Ukraine Does not Believe in Tear

Ukraine Does not Believe in Tear

 In recent months we have witnessed the terrible war that Ukraine is suffering from, There is destruction everywhere, whole families are running for their lives and becoming refugees, with no home to return to. Until 2014, Ukraine was a tourism powerhouse with more than 24 million visitors a year. But then came Putin. First he conquered Crimea, and now he wants to conquer all of Ukraine.

But I want to show you a different Ukraine as it is in my memory from my visit there about four years ago. I will take you with me on a magical journey to a beautiful country with lots of amazing places, historical places along with modern places. We will start in the capital Kyiv, from there we will continue to Uman and finally, we will reach Odesa..

 

Kyiv

the capital of Ukraine. The city is a cultural, artistic, and economic center that combines historical sites with modern places, it has plenty of attractions, large shopping centers, activities for children, rich culture, vibrant nightlife, and cheap prices, all of which have made Kyiv a popular tourist destination in Eastern Europe.

flying with a virgin Atlantic

As I posted in my previous blog I made a trip to the USA in the beginning of 2020.

The world is divided into two kinds of people ,those who enjoy flights and those who wait

for the flight to be over.

When choosing a flight there are many factors that go in.

price ,times ,what aircraft I will fly with and which airline will take me.

During the end of 2019 was a buzz about a new airline which will start serving Israel.

what that I saw is that they were described as a company that brings a feeling of

something different when flying ,the company is Virgin Atlantic.

Reading about the company and watching flight reports on YouTube made me want to fly with Virgin.

When I decided to fly in the end of 2019 I started to look into flights .

At the beginning I didn’t think I will find an opportunity to fly with Virgin.

But surprisingly  virgin Atlantic weren’t so expensive (they were second cheapest)

they offered a good deal and I wanted to check it out.

Because virgin only have widebody aircrafts it means a more comfortable experience

.secondly they offered good connections which means either a short wait at the airport

or an opportunity to explore another city during the daytime and those two things virgin offered for a

good price so with no doubt I chose to fly with them. 

When the day of the flight to the US  came I woke up early and

showed up for ‘check in’ about 2 hours before departure

(and at  a reasonable time for my father to drive towards work for another work day)

At the airport the staff of virgin Atlantic were wearing red uniform and that made it very easy

to identify my check in area .Their service was lovely and I felt welcomed

from the beginning of the process .

The “check in” and security process went pretty quick and about 25 minutes after I said goodbye to my

father I was already in the International airspace and ‘duty free’ area.

Boarding was quick and I sat comfortably in my seat .This flight was on board an

Airbus A-330,This aircraft offers a 2-3-2 seating which means easy access to the aisle when needed.

We took off a few minutes late since we waited for air traffic to let us move due to traffic in the air .

The service on board was good and my plane was about half full so passengers spread out

and we had a comfortable flight .The food choice was nice and they even gave out menus

which were printed in English and Hebrew and passengers had a choice of what to eat for breakfast,

as a kosher eater I had only one choice which was similar to one of the options on the menu

and was pretty tasty. For dessert the staff gave out krembos (Israeli snack that is popular in the winter) .

The food options and even the kosher wine  that was offered on the menu showed that

someone did homework about the Israeli costumers and wanted to appeal to them in an elegant way.

  

We made it to London on time and I had about an hour and a half to connect to my flight to Virginia (IAD)

. Whlle boarding I checked if they are other passengers who look like they are traveling to Baltimore

and luckily I found a fellow passenger to join on the trip from

Virginia via Washington D.C to Baltimore .

PART 2

The other experience I will like to share is my last leg on this trip to the USA which is the flight from LHR to TLV.

I made it from JFK to London and had a few hours to explore London. When arriving at the airport in London to make it to the flight to TLV I got through security very quick .After words I had time to look at the

different whisky stores  London Heathrow is known for .

I went  to board the aircraft which was a Airbus A-330 .

After boarding and right before takeoff with the safety instructions the staff welcomed us on board

and than I experienced another taste of how Virgin did homework about the Jewish and Israeli customers and mentioned that passengers who wish to pray as a group are welcome to do so but should get the staffs help and guidance but not during meal times. this announcement amazed me since it showed to me that this airline have done some homework .The food on this flight was

only “ok” and there  was no menu that was given out at the beginning of the flight.

After such an experience I would want to fly again with virgin .The fact that this company has done some

steps to welcome the Israeli customer is great .knowing that something in the service was

different gave me a good feeling. If I will be able to afford a flight with Virgin again I will probably do so again.

 

 The Pitmaster

I would like to recommend a special restaurant I was at a few months ago:The Pitmaster

A little about the restaurant:

Pitmasster is an experience you will not forget. the host show every day at Pitmaster is different. So what is the Pitmaster?A Specialist that  uses a smokehouse, grill, or any facility that incorporates live fire for food preparation. Looking for a menu? there isn't one. The Pitmaster will prepare you a crazy meal consisting of several dishes, each of which will come out with an explanation of the way of preparation. The meal includes wine, beer, soda and free water all evening, and if you want to drink something special, you are welcome to bring from home, with no redemption fee :) The restaurant is kosher. It is advisable to arrive very hungry! Reservations for pre-arranged hours.

We enjoyed seven servings of meat. Among the dishes you will find: asado that falls from the bone, lamb spearfish, ontrib disassembled and more.

Each dish is a show.The meat expert takes the dishes out of the smokehouse and arranges them in front of the diners. If you are sitting far away  don’t worry -  there are screens where you can see the whole show. Sharing the diners volunteers come and help the expert.

The free drinks are nice, and if you want more theyare happy to keep bringigng more.

We left satisfied.

Uploaded for Dorit Mazar - Ukraine

 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qPJWG7Q5bL-Er0INA7RTrVAIfoKLhGYI1NfTLOgGjnc/edit

uploaded it as google docs for Dorit. 

My trip to Budapest - Holocaust day

 It is the second time I have traveled to Budapest, only this time; it is in a different lineup. This time I went with the family. It was a slightly different experience from being with friends. We were in many restaurants of all kinds - authentic Hungarian food, steak restaurants, Italian, and occasionally we also sinned at Burger King. I tasted Curtosh, delicious, but I do not understand the big rush around this dessert. We were in stunning landmarks. But I think the most remember event for me from the trip is not the most positive one. I drove with my dad to a flea market half an hour from the city center; it is considered the largest market in Eastern Europe. My dad loves antiques and jewelry, so I did not want him to miss this experience. The market was huge and clean, and all the merchants had already arranged their things; from jewelry to furniture, everything was well kept and beautiful. As we continue to the depths of the market, I see that more and more stalls are selling Nazi things - passports, pictures of Hitler, uniforms, pins. I was shocked. Why would anyone even buy these pictures? I went back to reality. It was not pleasant to go back to reality.
Now that Holocaust Remembrance Day is approaching, I think it is worth noting that Hungary was one of the cruel states against the Jews; they were accomplices to the Nazis and killed about 600,000 Jews.
Many of the Jews were thrown into the Danube River in Budapest; it is said that the river was red from the blood of the bodies for a long time

Lee Jan

The Ninja air fryer device

The Ninja air fryer device

. As you might know, I'm a healthy vegan, which means I avoid eating animal products. I eat whole food plant-based foods, like fruits and vegetables. Obviously, I don't need to cook Fruits, but vegetables like potatoes or broccoli need to be cooked. I searched for healthy ways to cook vegetables until I found the Air fryer. In my previous blog, I reviewed the steaming method for cooking food; today, I want to share information about another healthy way to cook your food - Air frying. 

The Air fryer is a relative newcomer to the world of kitchen devices and is an advantage in a whole-food, plant-based kitchen. With the capability to push hot air faster and more powerfully than a convection oven, cooking times are reduced, and you get crispy and crunchy textures—no oil needed!

 Compared to deep-frying food, I use significantly less oil when using an air fryer. Less oil means fewer calories and less saturated fat, which is more health-friendly food. Remember that cooking with little or no fat doesn't necessarily make something "healthy. The ingredients are what make the meal–so focus on lean proteins and vegetables.

Foodi Dual Zone fryer

 Air fryers are great for low-fat dinners, but only being able to cook one part of your meal at a time isn't exactly ideal. That is why Ninja's Foodi Dual Zone fryer has two separate cooking baskets – both baskets can be set to different times and temperatures but will finish simultaneously. So you can cook two different foods simultaneously.

   

What I Like 

Dual cooking zones

Smart Finish for a coordinated finish time

Extra space for large batches of food

What I Don't Like

Takes up a lot of space

Large batches cook longer

Relatively expensive

In conclusion, this air-fryer device is an excellent tool for cooking food, even if you are not vegan. If you are looking for a substitute for a traditional oven, consider trying this air fryer device. I am using it, and I am satisfied with it.

Podcast about pop music

  Switched On Pop- One of the most popular podcasts about pop music

Switched On Pop is a podcast about the making and meaning of pop music, conducted by two experts in music, musicologist Natan Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding. In their podcast they tell us all kinds of pop stories in impeccable English and manage to do it in 40 minutes, which in my opinion is the amount of time that a podcast should be. Recently, I enjoyed the Beatles review, which includes live recordings of the band, an analysis of some of the Beatles songs, and their personal opinions about the "Let it be" album. As a Beatles fan I'm always looking for new or unknown material about them. I also noticed other interesting episodes that caught my eye, and I’m planning to listen to them as soon as possible: One episode is about why Abba songs are so popular, even nowadays, and another episode that seems to be interesting is about the healing power of pop music.

 ,Pop lovers

!this is for you     

Looking for the perfect getaway with the best food? Rama's kitchen is exactly what you need!

If you have been to Tuscany – or seen a movie about Tuscany and dreamed of going there – you will find that it is right here, in the Judean hills, on the way to Jerusalem.

A sense of calm and serenity surrounds you already on the road winds between the hills and in front of a spectacular view, you can often see soaring birds, wild boars crossing the road and colorful seasonal blooms.

TomorrowLand

TomorrowLand

Are you a music fan? Do you like the vibes of a great colorful festival? Have you ever thought about going to a music festival? If you have this one is for you. If you didn't, you should!

I will be presenting now the most terrific and largest music festival in the whole world!

My trip to Athens

 

On Hanukkah vacation, I flew to Athens, Greece, with my good friend, Naama. At first, I didn't expect anything from this destination; we booked a flight so quickly just to run away from our hectic reality. I was surprised to find out that Athens is full of life, young people, beautiful neighborhoods, history, and many bars and restaurants.  The food is not the best, or we didn't have much luck in this area. In Greece they are very strict with covid 19 situations. You have to be vaccinated three times if you want to get into any restaurant or store.

baking is fun

Baking is Fun

For as long as I can remember, I have been around kitchens. I was always next to my mother and grandmother when they were cooking or baking in their kitchens and I used to watch them work their way in there and was fascinated by it. The first time that they let me help them around the kitchen was when I was 8 years old and they let me peel potatoes, and I, instead of peeling the potato, peeled the skin off my thumb.

On Assignment of Guilt in Education

     I have been struggling lately with the calculus of responsibility and guilt. To what extent does nominal responsibility justify the assignment of blame? Just how closely does the responsibility curve hug the curve of accountability?

    As a homeroom teacher (mechanech kittah), I often times feel like a magnet of responsibilities. Somehow, discussions of many different functions and obligations haphazardly bounce from whatsapp group to whatsapp group, until they come to a grinding halt somewhere within my purview. 

Movie review: "Dream Horse" (2020)

     I recently saw the film "Dream Horse", a Sundance production directed by Euros Lyn. The movie is based on a true story, and left me feeling uplifted and optimistic about the potential depth and authenticity of human connection.