Israel

Israel appeals to me; John not so much. Today's task: complete enough research so John can weigh in on whether Israel should land in the Top 20.

Fun (and serious) facts

• Population is 8.27 million; 80% Jews; 20% Arabs; median age is 29.3
• Long, warm dry summers (April-October) and mild winters (November-March); drier and cooler in Jerusalem and other hilly regions
• Security: pay attention to travel advisories, but most are for Gaza, West Bank etc; not Israel; Israel has among the tightest security systems in the world in place (e.g., security checkpoints at most public places; unaccompanied bags are destroyed immediately; armed guards on tours ...). Some caution against using public transportation ...
• There are more museums per capita in Israel than any other country
• Cities (with descriptions from goisrael.com)
• Jerusalem: city of overwhelming emotions
• Tel Aviv-Yafo: economic and cultural center; modern dining and cafe culture
• Eilat: ultimate resort city
• Nazareth: city of religion and faith, spirituality and holiness, but also archeology, modern culture and Middle Eastern charm
• Haifa: 3rd largest city and one of its prettiest; country's largest port
• Tiberias: lively tourist center on the shores of Lake Kineret; 200 m below sea level
• Recommended things to do
• Lonely Planet: Dome of the Rock, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Mahane Yehuda Market (all in Jerusalem); Manger Square and Old City (Bethlehem)
• NYTimes-36 Hours in Tel Aviv: White City; Flea Market in Jaffa; 3-mile promenade along shoreline; Suzanne Dellal Center (houses several dance companies)
• IGoogledIsrael (2009): float in the dead sea; the old city of Jerusalem; Carmel Market, Tel Aviv; Red Sea (lowest point on earth), Eilat; Yad Vashem (Holocaust Museum), Jerusalem; Ramon Crater (world's largest), hour south of Beersheeva; Masada, Baha'i Gardens, Haifa
• Haaretz: Must-do's after the expected stuff: Kishle prison excavations addition to Tower of David Museum, Jerusalem; Mahane Yehuda at night, Jerusalem; Israeli Museum at the Rabin Center, Tel Aviv; Jaffa flea market after dark; Appolonia National Park, site of many archaeological treasures; Nazareth sans Jesus, foodie city; Wester Negev; Kerem Shalom, a tiny kibbutz at the tip bordering Gaza and Egypt; Jisr al-Zarqa, Israel's poorest city and home to untouched beaches; Nahal Taninim Nature Reserve, the last of Israel's clean coastal streams; Kibbutz Lotan Center for Creative Ecology; Kibbutz Yotvata (famous ice cream); 

Sites visited
Go Israel
Lonely Planet
IGoogledIsrael
Haaretz
Jerusalem Insiders Guide

Berlin

We'd said we would postpone research for the European leg of our journey since it's already familiar and "easier." However, Atlas Obscura recently posted a piece on "hidden attractions and unusual things to do in Berlin" so I've decided to capture it now. We've already decided to put Berlin in the Top 20, so this post will focus more on what we might want to do and how long we would want to stay there.

Here's the list, briefly annotated, from Atlas Obscura 

Spreepark -- Abandoned amusement park outside of Berlin
Monster Kabinett -- Part art gallery, part haunted house, this robotic art display is a terrifying experience
Design Panoptikum -- A surreal museum of extraordinary industrial objects
Hall of Mirrors in Clarchens Ballhaus (deutsch only) or here-- This classic restaurant features a gorgeous mirror-clad room
AquaDom at Radisson Blu Berlin -- The largest free-standing aquarium in the world
Tajikistan Tearoom
Pergamon Museum -- The most visited, and probably the most controversial, museum in Berlin
Buchstabenmusem / Museum of Letters, Characters and Typefaces
Arthouse Tacheles -- An old department store turned Nazi prison turned artist commune
Berlin Botanical Garden -- Second largest botanical garden in the world
The Bierpinsel -- interesting architectural tower in the Steglitz neighborhood
Teufelsberg -- an abandoned NSA listening post on Berlin's "Devil Mountain"
The Return of the Cows -- whimsical public art installation
Schwerbelastungskorper -- Nazi architectural experiment
Medizinhistorisches Museum -- 10,000 medical specimens
Stasi Museum -- research and memorial center for secret police in east germany
Museum fur Naturkunde -- natural history museum houses the world's largest mounted dinosaur
Liquidrom -- futuristic spa
Ramones Museum
Vestiges of the Berlin Wall
Propeller Island City Lodge -- hotel/art installation mash up
Badeschiff -- floating swimming pool within a moored vessel
Hohenschonhausen Memorial Prison -- former Stasi secret prison turned museum
Abandoned Iraqi Embassy --
The Bebelplatz -- site of the Nazi book burning campaign of 1933
Tempelhof Airport -- the old airport
Berlin Television Tower (Fernsehturm  de Berlin) -- with restaurant and observation deck
Puppentheater-Museum Berlin -- More than 300 puppets
Théâtre anatomique de l'École vétérinaire -- built in 1790; oldest academic building in berlin

Ballhaus Riviera - ballroom in "haunting disrepair"

Pfaueninsel -- island that is home to free-roaming peacocks

Gruselkabinett -- WW II bunker
hatch Sticker museum --
Museum der Dinge -- 20th century design
Georg-von-Rauch-Haus -- graffiti-covered "squat" stronghold of leftist activism
Mengenlehreuhr - "set theory clock"
Berlin-Friedrichstrasse Railway Station - cold war icon and onetime "hole" in the iron curtain
Fuhrerbunker Parking Lot -- site of Hitler's last headquarters and suicide
East Side Gallery -- "dazzling stretch of the former Berlin Wall"
Hansa Studios -- recording studio since 1974
Bahnhof Berlin Zoologischer Garten --
Frame Collector's Museum -- 2400 antique frames
Burgermeister -- burger joint in what used to be a public restroom
Fliegeberg -- cononical hill in Lilienthal park
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe -- completed in 2004
Kcymaerxthaere -- The fate of Bravenleavanne; the site of good faith and good nature

Fernsehturm Muggelberge -- TV tower that once secretly housed GDR intelligence

Useful sites
Berlin.de
Abandoned Berlin