Ice City

Last summer it was sand. This Passover it was ice. What am I talking about? The sculptures at Jerusalem's 'Ice City' of course! When I heard that top Chinese ice sculptors had been brought in to create a mini Jerusalem and other pieces in ice, I knew that I had to see it. The sand sculptures at 'Tales in Sand' at the Eretz Israel Museum had been wonderful, so I was intrigued to see some ice sculpting too. Of course Jerusalem is not know for it's ice, or even for its really cold weather, so our day out there meant t-shirts and sun hats in the morning, and then coats, scarves and woolly hats in the afternoon. It was worth the bother.

We were excited but a little unsure about what we were going to see as we donned our hats and coats at the entrance to Ice City. The hubby had gone to move the car and was running late, and the queues were long, so we were all a little hassled too, but, as the doors swang open and the cold air hit us, all we could say was "Wow"!

The first point of call was ‘ice’ Jaffa Gate, followed by Montefiore's Windmill and his carriage, and after that the animals in Jerusalem's zoo, or was it Noah's Ark? I had never seen coloured ice sculptures before and, though they did look good, I think I prefer the clear stuff. 

Having initially declared that it was not that cold, we of course then did start getting really cold. As always, I was in charge of the camera and my fingers were beginning to freeze but the place simply had to be photographed. Then, when the kids found the ice slides, I was obliged to stand in line and wait for the moment they slid down and catch that on camera too!

There was a whole section with ice recreations of well-known Israeli children’s books and even an ice bar. Other touches of recognisable Jerusalem icons included the ice Mifletzet (the monster playground sculpture from Kiryat Yovel's Rabinovich Park). The whole thing was really incredible.
We were in Ice City for just under an hour which gave us enough time to see everything and enough time for my fingers to freeze from taking pictures!
Jerusalem's Ice City has been extended and will be open till May 31st. It is definitely worth seeing and I recommend a visit, but remember, it is really cold inside, -10 degree Celsius, so dress warmly!