Monday, April 21, 2008

Tel Aviv Melange

Things that still annoy me about Israeli traffic:

1. Police cars always have their top flashers on. So, if one's behind you, it's not a problem until he turns on his other flashers and then the siren.

2. Totally inadequate signage. Street signs are tiny and sometimes on a side of the street you can't see. Not good for navigation.

3. Tel Aviv was designed for maximum driver frustration. Lots of one-way streets ending in "T" intersections with other one-way streets. This is way worse than the whole "all highways branch" issue.

Things that were awesome today:

1. Tour of Bauhaus Tel Aviv. A lot of it was built in the 1920's and 1930's and looks cool.

2. The Sherbs and I can navigate Israeli highways with moderate success and a minimum of yelling at each other, which is good for the driver/navigator relationship. We did end up going to Karme Yoseph with a side tour through scenic Ramla (n.b. - Ramla is the Detroit of Israel, including a "Detroit Street"), but fortunately we did want to be on Highway 44 eventually, so it wasn't a big deal.

3. Dizengoff street in Tel Aviv is pretty darned cool, and not just for the cafes.

4. Israeli goths. Like American goths, but mind-bendingly inexplicable. Imagine stereotypical-looking Israeli teens, who are all looking army-ready and tough, in all black (in 80-degree weather) and with too much eyeliner. They look like bad vampire movie extras.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

According to the Pedant's Uncle M., who lives in Jerusalem, the purpose of police cars using a set of flashers at all times is to raise the visibility of the police, so as to encourage compliance with the law and add to a generalized sensation of security.

Besides, why the heck are you driving in Tel Aviv? Too much like New York! It has a good bus system -- take the bus!