Visting Home Part 1

We have just come back from an amazing visit back home (Israel). When I heard Ken was going back for a work visit I just had to go too. It's been over 4 years since that adventure... and we have dreamed of it every day since. Once we booked our flights I started to consider what to do, where to go... and of course I already had a list of who to see. Bethlehem and a couple of National parks made my list of things we didn't get to do while we lived there. A float in the dead sea, and visit to the old city were places I wanted to re-visit. And 4 days in Haifa seemed like enough time to see old friends "family" that still live there. Sometimes when asked though I would say I'm really just going for some fresh squeezed orange juice, schwarma, and a certain Nestle ice cream bar (which has proved impossible to find anywhere else). We have such sweet memories, but I wondered how far they drifted from reality with nostalgic thought. We arrived Sunday afternoon and made our way to the old city for the first night in Israel. After finding our hotel and checking in, we made it into the old city for the fresh OJ and schwarma. It was just as good as I remember it! It was a real treat to be in the old city later in the evening as we were always headed back to Haifa by 4pm when we lived here 4 years ago. Tonight the shops were already starting to pack up and there weren't many tourists in the streets. We were able to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of what is usually a bustling city. Our heads hit the pillow by 8:30pm. We couldn't stay awake any longer. Monday we started the day off with a walk on the Ramparts. Basically we walked on top the old city walls, overlooking the roof tops and into the old city. It was again a peaceful walk (since we started at 9 early). After our self guided tour, we visited to the wailing wall (which was quite busy with Barmitzpha celebrations) and then arrived at the Kotel Tunnels for a tour under the old city. This tour walked through the history of the temple mount and the old city walls. The guide was very captivating with her "dramatic presentation" of the material. Ken had not done this tour before and I enjoyed hearing it a second time. Following the Tunnel tour we went our the Dung gate and down to the city of David... the original settlement of Israel. We walked through the ruins of what might have been King David's palace and then through Warren's Shaft and Hezekiahs' Tunnel. Ken hadn't done this tour either so it was fun to experience it together. The tour was a bit longer than I remember it and we were the last group to go through the tunnel for the day. We had to use a little flashlight and walk through water that was up to the middle of our calves to get to the end of the pitch black tunnel that was almost a mile long. After our adventures in the old city we found our car and headed up to Haifa for the week. Traffic seemed to be much worse than we remember it and we stumbled into Haifa around 8pm hungry and tired. But we wanted to make a quick stop and visit our old neighbors and drop off a few things we brought with us for them. It was such a sweet reunion! It was so good to see Ima and Mor and they had actually prepared dinner for us so we had a tasty spread before heading off to find our hotel.

Visiting Home Part 2

Tuesday I braved the train and headed towards Netanya to meet up with my friend Meg. We are actually friends through another friend. Meg came to Israel as an ex-pat wife just as we were leaving and we've only met once before. Our morning started off a little rushed with heavy traffic and a few wrong turns. I just barely made the 8:15 train. While on the train a man came by to check tickets and informed me that I was in a reserved seating only area and would have to move. It probably shouldn't have been a big deal, but it made me flustered and somehow I managed to misplace my ticket by the time I found a seat in the next train car. I knew I would be fine getting off the train, but I was supposed to transfer to another train at the next stop, so I had 5 minutes to find my ticket or potentially have to get a new one. uggh. In the end it all worked out (it had fallen into my book in my purse) and I got off at the right station and waited for Meg...and waited.... and waited... Finally I found someone who was willing to loan me their cell phone (who knew we were so attached to those things!) and left a message for Meg who apparently was at a different exit waiting for me. After 30 minutes and wondering whether I should head back to Haifa on the next train, I heard Meg calling my name from the opposite side of the train station. In no time we were off on our adventure for the day: Bethlehem. What an incredible experience. I'm so glad I went and so glad I was with a friend who had been there before. She had a "contact" who came and picked us up at the border crossing and took us to all the tourist sites (We drove just inside the wall to see all the graffiti and then on to Manger Square, Church of the Nativity, Milky grotto and Shepherd's field). We ended up in our "chaufer's" gift shop and bought some souveniers. Meg had planned on buying something from his shop and I got some things as well. On the way back to the wall we drove past the late Yasser Arafat's castle and Stars and Bucks cafe of course. It was a busy day and Ima and Mor picked me up from the train station since Ken was still in meetings. The Church of the Nativity was built in 300 AD over the site believed to host Mary and Joseph when Jesus was born. Apparently it was not destroyed by the Crusaders in the 6th century and remains the oldest operating Christian church in the world. The mosaics on the floor are original. Entrance to the church is through the door of humility which visitors almost bow as they enter through the 4 foot doorway. There is a silver star marking the birthplace of Jesus. It was quite an interesting place to be. I'm sure this is not Biblical but it was still an interesting place to visit. Some say that Mary and Joseph stopped here on their flight to Egypt to nurse baby Jesus and some of her milk dropped on the rocks making the cave turn white. Many who have fertility issues come to the grotto to recieve "healing" and fertility. On to the Shepherd's Field where the Angels proclaimed the birth of Baby Jesus. This field was not at all what I had pictured in my mind with soft rolling green hills. But the rocky crags were very common to the landscape in Bethlehem and what we saw sheep grazing on throughout the country. There was a church there and also some caves to go in. Can you believe it.... a Starbucks knock-off in Bethlehem!

Visting Home Part 3

Wednesday was a fun relaxing day with friends in Haifa. In the morning I walked to the swim center where I used to take my water aerobics class to meet with some old friends for coffee. I got there hoping to join them for the class, but it took a while for me to get in and I didn't have the right start time so just as I slipped into the pool they were finishing class. Bummer. Oh well. I enjoyed a nice chat with my friends. I can't believe they still remember me... and some didn't until they motioned to my "big belly" that was no longer there and then the light went on... Yes, the pregnant American girl from 4 years ago! Oh Sweet memories! After class I headed back to the hotel and planned an afternoon shopping with Ima (Ima means Mom in Hebrew and that is what I've always called her from day one. Michal is harder to say in Hebrew... trust me). Afterwards we took some laundry to her house...isn't that just like a Mom to help with laundry? I had expected 75-80 degree days and only packed jeans and long sleeves for the plane rides. By Wednesday I needed something clean to wear :-) That evening I spent dinner with a dear friend who moved from the states to Israel when we were there. They have a passion for helping those with addictions (drugs/alcohol). It was so encouraging to spend time with her and hearing about the last 4 years there. Overall it was a day to re-connect and I loved it.

Visting Home Part 4

Thursday I got together with Margi again and we walked through the markets where I used to do my grocery shopping. Fun memories. By Noon I was supposed to be at Matam to meet up with Ken and his co-workers. They were going North to Akko for the afternoon and invited me to join them. We caravaned to the ancient Crusader City seaport and walked along the sea wall looking for a little hole in the wall restaraunt that we had been to before. It was hard to recognize since it had been renovated, but I'm sure it was the same place. So we have 10 Americans and unfortunately I'm the best hope of speaking in Hebrew :-( Mostly we pointed at the menus and they started bringing out plates of hummus and salads and pita and more salads. There were probably 30 saucers on the table with 10 different choices. Yes, this is an authentic Arabic meal. It was Good! Half way through the waiter came back to take our order. I think most people were stuffed but we did order a few plates of Kebab and Schnitzel to split among us. Afterwards they brought the bill. Ken was trying to decipher it and eventually the waiter started discussing it with me since I had a little Hebrew to offer. We finally decided the bill was right... or close enough 850NIS for 10 people wasn't too bad. After lunch we walked through the market then headed back to Haifa. Some of his co-workers were flying out that night. We had a quite evening in Haifa... grabbed a crepe at a favorite spot and then went to bed.

Visiting Home Part 5

Friday is a day off in Israel as Shabbat starts at sundown and most places start closing around 3pm. We decided to join some ex-pat friends for trip to the market and a bike ride on the boarwalk between Jaffa and Tel Aviv. The market was just like I remembered it... very crowded on Fridays. We bought some fresh squeezed juice and a few souvenirs. Renting bikes was not hard at all and soon we were off. The weather was fabulous and we were hot in our jeans and sweatshirts :-( Seriously, I can never dress for weather! We locked up the bikes in Jaffa and toured the little city's shops and stopped by the house of Simon the Tanner (where Peter had his vision that the Gospel extends beyond the Jews) and posed next to a great fish remincisent of Jonah's decision to go to Tarshish instead of Ninevah. We finished ice cream cones before heading back to the bikes and riding along the boardwalk. I played chicken with a 5 year old and almost lost... I was a potential hazard to those around me on an unfamiliar too big for me bike. It was a really enjoyable day though and we made it back to Haifa in time to shower and join our friends for Shabbat dinner. We only did this once while we lived in Israel and it is one of my favorite memories, so I was so happy to join them again. After hugs, we all sat around the table while the Torah was read and then the bread was passed (salt had been sprinkled on it to remind them of the bitterness of slavery in Egypt) and the red wine was shared too. I loved the song that they sang too, although I'm not quite sure what they were saying. It's just a really neat experience and the food was fabulous! Liora works all afternoon to prepare this feast and then they eat the leftovers through Shabbat. Somehow time flew by way too fast and within a matter of minutes it was 10:15 and time to leave :-( Ken's co-worker had planned to get together for coffee that evening and there was no other time to make it work. I wish it could have been different but that's the way it worked out. So we had to say goodbye... and then it hit me that we might not see them again (this trip anyway) and I started to cry. I had run out of time.

Visiting Home Part 6

A touristy day. One of Ken's co-workers ended up joining us for Saturday and Sunday. Her original plans changed when her traveling buddy had to unexpectedly go back to the USA early and so she hung out with us. Which worked out just fine. After breakfast we checked out of our hotel and then headed East towards Nazareth. Ken and I had both driven through this city once before but we got terribly lost and ended up missing the Church of the Annunciation all together. This time we ended up finding the church and went inside. The church sits over the site where perhaps Mary lived and the angel visited her announcing that she would give birth to a son. From Nazareth we headed to the ancient ruins of Bet Shean. The history is rich in Bet Shean begining with the Cannanites in the 16th century BC. The City was the seat of Egyptian rule and the Israelites were not successful in conquering it. After the battle at Mt. Gilboa the Philistines displayed the bodies of Saul and his sons on the city walls here. Later King David took the city and it became an administrative center of King Solomon's reign. Following the Roman conquest it became one of the 10 cities in the Decapolis. It's pretty fascinating to see the remains of the ampitheater and climb the hilltop to overlook the valley. Back in the car we headed North to the Sea of Galilee. It was a whirlwind trip stopping only at Yigal Alon Center and Capernaum. At Yigal Alon Center they have displayed a fishing boat that was recently (1986) discovered dating back to the first century. The boat had been buried in the sedimets and found only after a severe drought. This is the type of boat refereed to in the gospels used among Jesus' disciples. In Capernaum we visited the ruins of a synagogue in which Jesus could have preached in, and saw the octagonal church that was built over the ruins of the disciple Peter's house. Unfortunately, we ran out of time for sightseeing and headed back to Haifa to meet up for dinner with one of Ken's co-workers. Rachel is the reason we first came to Israel four years ago as she was going on maternity leave and needed someone to cover her job. Since then she has visited us many times on work related trips and we have become good friends. It was fun to meet with her family. 3 girls... the toe nail polish was a hit! That night we repositioned ourselves in Tel Aviv so that we could take advantage of our last day in Israel.