Sudden Return to Tremping AKA Hitchhiking, Let Me Tell You About It

There was a time when most of my travelling was by tremping AKA hitchhiking. Our bus service has never been all that great, and being "car-less," I had no real choice. It's either tremp or: 

• never go anyplace
• spend a day or two on what should be a short trip
• not be able to work outside of Shiloh

In recent years a few things have happened to keep me on buses:

• bus service has improved a bit, with more buses, a better route, the fact that buses passing Shiloh stop at the junction
• you can get an "all day unlimited travel" bus ticket, which is half price for senior citizens
• thanks to technology we can check an app to see if a bus is coming and when
• I'm retired, so I'm more able to plan my travel around the bus schedule

But there are times when the idea of standing around and waiting for a bus takes too much energy. And I can't sit, because what if someone is driving by who would have given me a lift if he/she had seen me waiting.... Honestly, I'm not the sitting type.

Late, last Thursday night was one of those times. My daughter had driven me as far as Ofra, where she lives and I'd been following the progress of the bus on the app efobus. It was due in about 20+ minutes, so I planned on going back into Ofra five minutes before its arrival, if I didn't find a ride.

There was a soldier at the hitchhiking post, and when he saw me, probably three times the age of other trempistim (hitchhikers,) he immediately offered to help me check out the drivers offering rides. But in the end, he was amazed that some of those who stopped knew me by name, and I ended up getting a ride with someone I had once worked with. So, thank Gd I got home quite awhile before the bus, which doesn't go directly to Shiloh.

Then the next morning I had a much more complicated trip. I had originally checked it out and was confident that I could get to the large bus stop on the way to Elkana by taking the bus to Ariel and then transferring to another. That was before I discovered that there'd be a marathon in Ariel. Bus service inside Ariel wouldn't be back to "normal" until an hour or so after I needed to get to my destination.

I had no choice. I had to tremp or not go to our friend's azkara, memorial. Yes, I decided to hitchhike.

I walked to the main Shiloh bus stop, but nobody was going in the right direction. Finally I got a ride to a better corner. From there it took awhile until I got a ride with somebody going to Eli. Waiting on the road outside of Eli isn't all that great, but I felt that I had no choice. As you can see, there's construction going on, though not that day. They're changing the junction and probably adding traffic lights.

It took quite awhile for me to get a ride. Actually  I was about five minutes from crossing the street and trying to get home.

Someone was going just a few kilometers past where I needed. We bypassed Ariel because of the marathon. There were no buses on the road as we drove, which confirmed my suspicion that tremping was the only way for me that morning. Then I walked down to the place I'd be picked up for the azkara.

Going back home I had to do the trip in reverse, but there'd be bus service to/from Ariel. As we were driving to the bus stop, I realized that at best I'd just miss the bus home. But after all of my successful tremping that morning and the night before, I felt perfectly confident.

I checked the app and saw that there was an 86 to Ariel expected in a couple of minutes. I got off at the first stop in Ariel and then realized that those shopping and then driving to Shiloh wouldn't see me. The parking lot exit is further on. I should have gotten off at the next stop. So I began to walk there as quickly as I could, even though the air on that sidewalk was full of construction dust/sand. Suddenly I heard what could have been someone calling me. I stopped and turned around. It was an old friend. He asked what I was doing and then offered to take me to the last stop in Ariel, near the university, where it's easy to get a ride home.

So, Baruch Hashem, in a short time I was on my way home. Because the bus goes through Eli and then Shvut Rachel before it gets to my neighborhood, I actually got home before that bus I had missed passed my house.

Gd's Great for sure. He took good care of me when I needed those rides. Baruch Hashem.

In case you're wondering, I'm not reverting to tremping over the buses. But it's nice to know that it can be done, when Gd wants it to happen.

Another Amazing Gd-Planned Trip

As you should know by now, we don't have a car. And considering our ages and financial position, it doesn't look like we ever will. So, we're dependent on public transportation and the siyate d'Shmaya aka Hand of Gd or tremping/hitchhiking.

Last week on a day off, I had been invited to the Psagot Yekev/Winery for Scholarship Award Ceremony of the Simcha (Simon) and Chana (Jana) FALIC and BARAD FAMILIES SCHOLARSHIP AWARD of Chesed Menachem Mendel – Colel Chabad. It's not far from Shiloh. All the buses to Jerusalem stop nearby. It's Just literally on top of Migron which is across from the Gas Station on the way to Tel Zion, Psagot and Kochav Yaakov.

I calculated when to leave in order to catch a bus, and then a few minutes before that I got a notice that a neighbor would be going to Sha'ar Binyamin in half an hour. I quickly called him to see if he would drop me off at the stop I needed, the "gas station," just a kilometer from his destination, and he said yes. He said he'd call me five minutes before leaving. Then just when we should have been leaving, I got a message from him that he wouldn't be going at all.

Oops! I was stuck. The chance of getting there on time was just about impossible. I would need a miracle. I grabbed my bag and ran to the bus/hitchhiking stop. A neighbor came by, but she wasn't going that far at all. She was only going to the main road, where I wasn't going to wait. So I asked to get off at the Shiloh-Shvut Rachel Junctions which does get more rides. Immediately after getting out of her car there was a car to Ofra. I jumped in. At Ofra immediately there was a woman with kids in the car who said she was going to the "gas station," just the stop I needed. As we drove, it occurred to me that maybe she was going to the Yekev, since I didn't think she was getting gas. There is also a gas station in Ofra. So I asked where exactly, and she replied Migron, so I asked to go there since it was on the way. Even better was that she was going to one of the uppermost houses on that hillside.

It wasn't a bad walk up, and I arrived in time for the ceremony!

Travel, Tremping and Public Transportation, a "Typical" Day

Just in case you're curious as to how I travel... Yesterday after studying in Matan I visited an elderly friend in the Shalom Hotel, Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem..

sunrise, while waiting
for a ride

But let me start from the beginning. Once a week I study in Matan. That's the day I try to do all sorts of errands in Jerusalem. I get up very, very early. One of the reasons I have to get up early is my morning "elimination" routine. I once read that it's important to clean out old food before putting in new food. So I can't leave home until that is finished with.

I leave the house just after 6am. I've been hitching a ride with a school van driver who goes to Ofra. In Ofra I wait for a ride to Jerusalem. It usually takes a few minutes for someone to come out with empty seats in their car and offer us rides. As we get close to Jerusalem I check to see what their destination is and figure out where to get off. Last week I got a ride to walking distance (and I had enough time) from Matan which was great. The only problem has been that there are terrible traffic jams even so early in the morning. A half hour trip has been taking over an hour and a half. That means that instead of the lovely walks I used to take to Matan, I now have to rush from bus to train to bus, depending on where I'm let off.

Yesterday, I was let off at Givat HaTachmoshet, between Ramat Eshkol and French Hill. I caught the lightrail and took it to "City Hall," used the WC's and then hopped on the train for one stop to Strass and Yaffo Streets. There I caught the 18 which goes closest to Matan. And on the bus I ate my breakfast. I got to Matan just in time for my class.

Going home was less direct, because I had a few errands. A friend dropped my off at a bus stop which had the 18 and 77. I had to go to "Jerusalem Center," downtown, near Ben-Yehuda Street. Unfortunately, I forgot that the 18 takes King David Street in the other direction, and I had a bit of a walk to get to my destination. I had planned on printing pictures, but the picture place no longer takes dvds, so I'll have to do it from home. They told me how. From there I went to the corner of King George and Yaffo to buy my ns10 salad and ate it.

Then still on my 90 minute bus ticket, I was able to take the train two stops to Machane Yehuda to buy some fruit. After that, still within the 90 minutes I caught the train to the Mount Herzl stop so I could walk to my friend. I had plenty of time, so I wandered around, which is something I hadn't done there for over 33 years, even since we had moved to Shiloh.

Nothing stays the same, not even our old building.

Our old home in Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem. We were on the top floor, which today isn't the top floor.

But I'll blog more about that visit at a later time, G-d willing.

After visiting my friend, I took the #21 to the train on Herzl Blvd. From there I caught the #143 to the "city line." The bus, train and bus were all on the same ticket; we get 90 minutes of free transfers. There I waited for either a Shiloh bus or ride. I got a tremp to Ofra and then another tremp to the Shiloh Junction where I saw my friend waiting for a ride in the other direction.

Then I got a ride to the Shiloh-Shvut Rachel Junction, and from there I got a ride to the "downtown" Shiloh parking lot, which is half way up the hill which goes to my house. I started walking up, and someone stopped to give me a ride to near the start of my street. When I got off, I met a friend there and talked. And then I got home, thank G-d.

Just in case you were curious about how I manage to live without a car, and without patience to sit around waiting for buses.

Such Goodness חסד "Chessed" From Others, Only in Israel Tremping Stories

Do stories like these happen anyplace else?

I consider it "only in Israel," because where else is hitchhiking so prevalent? Tremping is what we call hitchhiking here in Israel. It's most prevalent in rural and semi-rural/suburban-type areas such as Judea, Samaria, the Golan and Jordan Valley. That's because of two factors:

• Public transportation isn't sufficient in terms of frequency and time efficiency. Sometimes it can take half a day to get from point a to point b by bus, while a direct ride is only fifteen minutes. And some communities aren't serviced at all by public transportation.
• Not everyone has a private car, and if a family does, it can't service everyone in the family.

There used to be signs at the
Jerusalem "city line." 

The culture of giving and accepting rides from friends, neighbors and even total strangers is part of Israeli culture where I live in Shiloh. We have never had a car. My husband mostly takes buses to and from his part-time job in Jerusalem. He is also the type that doesn't mind waiting. I work part-time in Yafiz, Sha'ar Binyamin, and study once a week in Jerusalem. I wouldn't survive without the tremps I get from friends, neighbors and strangers which supplement the buses, which I do take, too.

In theory I could use just buses to commute to work, but especially since I sometimes finish late at night,  my schedule doesn't match the bus schedule and I find waiting for buses less efficient than waiting for rides I combine those forms of transportation.

The חסד chessed, goodness of others is amazing. Not long ago, during the recent Jewish Holiday season,  I did a big shopping in the Rami Levy Discount Supermarket before signing in for my night shift, with the hope that I'd find a neighbor to take my stuff home to be picked up later by my husband. A neighbor took the bags and left them by my door since she had to leave home again before my husband expected to be home. I was very relieved, because Yafiz, where I work didn't have the space for those bags, and it's much easier to tremp home sans shopping bags, especially after 9:30pm. 

After finishing that long pre-Holiday shift I waited by the Rami Levy exit for a ride/tremp and suddenly I saw that same neighbor. She had come to look for me, since she didn't have my phone number. She had finished with her evening plans and was passing by, so she stopped into Sha'ar Binyamin to look for me. Such a wonderful neighbor. 

And the other night, again after a long late night shift, I caught a ride with someone I didn't know at Ofra, which is halfway home. He dropped my off at the Shiloh Junction. I put on my reflector-vest and suddenly noticed that he had u-turned. He decided not to leave me on the corner. He took me all the way home.

People are wonderful and G-d is Great!

I have a lot to be thankful for!

Quick Nosh on the Road When Tremping

There are lots of fig trees in the Binyamin/Benjamin area, and many are along the roads. There's a very tempting couple right where I wait for a ride outside of Ofra.

Figs have to picked when they are just ready.

I had to climb down a bit to get to it, but there didn't seem to be a car coming. So I wouldn't miss a ride. A young guy waiting had gotten himself a few, too.

It was definitely worth the risk!

I love fresh figs! It's one of those treats I only discovered after making aliyah and living in Jerusalem. Decades ago when we lived in Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem, I remember buying some from an Arab woman who went house to house, building to building.

Two Flags and The Tzaddik (Holy-Man) in Disguise

Considering that I blog more about tremping (hitchhiking,) you should know that I also take buses. It depends on what comes first. Two days ago, when I made it to the bus stop at the Shmuel Hanavi corner in Jerusalem, I discovered that it would be almost an hour until the next Shiloh bus was due, so I took a #143 to the "city line" and had fantastic tremps home. But yesterday a Shiloh bus #148 arrived at the stop at the "top of" Ramat Eshkol just minutes after I got there, so I took the bus home.

I sat in the front seat behind the driver for a few reasons.

• It was unoccupied.
• I like to look out the front window.
• I had to pay the "second installment*" of the fare mid ride, so the closer to the driver the better.
• Officially, those seats are reserved for the "elderly," and now I'm pension age, so unless a couple of passengers incapable or walking further into the bus would get on, it's set aside for me and my peers.

Sitting in front gave me a front row view to all aspects of the ride home.

Everything had been quiet and routine until we just passed Givat Assaf, the Beit El Junction when suddenly the driver stopped on the road. None of us had seen anything to warrant stopping. And if there had, G-d forbid, been a terror attack, instructions are to drive away as quickly as possible. 

Not only did the driver stop the bus, but he quickly climbed out. No, he didn't find a corner to pee, which has happened over the decades. He bent down and picked up an Israeli Flag which he had noticed had fallen down from the poles near the junction. 

He placed it carefully near the flag he has on display in the bus and told us that the Israeli Flag is holy. He just can't abide the thought of one lying on the ground.

And that wasn't all. As we pulled out of the Ofra bus stop and security gate he noticed some people running from afar to catch the bus. And he waited for them. At the same time a woman in a nurses uniform got out of a tremp just across from the bus. She approached and asked if the bus was going to her destination, which it was. She was so grateful. Not only had the driver waited for those who were running to catch us, but because of that a young nurse was able to make it quickly and safely home.

And, no, in case you were wondering, this driver did not wear any of the signs of outward religiosity, not in his clothes, accent, hairdo or head-covering. It's obvious to me that in terms of Derech Eretz,  the Laws of Behavior between man and man, this man lived a "mehadrin" life.

What a wonderful Jewish people we have here in Israel!

*My Jerusalem ticket's "transfer" was good until the Ma'avar Michmas gas station stop, and only then did I have to pay the lower fare to Shiloh.

Annoyed at the Jerusalem Bus Station

I don't go to the Jerusalem Central Bus Station aka CBS very often for various reasons. One is that I can pick up the bus to Shiloh  in other parts of Jerusalem. Another is that when possible I try to save money and tremp, meaning get a ride or hitchhike. 

Though I did go the other day, mostly because I needed to fill my "ravkav" prepaid bus/lightrail pass with more rides. I can get those at the bus station by paying with my credit card, saving me cash and the inconvenience of having to deal with money and change when traveling to and from work. 

When I got there, I saw that two out of three pay stations were closed, and there was a long line for the only open one.

This was very annoying. It also blocked access to the buses, so people kept breaking through to catch their bus.

I got to the back of the line and rushed forward when another opened. One woman was ahead, but she needed such complicated help it took almost as long as if I hadn't gotten on the newly opened one. At least the clerk was pleasant, and I had the time. Some of those clerks are awfully nasty. If I would treat my customers like they do, I'd be fired in a jiffy.

Shabbat in Efrat

For us to be away for a Shabbat or Chag, Holiday twice in a month is unheard of. We rarely go away that much in a year. But maybe this is the beginning of a trend...

We spent the Passover Seder in Jerusalem, and less than two weeks later we were in Efrat for Shabbat. We have relatives there who were disappointed that they hadn't been informed that we had needed a place for the Seder. Also I had almost gone there for the Shabbat when my husband was in England for Limmud at the tail end of the blizzard. And since they were making a siyyum (festive end of learning a specific book/topic,) in memory, l'ilu'i nishmato,  "elevating the soul" of my late mother-in-law's cousin, father of the hostess, it was a fitting occasion for us to share with them.

Efrat is south of Jerusalem, and Shiloh is north of Jerusalem, so we had to travel quite a bit to get there. First stage of the trip was a bus from Shiloh. Our local regional council provides a free bus on Fridays to Jerusalem, which we took. We had been offered a ride to Efrat from Jerusalem by a friend who wanted us to meet her near Binyanei Ha'uma, which is near the central bus station.  Our free bus took us to Ramat Eshkol, and since the Jerusalem buses have drastically changed (there's no longer the #8 at that stop) we and another couple found it easiest to share a cab the the "cbs" especially since they were in a rush to catch a different bus.

There wasn't any traffic, and we got to Efrat quickly, so our friend took us on a quick tour of Efrat entering from the northern end.  Here are some photos I took.

security wall blocks gorgeous view

My return home was a bit more complicated, though quick enough. We took a ride to Jerusalem with our friend. Then we took a bus on which my husband continued to the bus station, but since I hate waiting and there was over an hour until our bus I went home differently. To sum it up, I took 1 ride, 4 buses, 3 tremps and then I walked at least a half a kilometer up the hill to our home.

I'm Not as Anonymous as I Had Thought...

I'm pretty much a nobody, OK, maybe not in the Jewish blogging world. But there really are many people who consider my husband the "celebrity" and expect me to play "Pat Nixon."

This year, when we found that all of our kids had "other plans" for the seder, and none were going to spend it with us, I knew that the time had come for us to somehow either get invited or find a few friends in similar positions and do the seder together. Stage one for this was for me and my husband to answer "dunno," or:

"This year we haven't a clue."

I guess it sort of sounded like a euphemism for:

"We're hoping that we'll be invited by someone."

And in the end a "someone" actually did invite us. Actually a few "someones" by the time Passover had rolled around. It was my husband who landed the winning invitation, and I kept telling people that I didn't know the people. But it ended up that our host and I had been acquainted almost half a century ago. That's even before my husband had met him, and even before I had met my husband. We had a wonderful time there and hope that we were good guests, well-behaved.

Our trip home ended up being more complicated than planned, because we ended up missing the bus by a few seconds and had to tremp. I got the first ride, which took me to Ofra. From there I got a ride to the Shiloh Junction. And from there another ride to the Shiloh-Shvut Rachel Junction, and there I ended up waiting and waiting. I reached the point when I had decided that if one more car passes me without stopping, I'm just going to walk straight up, and believe me it it straight up, to my house. So I zipped up my coat to be ready to march.  It was cold. And just then a car turned and stopped. I didn't know the person, but he almost stammered my name. He used to read my blogs.

He was on his way to see a neighbor of mine and  very happy to take me home.

It seems that I'm a bit more well-know than I had thought.

Lovely Nachla'ot

Recently I was overjoyed to discover that I have a friend who lives right near Kraft Stadium, so that after late IFL football games I don't have to rush to catch the late bus or tremp home. 

After cheering the victorious Big Blue Jerusalem Lions, I just walked across the street and met my friend who very generously gave me a bed in her "very Nachla'ot" apartment.  And I had a good night's sleep.  In the morning I walked to the CBS aka Central Bus Station and took the bus home.  It was certainly less stressful than arriving home after my usual bedtime.

And Nachla'ot/Nachlaot is one of the most photogenic Jerusalem neighborhoods, which is why Natalie Portman chose it as the location to film scenes in her movie, though not the streets I walked Friday morning. She actually chose to shoot on my sons' street though not next to their building.

Wonderful Tremping, With a Little Help From My Friends

The sky may have had been cloudy today, but good people found me and I got home pretty easily, Baruch Hashem, Thank G-d.   Or did I find them...

People always wonder how I travel.  OK, sometimes by bus.  And sometimes by rides and sometimes a combination.  And Baruch Hashem, I make it home.

Today after working, I went into Rami Levy to do just a bit of shopping.  Really, not much at all.  I had only four things, but it was one of those Murphy events.  The cashier was about to switch. She first had to finish with the previous customer, count her money and then let the next one take her chair. And I had to wait.  I was getting nervous, not because I didn't have a ride, but because I was afraid that my ride was going to leave before I checked out the four measly items I had decided to buy.

I had noticed a friend on the next line.  She lives in Ofra and travels by car.  She said/signalled that she'd drive me to there, half way home.  She paid, and I was still waiting. But luckily she had wanted to buy something next door n Yafiz.  I was still waiting.   Finally I checked out and found her wagon.  It all worked out. We left together.

On the road I spotted the 148 which goes to Shiloh.  We passed it, and I told her, so she dropped me off in Ofra near the bus stop.

After a few minutes the bus came and just as I as searching for my carfare, I saw a neighbor of mine get out. Now, why should she be getting off in Ofra when she lives in Shiloh?  Ahh hah!  She must have left her car in Shiloh and maybe she'd be driving home, so I called to her  and asked.

Yes, I had a ride up to my streets!  Wonderful!!

Always surprises....

Learning New Ways Around Jerusalem

After years of traveling weekly from Shiloh to Matan by public transportation, tremps, walking etc at dawn, schlepping my breakfast and a thermos of delicious perked coffee,  plus books etc I now have a new way. A neighbor is studying once a week, davka the same day, in Malcha and has to be there just before I do.  So instead of waking at 4am and leaving home just after 6am hoping for a ride before the 6:35 bus, I get up at 4:30 with time to eat a warm breakfast at home and leave with him at 7am.

By the time we leave the sun is shining, and I'm not stressed out wondering how and when I'll arrive.  A small disadvantage or a "good news-bad news" is that I don't have the time I used to for a long fitness walk before class. The advantage is that I'm much more awake during class with the extra sleep and relaxing ride.

The only difficulty was figuring out the best bus route from where he drops me off to Matan.  Suddenly I have to travel via the San Martin-Pat area, which I never knew at all before.

At Malcha I catch the #6 bus and take it about three stops to Golomb, if I got that right.  I just know that it's the first stop after some very impressive tunnel.  Last week when I did it for the first time, I  asked absolutely everyone I could find what they recommended from the minute I got to the Malcha bus stop until I got off the #6A.  And from the same place I can catch the #18 which goes pretty close to Matan or the #4 which requires a good five or more minute walk.

The only real quirk about this is that the #18, which I rushed to beat to the stop, first takes a long "ride around the block" before stopping to take me to Matan.

Last week I spotted it after its little detour.  But at least I had time to photograph the view from the bus stop.

After I got off, I decided to walk through the gorgeous alley ways to Matan. They are among the hidden beauties of Jerusalem.

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.