Haifa hikes

9/3/22

After a week in Jerusalem (we extended our stays three times – oops), Lena and I finally left for Haifa. We got the ‘inter-urban’ bus to Haifa, then got another bus to right outside our hostel door – winner winner. Then we had a quick hostel coffee before heading out for a wander and a nice coffee.

Haifa is a nice city, the third biggest in Israel apparently, but is much more a locals city for living as supposed to a touristy one. This meant there were loads of nice independent cafes and bars as well as lots of seating in the streets, making it feel a little European. There was also bits of street art (thankfully not political!) dotted about as well as cute boutique shops. We wandered about and had a coffee before heading back to the hostel to have a little downtime.

We went back out for dinner with Noah, a friend of a friend of Lena’s who was teaching English out here on a Jewish programme. Noah and his friend Michael a showed us around a bit before they selected a tasty but cheapish spot for dinner and drinks. We ate at a table on a tree-lined street – I had bruschetta and Somersby cider, which was divine after so long without it – why is cider so darn British?! Then we headed to an alternative bar with either super high stools or super low stools, clouded windows, but a cool vibe! Noah and Michaela were very nice and they gave us tips for Haifa as well as booking a free cable car ride for us to do with them the following day. We left and headed home around midnight I think.

10/3/22

After a broadly lazy morning of delicious brunch reminiscent of Caffiened, Harborne, we headed to Talpiot Market as recommended by Michaela for a potter. It was bustling and vibrant and I was loving life! I even found banana chips for only 50 pence, which is wild for Israel! On the way out, I also bought baklava and Lena got strawberries.

We then headed to the underground monorail to go to the top of the hill to start a city walk with panoramic views as suggested by the hostel. Of course, as soon as we got out of the monorail, the rain started. It was wet and windy, but since the weather was meant to be bad all day, we carried on regardless! We enjoyed panoramic views with a thin blanket of fog and not a single other soul, before we went to look over Ba’hai Gardens.

After the panos, the real walk began from the city to the sea through a valley. Sadly for us, the walk was all the more difficult after the rain. Much of the trail was rock which was incredibly slippery when wet! We made slow and cautious progress down the valley, which was pretty entertaining as Lena was just as wimpy as me!!

The views were pretty and we came across a spring with a place to collect water and a place for a dip. I did say that if only I’d brought my swimsuit, I would have gone in, but in Israel’s cold and windy weather, who knows?!

When we made it to the bottom, a friendly Alsation greeted us and joined us through a cemetery to the beach road. We eventually had to close him in to the bottom of the cemetery to prevent him running in the road, which was a six lane highway! After the pooch was secure, we headed for the beach. Hilariously, it was much like Cleethorpes – windy and bitterly cold, but also very rainy! We found refuge in a cafe and I had a hot choc with my market baklava. We chilled out and warmed up before getting the bus back to the hostel. We took a nap, before deciding that trying to do the cable car trip as well would be too much – we were exhausted!!

We pootled out for dinner a bit later and had a glorious time – we had nuts and wine and I had a rich gnocchi – mm, mm, mmm! Then we had an early night which was dreamy!!

11/3/22

To make the most of our last morning in Haifa and considering we had had an early night, we decided to head back to Talpiot Market before getting the bus to Tel Aviv. We went in search of Nuna, a cafe recommendation for a great brunch. All around Talpiot was absolutely packed and had biggg London vibes! And of course, brunch at Nuna was divineee!