No 2 - Tel Aviv between Bauhaus and Street Art

This post comes a bit late, which is in fact a consequence of yesterday. So our second day was kind of intense. We started with exploring the city a bit more in detail. Going through the old streets of Neve Tsedek we saw amazing Bauhaus architecture and Banksy style street art. This was a pretty strong contrast area around Allenvy Street were our Hostel was located. Neve Tsedek is shaped by the different cultural influences. So you will find small Jewish family houses, as well as huge skyscrapers made of glass and impressive Bauhaus apartment houses. It reminds in some ways me a bit of New York in the 1950s.
In the afternoon we went to the old town of Jaffa, a magnificent place. There you get the best view on the beach and the skyline of Tel Aviv. Jaffa itself let's you feel the inconsistent history of this place. It went through the hands of the Egyptians, the Romans, the Jews, the Persians, the French, the Turkish and the British before it became part of modern Israel in 1948.
So this site is loaded with history. Going through this little art galleries in the old town. I had a long conversation with an Israeli girl. She was telling me about the protests taking place the day before. Following the demonstrations last summer, people were calling for greater social justice. Though the Israeli economy is on a good track, especially the young generation is having a hard time to find affordable housing and to cover the rising living costs. Gentrification is a big issue, also in Israel. Upcoming hip districts like Neve Tsedek exemplify that gentrification can be a blessing and a burden at the same time.
We discovered more of the hip sites of Tel Aviv by walking on Rothschild Boulevard and King George Street. This was the point were I finally realized that I forgot the pin code for my credit card at home. To be more concrete this point was reached when I entered in my old (wrong) pin three times in a row. It took me only 3 hours to find an ATM instead that accepted my German debit card.
For the evening I had arranged a meeting with my Jonathan Greenstein, a friend of mine who I've met in New York. He and his band gave an amazing jazz concert. Really strong and powerful sound and melodic and deep at the same time. After I was hanging out with him and his friends at another jazz club. I have to say that most Israelis are extremely friendly and open. Just a little example, when we entered the first bar for the night I had little chat with the bar tender about Berlin and Tel Aviv. Two minutes later she filled our glasses with free shots. In generally, telling people that you are from Berlin is a door opener per excellence! So as you can imagine, it was a short night and now we are input way to the Negev dessert. More about that later on!