Friday, February 08, 2013

Take The Train! First Time for Me on The Israeli Railways

I don't know how long Israel has had the train I took to the airport a few short weeks ago.  Decades and decades ago, there was a totally different train system.  I took it maybe a couple of times. For sure once my husband and I took it from Jerusalem to as far north as it went, and we went to Nahariya.  But I'm a total stranger to this new rail system.  At least I had been...

When I had been trying to figure out how I'd get to the airport, my husband discovered that one of the families he had tried to invite himself for a Shabbat meal could help in a different way.  The wife was going to the airport the same night, but would be detouring first.  So, instead of getting a ride directly to the airport, they dropped me off at the train Rosh Ha'ayin train station.


I was in phone contact with a daughter of mine who sort of coached me through the challenge of traveling on the train, especially since I had to change trains mid trip.  And of course I asked everyone sitting near me, by just saying outloud:
"Where do I transfer to the airport?"

People are so helpful in Israel.  And they even gave me the correct directions!


Now, I can't say that "I've never been on the trains here."

PS I wouldn't recommend it without help if you have a suitcase and not enough hands and strength to carry everything you need at the same time, but since I only had "carry-ons," I managed fine, B"H.

6 comments:

rutimizrachi said...

Thanks for the positive note about the train in Israel. It is so comfortable, with big chairs, lots of legroom, and a semi-private table to eat at. We take the train whenever we have to go to the airport. Last time, lamenting that there is no dining car, we stopped at Kenyon Malcha first, and bought sushi. Now, this will be our regular ritual. The Dearly Beloved says we might just buy some sushi and take the train to nowhere in particular one of these days, just for the fun of it. Now, THERE'S a new date idea! ;-)

Batya said...

Ruti, what fun!
Rosh Ha'ayin is closer than Malcha for us.

Sandra said...

We love the train in Israel we use it whenever we can. We especially like the ride upstairs! Shabbat Shalom!

Batya said...

Sandra, enjoy!

Esser Agaroth said...

I really like the system here. It makes commuting from long distances very reasonable. It was only 20 min. from Rehovoth to Tel-Aviv.

When taking it from Rosh HaAyin to Tel-Aviv in the morning, friends always reported flying past the stand-still traffic.

I also took it to Nahariah once. Nice trip.

Batya said...

I didn't have to pay much either.