The time has come to say good bye. I'm writing this post from the airport in Tel Aviv where I accidentally showed up three hours early because I had become so used to following the plan the IYHA made for me that I didn't even question it or check for myself when it said on my schedule that my flight was leaving at 11:00. It's actually leaving at 14:00. Oh well, you live your learn.
Yesterday I was lazy and didn't leave the hostel until noon. I didn't have anything planned but decided to take advantage of the location of the Yitzhak Rabin hostel in Jerusalem and visit the Israel museum which is literally just next door. I thought it would be a quick 2 hour visit but in the end I spent the whole afternoon there, which wasn't enough time to see everything, and I would have stayed longer if it hadn't closed at 5. The Israel museum is unique in a way that it's a history museum, art museum and some sort of folk museum all in one. It gives you a good introduction to the country and houses everything from Israeli contemporary art, works by amazing artists like Picasso, prehistoric human remains and a comprehensive exhibition about the Jewish religion and everyday Jewish life around the world. I recommend that you visit the museum at the beginning of your trip to have a better understanding of the history in Israel.
At the moment they have an exhibition about Herod the Great who built the fortress of Masada that I visited a couple of days ago. It was amazing, after having visited the ruins, to learn about him and everything he left behind. At the siege of Masada, which was after Herod's time, around 1000 Jewish rebels committed suicide faced with becoming Roman slaves as they rather wanted to die free than live as slaves. Masada is an amazing place and I'm so glad I got to see it.
As I made my way into the museum the first art piece I saw was accredited to a name very familiar to me: Ólafur Elíasson. Although Ólafur is raised in Denmark he is Danish-Icelandic (his name certainly is Icelandic) and he's the one responsible for the amazing glass facade in the newly built Harpa Music Hall in Reykjavík. It was like being greeted by a little piece of home. It's totally irrelevant whether or not he feels Icelandic because to us he is.
After the museum I made my way to the the Mahane Yehuda Market where discount hour had already started due to the late hours and everyone was trying to get rid of their products. It was an interesting place and trying to find it took me through some "real" narrow Jerusalem streets. I had something to eat and tried some local microbrewery wheat bear and then headed back to the hostel. Despite my best efforts to figure out how to take the bus back (I took the bus to the city center so you would think I should have known my way) I couldn't work it out and hopped into a taxi where the driver told me he lived on Iceland street in Jerusalem for 20 years before recently moving. I'm pretty sure he was confusing Iceland with some other country because I somehow doubt they have Iceland street in Jerusalem but if I'm wrong - please correct me.
Thus ended my last day in Jerusalem, and de facto my last day in Israel since I'm only hanging out at the airport today (for 6 HOURS!). This trip has been amazing, weird, wonderful and everything in between and I've enjoyed every minute of it. Thank you Big Blog Exchange, IYHA, Uri, Anat, Ofer, Kayed (sorry for misspelling your name before), Mahady, Miki, Moshe, Esti, Hava and everyone else who made this possible. I will never forget it!
Showing posts with label Tel Aviv. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tel Aviv. Show all posts
Monday, 17 June 2013
Tuesday, 11 June 2013
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)