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Published: August 7th 2011
Photo 2
Adin on his new carbon fibe bike - Not!While Aimee toured the apartment with our real estate agent, Israel T., and the boys quickly picked their rooms - thankfully no fight to the death there - I continued with the big shlepp. Happily, and contrary to our expectations, our building has an elevator. Unhappily, the elevator appears to have been designed with Biafrans in mind, holding a maximum of 4 very skinny people, provided that they stand straight with their hands to their sides, all inhale and hold their breath, and are carrying absolutely nothing. But it works. So I loaded it up, pressed the button, and raced it up the stairs to the third floor where I unloaded, pressed the button and then raced it down the stairs. Repeating this five times, I got all our stuff into the apartment.
The Apartment. Very basic, in a style that goes back at least to the 70s, though the building was built in the mid 90s. Why change anything when your apparent goal is to create something that is, well, very basic. The front door opens onto the kitchen, dining area and living room. Except for a solid oak dining table that seats eight comfortably, everything appears to have
Photo 3
Ezra: Cruisin' around the park been designed in the “factory of ugly things.” It would be impossible to create, for example, the sofas and wall sconces in the living room, without a deliberate intent at ugliness. The kitchen is - dare I say - basic, though reasonably functional with a decent amount of drawers and cupboards. There is a normal sized fridge with door shelves apparently designed so that any item you place on them, big or small, will fall through the railing and on to the stone-tiled floor. The oven is on the tiny side of small, the toaster almost set the toast on fire the first time I used it, and the dishwasher … actually no dishwasher.
To deal with the 40 degree heat we immediately “activated” the “mazgun”, which is Hebrew for airconditioning, but when the apartment failed to cool down appreciably, we shut it down and opened all the windows, which created a reasonable cross-breeze.
The bedrooms - basic. The beds, which no doubt also came from “the factory of ugly things,” turned out to be quite comfortable, though the pillows feel a little like sacks half-filled with giant clumps of popcorn.
The one and a half bathrooms
Photo 4
Meow - aka Cushie Rachel are .... beyond basic. I think the fixtures came from the “stupid design” section of “the factory of ugly things. The toilet in the full bathroom floods the floor every time we flush, the sink in the half bathroom is so narrow from front to back that it’s hard to spit into the sink without banging your head on the medicine cabinet above. The toilet in here only fully flushes if you hold the button down for several extra seconds (or flush a second or third time), and when using the shower - clearly designed by the same Biafran who did the elevator - you have to be careful not to wack your elbows against the sides of the stall. No bending over possible, and when I dropped the soap I had to crouch down with my back fully erect to avoid smacking my head into the side. The sliding shower doors stick in the closed position - Aimee panicked when first showering, thinking she’d be locked in the stall until I and the boys returned to the apartment. That all being said, however, there is lots of hot water and good pressure.
The washer, appears to have come
Photo 5
Stocking our empty kitchen from the sub-section of the stupid design department of the factory of ugly things - “the mini appliance” section. Which is a concept that works for computers but not so well for washers. “Small” does not do justice in describing this washer. Needless to say, we’ve been checking out the local laundromats. The “drier,” a fold-up plastic rack works well now but, I’m guessing, will not be quite so effective come winter.
But what makes this apartment the perfect choice for us is its location in a complex of a dozen apartment buildings which circle around beautiful Ofira Navon Park, in the midst of the most desirable neighbourhood in town. The complex, called “Ganei Katamon” used to be a professional soccer stadium, which explains the massive walls surrounding the buildings. After so many years, however, the walls are covered with much greenery, and completely seal out the sounds of the city, including all traffic noise. All we hear are the sounds of kids playing in the park, and the occasional barking dog. And the quiet lasts throughout the day, creating the impression of early morning all day. And the boys love it. They inherited bikes from the previous tenants
Photo 6
Aimee with our triple bank of computers - obviously made in the “factory of very heavy things” - which they’ve used to bomb around the park along a wide sidewalk around the perimeter of the park. They’ve also spent much time scootering in the park, and may be the first to have done roller-hockey in Ganei Katamon. Most of their time outside, however, has been hanging with their new pet - Meow - a black street cat. Meow and Rosie have been eying each other with suspicion, but seem to be moving towards an uneasy truce.
And that, is where we live.
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Elana Promislow
non-member comment
Glad you're settling in!
That washing machine is ridiculous! I'm impressed how organized you guys are already. Looking forward to your next post!