Venice, Italy

Contributed by Elina Rokhkind | Last Date of Travel: October 2009

Kosher Info: All Jewish life in Venice is clustered inside the former Ghetto area of two compact squares – Campo di Ghetto Nuovo and Campo di Ghetto Vecchio. Here you can find two meat kosher restaurants: Gam-Gam, which is owned and operated by Chabad, and Le Balthazar with the adjacent new kosher hotel Giardino del Ghetto (same ownership) under the supervision of Chief Rabbi of Venice.

It was packed in Gam-Gam on Thursday night, so reservations are recommended. The food was tasty and the service efficient, but the menu was mostly Israeli style with just a few Italian selections. On Shabbat Gam-Gam hosts communal meals (free, but donations are appreciated). They told us that in the summer they had up to 700 guests each week eating in shifts! During our October stay it was less crowded, but the restaurant was full nevertheless.

Le Balthazar also offers Shabbat meals, which you have to pre-pay. During our visit they hosted a morning Kiddush for everyone in their quaint backyard garden, so we got a glimpse of Le Balthazar’s cuisine and atmosphere. I must say, we were rather impressed, both the fresh authentic Italian delicacies they served and the lovely décor contributed to an extremely pleasant experience.

There is another small B&B in the Ghetto – Locanda del Ghetto, which only serves catered kosher breakfast for its guests.

There are also two kosher bakeries – one was never open while we were there, and the other had a nice selection of breads and pastries, and sold kosher packaged products and wine. The bakery is apparently owned by non-Jews, since it was open on Shabbat, while displaying two kashrut certificates. Chabad also runs a small makolet, where you can buy some dry goods and dairy, but it does not have set operation hours, so you need to arrange with them to open it.

Another dining option is the dairy cafeteria in the Jewish Museum of Venice, open during the museum hours. We tried it and were pleasantly surprised, as it offered simple but yummy Italian dishes and heimishe service. Finally, we discovered a gelateria Il Gelatone within a 5-minute walk outside of the Ghetto: all flavors marked with a K are kosher, but cookie holders are not permitted – ask for a paper cup.

Travel Info: Considered an ultimate romantic city with its web of narrow streets and myriads of canals, cozy squares, dreamy bridges and unique architecture, Venice would indeed be so if not for the masses of tourists. But even with the Manhattan-like crowds, the place is worth touring.

Many day-trippers never get to explore Venice beyond the St. Mark’s Square and a gondola ride. In fact, the city has a number of interesting museums and palaces one can visit, but the best part is just to roam through Venice, discover some back streets which no tourists reach, get lost in the narrow lanes and be amazed by the past grandeur and the ongoing struggle with the water to keep the history from decay. The Venetian phenomenon of acqua alta (“high waters”) caused primarily by the exceptionally high tides in the Adriatic Sea and magnified by the Venice’s continuous sinking into the lagoon, brings about periodical flooding of the area and challenges the upkeep of the suffering buildings.

Take a vaporetto (waterbus) ride along the Grand Canal – the once magnificent facades are somewhat dilapidated, but still charming. During the “high waters”, which foremost hit the overwhelmed by tourists San Marco area – the city’s lowest point, people navigate on raised platforms, and traffic can be slow.

By all means, take some guided tour once in Venice to learn more about the rich and interesting history of the Venetian Republic. Both the Doge’s Palace “Secret Itineraries” tour (where they bring you to otherwise inaccessible floors of the palace) and the Clock Tower tour we took were very engaging and are highly recommended. The Doge’s Palace and the Clock Tower are both located on the famed Piazza San Marco together with the Basilica San Marco, the Campanille (bell tower) and several museums. Cafes with outside seating on the Piazza feature baroque and jazz music bands, and at night the square becomes a scene of “dueling orchestras”, when bands from different cafes take turns in showing off their virtuosity.

If you have a chance, visit other islands in the Venetian lagoon. Murano Island, famous for its glassmaking shops, is an interesting option, where you can catch a glass-blowing demo and purchase discounted (compared to Venice) glass pieces.

Jewish Info: The Ghetto area is the center of the Jewish life in Venice. Venetian Ghetto is the oldest in Europe – in 1516 it was decreed that Jews are to live in the small area in sestiere Cannaregio where the old foundries (geti in Italian) were located. Due to the guttural pronunciation of the German Jews who first settled in the geti area, the word “ghetto” appeared. Initially the Jews were given the Ghetto Nuovo, but later the Ghetto was enlarged to include Ghetto Vechio (the names of New and Old refer here to the new and old foundries, not sites of Jewish settlements). The Ghetto was closed at night, and the surrounding canals were patrolled by Christian guards. The Ghetto was abolished with the Napoleon’s conquest in 1797.
Several thousands Jews lived in this pretty confined area of two squares. Unusually high buildings with subdivided floors are the result of the cramped living conditions.

The synagogues in Ghetto Nuovo are located on the top floors of the buildings. Five beautiful 16th century synagogues (called Scole) are well-preserved and can be seen on a guided tour through the Jewish Museum of Venice. Two synagogues are open for services (the Levantine Scola in the winter, the Spanish Scola in the summer), with other synagogues functioning during the holidays.
Aside from the synagogues and the Jewish Museum, there are two Holocaust memorials, Beit-Chabad and their small yeshiva, and a bunch of Judaica stores in the Ghetto. For additional details check the Jewishitaly.org website.

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Tags: chabad, gam gam, ghetto, grand canal, jewish ghetto, jewish italy, jewish travel, jewish venice, kosher italy, kosher travel, kosher venice, piazza, venetian

Rome, Italy

Contributed by Elina Rokhkind | Last Date of Travel: October 2009

Kosher Info:

Thankfully, Rome offers a decent choice of options for the kosher traveler. In addition to the centrally located former ghetto neighborhood with about a dozen eateries ranging from the quick bites to fancy restaurants, there are a few other residential neighborhoods with the Jewish infrastructure.

In the Ghetto all restaurants are located in the close proximity to the Great Synagogue and to each other. There are four pricier sit-down restaurants: two dairy (Nonna Betta and Yotvata) and two meat (La Taverna del Ghetto and Ba’Ghetto), which are frequented by locals and tourists alike. It seems that visiting the Ghetto neighborhood and tasting the authentic Jewish Roman cuisine is considered an interesting and worthwhile experience even for a non-Jewish sightseer. We ate at Nonna Betta and Ba’Ghetto – both were really nice and offered a wide menu of Roman specialties. Ba’Ghetto seemed to be most popular.  Make sure to sample the local signature dish – artichokes alla Judaea. Almost all restaurants in the area have outside sitting, and in the cold weather fancier restaurants place large gas heaters near the tables, which makes for a very cozy and romantic dining.

The area also have 2 bakeries and a meat store (didn’t check them out), a dairy fast-food Beteavon (fresh panini and sandwiches with a heimishe feel), Fast Kosher (McDonalds-type fast-food, didn’t try it), Chagat (another meat fast-food, but more Israeli-type with choices like falafel), and Kosher Bistrot (fleishig café with a bit more sophisticated selection which also serves hot beverages and alcohol, and sells a number of imported and Italian packaged groceries; beware – prices are higher when you sit outside than at the bar inside). Pretty much every establishment including hole-in-the-wall joints served wine – and a good one! – so enjoy this inseparable part of an Italy vacation. Try ordering house wines (vino de casa) with your restaurant meal and you won’t regret it! Also, some really yummy kosher deli options exist in Italy, which we haven’t tried before – make sure to taste their carne seca.

Piazza Bologna, Marconi and Monteverde are other neighborhoods where Jews reside, with Piazza Bologna being the most populated. It boasts a few kosher hotels and B&Bs, 3 synagogues and several kosher stores and eateries. We only ate at the pizza/bakery place Pane al Pane (pretty good), which sells pizza by weight, and the variety of toppings makes you wish to try them all. 

From the restaurants located elsewhere we also tried C’e Pasta e Pasta (not far from Trastevere train station) – a takeout-type place with a few seats, selling delicious pasta products and appetizers (the cheese-filled crepes we ate there were simply divine). And I can’t recommend enough another dairy café and bakery called Dolce Kosher. (We happened to live nearby during our stay in Rome, otherwise it’s a shlep from the center.) Everything we tried there was absolutely amazing, and they have a mouthwatering selection of deserts! I couldn’t believe the parve pastries were actually parve. The place was abounding with the knowing locals, although we were there at 11 am on a weekday…

All Roman kosher establishments are under Beth Din of Rome, meat by default is not glatt (however, several restaurants offer glatt selections), some of the dairy places are Chalav Yisrael. For more detail on kosher options and Jewish life the Jewishitaly.org proved to be very instrumental. Also, Shamash.org kosher database provides details and reviews on the restaurants. 

Tourist Info:

Rome is filled with places to visit and things to do, so I can comment only on whatever we ended up doing during our 3.5 day visit. We explored the Ghetto neighborhood and visited the Main Synagogue and the Jewish Museum located in the same building (more info in the next section). We walked a lot in the historic center visiting most of the tourist landmarks: lively Campo dei Fiori with farmers market in the morning and live music in the evening, Pantheon, Piazza Navona with its impressive Bernini fountains, Piazza Colonna with a huge column, the legendary Trevi Fountain, and the ever-crowded Piazza di Spagna. We also had a walk through a vibrant Trastevere neighborhood, visited magnificent Piazza del Popollo, and promenaded along Via del Corso. Walking miles and miles in Rome you realize that the city itself is the biggest museum under the open sky with its abundance of architectural marvels, beautiful statues and plentiful fountains. Ancient ruins that pop up at you from everywhere is the most amazing thing. In the midst of the modern city you suddenly stumble upon some interesting excavations, or an enormous Egyptian obelisk, or the remains of an ancient wall. Structures are built upon the older foundations making the city a multi-layer history showcase. We were looking for the Pompey theater ruins marked on the map, but seen nowhere, until we found out that the remaining wall of the theater is the actual back wall of the present-day buildings on that street – bars, restaurants, hotels.

We also visited the Michelangelo-designed Capitoline Square and were astounded to see the poster of Gilad Shalit on the City Hall. The enormous Victor Emmanuel monument complex nearby the Capitoline Hill offers great panoramic views of Rome. 

 We explored Ancient Rome monuments with a private guide from the Jewish tour company. There are 2 companies – Rome for Jews and  Jewish Roma that offer several tours of Rome with the Jewish twist. We went with the 1^st company, and were quite satisfied, but their guides are Americans; Jewish Roma, I believe, has Italian guides. Our 3-hour tour included some introduction to the Ghetto and its history (on the way to the ancient sites), overview of the Forum and the story of the Jewish history in the Ancient Rome, a close-up of the Arch of Titus, tours of the Palatine Hill and the Colosseum. Since private guides are not inexpensive, it makes more sense to hire them if you are traveling with a small group. 

We visited Vatican with the tour by the Vatican Museums – it lasted 2 hours and covered the highlights. The Museums are enormous – plan ahead if you want to see something specific. Also, it is going to be less crowed if you visit it in the afternoon. Some people, who did not want to enter the Sistine Chapel, complained that they could not bypass it once they got close, since it’s a one-way path. In fact, there is a door on the top of the stairs which leads back through the main corridor – it may be marked as no entry, but there is a way out – try talking to the security guards if you are stuck, some of them are helpful. It’s about a 15-minute walk back through the museum and another 10 to the St. Peter’s Square to take a look at the famous semicircle of massive columns and the gigantic Basilica. 

We also wanted to see Galleria Borghese – an interesting collection of art and sculpture housed in a 17^th-century cardinal villa. The museum requires advance reservation, as they only allow a certain amount of visitors every 2 hours. So if you are late – that’s what happened to us – you forfeit your visit since there are usually no extra tickets. Our only consolation was that the villa is located in the large and beautiful park – Borghese Gardens, which is a pleasure to walk or bike through (bike rentals available). 

It is vital to have a good map in Rome, since even with the map we kept getting lost. The locals are extremely friendly and go out of their way to help even when they don’t speak a word in English. A good bus route map is also helpful since metro coverage is limited. Romans get around mostly by motorini (mopeds) – the swarms of them are an inextricable part of the local character. 

Jewish Info:

 Rome’s Jewish community numbers about 15 000, it has 14 synagogues (all of them Orthodox), and an established Jewish infrastructure with schools, mikvahs, periodicals and communal organizations. An outsider, judging by the cover, would not be able to tell who is Jewish – not many kipahs and distinguishably Jewish dress is seen even in the Jewish places.

 Rome is home to one of the most ancient Jewish communities in Diaspora – first Jews settled here during the 2^nd century BCE. Neither Ashkenazi nor Sephardi, they are called Bnei Roma (or Italiki Jews), and they have their own nusach and minhagim. Obviously, a lot of other Jews (mostly Sephardim) joined the Roman community throughout the centuries. During the Ghetto times Jews were allowed to have only one synagogue, so they housed several minyanim in one building. 

The Ghetto existed from 16^th to the late 19^th century, and it enclosed several blocks near the Tiber River. The frequently flooded area, where thousands of Jews crammed was in such a miserable condition by the time of the unification of Italy, that it was completely demolished and rebuild. In place of the old synagogue the Roman Jewish community built a magnificent new structure clearly recognizable on the Roman skyline by its rectangular dome. All artifacts from the old shuls were preserved and are now either in use in the synagogues throughout Rome or on the display in the Jewish Museum of Rome. The Jewish Museum also houses a large collection of Torah covers which Jewish housewives crafted from the second-hand clothing they husbands peddled. The Museum ticket includes a half-hour tour of the Synagogue with the overview of the history of Roman Jewry. There are daily services in the Great Synagogue.

 Also of Jewish interest is Ostia Antica – a large archeological site containing excavations of an ancient synagogue. It is outside of Rome, and accessible by public transportation. (We haven’t visited it, however).

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Tags: Italy, jewish italy, jewish travel, kosher italy, kosher roman, kosher rome, kosher travel, michaelangelo, rome, the ghetto

Open for Passover 2009 in Europe

Jews the world over are traveling around to friends, family, or to new locations this Passover. While it is typically impossible to find kosher restaurants or eateries open for Passover, here are a few that I’ve found that will be open this year on Chol Hamoed (intermediary days of Passover):

Prague, Czech Republic

Shalom
Maiselova 18
11000 Prague, Prague 1 – Josefov
+420-226-235-043
http://www.jewishprague.cz/shalom-restaurant.php

Paris, France

Les Ailes
rue Richer 34
75009 Paris
+33-1-477-062-53
http://www.lesailes.fr/

Rome, Italy

Yesh
Via Silvestro Gherardi 51
00146 Rome, Marconi
+39-(0)655-616-97
http://www.yesh.it/

London, UK

Dizengoff
Golders Green Road 118
London, Golders Green
+44 (0)20 8458 7003/8458
http://www.dizengoffkosherrestaurant.co.uk

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Tags: europe kosher, golders green, jewish travel, kosher for passover, kosher for pesach, kosher travel, london, paris, passover, pesach, prague

Rome, Italy

Contributed by: Sara Marx  |   Last Date of Travel: October 2008

Kosher Info: Via Del Portico d’Ottavia is a street with many kosher options and it is right by the big main synagogue. There are two “upscale” meat restaurants, a dairy place (we didn’t try it), and a couple of falafel/fast food places. We ate at La Taverna Del Ghetto where I had meat ravioli with meat sauce and my husband had goulash with a side of pasta and we were both extremely happy with our choices. The restaurant had a Sukkah, as did a couple of other restaurants on the street. There was a new-looking store called something like Jewish Bistro and it looked like it sold wine and maybe some minimal groceries.

Tourist Info: I cannot recommend enough the Knopf MapGuide that we used in Rome. It was the best $10 we could have spent in preparation for this trip! Highlights include the typical stuff: Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish steps, Piazza Navona, Saint Peter’s Basilica, Colosseum. We really enjoyed the audio guide at the Vatican Museums. Be prepared for a lot of tourists and fees at absolutely everything.

We did a day trip to Ostia Antica, which is a short train ride away from Rome, and is a very cool excavation of ruins from a port city. It was super fun just to walk around and take it all in, and there are ruins of a synagogue, too. There’s not much in the town and the castle fortress has free tours, but only in Italian. 

Jewish Info: We arrived in Rome on chol hamoed Sukkot and a woman who worked at La Taverna Del Ghetto was a good resource as far as where and when to show up for chag services. We went to davenning at the big synagogue erev Shemini Atzeret where there was a decent turn out, and we went on erev Simchat Torah where they had a great turnout and it was a lot of fun. My husband made his way up to the front and got a hakafah. The Italki nusach is definitely different and interesting and we enjoyed learning about it. We stayed at the Costaguti Palace B&B literally a block from the kosher restaurants and 2 blocks from the synagogue and walking distance to all the sites. It was Shabbat/chag friendly, although on the fourth floor.

For those that are interested, there are 3 Chabad centers in Rome: http://www.chabad.org/centers/default_cdo/city/Rome/country/Italy/ea/1/jewish/Chabad-Lubavitch.htm

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Tags: Italy, jewish travel, kosher travel, rome

Kosher Cruises to Israel

Flipping through the Jewish Press I came across an ad for Kosher Cruises. That didn’t catch my eye, but when I saw “First Ever Kosher Cruise to Israel & Egypt” I said wait… that’s cool.

The cruise is Glatt Kosher includes stops in Naples, Italy; Athens & Rhodes, Greece; Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey; Haifa & Ashdod, Israel; and Alexandria, Egypt. The “Ancient Empires” tour is a 13-day cruise on the brand new Celebrity ship Equinox round-trip from Rome. The trip leaves August 18-31, 2009. Click here for the full itinerary.

While this trip does sound amazing, it costs a whopping $4,550 per person for the crappiest room available. That cost doesn’t even include another $650+ in additional charges and taxes. That’s a bit steep for me… but if you can afford it, have fun!

The cruise is run by Lasko Tours which runs fancy holiday programs, especially Pesach, and numerous cruises around the globe. Mr. Lasko, is there any way you can take me and my wife on one of your cruises? I’m sure I can work out a way to help market your company.

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Tags: Israel, jewish travel, kosher cruise, kosher travel, mediterranean

Milan, Italy

Contributed by: Abbie Rosenbaum-Braha | Last Travel Date: [Author lives in Milan]

Kosher Info: Milan’s kosher community is well served by three small supermarkets which carry just about anything that one could want. The following website gives a thorough listing of all kosher and Jewish establishment in Milan and throughout Italy: http://www.jewishitaly.org. If you will be in town over Shabbos the Re Solomone offer complete Shabbos meals which must be picked up there on Friday during regular hours. Please note that many shops and all restaurants close in the afternoon. Jewish Italians eat lunch at 1pm and eat a late dinner, so if you’re hungry between 2pm and 7pm you’ll need to consider fresh fruit. Restaurants charge a cover fee (1-2.5 Euros per adult), but tipping is not necessary.

You can use http://www.torinoebraica.it/listakasher.php to locate kosher food which can be purchased at any Italian supermarket. This list is in Italian (the foods which you might really need … Kellogg’s cereal, tuna fish – Palmera and Rio Mare brands, some cheese (fromaggi), and a short list of cookies and crackers).

Tourist Info: For a vacation in Italy, Milan doesn’t offer much to tourists, so if your not coming on business, you’d do well to spend your time in Venice or the Lakes. The shopping however, is great.

Jewish Info: (coming soon)

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Tags: Italy, Jewish, jewish travel, Kosher, kosher travel, milan

Florence, Italy

Contributed by: Maurice T. Appelbaum| Last Date of Travel: August 2006

Kosher Info: Kosher restaurant and a kosher store right by the shul. The restaurant was really good, especially the desserts. The store was sparsely stocked. The woman in the restaurant speaks English and was helpful with food questions. Look at the Milan post for all of the links and information provided there.

Tourist Info: Florence is a really nice place to visit because it is small and easily walkable, but is filled with a lot of great atractions. We didn’t go into any churches so we only spent about two days there. Even though we didn’t go in, it was still worth it to see the outside of the Duomo which is the huge church in the center of town (you can’t avoid it). In the courtyard there is a smaller building with gold doors – it was fun to try and figure out the biblical scenes etched in the doors.

For some interesting shopping  – combined with a local flavor, go to the bridge called Ponte Vecchio (expensive), Mercato Nuovo, and San Lorenzo (the best one). We bought many gifts in San Lorenzo – its basically one long shuk with lots of scarves, leather goods, mixed in with touristy stuff. You can easily bargain here.

There are two important museums in Florence – the Uffizi and the Galleria de Acadameia. Uffizi had a huge line and we couldn’t get in. You should go early in the morning and reserve tickets for the next day. The Academia has the “David” and not much else. There was a long line to get in to the Academeia but we did a “FastPass” for more money and got at a designated time later that day. The David was worth it, but that’s all that is in there. People try to sell things outside of both museums, so at least the line will be entertaining.

We also went to the Bobeli Gardens, crossing over the Ponte Vecchio. There was a fashion museum at the time and the Gardens were nice, but we’ve seen nicer. There is more than one train station in Florence – be aware when making transfers – the stations are not close to one another!

Jewish Info: The shul on Via Farini is big and beautiful. There is a Chabad house Via dei Banchi 6. The hospitality center is on Via dei Pilastri 9R. We didn’t find any minyanim, but we think there is on Shabbos or during the school year. Call in advance.

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Tags: florence, Italy, jewish travel, kosher travel

Venice, Italy

Contributed by: Maurice T. Appelbaum | Last Date of Travel: August 2006

Kosher Info: Check Milan for useful websites for supermarket food and general info. GamGam is a restaurant run by Chabad and that gives free meals on Shabbos. In the summer it can be really crowded in Venice so be sure to go – it is fun to see 300 tourists in one restaurant. There is a kosher bakery and pizza shop right down the block from Gam Gam and in the Jewish Ghetto. There is also a kosher cafe in the shul museum in the heart of the Ghetto. There is indeed a kosher gelato place but Chabad won’t tell you because they only drink milk that is chalav yisrael (milked by Jews). Ask the locals or at the pizza store where it is. There is one or two flavors that aren’t kosher, but the store will tell you which ones.

Tourist Info: We only went for Shabbos because we heard that you don’t need so much time in Venice. We did a lot of walking, bought great souvenirs and Venitian glass (clearly not on Shabbos). The gandala rides are really expensive so we skipped it. San Marco is a cool, huge open square. On the walk to San Marco at night, you pass through interesting night life.

Jewish Info: The Jewish Ghetto is in an area called Cannaregio, so try to say nearby. There are five shuls, all within the Jewish Ghetto. They offer a tour, we liked it. Davening is in one of the two Spanish shuls, they switch off between the winter and summer. There is davening at Chabad, but it is interesting getting the native feel. There is an eruv. We heard that there are motels/hostels where the key turns on the electricity making it impossible to take the key with you if you want to leave the bathroom light on, for Shabbos.

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Tags: Italy, jewish travel, kosher travel, venice