Pishers' Guide to Jerusalem #31, Pisgat Zeev Mall, Awful Loo

This is a continuation in my ongoing series about public toilets in Jerusalem. See #30, #29, #28, #27,  #26,  #25,  #24,  #23, #22, #21,#20, #19, #18, #17, #16,  #15a, #15,  #14, #13, #12, #11, #10, #9,  #8, #7,  #6,  #5, Saved by The First Station aka #4a, #4, #3, #2 and #1

I was awfully disappointed in the horrendous condition of the public toilets in the Pisgat Zeev Mall. No upkeep/repairs, no toilet paper and no paper towels.

Also, the locks on the stalls are very tricky, which is a problem.

They've been repairing the public toilets on the main floor for ages, so you have to go upstairs, and this is the situation one floor up.

Considering that there aren't any other public toilets nearby, many of us have to rely on the mall, which is near the Jerusalem lightrail and many bus lines. Besides buses to the rest of Jerusalem, most of  the buse lines to the Shomron and Mateh Binyamin have stops nearby, so this is the best/crucial location for WCs.

The only compliment I can give is that they seemed to be clean, not something to be ignored. Just remember to always have lots of tissues on you, since one can never rely on finding toilet paper in Jerusalem's public toilets.

A Peek into The New Kitchen, The New Dish Drainer

I must confess that although my new kitchen has been functioning for a couple of weeks, I haven't finished setting it up. There are still some things, mostly Pesach/Passover dishes I haven't put away, and there are a number of items I still have to buy, such as a couple of stools for sitting at the dairy counter/table and a step-ladder or stool to help me reach some upper shelves. Remember that I'm short and most probably getting shorter.

Yesterday I finally got myself a new dish drainer for the dairy sink. My husband and one of our daughters picked out a different one for the meat sink last week, which was assembled by a son who dropped by very luckily for us. The counter area around the sinks are different, so what's good for one doesn't fit the other sink. And for the past few years, my husband washes the meat/fleishig dishes, while I was the dairy and parve ones.

A lot of people told me to buy the dish drainers and other kitchen accessories online, but I like to see and touch products first, even though I have a good concept of size and space. And for sure I'm going to have to try out the stools, to make sure I feel comfortable getting on and off.

Since I had refused to allow the old dish drainers into the new kitchen, to be perfectly honest I had wanted to replace them for at least a decade. The cutlery compartment was always falling off, besides after years of use, it was grimy. In the interim I purchased a couple of those dish-dryer cloths which are popular nowadays.  They were disastrous. Even my talents couldn't prevent breakage. One of my favorite dishes flew off and shattered. Maybe they're good when you just wash a few things by hand, but there was no way I could safely pile up all the dishes, pots, pans, cutlery etc I had.

So, yesterday I went off to buy myself a new dish drainer. My original plan was to buy a hanging one, rather small to hang to the left of the sink on the wall, but my son convinced me that it wouldn't work well. So, I just looked for a small counter one. There actually is enough space on the counter for a larger dish drainer, but I plan on using the counter space for eating and food preparation.

I decided to go to the mall in Pisgat Zeev for two reasons. First of all, it is relatively close by. Second, it has two stores, which most probably would have a choice of dish drainers at reasonable prices. The stores are the Naaman Outlet where everything is discounted; I got the tray/basket for onions there. And there is a Home Center, which has a really nice selection of products, though it's not one of their larger branches.

First I went to the Naaman, and they had one dish drainer. It seemed nicely made, not too big, but it was only one level, meaning not much drying space, and cost NS100. So I then went to the Home Center, where there was an really large choice of dish drainers of all materials, sizes, styles etc. I ended up choosing one on display that I had noticed previously. The size seemed right, and it has two levels, plus a small compartment for cutlery and a section for hanging glasses. It was the most efficiently planned one on display, a real space-saver. At NS80, the price was right, too. It was the last of that model and didn't have a box. I had to pay another 30 agarot for a large bag, since bags are no longer free in most stores, and it was too large for the bags I had brought along.

I washed it well when I got home, and it's now in use. For full sinks of dishes, I do have the cloth to cover the counter...

What do you think of it?

Fun in Pisgat Zeev Mall

Yesterday I was in Jerusalem for the day and ended it in the Pisgat Zeev Mall, which is a relatively small one. It's also the easiest to get to from Shiloh or as a "last stop before going home," which was yesterday's occasion.

I'm generally surprised at how empty the mall is. Some storefronts are empty, and even the Bank Leumi left, although other banks still have branches in the mall. Downstairs there's a "Shufar Sal Deal" and a "Superpharm" among the clothing, shoes, jewelry and phone stores.  FOX has their clothing departments, but not a FOX HOME, but there's a Naaman Outlet and Home Center.

Unlike most malls, there are few places to get a meal. Most of the restaurants have closed. There are food places in Pisgat Zeev which apparently the locals prefer to entering the mall. Actually, there are lots of neighborhood stores, not the usual chains, in Pisgat Zeev on the street of the mall, the nearby center and also the other neighborhoods. Pisgat Zeev and neighboring Neve Yaakov are more like a separate city, than a couple of neighborhoods, in terms of population and services.

On a hot summer day, like yesterday, the children's entertainment in the mall seemed like a perfect solution to "What should we do with the children today?" summer vacation dilemma. I was surprised that there weren't more kids there. 

Seen in Jerusalem

Wandering around as a pedestrian in Jerusalem, there's always something that catches the eye. 

I saw this nifty vehicle when walking to the Israel Museum.

And there was plenty going on by the Pisgat Zeev Mall when I stopped by the other day. There was even street entertainment.

Jerusalem is a very enjoyable city!!

The Beginning of Something New

I'll be writing more about this as we adjust to it. From today we have a new bus system. We have two new routes. Our buses look different, and they no longer go to and from the Central Bus Station. For those who can read Hebrew you'll see that they are from Pisgat Zeev, across from the mall.

The good news is that more buses will come up to my neighborhood. That's the 461. It will be much better for me.

The bad news is that we'll have to take another bus or the train just to get to the bus, and not enough lines go to the Pisgat Ze'ev Mall. And it's also pretty far, not walking distance from all the other Jerusalem neighborhoods.

Shabbat Shalom

Detective Work, The #25 Bus Stop Near The Shuk

For the longest time, ever since buses in downtown Jerusalem had been rerouted to facilitate the light-rail, I've been searching for a #25 bus stop in Machane Yehuda. One of my sons even tried finding it on a google map, but it ended up going in the wrong direction, so I took a #8 that day.

Now why is the #25 so important?  It is an express route to an important location in Pisgat Ze'ev, just across the street and around the corner from the new "trempiada," where I can pick up rides and the Shiloh #148 bus or the Sha'ar Binyamin #143 bus.   I usually find myself transferring buses to catch it at the "Buchari shuk," just past Geula/Kikar Shabbat.  The latest "bus fare laws" include free unlimited transfers for 90 minutes.  The quicker I can catch the bus, the better the chance I can do all I need on one bus fare.  A few weeks ago, I went over the 90 minutes by two minutes which meant that I had to pay again.  Catching the bus in the shuk gives me an extra twenty minutes or so, plus that way I get a good seat and don't have to schlep my bags as much.

Yesterday, by chance aka siyate d'Shmaya, the Hand of G-d, while I was walking to Rechov Agrippas on my way to shop in the shuk I spotted the #25 as it entered the street near the back of the Clal Building. There was a lot of traffic, so I was able to see it turn at the street on the side of the Clal Building and then go through Kikar Davidka (Square.)  I filed that information away and did my shopping.

Then I walked back to the back of the Clal Building and waited for the bus.  I was well within the maximum ninety minutes after hopping a bus in Talpiyot, which was good.  I knew that I'd make it to the Pisgat Ze'ev trempiada early enough for the 2:05 to Shiloh which goes up to my neighborhood or a ride, whichever came first.  Of course, I took pictures on the way.

There's nothing like those Jerusalem buses.

A Visit to the Pisgat Zeev Mall

Cross-posted on Shiloh Musings

Pisgat Zeev is a Jerusalem neighborhood, a very big one, especially if you take into account that it's connected to Neve Yaakov.  Those two neighborhoods combined are larger and more populous than many Israeli cities.  Nothing can rile a resident of Neve Yaakov or Pisgat Zeev more than someone visiting saying:

"Now I'm going to Jerusalem."

"Mah pitome?!  What's all this?!  You're in Jerusalem!  This is Jerusalem!"

Yes, it is.  Residents vote in Jerusalem Elections, and there's even a local political party with a representative in the City Council.  The mess you can see in the street is from the the construction of the Jerusalem Light-rail.  It will whisk residents and those from the Shomron, like myself, to downtown Jerusalem by avoiding the sedentary traffic of cars, buses and trucks.  (At least that's the plan.)

As you can see in the picture, there's a lovely modern mall in Pisgat Zeev in addition to lots of small neighborhood shopping areas.  In addition, there's a very good Matnas Community Center with a wide variety of activities, including the Neve Yaakov Pool, which I try to get to weekly.

The mall has the same variety of chain stores and restaurants you'll find all over Israel.  A couple of weeks ago, I met Voices Editor and good friend, Sharon Katz, for lunch and a tour of the neighborhood.  Sharon's from Efrat, and even though she had passed Pisgat Zeev many times she wasn't really familiar with it.

We had salads in Cafe` Cafe`, as you can see.  They were delicious!  All of the Israeli restaurants and coffee shops seem to be competing for creative salad ideas, which is great for those of us who love vegetables cooked and raw.

The Pisgat Zeev mall is a real meeting place for Israelis of different backgrounds and cultures.  It's no secret that many Arabs from northern and eastern Jerusalem also shop and work there.

For me and my Shiloh neighbors, there's really no need to travel to the much larger and more distant Malcha Mall, because, whether by car or public transportation, it takes barely half the time to get to Pisgat Zeev.  Many of my neighbors also work in Pisgat Zeev and Neve Yaakov in all sorts of jobs. 


I must admit that I don't really know all of the Jerusalem neighborhoods.  For me, Gilo is as foreign a place, if not moreso, than Pisgat Zeev-Neve Yaakov is for many.  Yes, Jerusalem is a big city.