Due to the size of this post, I have split it into 2 parts...

I had some vouchers from work for a vacation stay in a hotel. I received the vouchers as a bonus for my part in a successful (large and very important) project I was part of. A year and a half ago.

Due to our procrastination, and having 7 children that make scheduling vacations without them extremely difficult, we had not found the time to use the vouchers. Finally, as they were about to expire on December 31, we used them for the last 2 nights before the expiry. It was down to the wire, with us either throwing them away or going away, and we just made it.

Thanks to my mother in law who stayed with our kids and managed them better than us for a couple of days so we could go... we were actually able to work it out...

So here goes the post about touring the Golan Heights in the winter...

We decided to go north, because everybody else goes to either the Dead Sea or Eilat at this time of year. The Golan is always beautiful, summer or winter, and having it practically to ourselves held its own attraction.... So the Golan it was.

We stayed in the Kinar Classic hotel, which is a mehadrin hotel on the north-eastern shore of the Kinneret, which is the foothold of the Golan Heights.

The problem is really what to do in the Golan in the winter. During the summer season it is pretty much a no-brainer. Just decide which of dozens of hikes, trails, and waterfalls to visit. Three days of nearly non-stop rain kind of precludes the hiking in the mud and the water trails.

So, We got up to the Kinar Monday evening and settled in. We drove over to Tiberias to walk around a bit and have dinner. Tuesday morning we had to figure out what to do. We went with no plans, and "at worst" we would have just driven around the Golan a bit and relaxed without looking to keep busy the whole time.

But we found appropriate activities. We first went to Katzrin. Katzrin is the largest of the cities and moshavim in the Golan. Aside from the city itself, Katzrin is famous for its wineries, the Mei Eden mineral water factory, the ancient ruins discovered there, and more.

We started off with a place called "Kesem HaGolan" - or "Magic of the Golan". They have a movie beautifully describing the Golan. The movie is semi-interactive with water spritzing you (lightly) when water comes up in the movie, and wind blowing at other times, etc. The crowd was small and intimate with only a few other people there, so that added to the atmosphere.

After the movie, they take you to see a model of the Golan and explain its landscape and its history.


Then we drove around a bit trying to decide what to do. We debated between the Mei Eden factory and the ancient Talmudic Village Park. The decision was made for us. We decided on the Mei Eden factory, as we had been to the Talmudic Village previously (many years ago).

When we got there though, there was a sign o the door that the visitor's center is temporarily closed due to refurbishing of the center.

So, not being interested in the wineries or the olive oil factory, we decided on the Talmudic Village. Seeing a reconstruction of how they used to live about 2000 years ago is always interesting....




After Katzrin, we went through some of the tourist papers we had taken from the hotel, and came across what looked like it might be a decent "time-killer" that was nearby. An apple packing plant.


The "Breishit" apple (and other fruit) packing plant is the largest of its kind in Israel, and one of the most advanced in the world (maybe I made that up, but I think that is what our guide said).


Who knew that packing apples could be so complex and so fascinating? You go to the supermarket and put a bag of apples in your shopping cart - you have absolutely no idea what the apple has gone through to get to your cart.

The process is absolutely amazing, and I highly recommend a tour of this facility on our next trip to the Golan Heights.


They clean the apples, by the ton, they sort them, they measure them, they put them through Quality Control, they sort them again, and again, and again. It really is a fascinating process.


Stay tuned for Part 2...