Tuesday, April 5, 2011

THE WITCH AND THE MILKMAN

We have been away for a short vacation of a couple of days at the Golan Heights, celebrating my husbands birthday. Even so it was raining and stormy most of the time and even so I was and still am sick with the flue, our days were so rich with experiences that I have enough tales to fill three or four blog posts.
The Golan Heights are a real marvel in many respects. The nature is splendid and beautiful, displaying openly gorgeous wildflowers and other flora, and hiding a rich fauna of many animals, like boar, deer, jackals and wolves, and different birds of prey, like vultures and eagles. At this time of the year the waterfalls are rushing down in silvery and white foam, and in the wadis the water is splashing and gurgling and plentiful. The deep canyons and gorges are lush with green vegetation. There is a lot of evidence of human inhabitants at the Golan - mostly of the last 2000 years or so, but traces of prehistoric life was found as well. Many sites can be explored, and a lot can be learned about the people from the past, their culture and traditions, while visiting the small but wonderful archeological Golan Museum in Kazrin.
On Sunday morning we went to Mount Keta, a mountain in the north of the Golan Heights, where my husband was looking for orchids. It was cold and windy, so I stayed in the car, reading and listening to music. I will show the orchids my husband found too, in a next post.

It is very beautiful there, more than 1000 meters high up, on the slopes of mount Hermon. The panoramic view down at the landscape is breathtaking, with the Ram crater lake surrounded by cherry and apple orchards, with fertile fields, and meadows with grazing cattle. At the highest point up there is the "Witch and the Milkman" - and we went to have a late lunch there. 
In this restaurant very delicious gourmet food is prepared and served, and the ambiance is - how to put it - yes, enchanted might be the right word - and a little bit flea market style, a charming shabby look. The chairs never match, the floor is built up of many tiles of  broken pieces of marvel, the ceiling constructed of recycled lumber, in short, it is very special - the meals are tasty and the desserts ever so yummy!
Ah, and oh yes, the most important thing there: look at all those witches - they really make the atmosphere! They hang in the windows and dangle from the ceiling, they stand on the window sills and sit on shelves, they swing on swings and ride on animals and brooms, they grin at you from every corner and watch you eat, with fancy ragged dress, long claw like nails, red burning lips, elaborate hats and gorgeous hairstyles - some sweet, some creepy, but all graceful! A real witch must be the mother and creator of all of them!




The sun vanished, the sky darkened and the heavy clouds broke open, storm and rain accompanied us on the drive to the small village where we had booked a room. A lovely day ended in a wonderful thunderstorm! 

Photos like always by my husband Uri Eshkar.

12 comments:

zsazsazsu said...

thank you for sharing this little trip with us. Hope you feel better now !

Dies und Das vom Neckarstrand said...

Liebe Yael,
es ist nett, dass ihr ein paar schöne Urlaubstage anlässlich des Geburtstages von Deinem Mann auf den Golan Höhen verbracht. habt. Nachträglich noch alles Gute für ihn und viel Gesundheit im neuen Lebensjahr.
Die Hexen - in allen Variationen - gefallen mir sehr gut. Teils lustig, teils böse.
Liebe Grüße
Irmi

Terri said...

Hope you are feeling better now Yael. I've had the flu for a week, too.
I always love to read your posts... full of history and geography! Love the witches! I love the little Bohemian places to eat. You get more than food. We used to have a special restaurant near us. It was built around growing trees so that the massive trunks were in the aisles. There were bits of stained glass here and there, and the restrooms were written on - all over the place. Quite an eclectic design sense. Then the government shut it down and demolished it. (You think we'd have more freedom here, wouldn't you) The business moved across the street. Same food, no ambiance. Bummer!

Annuk said...

What a wonderful and enjoyable post, Yael :)! I truly enjoyed both text and photos, I'm always amazed at the togetherwork of words and images in your posts... you and Uri are the perfect team :)! The Golan Heights are such a mythical name to my ears, and I felt like I was there too, accompanying you on your trip... This place sounds so fascinating and full of ancient energy coming through so many centuries of life and civilization.
And the restaurant... I LOVE this kind of enchanted, "shabby", atmospheric ambience!! The witches are enchanting too!
Thank you for yet one more great trip, Yael :)!
And... get well soon!!!!!! :)

Eva said...

Was für ein originelles Lokal! Und ein Gewitter nach dem Besuch -- waren das wohl Wetterhexen?

wandamarie.blogspot.com said...

your killin' me woman...ALL THIS and you are sick? i hope you get well speedily speedily!
at the beginning of your post, yael, you painted pictures in my mind to begin with. then i was so surprised to find MANY photos and MANY more wonderful words and explanations. such a marvelous post. and the witches are so FANTASTICO! thank you thank you! xo

... said...

I hope the flu is gone and that you are feeling better now, Yael!

Thanks for sharing your trip, the photos are fabulous :) The scenery is just beautiful. And I love the restaurant, so original with the witches. They are all great and charming. Wonderful!!

I'm looking forward to your next posts :)

Handmade in Israel said...

Whta a wonderful little trip! I want to go to The Witch and The Milkman too one day.

veroque said...

יעל, את מצליחה לנסח סיפורים מקסימים בשילוב התמונות המקסימות של אורי וזה תמיד מאוד מרגש אותי וגורם לי לרצות להיות בדיוק שם (אפילו עם שפעת).
מקווה שאת מרגישה טוב ומזל טוב גדול לאורי היקר!

Dawn of LaTouchables said...

...I so love thunderstorms! *Sigh* What a beautiful long weekend you had!

Pesky Cat Designs said...

What a magical place! And as always your husband takes the most fantastic photos. I love finding places like this. My favorite witch is the first one. She looks like she casts only good spells and animals seem to love her. (looks like a squirrel sitting on her lap)
Hope you are feeling better.:)

Tanja said...

Mama, das ist Klasse - ich liebe Marionetten - können wir da mal hinfahren wenn ich zu Besuch bin? Nishika Tanja