The day before yesterday was my last day in Jerusalem. In the morning I had my last drink of Drink Nr 5 – which is some kind of very tasty coffee with foamy milk. “Drink Nr 5†is what appears on the display when I press the button, all the text printed on the machine is in Hebrew, so at first it was a bit of a gamble!
I had lunch with the same colleague from LA as yesterday, and we talked about current events, mostly the uselessness of the UN. Koffi Annan has no credibility with most Israelis. Her son had just come back from serving in the IDF up North, but luckily he didn’t have to cross the border.
On the trip to the airport I had the same taxi driver who’d taken me from the airport last week. He pointed out some of the same places he’d pointed out before, telling me again about the Arabs making a lot of money from the Jews visiting their restaurants. But it didn’t seem so surprising to me this time: you see so many different types of people in Jerusalem and everyone seems to get along — and what better to help people get along than shared business interests?
The road from the office out of Jerusalem followed the rim of a valley, and the views were spectacular.  The road to Tel Aviv is straight and good quality, with not too much traffic. I arrived at the airport three hours before my flight, not quite sure what to expect with the already high level of security in Israel and the supposed terror plot in London.
Tel Aviv airport is a fantastic airport. It is spacious and un-crowded, clean, well signposted, and has gorgeous steel and marble architecture. The security check comes before check-in. The security personnel are courteous and even smile at you. I had a letter from my company and was only asked questions about where I’d been working and staying, before proceeding to have my luggage x-rayed. The check-in queue was short, and before long I was in the lounge. This is another expansive area with a huge steel and glass lattice affording a view over part of the airport. Planes taxied and trains of baggage carts busied around but again it looked as if there was plenty of space and everything kept moving. It all looked so *efficient*.
I got a smoothie made with crushed ice, oranges, bananas, mango and even *dates* and sat on a stool by the window to drink it. It was very refreshing and relaxing. Next was the main passport check. The passport checking girl was the first person I’d encountered at the airport who was grumpy – but then again she has to sit in a tiny booth all day.
After security was a large marble rotunda with a fountain in the middle and shops all the way around. It was this that I’d first seen from the mezzanine above when I’d arrived. I looked in an electronics shop, but couldn’t really fathom the prices. Somewhat bizarrely they sold washing machines. That must add a bit of excess baggage to your fare.
The wait at the gate was long because I was so early, but the flight was pleasant, and empty enough that I could move seats to have two by the window to myself.
Arrival at Heathrow was a contrast to Tel Aviv – grim, narrow corridors, a huge bundle at passport control, and signs telling me not to assault the staff. But it didn’t take too long nonetheless, and it was good to be home.
More Jerusalem Travel:Â previous day; exploring the city; first day.
