People and places

I've been dealing with words my whole life. I've made it a hobby and sometimes a job to put them together in ways that attempt to excite and inspire. It's not mine to judge whether or not I have succeeded though. Today I'm a bit lost for words and this doesn't happen often. There are so many thoughts floating around in my head that maybe I need some time to digest them but at the same time I don't want to loose any of them to my sometimes patchy memory.

Today was full of contrasts, surreal little moments, doubts and fun in the sun. I don't think I've ever visited a place that has evoked so many emotions and left me with as many questions as Israel has. It really is a complex place and like my day, full of contrasts.

I started the day by visiting Yad Vashem and it was quite a powerful experience.At one point in the Holocaust museum (Yad Vashem is actually a complex made up of many different things, the Holocaust Museum being one of them) I felt physically sick to my stomach and I had to walk away because I couldn't take what I was looking at. It reminded me of the time I visited Krakow and had plans to go to Auschwitz and Dachau but backed out of them at the last moment because my little heart just couldn't bare to see those places. From the Children's Memorial I went straight to a bus to Tel Aviv where I was greeted by care free beach goers and short shorts all over. A far cry from the Orthodox people here in Jerusalem and a very strange next destination after learning about the massacre of millions of people.

In Tel Aviv I met with a girl who follows me on Instagram after doing a three month volunteer run in Iceland a couple of years ago. When she saw I was in Israel she sent me a message and we decided to meet up. She actually had some Icelandic text tattooed on her arm yesterday, which was one of the surreal parts, and she has some more Israeli friends that apparently love Iceland as much as see does. I met one of them later in the day and much to my surprise he spoke some Icelandic despite never have been to Iceland. When I told her about my experience at Yad Vashem she told me the story of her grandmother who was an Auschwitz survivor and who's boyfriend had worked at the crematorium at the camp. Unfortunately the boyfriend and her parents never made it out though. It was an amazing story but I don't think it's mine to tell so I'll leave at that.  

A bit later we met up with some more people, a really cool blogger from Tel Aviv that publishes an alternative guide to the city that you must check out if you ever find you in this area and Adam, of Travels Of Adam, who also participated in the Big Blog Exchange but unfortunately didn't make it as a finalist. His pain is my gain because it was great meeting them both. Interestingly enough, Iceland also plays a role in his saga. My night with those random strangers, that yet felt so familiar because of our common grounds, is the reason why I travel. It's all about the people - the places are just an added bonus.

On the way back to Jerusalem an Israeli soldier fell asleep on my shoulder while his machine gun somehow made its way over to my lap. That was kind of odd.