We hope that you value the services and content on our blog and on Twitter. If you do, please consider nominating us for a Shorty Award in Travel. http://shortyawards.com/YeahThatsKosher

See the tweet below.

Nominate @YeahThatsKosher for a Shorty Award in #travel because we offer a niche service to the #Jewish Travel comm. bit.ly/shorty

— Dani Klein ✈ ✈ ✈ (@YeahThatsKosher) January 5, 2012

The following quote came from one of our readers and now authors:

Nobody likes going on vacation and having to shlep 101 bags and packages of precooked food so knowing that your destination not only has kosher food but also a variety to choose from always comes as a happy relief.

As an avid traveler I was worried that having a baby would cramp my travel style. My wife and I vowed that we would not let having a baby change our desire.

Since our son was born, we’ve taken him on 2 short road trips from NY: Atlantic City, NJ in the dead of winter & Philadelphia, PA over a long Labor Day weekend. On the wild side, we took him to Israel on a 3 week trip over Memorial Day and Shavuot holidays… with a stopover in Amsterdam. And before our son turns 1, we’ll hopefully get to take another 4-5 day trip (destination currently TBD).

Ultimately, taking such trips with your infant child(ren) is a case by case decision made by the parents. Not every baby is going to travel as well as others. We are blessed that our son has a calm demeanor no matter the situation: as a 2-month old being bundled up on the boardwalk of Atlantic City in January, or as a 6-month old in the scorching summer heat of Tel Aviv in May, he was a trooper through and through, Baruch Hashem (Thank G-d). Not all babies are, and it is up to the parents to identify whether their child can handle grueling schedules and/or temperatures.

In the crazy year we’ve had since becoming parents, I wanted to share a few things Arielle and I learned along the way while traveling with our son. The majority of these tips can be applied by all parents of infants (kosher observant or not).

• 1. Prepare for the Unexpected: This is especially important for new parents, as we technically still are. Packing extra everything is often needed, albeit difficult if traveling by plane. If you normally go through 5 diapers a day, bring 8-10/day. If you normally change your child’s onesie or outfit once a day, bring 3-4 changes of clothes/onesies, especially if traveling to warmer climates (babies sweat … a lot!). Take this rule of thumb and apply it to anything you pack for your child unless you’re certain you’re able to replenish supplies at your destination.
• 2. Have a Washing Machine Nearby: Instead of renting a hotel room, rent an apartment. Apartments are likely to come with washing machines and dryers which help you wash both your and the baby’s soiled clothes (confirm that the apt does in fact come with a washer/dryer). This helps you (1) keep from packing too many articles of clothes as well as (2) carrying around smelly doody-stained onesies. I’ve yet to come across a washing machine in a hotel room of any kind, and hotels that do offer laundering services will likely not have your clothes back to you within 2 hours. The third option is staying with family/friends, which often happens when traveling to Israel.
• 3. Have Ready-Made, Easily Ingestible Foods Available for Your Baby: Obviously, if your baby is only a couple months old and still nursing / exclusively on the bottle, this does not apply… but if your child is slightly older and eating solids, we’ve been very successful with the travel-friendly prepackaged baby food that can withstand the temperatures and shlepping.

  Happy Squeeze, Ella’s Kitchen, and other brands make squeezable pouches that do not need refrigeration until they’re opened. They’re really great to feed infants with as you dont even need a spoon. Most of these flavors are Kosher, but some are not, check the packaging to make sure.

• 4. Have a Sturdy Umbrella Stroller: This is especially true if you like to do a lot of walking, touring, and anything short of hiking (and if you don’t have a particularly strong back to carry your baby on you for hours at a time). A small but strong umbrella stroller came in handy on our international trip by allowing us to zip through airports, in and out of taxis and buses, and around the city. It also helped that the small carriage didn’t take up too much room in restaurants. 2 main features you should look for: (1) Large hood/canopy for shade (see below) and (2) ability to recline – allowing your baby to sleep while you’re on the move.
• 5. Account for Extreme Temperatures: Younger babies are more sensitive to extreme temperatures than older infants. Assume that however cold or hot you are, that the baby is at least 10°F colder/hotter than you. Keeping this in mind you’ll need to keep your baby extra warm in the cold, and extra cool, hydrated, and shaded in the heat. Our son at six months was downing large glasses of water during our Israel trip, which is something everyone should do when in hot climates. We also tried, to the best of our ability, to keep him in the shade as much as possible. When doing walking tours and treks, such as a day at Ceaseria, Israel (which is beautiful, but alas has no shade), make sure to use the hood of the stroller or an umbrella to protect your child.
• 6. Test New Foods: As I’ve come to appreciate Kosher food from around the world, I want to be able to give that worldly appreciation to my son as well. Now that he’s able to eat table food, we’re sure to include him on all the meals we have by guests and at restaurants. This helps us travel lightly (baby food can add a lot of weight to your carry on luggage!) and helps expand his young developing palate. The more foods he tries now, the more he’ll hopefully be open to at an older age. Here’s hoping!

  

• 7. Reserve a Bulk Head Seat in Advance: If you are flying overseas (or even on a long domestic trip), you should definitely call the airline in advance and reserve bulkhead seats and bassinets for every leg of your trip. On my four-leg trip (NYC-AMS-TLV / TLV-AMS-NYC) we made sure to request a bulkhead and bassinet for each leg. And even though we were guaranteed those over the phone, one of the flights did not have a bassinet on board at all, and we had to take turns holding our son for a few hours. Do your due diligence here!
  Oh, and for you kosher travelers, while you have the airlines on the phone, make sure they reserve for you kosher meals as well.
• 8. Make Sure Your Baby has a Passport of his/her own: This seems like a no brainer, but many parents forget about this. Consider this your reminder!

I’m sure there are tons of tips other parents have figured out and mastered over the years… so if you’re a parent, please share your tips in the comment section below! If I receive enough, I can make a follow up post on user generated baby-travel tips!

San Jose is not your center of Jewish life, and although normally we do not cover kosher markets, I felt that as a travel site, we should let people who are traveling through San Jose know about the availability of picking up some Kosher items.

It’s called Pars Kosher Market, located at 3978 S. Bascom Ave. in San Jose, CA.
Email: parskoshermarket@gmail.com
Phone: (650) 996 2742

Click here for more on Keeping Kosher in the Silicon Valley / San Jose area.

This was originally announced last week on a local Bay area blog: cbdyag.wordpress.com

The Jerusalem Beer Festival is celebrating its 7th year at the city’s historic train station, now a cultural center near Yemin Moshe and Katamon.

Over 100,000 liters of more than a hundred brands from all over the world will be offered, mainstream, boutique and local brewed.

Some of the Beers on hand will include:

• Chimay – Belgium
• Carlsberg – Denmark
• Goldstar – Israel
  
• Tuborg – Denmark
• Heineken – Holland
• Maccabee – Israel
• Guinness – Ireland
• Lone Tree – Israel (Gush Etzion)
• Leffe – Belgium
• Hoegaarden – Belgium
• Pauliner – Germany
• Murphy’s – Ireland
• Stella Artois – Belgium
• Weihenstephan – Germany
• Alexander – Israel
• Shapira – Israel (Bet Shemesh)
• Krombacher – Germany
• Samuel Adams – United States
• Belhaven – United Kingdom
• Shamai – Israel
• Maredsous – Belgium
• Schneider – Germany
• Lindemans – Belgium
• Dancing Camel – Israel (Tel Aviv)
• Kasteel – Belgium
• Kozel – Czech Republic
• Chang – Thailand
• Pilsner Urquell – Czech Republic
• Fuller’s – United Kingdom
• Paulaner – Germany
• St. Bernardus – Belgium
• Staropramen – Czech Republic

At the 2-day festival, the historic train station will become a huge bar with impressive structures and luxurious attractions.

Besides the large variety of fabulous beers, visitors can enjoy the perfect beer festival experience with various food stands (many kosher), accessories for purchase, an exclusive beer store, lounging areas, live beer production process demonstrations, and musical performances.

Every night on the main stage, the audience will enjoy a live show by Israel’s leading bands along with an exciting party hosted by one of the upscale Israeli DJ’s including: Mercedes Band (www.myspace.com/mercedesband) and Beit Habubot (www.myspace.com/beithabubotisrael). Following the concerts, top Israeli DJs Elad Veron and Dror Shalit will take the stage.

WHEN? August 31 – September 01, 2011 || 18:00 to 24:00 (6pm – Midnight)
WHERE? Old Train Station on Derech Hebron in Jerusalem, Israel
HOW MUCH? General Admission: 30 NIS || Soldiers, students and visitors with a Jerusalem Resident card: 25 NIS

The festival organizers recommend arriving early.

Check out all the festival details at www.JerusalemBeer.com

This post is sponsored by:

Eldan Car Rental The Best Way To See Israel
and
TravelCell International Cell Phone Rentals

Cafe Carmel is no longer in business.

Aderet International Cuisine is at the same location, 13410 Preston Road, suite J. It is a small meat restaurant that serves excellent Mediterranean food. The dishes certainly reflect the Texas-style of large portioned food, but the taste is just as good as anything as I’ve had in Israel. The Pargiot is one of my favorite dishes with wonderful flavors permeating through the juicy well-seasoned young chicken. Hummus and mixed green salad, made Israeli-style, are an absolute must (I always order more). Call ahead if you have more than four people in your party—the small space tends fill up.

~Rachael A.

Located approximately 45 minutes south of Albany, NY, a new Kosher Pizzeria has opened in Hudson, in Columbia County. The region is scenic and green, which makes the area an attractive location for NY area Jews in the summertime.

It is worth noting though that Park Falafel and Pizza is open 7 days a week, co-owned by a non-Jew, and has its hashgacha from Rabbi Daniel Fried of Congregation Anshe Emeth (Conservative synagogue).

www.parkfalafelandpizza.com

Starting this Sunday night (July 31st, 2011) the custom is to refrain from eating meat during the Nine Days of Av (except on Shabbat). According to the Beth Din of Johannesburg, “those who do not wish to eat meat in their kosher airline meals, must specifically request a kosher fish meal – most airlines will oblige.”

Those flying to or from Israel on El Al airlines can request a special fish meal Nine Days must request a “Special Kosher Meal” when ordering your meals. If you currently have a reservation on El Al, call them to change your meals. (Please comment below to let us know if you have any issues)

Additionally, if you are flying another airline, try and request a “vegetarian kosher meal”. They may not have available, but it is worth a shot.

What are your 9 Days Travel tips? Comment below.

The Nine days culminates with Tisha B’Av ( תשעה באב‎ ) which starts on Monday night, August 8th, and ends after nightfall on Tuesday night, August 9th.