stage TLV to Beer Sheva and second stage from Beer Sheva to Mitspe Ramon and last one down to Eilat. So if it is to much for the Kids we can cut off a stage, as the one out off TLV and begin from Beer Sheva.

Adventure Touring

A German couple rented 2 bicycles yesterday for NIS 30,- each incl. lock and bicycle pump and were very happy. They had a nice ride to the North of TLV and along the Yaakon river and around Rabin Square.

Bicycle women ride Lebanon

I am trying to stay in touch with the bicycle development in theis area, because it really affect the touring industry. I found this add about women bicycling in Lebanon and founded by Detta Regan from the UK in 2004 and have been taking place every year since then.

OLD JAFFA HOSTEL ADVENTURE TOURS

So today was my first day for bicycle rental and it was a test, due to Hanna went out to the North Tel Aviv and had her first flat tire and somehow had to walk back to the hostel, at least some of the way. She had a pump with her but not enough. So I deducted the NIS 20,- she paid for the being the first customer. She still said that she enjoyed it. And now I know more...

OLD JAFFA HOSTEL Bicycle Adventures

If you come to Israel and want a reliable bicycle for a recenble price than try the Old Jaffa Hostel Bicycle Adventures Mountain bike rental for NIS 30,- (around EUR 5,00 or USD 7,50) for a full day including secure lock. My first customer Hanna, German but living in NY is out today, due to as she said Shabbat no buses, so I you like to see Tel Aviv go to the beach etc. is it a very good way to do it. No parking hassles. The only thing is that TLV have a reputation of bicycle thieves, so you have to lock the bicycle very well. I am on purpose taking care of that issue but not offering brand new and shiny bicycles, but bicycle a very good maintained.

Mountain bike 21 shimano gears RST suspension, rear rack and Map of TLV.

Old Jaffa Hostel Bicycle Adventures

Today I bought my first bicycle for rental (NIS 150,00) and got my first customer tomorrow Hanna, who is going to rent it for a full day (NIS 20,00). So now it is possible to rent a bicycle from the hostel.