Greece - June 2013 - Part 3

At 4 pm we were standing in front of the Museum where we met three others from Chicago who would do the walking tour with us and our guide Dimitrius. Dimitrius is a local native born Greek whose family originally came from Thessaloniki. His English which was quite good, was learned in school in Greece. He works full time as a guide for this company, Athens Free Walking Tours. 

The guides give free three hour long walking tours and "donations are accepted" at the end of the tour. The route which was well over 6 km long ( I simply had to check at the end just how far we had walked, so I google mapped the route!!! ), took us on a long circle around the Acropolis Hill and it covered most of the important routes in Athens. It was an excellent tour and gave us a great overview of this ancient and fascinating city.

We covered:

*Hadrian's Arch (which i covered in part one of the Day One Report); 

* The Temple of Zeus

*The Zappeion (the "convention centre" and first building in  to be erected specifically for the revival of the Olympic Games in the modern world, built in and named for its two benfactors Evangelis and Konstantinos Zappas);

*The Panathenaic or Kallimarmaro (meaning the "beautifully marbled") stadium is an athletic stadium that hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Reconstructed from the remains of an ancient Greek Stadium, the Panathenaic is the only major stadium in the world built entirely of white marble, seats 45,000 and is one of the oldest in the world.

*The street that house the residences of the President and Prime Minister of Greece and is some of the most expensive real estate in the city; we watched the very colourful changing of the guards there (watch the short video below the picture...it is quite interesting)

* through the beautiful and shaded National Gardens

* on to Parliament where we posed with the colourfully dressed and skirted soldiers

* we walked the length of the pedestrian shopping street, Ermou Street (most of which was closed, as it was Sunday...we will likely revisit this street when we return to Athens in 12 days);

* we continued to Monastiraki Square, it's colourful market and the quaint walking streets of the Plaka district; 

 

* and then up a very steep hill till almost the top of the Acropolis for an amazing panoramic view of the entire city of Athens.

It was a very informative and interesting tour and well worth the time and the long walk. We would highly recommend this walk.

As we were now relatively close to Chabad and it was close to sunset, we headed through the narrow winding streets and found Chabad and its Gostijo restaurant. 

We were all pleasantly surprised. It is a modern looking restaurant in the midst of an area that is a weird mix of graffiti and gentrification. It is housed in the Chabad House which was formerly a nightclub. The service was excellent, the food was plentiful and very tasty and the prices were reasonable. Here is what we had....

Starters of spicy tuna salad and Moroccan potato salad....each enough for a meal!

Mains were souvlaki (grilled chicken with marinated lemon and oregano) and stuffed eggplant with meat in tomato sauce.

Delicious freshly baked buns

We had one white and one red wine.

Both couples ordered the same mix of meals and the total bill for the four of us including tax and tip was about $100. Tons of food...all fresh...all delicious....great service. We would highly recommend this restaurant.

We met Rabbi Mendel Hendel who is the Chabad Rav and his rebbetzin Nechama. They have been here for 13 years. 

Rabbi Hendel showed us the text of the song Maoz Tzur that we sing on Chanukah in a Greek siddur. The verse that begins with "Yevanim Nikbetzu Alay" (literally "the Greeks gathered up against us") and has been replaced with the word "Hasurim" (the Syrians, rather than the Greeks) so as to keep the peace in the country. Self censorship.

There are very few dati Jews in Athens. Both the rabbi and his wife speak Greek, which they learned on arrival. He is from Migdal HaEmek and is part of a famous Chabad family from Montreal. She is from just outside Paris. We met their son Levi who is 5 years old and is very precocious. He speaks fluent Greek and Hebrew and also dabbles in French and English. Imagine how many he will speak when he is 10 years old!!!!

The Menu - a highly rated (on Trip Advisor) and highly recommended restaurant!!!
In fact, Rabbi Hendel told us that if you go to Trip Advisor, Gostijo is one of the highest rated restaurants listed for Athens. And because many people rely on Trip Advisor, he gets a lot of customers who are not Jewish. There was another table there of three people and they were not Jewish. We asked them how the food was and we got three thumbs up.

They have two other children that they sent off to school in Israel at ages 11 and 13!

Once again we are amazed at the mesiras nefesh of Chabad families who come to far flung Jewish communities and provide services for locals and one timers like us. They have a beautiful restaurant and a fully stocked kosher store.....you really can come here with little food, make a stop at Chabad of Athens and you are good to go!!!

The other thing that I wanted to add was that according to Rabbi Hendel, there is little anti semitism in Athens. When we mentioned the fact that we had read about an extreme right party that had gained significant seats in the recent election, he explained that they had gained seats mainly because of the poor economic conditions in Greece. They have large numbers of volunteers who help the poor and aged and therefore had gained favor in the eyes of the public.

He did not discount the fact that their philosophy and views are not those that would make us feel all warm and fuzzy but he said that he walks around all the time with a kippah and had not experienced any issues. He felt that other than pickpockets, you were safe in Athens. Therefore like in any other large metro area, it is important to always be aware and vigilant.

As far as the local community is concerned, he said that he has financial support from some local families although because of the financial crisis in Greece some of the families have reduced their support. He remains very optimistic.

Needless to say that by now (9 PM), after a long day that began at 4 AM and had covered many walked kilometres, we were exhausted. We caught a cab and had a great night's sleep at the Sofitel.

We are now in the Aegean Lounge waiting our flight to Mykonos....this awaits us...have a great day,

All the best

Fran and David

Next....Mykonos

Greece - June 2013 - Part 2

Dear All

We left for the airport at 5 AM and after checking in, davened at the lounge before boarding our flight. We arrived in Athens at 9 AM after a short 2 hour flight on Aegean Airlines. 

We cleared immigration and customs, collected our luggage and checked into our hotel (Sofitel) immediately across the roadway from the airport. We unpacked and then met up with Irving and Ruchama and caught a cab to the centre of Athens. 

On the way, we had a long conversation with the cab driver who briefed us on the terrible financial situation that is being faced by many Greeks; he said that we will be shocked by the number of closed stores; tourism is down; and families are having trouble making ends meet.

We had him drop us off at the Jewish Museum. It is a small museum with much of it devoted to the decimation of the community during the Shoah and the role that the resistance played in battling the Nazis. There was a group tour of Greek non Jews taking place while we were there.

As we left the Museum there was a dance troupe in native dress that allowed us to pose for pictures.

When we left the museum, we headed to the Greek Parliament where there was a memorial service taking place in memory of the genocide of Greeks by the Turks on May 19, 1919. It was in Syntagma Square and there were some bench seats around, so we found some shade and had our lunch.

Syntagma Square is the main town square in Athens directly across the road from the Parliament Buildings. 

Ruchama had found this free walking tour of Historic Athens online, (you take a guided tour for three hours and then you pay the guide whatever you think it was worth) and we had arranged to meet the guide at 4 PM so we had a few hours to fill. We decided to fill it up inside, with some much needed air conditioning (it was 33 C today in Athens; unseasonably hot), so we headed towards the Museum of the Acropolis). On the way to the Museum via a walk thru the lush shaded National Gardens, we passed Hadrian's Arch; looking thru the arch you could see the Acropolis.

The Arch of Hadrian is a monumental gateway built in 131 CE  that spanned an ancient road from the center of Athens to the complex of structures on the eastern side of the city that included the temple of Zeus.  The arch was built to celebrate the arrival of the roman emperor Hadrian and to honor him for his many contributions to the city. 

Two inscriptions are carved on the arch’s lower level, one centered over the arched opening on either side. On the northwest side (towards the Acropolis), the inscription was:

• ΑΙΔ' ΕIΣΙΝ ΑΘΗΝΑΙ ΘΗΣΕΩΣ Η ΠΡΙΝ ΠΟΛΙΣ (this is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus)

The inscription on the southeast side (facing the Olympeion) read:

• ΑΙΔ' ΕIΣΙΝ ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟΥ ΚΟΥΧI ΘΗΣΕΩΣ ΠΟΛΙΣ (this is the city of Hadrian, and not of Theseus).

We soon came to a lovely pedestrian street that leads up to the Museum. 

The museum is relatively new and a very modern beautiful building. it was opened in 2009. It was built to house the many artifacts that were found on the Acropolis Hill.

We spent about an hour looking at some of the many relics and archaeological finds that were on or around the Hill. As well, there are parts of the building that are built directly on top of ancient streets and ruins. In these instances, the architects of the Museum built the building with glass floors so that you can see the original 2000 year old street below from this very modern building above it. 

In one of the exhibits we saw scale models of aspects of the architecture of the Acropolis that we would see later when ascending to the top of the hill. 

From the patio on top of the Museum, you can see the amazing views of the Acropolis towering high above you and to the left, the highest hill in Athens, Mount Lycabettus. At 277 meters (908 feet) above sea level, the hill is the highest point in the city that surrounds it.

The hill is a popular tourist destination and can be ascended by the Lycabettus funicular which climbs the hill from a lower terminus.The hill also has a large open-air theater at the top, which has housed many Greek and international concerts.

It was now time to proceed to our walking tour which would take a total of three hours....

All the best

Fran and David

Greece - June 2013 - Part 1

Greece June 2013 Part 1 - Introduction

We flew on May 12 from Toronto to Israel and after spending a wonderful Shavuot, flew very early on Sunday May 19th from Tel Aviv to Athens, via Aegean Airlines, a Star Alliance partner.

We got up this morning at 4 am and returned our rented car before heading out to the airport. We checked in and made our way to the lounge where we davened shacharit before boarding our flight for Athens.

We are joined on this trip by our good friends Irving and Ruchama Alter of Ramot and over the next two and a half weeks, we will visit Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, back to Athens for Shabbat, Kalampaka and the Monasteries of Meteora and Thessaloniki. The Alters will be leaving after the Shabbat in Athens and we will be driving north alone.

We are joined on this trip by our good friends Irving and Ruchama Alter of Ramot and over the next two and a half weeks, we will visit Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, back to Athens for Shabbat, Kalampaka and the Monasteries of Meteora and Thessaloniki. The Alters will be leaving after the Shabbat in Athens and we will be driving north alone.

But first, here are a few facts on Greece.

Greece is a country in Southeast Europe, strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, bordering on Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast.  According to the 2011 census, Greece's population is around 11 million. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, with its greater metropolitan area being home to nearly a third of the population.

Greece has the 11th longest coastline in the world featuring approximately 1400 islands, of which 227 are inhabited.

Eighty percent of Greece consists of mountains, of which Mount Olympus is the highest at 2,917 m (9,570 ft).

Modern Greece traces its roots to the civilization of Ancient Greece, generally considered the cradle of Western civilization. As such, it is the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, the Olympic Games, mathematical principles, and Western drama, including both tragedy and comedy. 

The modern Greek state was established in 1830, following the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire.

Jews, primarily from South Western Asia, have been present in Greece for a little more than two thousand years; the first recorded mention of Judaism in Greece dates from 300-250 Before Common Era (BCE) on the island of Rhodes. Aristotle (who lived in the 4th century BCE) mentions a conversation with a Jew in Asia Minor.

Archaeologists have discovered ancient synagogues in Greece, including the Synagogue in the Agora of Athens (The remains consist of a part of the mosaic floor and an inscribed plaque depicting a Menorah with a lulav (myrtle branch) on it) and the Delos Synagogue, dating to the 2nd century BCE.

 
The oldest and the most characteristic Jewish group that has inhabited Greece are the Romaniotes, a distinct Jewish population that historically lived in communities throughout Greece for more than 2000 years, as far back as the Babylonian exile. Their historic language was Yevanic, a dialect of the Greek language. Yevanic has no surviving speakers today.

Romaniotes’ customs were distinct from those of Sephardic Jews, more similar to those of Italian Jews. A possible explanation being that they used the Jerusalem Talmud instead of the Babylonian Talmud. They also mostly spoke Greek and not Hebrew. 

Greece has also had a large population of Sefaradic Jews who settled in Greece after the 1492 expulsion of the Jews from Spain with between fifteen and twenty thousand Sephardim settling in Thessaloniki, the city which was to be named "Mother of Israel" in the years to come, though much of that community was decimated by the Nazis. 

The first settlement of Ashkenazi Jews in Greece occurred in 1376, heralding an Ashkenazi immigration from Hungary and Germany to avoid the persecution of Jews throughout the 15th century. Jewish immigrants from France and Venice also arrived in Greece, and created new Jewish communities in Thessaloniki.

The White Tower on the waterfront of Thessaloniki was for centuries part of the walls of the old city, and separated the Jewish quarter of the city from the cemeteries of the Muslims and Jews. 

Thessaloniki's Jewish community comprised more than half of the city's population by the early 1900s. As a result of the Jewish influence on the city, many non-Jewish inhabitants of Thessaloniki spoke Judeo Espaniol, the language of the Sephardic Jews, and the city virtually shut down on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, given it sometimes the name of 'Little Jerusalem".

Many sea-travellers reaching the port of Thessaloniki humorously recalled that Thessaloniki was a city where people worked only four days while resting three consecutive days. This was due to the three major religions the population adhered to and their respective resting days: Friday for Muslims Saturday for Jews and Sundays for Christians.

This graph of the Population of Thessaloniki is self explanatory.
Year    Total Population    Jewish Population    Jewish Percentage
1842           70,000               36,000                       51%
1870           90,000               50,000                       56%
1882           85,000               48,000                       56%
1902          126,000               62,000                       49%
1913          157,889               61,439                       39%
1943            53,000                    --                           --
2000          363,987                 1,400                       0.3%

During World War II, Greece was conquered by Nazi Germany.  12,898 Greek Jews fought in the Greek army against the Nazis. 

Some 60,000-70,000 Greek Jews,  or at least 81% of the country's Jewish population, were murdered. Thousands of Jews were saved by the Greek Orthodox Church hierarchy due to a proclamation by Archbishop Damaskinos (featured below on the cover of Time Magazine), instructing the church to issue false baptismal certificates to all Jews who requested them. 

 
He wrote to the Nazi occupiers: " In our national consciousness, all the children of Mother Greece are an inseparable unity: they are equal members of the national body irrespective of religion... Our holy religion does not recognize superior or inferior qualities based on race or religion, as it is stated: 'There is neither Jew nor Greek' and thus condemns any attempt to discriminate or create racial or religious differences."  He has been named one of the "Righteous among the Nations".

As well, all of the 275 Jews of the island of Zakynthos survived the Holocaust. When the island's mayor, Carrer, was presented with the German order to hand over a list of Jews, Bishop Chrysostomos returned to the Germans with a list of two names; his and the mayor's. The island's population hid every member of the Jewish community. 

This amazing story was featured in a Jerusalem Post Feature Story: 

http://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/The-miraculous-story-of-the-Jews-of-Zakynthos

 Mayor Loukas Karrer

                      Picture of Bishop Chrysostomos of Zakynthos

In 1947, a large number of the Jews of Zakynthos made aliyah to Palestine, while others moved to Athens. When the island was almost levelled by the great earthquake of 1953, the first relief came from Israel, with a message that read "The Jews of Zakynthos have never forgotten their Mayor or their beloved Bishop and what they did for us."

Although the Germans deported a great number of Greek Jews, others were successfully hidden by their Greek neighbours.

On July 11, 1942, the Jews of Thessaloniki were rounded up in preparation for slave labour. 46,091 people were sent to Auschwitz, and most of their sixty synagogues and schools were destroyed. Only 1,950 survived.  

Many survivors emigrated to Israel and the United States. Today the Jewish population of Thessaloniki numbers roughly 1,000, and maintains two synagogues.

The Jewish community in Greece currently amounts to roughly 8,000 people, concentrated mainly in Athens and Thessaloniki and they  largely "live side by side in harmony" with Christian Greeks

We thank you for joining us on this trip....more to come soon

All the best

Fran and David

KOSHER LISTS and Hints for travelling Kosher

As kosher observant travellers, it is important for us to be as informed as possible regarding the local kosher scene. While we do tend to bring along some basic foodstuffs in case of an emergency, we also rely on the vast amount of information that is available on the internet, both in terms of local kosher products, kosher restaurants (if any), and the existence and location of the local Jewish Community. 

As well, we carry with us basic necessities that come in handy when we have to fend for ourselves.

So here are some lists and hints that might make your kosher journey a bit easier. 

Please note that what we are presenting is not an endorsement of any kosher establishment, list, or procedure. We are not halachic authorities. Please do not rely on anything that we may print below; please check everything with your rabbi to ensure that it meets your halachic standards. 

Note: because some of the kosher product lists are in foreign languages, it is advised to review the list before travelling and use Google Translate to assist you in identifying which food category you are looking at. 

A Couple of Excellent Shiurim

The Rav of our Shul in Toronto, Rav Yirmiya Milevsky, presented a series on Halacha and Travel. The first shiur is entitled "Kosher on the Road", and is presented here in two segments. They can be found on Youtube at the following locations:

Travel Kosher 1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxldd2vwfi0
Travel Kosher 2 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3CKRNKMPiM

The second shiur is entitled Shabbos on the Road (video to be uploaded soon).

Kosher Restaurant Lists

1) The Shamash restaurant site is a very comprehensive list of kosher restaurants around the world. The listing of each establishment sometimes includes reviews by consumers which is extremely helpful for the tourist: 

http://shamash.org/kosher/

2) On this site under Travel, there is a listing by community of the kosher establishments in each city:    

http://www.kashrut.com/travel/

Local Kashrut product lists

North America 

Given that there are numerous hechsherim in North America and that most products have the hechsher printed on the label, we are only providing links to a number of the major supervising agencies. Again, consult your rabbi to determine whether that agency meets your kashrut standards. 

OU - http://www.ou.org/

OK - http://www.ok.org/

Star K - http://www.star-k.org

Kof - K - http://www.kof-k.org/

CRC - http://www.crcweb.org/

COR - http://www.cor.ca/

MK - http://www.mk.ca/

BCK - http://bckosher.org/

We are also providing a link to the AKO (The Association of Kashrus Organizations) which is an umbrella organization of the major kashrus supervisory agencies in North America:

http://www.akokosher.org/

The COR of Toronto recently published a convenient card that highlights many of the more recognizable kashrus supervisory agencies in the world. While this is not a complete list, it is a convenient reference card to have available while shopping. To see this in larger print, visit http://cor.ca/view/85/cor_kosher_symbol_card.html

Israel 

Israel is, at the same time, the most complicated and the least complicated country to visit for Kashrut. There are numerous hechsherim and within each of those hechsherim, there are levels of mehadrin and non - mehadrin. All around the world, when in doubt, buy fruit and vegetables. 

In Israel you have the issue of whether terumah and ma'aser has been taken from these products. Once in 7 years, you have the issue of shemittah and the various different opinions on this very important halacha. Different branches of the same chain of restaurants can be under different hashgachot. 

On the other hand, most of the major supermarkets have a rule that all products must carry some rabbinical supervision, and so you will never starve. As well, the expansion of kosher restaurants in Israel means that there are kosher eating establishments all over the country and you will seldom have to brown bag it. 

Kosher Lists of countries we have visited

Australia - http://www.ka.org.au/index.php/component/option,com_kosherdb/Itemid,61/

Germany - http://www.yeckes.com/index.php?page=302

Germany - http://www.ordonline.de/koscherliste/?cat=7&sortby=1

Austria - 
http://www.ikg-wien.at/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/HaMadrich_2012.pdf

Croatia - http://www.kosherdelight.com/Croatia_Kosher_List_2013_Dec_16_2012.pdf

France - http://www.consistoire.org/documents/4024/Produits_select2010.pdf

Greece - http://www.chabad.gr/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/66080/jewish/Kosher-products-list.htm

Italy - http://www.italykosher.com/

Italy - http://www.italykosherunion.it/Kosher%20food%20list-en.html

Italy - http://moked.it/torinoebraica/kasher/lista-dei-prodotti-kasher/
New Zealand - http://www.kosherkiwidirectory.co.nz/fulldirectory.pdf

Norway - http://www.dmt.oslo.no/filestore/Kosher/KosherlistenJuni2011.pdf

Spain - Madrid - http://www.cjmadrid.org/images/stories/pdfs/casherenmadrid.pdf

Spain - Barcelona - http://www.jabadbarcelona.org/media/pdf/652/rhMc6527589.pdf

Switzerland - http://www.irgz.ch/downloads/koscherliste_aktuell.pdf

United Kingdom - This annual guide is needed when shopping in England as very few items have any sort of kosher symbol on the label. The guide costs about 10 Pounds and is available by mail order through the website - http://www.kosher.org.uk/

United Kingdom - This annual guide is free and is available online. It highlights nosh available in the United Kingdom. - http://www.kosher.org.uk/noshguide.html

Kosher Fish Guide

http://www.kosherquest.org/kq_fish.php

This is an excellent guide to kosher laws regarding fish. It has lists of kosher and non kosher fish and more importantly, has the names of common kosher fish in multiple languages. You can buy fish almost anywhere and with a fry pan; a disposable BBQ; or a microwave oven and some saran wrap; have a great fish dinner anywhere in the world.  

Jewish Community Info

• Lists of Orthodox shuls - http://www.ou.org/synagogue_support/synagogues
• List of Sefaradic shuls - http://www.americansephardifederation.org/syn_world.html
• Lists of minyanim around the world - http://www.godaven.com/

Chabad 

This section should logically be included in the Jewish Community Info section. However because of the invaluable contribution of Chabad to Kosher and jewish travel around the world, they deserve their own section and kudos for their mesiras nefesh and ever present welcoming smiles to Jews everywhere.

When beginning to plan our trips, one of the first places we visit is the Chabad website. It provides us with up to date local information and contacts regarding kosher food, candle lighting times and accommodation that is in walking distance to where we want to be on Shabbat. There is nothing worse than booking a tour or driving to a destination on a Friday and finding out that Shabbat begins earlier than you thought. 

On our recent visit to the Far East, Chabad was almost everywhere. We had access to Chabad kosher restaurants in almost every area that we visited which meant that we did not have to lug kilos of food with us wherever we went.

They are often the only source of anything Jewish in an entire country, and provide much needed Shabbat hospitality. Thanks, Chabad, for making Jewish and Kosher travel so much more convenient.

http://www.chabad.org/centers/default_cdo/jewish/Centers.htm

The Jewish Calendar

We use www.hebcal.com extensively when planning a trip. It is the ultimate location for Jewish calendar information. You can customize your calendar with the weekly parsha, dates of Rosh Chodesh, fast days etc. If you plan trips as early as we do, you need to know that the day that you have chosen for a long hike is not a fast day. As well, you can customize your calendar for the chagim here or in Israel.

http://www.hebcal.com/

Products that do not require supervision

Here are a few sites that discuss products that do not require supervision. Again, we are not the halachic authorities; so please check your standards with your rabbi.

http://www.kosherquest.org/book.php?id=Products_that_Do_Not_Require_Certification.htm

http://crazyjewishconvert.blogspot.ca/2011/06/things-that-dont-need-hechsher.html
http://www.star-k.org/cons-appr-no-need.htm

Halachic Guides

The Star K has an excellent site and includes numerous halachic articles including a number of travel related articles.

http://www.star-k.org/cons-kash-articles.htm#travel

The topics that they cover include: The International Dateline; hotel issues; cruising; getting stuck on a Friday afternoon, etc. 

The Traveler's Halachic Guide to Hotels is particularly good, addressing issues that arise in a modern hotel:

http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-TheTravelersHalachicGuidetoHotels.htm

Our Basic Travel Necessities

• One can purchase disposable dishes and cutlery anywhere; so we only carry enough to get us started for the first day or two.
• If we are going to be in a self catering situation, we will take with a small fry pan, some small cooking utensils, a few mixing bowls for salads and the like, a small electric fry pan or a George Foreman Grill

Essential cooking utensils:

• can opener
• dairy, Meat and Parve sharp knife
• vegetable peeler
• cutting boards (buy thin cutting boards at IKEA in different colors)

Essential food items for situations where kosher food stores or restaurants are unavailable:

The main thing to look for here is that the items that you bring with you are shelf stable; i.e.; require no refrigeration.

• canned fish
• peanut butter and jam
• rice crackers, pita, crackers or tortilla wraps
• canned hummous or babganoush or matboucha
• instant soup mixes - (requires boiled water)
• ready made vacuum packed meals (La Briute - self cooking package or Amazing Meals by Meal Mart - requires microwave or boiling water)
• Ta'aman veretarian Soy Products (from Israel in a pouch - requires microwave)
• salami or vacuum packed cold cuts (which do require refrigeration)
• instant oatmeal (requires boiled water)
• nuts and raisins/cranberries (healthy snack)
• canned chickpeas

Please note that the principle of drinking government supervised milk without hashgacha, does not apply in all countries. One should consult their rabbi before travelling to ensure that they can drink the local milk. If not, the alternatives are soy, almond or rice milk or long life UHT (shelf stable) milk from countries where such milk meets the halachic requirement. 

Shabbat Items:

• havdalah set 
• matches or lighter
• shabbat candles
• battery operated tea lights (IKEA) for hotels or cruise liners that do not permit candles
• duct tape for preventing staff from turning off lights
• duct tape for taping the lock in an electronic keylock situation
• Shabbat clock timer so that you can leave a lamp on beside the bed

Items we take with us (these are always packed and ready for a trip)

• plug adapters
• fabric wash
• suntan lotion
• insect repellant
• afterbite
• earplugs
• sleep mask
• motion sickness pills for a cruise
• ATM card/credit card 
• passport 
• driver's license
• tickets & hotel/car rental confirmation numbers
• Medical Insurance Cards
• list of medications & medical prescriptions or phone number of your pharmacist
• eyeglass prescriptions or an extra pair
• collapsible tote
• umbrella & raincoat
• empty Ziploc bags various sizes
• money belt (the under clothes kind for security)
• sewing kit
• chargers for all electronic gadgets
• camera and extra digital cards/batteries
• noise cancelling headphones
• tallis and tefillin
• 2 copies of itinerary; one with you and one in your suitcase

It is advisable to scan your passports, credit cards and driver's license and place them in a secure location on your computer; in case you misplace or lose any of these while travelling, you will be able to conveniently find the copy and order a replacement.

Thailand and Vietnam Videos - Nov 2012

Here are our videos from our trip to the Far East

First our video of Thailand

Our video of Vietnam

Our Far East Faces Video

Our Far East Scenes Video Part 1

And our Far East Scenes Video Part 2

And finally our short clip of Kim at the Shangri La Kowloon