How about a welcome drink at the bar?

Did I ever mention that I was working as a flight attendant for Deutsche Lufthansa years ago? I started on short distances flights on B737, followed by worldwide trips on Jumbojet later on. One of my favourite destinations was Tel Aviv and a real adventure those days. Meanwhile things have changed and I was really excited when I had the chance to visit this fascinating city again recently.

Bugrashov Beach and Frishman Beach are around the corner and to Dizengoff shopping mall it’s a 15 minutes walk

I fell completely in love with Tel Aviv when I went there a couple of month ago. While organizing the trip, many questions popped up and I really had no idea about the dimensions of this buzzling city, where to go and where to stay. So I decided for a boutique hotel, located on the corner of the famous Ben Yehuda Street and close to almost everything – even to the one of the best beaches of Tel Aviv, the Frishman Beach. The Mendeli Street Hotel – a 66-room establishment on a quiet side street – is only a two minute walk away from the beach. It opened already in the 1960s as the Adiv Hotel, and since than it is family-run. Four years ago, the owner family decided to renovate the entire building – an endeavor that took until now.

Me sitting in one of the most stylish outdoor-chairs I have ever seen

The result is a feast to the eyes: The Mendeli Street Hotel presents itself as a modern, stylish facility that is both sleek and homey, with careful attention paid to every detail. Stressing light and airy surroundings with cosy seating areas on attractive wood furnishings and hardwood floors, the hotel entices guests to be seduced by their surroundings.

The bright rooms are equipped with everything I expect from a hotel in its class

The attention to details is evident in every aspect of the hotel’s service, from a warm welcome at the front desk to a personal escort by a staff member to the room. Everything in the rooms is pristine, tasteful and contemporary. Make sure to book a Superior room, because the Standard rooms are pretty small. For that the bathroom in the Deluxe room is spacious and luxurious, featuring the largest shower space I have ever seen. But the real highlight of the Mendeli’s has nothing to do with sleeping: It’s the breakfast.

The real highlight? The breakfast!!!

It’s by far the best breakfast I have ever had – served in the large, open dining area by a friendly staff, who serves freshly squeezed juice and any beverage of your choice. You can order all kinds of egg dishes and combine it with innovative salads of greens or fresh fruit, a whole section of goat cheese and goat milk products, including bottles of yogurt, some with strawberries or raspberries, accompanied by individually wrapped packages of homemade granola. Don’t miss the fresh tartes, strudels and doughnuts. Conclusion: Here no wishes remain unfulfilled – I swear! BvH

Here no wishes remain unfulfilled

By the way, Mendeli Street Hotel is a non kosher hotel

The restaurant area with stressing light, airy surroundings and green jungle walls

Airy surroundings

The hotel offers air-conditioned accommodation with free Wi-Fi

I fell completely in love with Tel Aviv

I like this design … what do you think?

Homey atmosphere in the Deluxe room

Bye bye Mendeli Street Hotel – I’ll be back soon!

Contact:

www.mendelistreethotel.com

The post The Mendeli Street Hotel in Tel Aviv appeared first on My Stylery.

A classic in the Tel Aviv restaurant scene: The Café Noir

“You have definitely go to Café Noir,” recommended an Israeli friend of mine. “There you get the best Schnitzel in whole Tel Aviv – and you feel like being at Borchardt’s.” Eating a good Schnitzel was really not the idea of coming to Tel Aviv. And the Borchardt restaurant feels like my second Berlin home. I love good food and like to try the local cuisine. Hopefully there are also Israeli dishes on Café Noir’s menu.

I love to go here, whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner

When Café Noir opened in 1997, the owner and founder Rafi Bader wanted to create a bistro atmosphere combining European culture with a Tel Aviv experience. The atmosphere changes with the time of the day: mornings are slow and serene, lunch is always bustling and evenings are more romantic. The menu offers classic dishes, lovingly prepared from top-notch ingredients, along with modern specials of fresh, seasonal ingredients. And I am more than happy that also Kebab and Humus are offered. But I went for the Schnitzel: the Schnitzel you can choose from veal, pork or chicken meat.

My choice: Café Noirs iconic Schnitzel

“I wanted a place of a certain period. I picture the places where my grandfather would have spent time in Italy or Paris“, says the owner Rafi Bader. “Café Noir isn’t somewhere you grow bored of. It isn’t trendy, it’s not one of those spots that come and go.“
Honestly my culinary excursion into the Café Noir has paid off. A chic and comfy bistro with cool people and fantastic food. And the Schnitzel was really fabulous! BvH

Café Noir is a place that combines European food tradition with the tastes and atmosphere desired by a Tel Aviv clientele

Reserved in Hebrew: שמורות

Don’t worry, the menu at Café Noir is also available in English

The Bar: Israel is known for its excellent wines! A must try!!!

The restaurant ‘Café Noir’ is located in the heart of Tel Aviv, where one feels the pulse of the city

Bye bye, Café Noir. See you soon again!

Contact:

Café Noir
43 Ahad Ha’am Street
Tel Aviv

noir@cafenoir.co.il

The post The best Schnitzel is served in Tel Aviv! appeared first on My Stylery.

View from the beach to the awesome skyline of Tel Aviv

Good morning Tel Aviv! I’m looking outside the window, the sun is shining and so I walk to Frishman-beach – directly round the corner of my hotel ‘The Mendeli’ – for a little, refreshing bath in the Mediterranean Sea. The water seems to look so beautifully turquoise, like in the Caribbean. Bathing makes hungry, so I’m going to Café ‘Benedict’, one of Tel Aviv’s hippest breakfast addresses, where you get spoiled 24/7 with delicious egg dishes, freshly baked bread or pancakes and waffles with warm Nutella toppings. It’s recommended to make a reservation in advance to skip the endless seeming queue.

Hot, hot, hot: The Café ‘Benedict’

Well strengthened I’m walking in the direction of Florentin, Tel Aviv’s new artistic neighborhood, which just got discovered by the intellectual scene – an escape from the high rents of the established districts. I’m strolling through Herzel Street – the stronghold of interior stores – turn right to Florentin Street, and drift through the alleys at a felt temperature of 40 degrees Celsius. The heat level rises, my excitement sinks, also because I can’t see what I was expecting to find in Florentin. Only the traders on Levinsky-Street with their small spice shops and the cafes are a discovery, before I keep on running to the original bazar, the ‘Carmel Market’ – , Shuk HaCarmel – in the district Yafo: attraction for tourists as well as shopping source of the Tel Avivians for fruits, vegetables, fish, meat and textiles.

Watch out! Ask for teaspoonwhise measurement of spices

I’m buying herbs at the stand of Mishel Basta. With quick hands he’s filling hummus spices and curry in plastic bags and I was very surprised, when I suddenly found 100 Euros on my bill. My tip: specify the required amount in the measurement of a teaspoon.

Very chic: The restaurant ‘Montefiori’ in the homonymous street

For lunch I try the tip of my fond of travel friend Karen: At ‘Montefiori’ in the street of the same name near the ‘Shalom Tower’ one dines in a very stylish ambient. In the afternoon there’s a special lunch offer for the hip IT audience including an ice tea: not a culinary experience, but therefore very friendly staff and the aircon’ gave its best. Indeed I was pretty happy to carry a scarf with me.

That’s me purchasing spices on the Levinksy Street: Who has the choice, has the torment!

I continue northwards to Tel Aviv Marina, a small yacht harbor directly at the promenade, in direct neighborhood of the big hotels, huge concrete blocks and therefore not a real feast for the eyes. Over the promenade, which is 1.5 kilometers long, one gets to the northern district ‘New Port’, which is especially famous for its water shows on the weekend, the stores, markets and restaurants.

The marina of Tel Aviv and the caribbean blue water – so beautiful!

The sundowner at Frishman beach is a must. It’s best to enjoy the colorful spectacle with cold water or a coke, as the consumption of alcohol is strictly forbidden at the beaches of Israel.

Sunset at the Frishman-Beach – but please only with alcohol-free sundowner!

The nightlife in Tel Aviv can offer a lot. One of the favorite spots of the youngsters of Tel Aviv is the ‚Old Train Station‘ in the mega cool district ‘Neve Tsedek’. Nice restaurants and shops settled down in the stylish, renovated area of the former railway station ‘HaTachana’ in old buildings. Cecilie, who’s currently absorbing an internship in a Start-Up, has the tip of the evening: in the Spanish restaurant ‘Vicky Cristina’ welcomes us Shay, the owner itself and serves delicious tapas. Cecilie’s favorite tapas: fried cheese and the vegan paella, I like the chicken and the mini burger, crowned by a gluten free chocolate cake. It’s best to order several tapas and then exchange them. The wine selection is also great: try an Israeli Rosé from the winery Chateau Golan – you won’t regret it!

At the restaurant ‘Vicky Cristina’ the best tapas in town are served!

Afterwards there’s a very cool bar called ‚Bustan’. It’s right next to the ‚Vicky Cristina‘, where you can have excellent cocktails in the open air and Djs play swinging music. Especially the party ‘Secret Garden’, which takes place every Tuesday from 10:30 pm onwards, is a must. Who’s still in the mood to carry on afterwards should go to the rooftop bar ‘Suramare’, an absolute insider tip. From there one has a view over the vibrant Tel Aviv, over a city of awakening that never sleeps. BvH

Absolute insider tip: Rooftop bar ,Suramare’ with mega views over the city

Hotspot: renovated area of the former railway station ‘HaTachana’ …

… with shops and restaurants in the mega-hipp district ‚Neve Tsedek‘

Okay, what we eat then? In ‘Vicky Cristina’ the menu is studied

The former railway station ‚HaTachana‘

Tips:

Discover the district ‘Florentin’ with a professional:
Guy Sharett from ‘Street Wise Hebrew’ offers an art- and graffiti tour.
Nahalat Binyamin Straße 151

www.streetwisehebrew.com

The market of Carmel …

… with its colorful fruit and vegetable offer

Delicious and cheap:

Try Israels street-kitchen at a stand of Carmel Market: Yummy!

… here for example!

Dates, apricots, nuts … everything your heart (or stomach) desires

How about a German Beer? Have one in the ‘Bavarian Brasserie’!

The café ‘Benedict’ on the Rothschild Boulevard

Especially recommended: The egg dishes. Delicious!

Good for a stroll: I walk the 1.5 km long promenade up to the northerly quarter New Port

Addresses:

Café Benedict
Ben Yehuda Street 171
or
Rothschild Blvd 29
Tel Aviv-Yafo

Rooftop-Bar Suramare
Se’Adya Ga’on 24
Tel Aviv-Yafo

Restaurant Vicky Cristina
Hatachana
Koifmann Street 1
Tel Aviv-Yafo

Bar Bustan
Hatachana
All The Country
Tel Aviv-Yafo

Restaurant Montefiori
Montefiori Street 36
Tel Aviv-Yafo

Carmel-Markt
HaCarmel Street 11
Tel Aviv-Yafo

Dont’t miss:

The upcoming Tel Aviv episodes about a wonderful boutique hotel, the most amazing street in ‘Neve Tsedek‘, the best place for Wiener Schnitzel, my absolute favorite restaurant and my perfect day in Jaffa. Stay tuned! ביי לעת עתה

The post A perfect day in Tel Aviv appeared first on My Stylery.

Renovated old buildings or completely new architecture? Lots of new buildings arise in the Bauhaus-style

This time my destination is Tel Aviv. As a big architecture fan I was really looking forward to the trip, because the city is famous for its Bauhaus architecture and is therefore also called ‘White City’. Yet there aren’t many left overs of the ‘White City’. Houses with shiny, white facades are rather exceptional, most of the houses in the center of Tel Aviv are grey or brown, lots of them are about to fall into ruin. High humidity, heat and fumes do their remainder. I’m disappointed of the external Tel Aviv, because I can only recognize little parts of the former pearl of architecture, which was announced as world heritage by the UN-culture organization twelve years ago. But the charm of the city and its insights opens up to a very different and special way to me. Tel Aviv has something own, which attracts me magically.

To create financial incentives in terms of reorganization measures, householders are allowed to top up the buildings by two floors

Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier and Erich Mendelsohn were the architects who shaped the famous Bauhaus-style in the 1920s and 1930s in Weimar, Dessau and Berlin. European immigrants – among 20 Jewish architects from Germany – established the Bauhaus-style in uprising Tel Aviv: because one needed functional apartments for all the new immigrants in Palestine, so that the Bauhaus principle “form follows function” was perfectly suitable. Between 1933 and 1948, 4,000 buildings arose in clear, rounded forms with straight lines in the former desert. It is therefore a unique Bauhaus-Ensemble with more houses, than in Weimar, where the Bauhaus has been founded, and also than in Dessau, where it later moved to.

What a contrast: in the background a newly renovated house, the front building is threatened to lapse

In the summer it gets incredibly hot in Tel Aviv. Temperatures over 40 degrees are not from great rarity. Constructing in the Middle East therefore requires a different style than in Europe. Accordingly, architects consider generous balconies and horizontal slots in the balustrades to enable air circulation.

Only 1,600 to 4,000 buildings already got renovated

Only 1,600 to 4,000 buildings already got renovated – by now without any financial aid from the state. It’s the responsibility of the respective owner, to refurbish the houses. By now help has been announced from Germany: Barbara Hendricks, Minister for Construction, made a funding commitment of 2.8 Million Euros. I’m asking myself why no one acted earlier, to preserve the unique treasure of architecture of its complete decay. The UNESCO warned Israel earlier, that the world heritage could also get deprived again. Now Israel seems to be finally awake. BvH

Here, renovations are taken place. Finally!

Tip:
The Bauhaus Center offers guided tours or tours with audio guides through the White City
Dizengoff Straße 99
63461 Tel Aviv, Israel

www.bauhaus-center.com

From Jaffa I enjoy the view of the silhouette of Tel Aviv

Often I saw, that higher floors of a house are likely to ruin, but stores on the ground floor still open

The institute Francais on Rothschild Boulevard

Sparkling white: new building in the artist district Florentin

Awakening: This house had to wait years for his redevelopment

A successful renovation example on Rothschild Boulevard

The decay of a world heritage

A pearl of architecture decays – the graffiti scene has taken over

In the 1930s and 1940s, immigrants partly brought building materials from Germany. As Jews were not allowed to carry out money after 1933, they bought tiles, shutters and other things – to create a new homeland

Tel Aviv from above: View from the Levinstein Tower

Bauhaus-typical elements have been integrated into the architecture of the Habimah Theatre on Sderot Tarsat in Tel Aviv-Yafo

Old and new buildings in harmony on Dizengoff Square

The former cinema Esther at Dizengoff square – nowadays a design hotel

Architects consider generous balconies and horizontal slots in the balustrades to enable air circulation

Exterior views

World heritage needs governmental aid

Form follows function

Tel Aviv stands still since its establishment in 1909. Today, the city seems to equal a construction site in many districts

The heritage of the European immigrants, who set up their new home in Israel, is threatening to decay

The humid air, that breeze from the Mediterranean Sea into the town, speeds up the flaking of the plaster

Skyline of Tel Aviv and blue sea

Impressive architecture of Ben Gurion-Airport, named after Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben Gurion

It’s nearly good again: A relict from the late 60s: the Hilton Hotel in Tel Aviv, wonderfully located in the Independence-Park next to the promenade

The post Bauhaus-architecture in Tel Aviv appeared first on My Stylery.