Golan Heights

We just had our first night away from the kids.  It was great.  I love them to pieces but it was nice to be with friends and have an uninterrupted dinner and a lazy morning.  Our friends, Jen and Ben, met us at a B&B on the border of the Upper Galilee and the Golan Heights.  We got there midday and went to lunch in a Druze village where Ben thinks he's eaten the best falafel.  It was very good.  The restaurant was packed and there were people there who were skiing on Mt. Hermon which was not too far from there.  We could see the snow on the top of the mountain as we were driving up into the Golan Heights.  It's winter now so there was rain earlier in the day and it was cold - in the 40s and 50s.  After a relaxed lunch, we drove to the Pelter winery.  It is a winery that has been working for the past 14 years.  Tal is the owner and was very informative.  We were shown the winery which is on a kibbutz in the Golan and then we tasted wines for about an hour or so.

After wine tasting, we drove to a peak that overlooked the border between Israel and Syria.  There is a UN controlled area (which we could see) between the two countries (which are still technically at war).  It was so interesting!  We drove back to our B&B and then later had a great dinner.  The next morning after a long and delicious breakfast, we went hiking near Banas waterfall which was a trail of mud after all the rain.  It was well worth it though with the beautiful scenery.   Then we had a 2 1/2 hour drive back to Jerusalem.  I could have stayed an extra night and done some more wine tasting but we didn't have the time.  Maybe we'll get away another time.