Here are some pictures from our El Al flight, Toronto to Tel Aviv. We had an overnight flight, so there was only a short time that we were able to view scenery from the sky. We saw some amazing lightning and awesome sunset and cloud scenes! As we began to descend, we began to see things on the ground, and below are some photos. Here is one that we took of some coastline...the stewardess could not tell us where we were, or what country we were flying over - that was a bummer. It was so beautiful!
Here are some interesting structures we saw from the sky
The flight was uneventful in regards to the ride. It was quite unique to hear so much Hebrew being spoken in most every corner of the plane! Even before we boarded we felt that we were surrounded by so much Israeli culture. I even observed a Jewish man put on his tallit (prayer shawl)and tefillin (traditional Jewish way of 'binding GOD's commandments upon the hand and forehead') and have a short time of prayer right there in the gate before we boarded.
On board, we were happy to be able to speak short phrases in Hebrew with the stewardesses such as, "toda"/thank you, "b'vakashah"/please, "hakol beseder"/everything is alright, or in order, etc. Michail even ordered a cup of water in Hebrew for me! :) We had fun with the little we knew.
During the flight, there were movies played back to back, most of which only seemed to serve as a mere distraction from the long, 11 hour journey, although sadly Michail and I were quite disturbed by the violence that was displayed in all of them. We had to purpose to not watch the screen, and spent some time in prayer, and even repentance for allowing our eyes to watch things that were dishonouring to Adonai. I tried to make sure that I walked around quite often to keep up my circulation in my feet and legs, as well as massage and move Michail's limbs around while he was stationary in his seat. I'm not sure how well I did though, because when we landed I discovered to my dismay that my feet and legs were quite ballooned up and painful.
Another discomfort came when we descended into Tel Aviv airport. I have previously had trouble with the change of pressure during flights, but this time, I was exceptionally nauseous as we came down. I forgot until almost near the end of the descent that I had brought along some fresh ginger for the nausea, so I chewed on some, and I believe it finally gave some relief! I cannot forget to mention that our little one riding inside had quite the enjoyable time of traveling with us! Our baby was quite active with kicking and moving around most of the flight.
We were the last to deboard the plane, as Michail needed assistance. This time, the flight attendants were much more willing to listen to instructions which made a big difference in how the transfer went. We were escorted to the baggage claim and then moved on to customs, where we sailed through with greatest of ease!
As we came through the gate, we were greeted by the big smiles and hugs of our friends awaiting us - Isaak and David - who came to escort us to Haifa. We were so happy to see them! They then proceeded to purchase some train tickets for us to travel to Haifa, and then we waited a bit for the train to come. While waiting, Michail and I sang the Israeli National Anthem for them - Hatikvah!
On the train, we had a bit of a tour while we watched the scenery go by. We went by Mount Carmel - which happens to be the mountain that sits right behind where we are staying in Haifa - and also the train went fairly close along the Mediterranean sea.
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