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THE LONG P WEEKEND Yurts . . . in N.J. Page 8 Travel
Sunday, June 1, 2008 R
COMINGANDGOING » Securing an airfare refund. . . A pricing mystery . . . Checkout shocker . . . Page P2
Bugged by Bag Fee? It Could Be Worse. Peeved about shelling out 15 bucks to check a bag on American Airlines? We’re not A Fan Gets One Last Look happy about it, either, but here’s the good/bad news: It’s still the At NYC’s Storied Stadiums cheapest method of getting your bag from here to there. Here’s By Peter Mandel how $15 compares with the cost Special to The Washington Post of shipping one medium-size ver since the Yankees, Dodgers and Giants suitcase and its contents (total fought over it, New York has been the na- weight 35 pounds) one way from tion’s baseball town. Growing up there in downtown Washington to the 1960s and ’70s, I lived for summer downtown San Francisco. home-game nights: the Yanks’ Graig Nettles Elaunching a space shot of a homer, the Mets’ Tom Seav- — Elissa Leibowitz Poma er whiffing the side. We are the home of the Subway Series, manhole- POSTAL SERVICE cover bases for stickball, Mantle vs. Mays. We’ve got more pennants than you do. More than we can fly. K U.S. Postal Service Truth is, I live in New England now. But I can’t stop 800-275-8777 obsessing over my Mets via TV and beating my Big www.usps.com Apple baseball drum. $36.96 via seven-day parcel post; I keep telling friends that this summer is the last for $123.90 for overnight express both of New York’s big-league stadiums. Yankee Stadi- service. um, the cavernous “House That Ruth Built” and a baseball icon since 1923, will give way to a new park EXPRESS MAIL SERVICES with a retro facade. But retro or not, it never saw the likes of Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle. The Mets’ new K DHL Ebbets Field-style Citi Field may be sweet, but the 800-225-5345 team’s best times (including its miracle 1969 and 1986 www.dhl.com World Series wins) were set inside circular concrete $52.40 for seven-day ground serv- Shea. ice; from $280.92 for next-day air. There was only one thing to do: Buy a ticket for a farewell game in each park. And head for home. K FedEx One logistical glitch. The Yanks and Mets aren’t 800-463-3339 normally in town the same day. Interleague games be- www.fedex.com tween the teams didn’t help since I wanted to see both $44.07 for five-day ground serv- ice; from $274.75 for overnight See BASEBALL, P6, Col. 1 delivery.
K UPS Inside 800-742-5877 Want a last look at Shea and Yankee stadiums? How to www.ups.com buy tickets and ways to get there. Page 6 $44.06 for five-day ground serv- ice; from $189.38 for next-day Two days, two games: Here’s how to say goodbye to air. both fields in one visit. Page 6 LUGGAGE DELIVERY SERVICES K Luggage Express 866-744-7224 www.travellighter.com $156.41 for three-day economy service; $296.87 for overnight express delivery.
K Luggage Forward 866-416-7447 www.luggageforward.com $124 for seven-day basic service; YANKEE STADIUM PHOTO BY DAVID RUDERMAN — BIGSTOCKPHOTO.COM; ILLUSTRATION BY STEVE MCCRACKEN FOR THE WASHINGTON POST $273 for overnight express deliv- ery.
K Luggage Free 800-361-6871 www.luggagefree.com $57.75 for five-day service; from $145.25 for overnight service. Amid the Turmoil of Israel,
Inside Guesthouses Offer Hospitality By Lisa Singh down a narrow, unlighted road, looking for Special to The Washington Post “the gate.” Ahead, the road terminated at a SPANISH STEPS severe metal gate illuminated by two flood- Our hostess’s exasperated voice crackled lights that bathed our rental car in a stark- Our latest Vacation in into the cellphone: “My husband will meet white glare. Peering through the windshield, Lights winner pays a visit you at the gate.” Click. For the past two we made out a compound complete with a hours, we’d been driving through Israel’s guard’s post, heightening the feeling that to Spain. P4 Negev desert, on a pitch-black highway, we’d arrived at the entrance to a prison rather searching for a guesthouse that had come than a gateway to a guesthouse. HELLO, KAREN highly recommended. But its address didn’t We were about to turn around when a car We visit a Hip Pocket register on our GPS, and our only landmark appeared on the other side of the gate. The was a gas station, leaving us no choice but to driver’s-side window rolled down, an arm outside the Kenyan call our hostess-to-be several times from the waved and the barrier slid open. capital of Nairobi. P7 road. Her growing annoyance had begun to That was our introduction to the world of show. Turning left at the station, we proceeded See ZIMMERS, P5, Col. 2 PLUS: Road Reads, P2 · Travel Q&A, P3 · Trivia P7 A typical breakfast includes olives and cheeses at the Ken BaHula zimmer in the Galilee. BY MICHAEL DOUMA
Bedford Springs Resort 2 hours Easy to get to. Hard to leave.
Washington, D.C.
866.623.8158
*Subject to availability for a limited time. Not valid on group business. Other restrictions may apply. Call for details.
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DETAILS : Israel GETTING THERE: Flights from Zimmers Open Windows to Life in Israel Washington to Tel Aviv all require a connection and range from 14 to LEB. 20 hours, with round-trip prices 0 50 MILES generally in the $1,100 to $1,300 Golan range. Heights Sea of SYRIA Galilee GETTING AROUND: Renting a car Mediterranean Sea is your best bet to reach zimmers in out-of-the-way areas. Although
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Tel Aviv WEST a reckless drivers, I didn’t find that n BANK to be the case. Early on, oncoming R . Amman drivers flashed their lights at us Jerusalem during the daytime, a reminder to Dead keep headlights on at all times. GAZA Sea Highway signs are written in Hebrew, Arabic and English. (You’ll ISRAEL know you’re approaching dicey terrain when signs change to Hebrew only; I discovered as much NEGEV as we neared Gaza.) EGYPT JORDAN Major car rental options are available at Ben-Gurion airport. Rates can go as low as $25 a day, but auto insurance is mandatory for rentals and will roughly double your bill. Also, gas costs about $8 a gallon. When it comes time to fill up at the pump, it’s not simply a BY M.K. CANNISTRA — THE WASHINGTON POST matter of pressing the fuel grade of choice; monitors flash instructions in Hebrew only and require that you enter your ZIMMERS, From P1 passport and license plate numbers before buying gas. Israel’s zimmers, or guesthouses, where you never know what you’ll WHAT TO TAKE: At the top of your find until you show up. list should be a GSM (Global Ever since a friend and I had ar- System for Mobile) phone; you can rived in Israel three days before, buy a SIM (Subscriber Identity we’d been looking for something Module) card at the airport or in this land of flashpoints and falafel BY MICHAEL DOUMA the city. Also, carry a GPS isn’t exactly known for: down-home Samicha Nimer, a Druze woman who operates a guesthouse in the Galilee, pours coffee for visitors. Below, a Jacuzzi in a zimmer in the Negev desert. navigator — available from most hospitality. But as Israel turns 60 car rentals — and bring a map. this summer, something unexpected with most Israelis, who have yet to with Turkish coffee, fragrant with Finally, bring shampoo and has happened: The country has qui- settle the Negev in droves. So, cardamom. He was ready for the lec- conditioner; many zimmers supply etly been shedding its image of yore where was the heart and soul of the ture he’d promised the night before. neither. — think “sabra,” the prickly desert country? For the next hour, he discussed Is- pear after which native-born Israeli rael (“The dogs and the cats in Is- THE ZIMMERS: Jews are nicknamed — and brush- rael, the Jews respect more!”), and K In Ramat Negev, a central region ing up on hospitality. Israel is now Zimmers aren’t only in rural Gaza (“To shoot child in Gaza, you of the Negev Desert, Naot Farm home to a booming cottage industry areas; many are on the outskirts of are animal!”) and his family village (M.A. Ramat Hanegev 85515, of zimmers — part bed-and-break- cities. After wandering Jerusalem’s (“You take my home, you take my 011-972-54-4218788, www. fast, part home stay — run by every- Old City — its ancient quarters land . . .”). naotfarm.co.il; $212 per night day Israelis. Named after the Yid- packed with Arabs, Hassids and sol- Mana, who left a teaching career double, including breakfast) is dish word for “room,” some zim- diers — we decompressed at a zim- to run his zimmer, took a deep about two miles from the junction mers are unspectacular chambers in mer in Ein Kerem, a hilltop neigh- breath: “We here are the only zim- near Telalim, on Road 40. Along someone’s house. But most of the borhood a few miles from Jerusalem. mer in the area that is Arab,” he said, with hiking trails, area attractions 8,000 zimmers (pronounced “tsim- For the past year, Yona Sosner, a his voice calmer, lower. “This is the include an alpaca farm, Avdat mers”) are rural cabins — some- special-needs teacher, has run a zim- first. . . . Why? I want these meet- National Park (which showcases times one, sometimes multiples — mer in her home. The room was ings. I need these meetings.” the remains of an ancient city built alongside the owner’s main res- large and airy and a bit spartan — no established by Nabatean idence, with guests treated to such Jacuzzi here — with only granola merchants) and David Ben-Gurion’s perks as shiatsu massage, home- and yogurt for breakfast. But the The zimmers around Jerusalem desert home. Carmey Avdat made bread and jam, and Jacuzzis. conversation made up for the lack of had offered much in the way of Farm (011-972-8-6535177, Our compound offered a fascinat- amenities. Peace was on our host’s thought-provoking conversation, www.carmey-avdat.co.il; weekday ing glimpse into desert agriculture, mind; she said she tries to balance but little in the way of relaxation. rates begin at $136 double) has but the zimmer itself was a little . . . education with her deeply held belief Weren’t there any zimmers that bal- seven zimmers overlooking cheesy: Fake rose petals lay scat- in a Jewish state. Jewish-Arab dialogue. Between cheese, on the table. Had I ever seen anced the two? vineyards, a winery and a store tered around the Jacuzzi, while air The vast majority of zimmers are drags of his cigarette, Mana wagged the dish before, asked Mana. Up north, we hit gold. I knew as where zimmer owner Eyal Izrael freshener hung heavy in the room. run by Jews, the remaining often- his finger: “Tomorrow you will get Yes, I said, at a previous zimmer. much the moment we arrived at a sells his metalwork, mainly Meanwhile, our breakfast was await- times by Druze and, in a few cases, lecture from me . . . you are hed’yot!” Wrong answer. zimmer run by an architect, Uri Pelz, accessories for wine lovers. ing us in a mini-fridge: packets of by Palestinian citizens of Israel such A nice way of saying uninformed. “But this is labane Aravi — it’s and his Dutch wife, Evelien. The K In the Galilee, Ken BaHula (P.O. jam and butter, along with out-of- as Munir Mana. For the past two What had our other hosts served from us!” he said defensively, and zimmer was in Yesod HaMaala, a Box 3 Yesud Hama’ala 12105, the-can tuna covered in plastic wrap years, the 48-year-old father of three for breakfast, he asked, a hint of glided around the table. “Now, you 125-year-old moshav, or farming 04-6800790, www.kenbahula. and a store-bought baguette. has run his zimmer, Nof Hawadi competition in his eyes. He took an- see here,” he added, “the omelets, I community, in the northern region israel.net; weekday rates start at Had it really been worth braving a (“View of the Valley”) in the lower other drag of his cigarette: “You put in here parsley, oregano, thyme of Israel, otherwise known as the $134 double), in an agricultural military-style checkpoint for this? section of his home in Abu Ghosh, want organic breakfast? Because to- . . . .” He cut off a corner with a fork: Galilee. Inside the log cabin, a home- community overlooking ice-capped an Israeli-Arab village just west of Je- morrow I will change everything! “Taste it, motek [sweetie].” Then baked apple cake awaited on the ta- Mount Hermon, has a homey feel. rusalem. When we showed up late at Everything!” came the tea, bursting with the fla- ble ahead. The owners will lend their bikes to Military accouterment, as I found night, Mana answered the door in Sure enough, the next morning vor of mint leaves: “Please, taste it! In the morning, one of the first let you explore the Hula nature on the way to another zimmer, is flip-flops and sweat pants, the TV in began with a generous spread of Smell it!” things we heard was birds chirping reserve nearby. Breakfast is an simply par for the course when driv- the background tuned to a European food under an arbor shielded by With that he waved us into our outside. But nearly two years ago, it extra $15 per person. Nearby, in ing around Israel. About three miles soccer match. palm leaves, overlooking his herb seats: “Now, begin before it will get was a different story. During a war the 126-year-old town of Rosh from an army base and missile bat- Mana asked about our last host. garden. For a moment, my eyes rest- cold!” with Lebanon that lasted 34 days, Pina, a local artist, Nili Friedman, teries, a roadside sign read in He- We mentioned Sosner’s interest in ed on a dish of labane, or yogurt After breakfast, Mana came by the area, like much of the north, was runs Pina Barosh (Rehov brew, “Naot Farm.” hit by Katyusha rockets. “In this Hu- HaHalutsim 8, Surrounded by desert mountains, la, no birds were singing,” said Eve- 011-972-4-6937028, www. we drove down a gravel path. At the lien, referring to the Hula Valley, a pinabarosh.com; the site is still bottom were trailers, a dairy and region a short bike ride away, where being translated into English, but pens filled with dozens of goats. migrating birds stop off on their way ask for co-owner Tal Ben-David, Dogs barked up a storm nearby. between Europe and Africa. (The who speaks solid English; rates It hardly looked like the place for a Pelzes’ zimmer is called Ken BaHula start at $150 double, including guesthouse getaway. But nearly ev- — “Nest in the Hula.”) breakfast) on the grounds of her ery weekend, several mom-and-pop Most zimmers in Israel — about family’s historic farmhouse. Along farms in this central area of the Neg- 80 percent — are in the north; near- with roomy suites and an outdoor ev — scattered along a trail known ly all lay vacant during the war. Jacuzzi, there’s a restaurant. as the wine route — are booked sol- Many residents of the area fled. But Chateau Provence (Moshav id. In between harvesting grapes and the Pelzes remained. At night, Eve- Ramot, 011-972-4-6731789, olives and, in the case of Naot Farm, lien slept in a nearby shelter, while www.6731789.com; midweek making goat cheese, these farms run Uri, now 63, stayed behind, in the rates start at $239 double, with zimmers. zimmer he had built a few years be- breakfast), in the Golan Heights, A woman came toward us, tall and fore. The walls, made of concrete, offers a good balance between tan, her graying blond hair pulled were the sturdiest around, he re- cozy home appeal and spa luxury. back in a single braid. After a word calls, more so than those of his own Along with a view of the Sea of or two of “Shalom,” she invited us to bedroom next door. Besides, he add- Galilee, there’s a flat-screen TV, our zimmer. “I will leave milk in your ed, “that’s my place.” kitchen area and Jacuzzi. room,” said Lea Nachimov, who The area has since returned to runs the farm with her husband, Ga- relative calm, and zimmers through- WHERE TO EAT: In the Negev, the di. She directed us to a cabin on the out the area have rebounded. During realization that you’re in a no other side of a hill. the war, former guests of Ken BaH- man’s land will hit sooner or later. The zimmer turned out to be rus- ula sent payment in advance, for the So will hunger. For dinner, drive tic and charming, with windows day they could return. “Whom do about six miles from Telalim through which the desert wind blew you meet when you got a hotel?” Junction to Havat Nahal-Boker at night. In the morning, Nachimov asked Uri Pelz, about the ongoing (011-972-8-6573483, www. brought us a cooler filled with fresh appeal of zimmers. “Here, you are hnbw.net), or Boker Valley salad, challah and goat cheese, plus a part of it . . . you have the connec- Vineyards farm. The restaurant basket with double-yoked eggs. tion.” offers a lavish if pricey buffet They were labeled “self-made eggs,” What’s a barbed-wire fence or dinner at about $29 a person. In for us to cook on a hot plate in the two, when you can get all this? the Galilee, a retired high school cabin, then enjoy on a thatched- teacher, Nimer Nimer (Kfar roofed porch overlooking timeless Lisa Singh last wrote for Travel Chorfish, Upper Galilee, desert mountains. about village-hopping through 011-972-4-9977256), offers a The Negev — over half of Israel’s Munir Mana, one of the few Palestinians who run zimmers, feeds his guests while engaging them in political dialogue. rural India. taste of Druze life in the region entire area — holds a special place in through meals at his home. The the Israeli imagination. Israel’s first visit includes a conversation about prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, Druze traditions and a meal that declared, “The State of Israel, to ex- Last Minute R • A • TRAVEL 800.788.0777 All Domestic Fares Available includes pita, stuffed grape leaves ist, must go south,” and moved DISCOUNT TRAVEL Australia $489 Rio/Sao Paolo $289 Travel Bargin Hotline Automated 24/7! Athens $210 Lima $319 and cheeses. Call in advance and there. Few Israelis followed. Then, Spain/Italy $190 Dublin/Shannon $149 speak slowly; Nimer speaks limited about 10 years ago, the government Tokyo/Manila $329 Hong Kong/Taipei$359 1-800-548-8546 • 410-547-0828 Bangkok/Singapore $349 Paris $189 COPENH English. backed a project of farms in the re- Germany $159 WWW . RATRAVEL . COM www.gonowvacations.com London $129 Fares Based On 1/2 R/T From Washington • Taxes + Restr’ Apply 1 gion, Ramat Negev. Fares based on ⁄ 2 R/T, plus government and airport taxes ($25-$300). Fare doesn’t include government One week vacation Celebrating Our 50th Year ! Just a call or click away! taxes from $150-$300, airport taxes, fees, or September 11th security fee. Subject to availability. in INFORMATION: Weekend Nachimov said she and her family Peru with air from Miami (weekend.co.il) and left behind a busy life in Jerusalem, www.Fare Deals.com Accommodation in Israel where they ran a steakhouse chain, CRUISE.COM including hotels, meals, (zimmer.co.il) have good simply to realize their dream of life The Internet’s Largest Cruise Specialist SPECTACULAR Israel and more. from information and links to zimmers. on a farm. “We are building, creat- 877-535-2225 Open 7 Days TRAVEL SAVINGS $795 $ If the zimmer’s site includes an ing, producing and growing,” she Caribbean, Mexico, Bahamas, option to view its pages in English, added. “All of us [farmers] see the E. Caribbean Cruise 8 Days Land Only • First Class Accomodations Rate is per person Cruises, Europe & More. Meals • Sightseeing as Per Brochure in double occupancy, subject to airport and if photos look appealing, the Negev as home.” Carnival Miracle • 8 Night • Sep 14, 22, 30, 2008 taxes and Sep 11 security fees up to greater the chances you’ve found a Gazing at the Negev’s mountains, $ 24/7 Taped Hotline $128. Seasonal supplements apply. Fr 779 pp* good one. I realized that a few lone pioneers R/T fr NYC For general information on Israel: such as Nachimov had more in com- NCL 7 Night W. Caribbean, r/t Miami fr $549pp 800-505-2298 SUNNY LAND TOURS *Incl. port charges, cruise only. Gov’t taxes of $124 additional. Israel Ministry of Tourism, mon with the Nabateans, Arab mer- 703-359-8888 www.goisrael.com. chants who traversed the desert FAIRFAX Reservations 800-576-1784 703-243-9009 ROSSLYN 800-576-1784
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