Time to say good bye

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!

Exploring the West Bank

Last night I was right in the middle of writing an epic post to describe the two previous days of my travel when I must have fallen asleep. I woke up this morning hugging the laptop and no longer feeling my legs that had been hanging out of the bed all night. I know I'm tall and all but there must be Israelis that are taller than me, why are these beds so short? It made me really happy when Anat, my contact while I'm here, called me to let me know I could stay in this hostel another night instead of moving because I'm so sick of packing my bag. I know it's only been 9 days but before that I did exactly the same for 10 day while I traveled around Iceland with my sister. As much as I'm sad about this trip coming to an end I also kind of look forward to getting back home and settling into the Icelandic summer as the months preceding the trip were so hectic. I look forward to coffee with my friends that I've hardly seen since Christmas, BBQs and lazy summer nights with the boyfriend and the princess and whatever else it is that we do in Reykjavík during summer.

I spent yesterday exploring the West Bank which is a Palestinian territory mostly ruled by the Israelis. I'm not really going to get into the history or the politics of the place but I urge you to look it up and read about it. Because I only had one day to do it I decided to do a tour which ended up being a good thing as I spent the day with fellow travelers which frankly I haven't seen much of on this trip. Traveling with locals is great but exchanging ideas with outsiders like yourself can really enhance your experience and give you an even wider perspective on things.

There were mainly three things that struck me about the West Bank: how easy it was to visit it, how different it seemed from Israel and the litter everywhere. We had to go through some check points to get there but we were never stopped and not once did I have to show my passport. I also didn't see a single soldier, Israeli or Palestinian, until we got to Arafat's tomb in Ramallah that was guarded by a couple of soldiers. Actually that's not completely true as there were two Israeli soldiers at the Jordan river next to the Jordan border. Everything was quiet around the separation wall and the only hassle I experienced was some people trying to sell us things. Not what I had imagined. The atmosphere of the places we visited was quite different, except maybe in Jericho, and more chaotic somehow. While in Jerusalem for instance people avoid eye contact and don't smile back at you in the streets, in Betlehem the street vendors are desperate for your attention and make a point of you noticing them. I also saw a lot more donkeys in the West Bank than in Isarel. Finally the litter. I don't know if it's a cultural thing or whether they just have such poor infrastructure that they can't deal with all the trash but there was litter everywhere. Everywhere! I think I remember reading something about this being a problem in many Arab cities so maybe it is a cultural thing but whatever it is, it's not at all pleasant. My favorite moment of the day was the utter chaos of trying to get out of Ramallah back to Jerusalem, where ignored traffic rules, horns being honked and street vendors walking between cars selling ice cream and water made me smile.

There are so many things I don't understand about this conflict: the way the land is divided, why the settlements are allowed to grow, how Arabs and Jews can live in harmony in once place and at the next place less than 100km away everything is messed up to name a few. At the same time I also understand the motives a bit better now, on both sides, although I don't always agree with the methods used. Most of all I think I've understood that unless you are born here and you live and breath this area, I don't think you'll ever fully comprehend this situation. Both sides really honestly and genuinely believe in their arguments and it's hard as an outsider not to respect that, whatever your own opinions are. Ultimately I think it's everyone's hope to find a solution and I hope for their sake that they do. I'm happy that I had the opportunity to explore the other side with a guide who in my opinion gave a pretty balanced view of the whole thing and I wouldn't have wanted to miss it.

I will have to tell you about Masada later, whether it will be here or on my own blog, because I don't want to spend my last day here in Jerusalem in front of the computer. I can't believe this adventure is almost over.

An "eskimo" in the desert

I've been having some time management issues on this trip which has caused a lot of stressful mornings where someone is waiting for me, with people knocking on my door telling me to hurry. This morning I perfected a new way to pack when I just threw everything in a pile into my suitcase, closed it and just sat on it until it became possible to close the zipper.Who needs folding anyway? Instead of the neat two bags that I had on my way over here I all of a sudden have four bags but yet I haven't bought anything and I've lost some stuff along the way. This puzzles me. 

This morning a staff member at Karei Deshe took me to a town that I'm ashamed to say don't know the name of and then I took a bus from the town that will remain nameless to the Judean desert where the plan is that I visit the Dead Sea and the Masada fortress. I was feeling a bit under the weather though, I think it may have been something I ate last night, so I made the strategic decision to take it easy for the day. I did exactly what I talked about not doing yesterday and just hung out to the pool here at the hostel all day (or half a day - it took the other half to get here) and enjoyed the sun. Coming from the land of geothermal springs and heated pools you don't know the joy that is a cold pool until you find yourself in a desert. What was even better that for the biggest portion of the day I had it all to myself and I even managed to get a tan without burning. There's a first for everything!

The lifeguard at the pool took quite an interest in me and despite a bit of a language barrier he did his best to woe me with some English/Hebrew sign language and a confident grin. I think every hostel pool should come with a handsome flirty lifeguard to provide a much needed confidence boost after seeing all the pretty Israeli girls around with their crazy pretty hair and perfectly pedicured toes. He made me some coffee, offered massages and talked about my beautiful white skin (read: mosquito bitten slightly burned and not liking the water clammy pink skin). It was a good deal for everyone: he got to practice all his best lines and I got some free coffee. A win win situation, really. When I showed him a picture of the boyfriend and the princess he started telling me about his family of fishermen in Akko and how his mother (if I understood him correctly) sends him home with a month's supply of fish every time he visits which he then eats until he visits again. I hope for his sake he has a good freezer. When he found out the boyfriend and I are not married (note to self: learn to lie) I suddenly became fair game again. He was nice though so it was all good. 

My interaction with the life guard made me think about some of the things that have been said to me on this trip. He told me that I was the perfect size, not too small and not too big, but failed to mention what my size was perfect for. I'm guessing he was referring to my great child bearing hips. If a guy at home would have the audacity to discuss a woman's physical appearance, especially if the word "big" was involved, he would likely have earned himself a slap or at least a verbal beating. Here I just laughed and thanked him for the "complement". Yesterday I was told that I have very unremarkable features and that the person had seen my face "a thousand times before". My white skin was also discussed. I didn't realize what a lost cause the boyfriend has on his hand, the poor soul. 

I think when we travel we are much more tolerant because we expect people to be different from ourselves and don't take the time to be offended about the (sometimes) silly things that are said to us. Israelis strike me as very direct people that don't go around things that need to be said so it doesn't surprise me when discussions take strange turns to unfamiliar territories. If only we could apply the same tolerance to the people closer to home as just because someone lives in the same country, street or even house as us it doesn't necessarily mean that they see the world the same way. I'm making a point when I come home to get less offended by the things people say and put the questionable things down on cultural differences. 

Tomorrow I'm going to fit in a trip up to Masada and a dip in the dead sea before I take the bus back to Jerusalem. If I'm good for time I might also check out Wade David which is a easy hike to a pretty waterfall.  I was supposed to be going Eilat tomorrow but if I'm this miserable in 36°C I don't think 40+°C  that is expected in Eilat this weekend is for me. I'm sure I'm going to miss the heat though when I get back to the 12°C and rain in Reykjavík. 

Desert = Camels

Don't know what these are called in English but they were pretty chilled about me taking photos 

I had this pool all to myself for the greatest part of the day

The view from Masada hostel - that's Jordan in the distance

On the Jesus trail

As I've mentioned before this has been a very strange trip for me. Every day all these questions pop up in my mind and while some of them are answered instantly, by the very kind people who have been accompanying me on this journey, others kind of just linger in the air like the right answer will find them if they just give it enough time. I'm constantly in my head, wondering about this and that and trying to puzzle together every single little thing I learn and experience into some logical order that makes sense in context with my every day life. It's exhausting and overwhelming but I'm enjoying every minute of it.

I've been asked why I can't just relax, kick back and enjoy the ride by going to the beach and just take the attractions I visit as they are instead of being in a constant mode of ponder. The answer is quite simple: it's because that's just not me. I have always been very curious and thirsty for knowledge and I can't just turn that off because there happens to be sun and some palm trees around. Listening to people's stories, asking questions and conversing with people that hold different views from my own is like nourishment for me. And what better country to reflect on the human experience than this hot pot of religion and contrasting views that is Israel?

Religion rules the world. The key to understand a person is understanding what he or she believes in.  Even in the Nordic countries where most people are religious only by name there are immigrants that follow different rules, sects and congregations that challenge the norms and even social rules that have their roots in the spiritual world. Israel is home to important shrines and holy places to three of the major religions of the world (Jews, Muslims and Christians) but also some lesser known groups like the Bahá'í and Druze. Many of the tourist sites, I would even go as far as saying most of them, have some references or significance to these faiths so there's no escaping it. Apart from that, IYHA has planned my trip in such a way that every day I'm traveling with someone from their organization. This is a unique once in a life time opportunity to experience a country with a different local every day and I have to make the most of it. How would I otherwise know that in a little Druze village somewhere close to Akko people are considered weird if they wear their seat belts inside the town's limits or that in the the same village it's believed that if a cat gets hit by a car it's because it decided to commit a suicide? I can come to Israel again a 100 times but THIS will never happen again!

Speaking of the IYHA and the Israeli hostels: They are nice. Too nice almost. Every hostel I've been to has offered great spacious rooms, private bathrooms, minibars and a TV. And free WiFi of course. My favorite by far was Akko where I spent last night but that doesn't mean the other two weren't nice. Agron Hostel in Jerusalem was the least fancy but it offers a great location close to the old city, the city center and convenient bus connections to just about anything. The one I'm at now, Karei Deshe, is like some sort of castle next to the Sea of Galilee and it even comes with a private beach. What I loved about Akko was both that it's brand new and really nice but also the spirit of the place somehow. The hostel was under siege from elderly Israeli artists that were there on some sort of artist retreat and they were hilarious to watch, even though I didn't understand anything they were saying, and quite endearing. The location is amazing, right next to the old city, but the rooftop of the hostel is open to its visitors where you can see amazing views over the old city and all the way to Haifa. 

One of my favorite moments of this trip happened up there last night when there was an Arabic wedding next to the hostel and the noise that came from it made me go up and take a look. I had a view over the whole scene and stood there by myself watching people dancing and young men being carried around while everyone cheered and clapped.It was like being a fly on a wall except I was on a roof. A little bit earlier I had heard the call to prayer from the beautiful mosque in town which dominates the views of the old city. It was then that it dawned on me that I'm actually in the Middle East.

One thing that I will say though that the hostels here are lacking a bit in the social aspect of things which makes you a bit lonely when you are traveling on your own. I think they are a bit better suited for groups and families. Not that I'm complaining - everyone has been SO nice and accommodating and they are really working together to help me make the most of this trip. Like Khaled (I think that's how it's spelled), the manager of Akko hostel told me yesterda, he feels like he's part of a big family and he even invited a lot of the people from the whole association to his wedding when he got married a few years ago. For these 10 days I'm the visiting cousin that the family takes turn babysitting and showing around.For that I'll be forever grateful. 

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.

Of hummus and the struggles with keeping an open mind

I think I'm going to convert to food blogging. It feels like all I've been doing the last 24 hours is eating. Eating delicious yummy food. IYHA, the Israel Youth Hostel association or Ana as they are apparently called in Hebrew, has really gone above and beyond to make sure I have a pleasant stay here in Israel. Apart from being really helpful with the whole luggage situation (which thankfully showed up today after its unexpected Paris excursion - yay) they were kind enough to let their New Media director Anat accompany me on my exploring last night and today. She is a fantastic food guide and took me, among other places, to her favorite hummus place. Hummus is to Israel what hot dogs are to Iceland so I had to try it. I think vegetarians must love the food here because so much of it is centered around dishes that don't contain any meat. Hanging out with Anat has also given me a unique opportunity to get to know the culture from a local and to ask all the questions I have about just about anything Israel related. I know how it is to be questioned about things that you haven't necessarily given much thought to about your hometown or country so I applaud her patience with me. I know few things better than good conversations over great food and I hope I have managed to give her a bit of insight into life in Iceland as well.

Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall

Apart from the food I've also seen some sights. I went to the old city of Jerusalem today and saw the amazing Dome of the Rock and left my wish and hopes at the Western Wall (also known as the wailing wall). Although I'm well aware of all the controversy surrounding Jerusalem and Temple Mount in particular (you can read about it by doing a quick Google search) I couldn't help but being impacted by the significance this place has to the Jewish people. Being from a country where religion doesn't play a big role in the daily lives of people it's interesting to experience things like the Sabbath where even the secular people partake in something so deeply rooted in religion. Mind you, not everyone in Israel agrees that this should be this way but I find it interesting none the less. I can imagine that many of the modern day pilgrims praying and kissing the wall today were experiencing the highlight of their religious lives.

The market in the Jewish Quarter in Old Jerusalem

I also went to the market briefly and I will have to visit it again before I leave. I love markets, especially markets that are filled with colorful aromatic things that you are not sure what to do with. After our short walk around the old city the plan had been to visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum, but because we were running a little late and the Yad Vashem requires a bit of time we decided to visit the Bible Lands Museum instead. I think someone who's really read the Bible would enjoy this museum more than I did but it was still interesting to see artifacts that are thousands of years old. My favorite part was the Pure Gold exhibition that is focused around things made of gold and included a lot of ancient jewelry. I will be going to the Yad Vashem tomorrow instead before I head on over to Tel Aviv for the day.

Religion is not the only thing that has piqued my interest - I was uneasy every time I saw one of these guys today because I've never been anywhere where firearms are as visible out in the streets as here

I have to say that Jerusalem has surprised me. I didn't expect to like it nor did I think I would feel short for time during my visit. To be honest I didn't really know what to expect and sometimes uncertainty brings out sides of me I really wished would never rear their ugly heads. I'm glad I didn't give up this amazing opportunity like I was contemplating for a while and am thankful that the world (and the Big Blog Exchange of course) has brought me here. Controversies and all.