Jerusalem Theater – Page 4 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Pianos in Jerusalem

December 27, 2015rjstreets

Pianos, so many pianos.

‘Three Days Pianos’ was a festival at

The Jerusalem Theater.

For three days and late nights the theater was alive,

as people even played piano in the lobby.

Art work lined many walls,

much of it on a piano theme,

with some works overhead.

The opening event,

in the Henry Crown Hall,

with international pianists,

began with a brilliant 40 minute duet,

with Duo Lutoslawski each at a piano,

and ended with four stools,

for four in a humorous finale.

Many performances were held in the various halls

of the Jerusalem Theater beginning on Wednesday.

Late into the night this lobby filled

with sounds of beautiful music

and people of all ages.

The festival ended with Kabbalat Shabat,

on Friday afternoon,

with artistic director Michael Wolpe.

Pianos.

So many pianos this week in Jerusalem,

Bach, Chopin, Mozart, Schubert, the list goes on,

watch and listen for even more next year.

After Jerusalem Blizzard 2015

January 12, 2015rjstreets

Last week it was exhausting waiting for the snow to start.

School was closed, then opened, then closed.

Supermarkets ran out of chicken and yeast.

It snowed a bit and then stopped.

It rained and rained, it poured.

The heaters do not work when it really gets cold,

but we waited for Jerusalem covered beautifully in white.

Finally, around 4:00 pm on Friday,

the snow began to fall,

and so heavy the Knesset could not be seen.

The Israel Museum blurred into white.

But Shabbat was starting,

and the camera was put away,

so you will have to believe me that on Friday night and Shabbat

we saw some of the most gorgeous scenes ever.

There was no wind and the snow stuck to all the tree branches,

for what would have made classic photos.

Then,

all that was left on Sunday was the remnant of this poor old snow man,

I assume those carrots were his/her nose.

But not only do heaters not work well in the cold,

as usual there were water problems with parts of the dood freezing,

so seeing someone working on the roof tops was common.

We only lost power for a few minutes and had

running water all Shabbat, though it was soo cold.

But then the sun came out,

and Pollyanna time.

Along with the tragic news from Paris, France,

girls from Beit Shemesh were excited to be at the Jerusalem Theater

to rehearse for their show “Pollyanna.”

Blizzard of 2015 did not happened,

feeling still like a bear coming out of hibernation,

but back to “normal.”

After Jerusalem Snow of Century Clean Up Time

December 19, 2013rjstreets

While the rest of Israel and world goes about its business,

in and around Jerusalem it is not back to normal yet.

Snow and fallen trees are piled higher than a bus stop.

This is just #blizzrael – Blizzard – Israel – Unreal.

If you have lived through a large snow storm,

then you are familiar with these grey piles of plowed mess on street corners,

trying to walk around them,

and sharing the space on the cleared streets with slow traffic.

But this is Jerusalem, Israel, not Boston, Buffalo or Brooklyn,

so there are plenty of palm branches on the ground too.

Another difference, people here do not leave a piece of furniture

on the street hoping to save their parking spot.

Most of the pretty white images from yesterday are gone.

There was one pretty scene in front of Beit Hanassi, the President’s residence,

I guess the President’s staff gave up on clearing the sidewalk,

hoping the sun would do the work for them.

It was warming up finally,

and this man was out in shorts.

The Jerusalem cats were back in their favorite spots,

but the Paris Square Fountain was not flowing.

I have dozens more not-so-pretty photos of mountains of snow,

but I won’t bore you with so many of them.

The clean up equipment was out,

only I always seem to find them on a break.

It is still a great time for tree-trimmers who work with large chain saws.

Along with the sounds of cars honking in blocked traffic,

is the welcome sound of buzzing of chain saws.

Just look at the amount and size of some of timber that was cut

and left in front of the Jerusalem Theater.

Now is a good time to collect wood for your fireplaces.

With so many scenes like this one on Emek Refaim Street,

and these dangerous snowy and icy walkways,

it is no wonder that a few guys’ crazy idea to run to Eilat,

doesn’t seem so crazy anymore.

That is confetti not snow, as the runners

left First Station at the start of their 36 hour, 360 km relay race.

Good luck guys!

We finally got full power back after a week,

so as long as it lasts I am going to

keep my feet dry

and hibernate.