I am sitting backwards on a train traveling from Basel to Bern. From there, I will get to pick up all 5 of my bags and change to a train that ends in Lausanne. It is a long end to a long few months of travel. I feel like I have been on the go and living out of my suitcase from the end of May when I headed to America for the wedding. Now I have had the adventure of going to Israel and it was amazing. I will not give a very detailed account of our last four days because for one, am exhausted, and for two I couldn’t describe all of it – we just saw and did too much. I will point out some of my highlights and thoughts along the way.
It has been a long time since I have done a group trip somewhere, especially with people my own age. Sure it was a wide range (18-26) and I was on the upper edge of that range, but it was sure an experience. There are definitely people that went on that trip that I want to see again. So with that in mind, after Jerusalem we headed to the desert with our Israel soldiers. We stopped first at an overlook of the Dead Sea and miles of sand dunes. Beautiful. Next we arrived at the Bedouin tents to learn a bit about their culture and old ways. Finally they let us ride camels out into the desert. It was a bit scary getting on, and a bumpy ride, but definitely something I will remember. We were only on the camels for about 20 minutes but that was enough time for me. We later had a bonfire, learned some pop songs (in Hebrew!) from our soldiers, performed our songs then finally slept. The next morning was the hike to Massada!
We woke up at 4:15 to head out for Massada. A stomach bug had been going around and I had it. I didn’t feel great, but I did the best I could. We made it up to the top of Massada for sunrise and my camera battery died. This is the problem with camping – no outlets! We then got a tour of Massada from our amazing guide Negev. If you don’t know about Massada you should look into it, it is a very interesting place. We finally hiked back down and headed out towards our next mini hike which took us to a waterfall. It was the first time I had been cool in a week, and it felt great. As usual we were hurried along to our next destination, the DEAD SEA!
This is something that is on my bucket list. I have always wanted to visit the Dead Sea and I was actually going! The Dead Sea is shrinking every year. The water that feeds into the Dead Sea is decreasing every year as people upstream use more and more. When the resort was first built, it was right next to the water. When we visited you had to ten minute shuttle to get to the water (or walk for 15-20 minutes in scorching heat). Once you get to the shore the sand is burning hot, and under the water there is no sand, only salt deposits that are sharp and cutting. You have to be careful because you don’t want to get a cut. Salty water stings, but the Dead Sea water kills. The water is full of minerals and, well, salt of course. It almost felt like baby oil and made my skin feel so soft. It was like nothing I had ever experienced. It wasn’t just salty, it was… I don’t even know the taste: terrible, gross, disgusting. This was just another reason to not end up with the water in your mouth. It made the Pacific taste like fresh water! My friend Marisa and I floated for half an hour or so, but the water was not refreshing and cool. It was like a hot salty, smelly bath. But it was still amazing to float. I am not a floater. I ALWAYS sink and for the first time I couldn’t stop floating. I tried to put my feet on the ground and I just flipped over to my stomach. It was ridiculous but a lot of fun. Out time eventually ran out so we headed to the mudbaths, rinsed with sulfur water, salt water and finally freshwater then showered and headed out. We said goodbye to our soliders and our bus started driving even deeper into the Desert. We were in the heart of the Negev. Unlike the touristy Bedouin tents, there was only one other group near us at these campsites. We were given permission to wander away and find a quiet place to sleep under the stars. We were exhausted and after a quick campfire I headed to bed. The sky was incredible. The stars filled the sky and in each one I saw planets, galaxies, a whole universe. It took me a while to sleep, and even when I did I kept waking up to stare at the sky. I eventually woke up right before sunrise, grabbed a few photos and got ready for that morning’s hike. It was another beautiful little trek up a medium rocky ridge with a few good rock climbing areas. It was nice just to be in nature without a ton of people. Next thing we knew we were back on the bus heading to Tel Aviv. It was a long drive, and we were all thankful that Israel is a small country.
Tel Aviv was so much different than the other cities. It is not pretty, there is not beautiful architecture or history. But the people in Tel Aviv are interesting, secular, and mostly young. The night life is crazy even on a Wednesday. We got to see Tel Aviv’s independence hall, learn about the night Israel declared its independence, and walk a bit through the downtown protest regarding rent-control. It is interesting, although I suppose not surprising, that Israel is so much more than it is portrayed on the news. There are so many things happening in Israel, and I am sure in many other countries as well, that we never hear about it because it is not shocking, terrible, news. People in Israel are just living their lives like everyone else. So when we went out for our first night on the town we were all excited to see the real Tel Aviv. Our soldiers brought us to their favorite bar on the beach, then to a nearby club with great music and dancing. On Wednesday, it was absolutely packed and difficult to push in. But we all got in there and brought our own 45 person party. I had a blast! There was lots of dancing to both American and Israeli music. Before we knew it our time was up and our last night in Israel was over.
Our final day in Israel was long but very interesting. We saw a few more market places, and eventually headed to Jaffa, the old port near Tel Aviv. Jaffa is significant because it used to be the place that Jews first arrived when they headed to Jerusalem. Jews were not welcome in Jaffa as it was an Arab city. Because of this, Tel Aviv was founded in the sand dunes nearby as the Jewish port town. Jaffa is still certainly charming with nice hills and a town filled with winding alleyways, archways, paths and cubbyholes. I wish we could have spent hours there, but we were running out of time in Israel. We had our goodbye dinner and the airport. That was the end of our adventure, and after arriving at New York we hugged and parted ways.
I am still in awe that the trip was free. Yes, we paid one meal a day, and we had to be in NY, but 10 days of food, accommodation, activities and a roundtrip, nonstop ticket to Tel Aviv from NY is pretty amazing. They didn’t skimp – we did many adventurous things, many interesting experiences. I hope all my Jewish friends are also able to take advantage of this trip, it is so incredible and FREE!
So after all this excitement I got to see my parents in NY. They flew in from Chicago so we could spend a few days together. I was pretty jet-lagged and had some work to do, but it was great just to hang out with them and have them around. Sometimes even if you aren’t doing anything particular it is nice just to be with someone. I like spending time with my parents so although we didn’t do anything particularly exciting, it was so relaxing to just be with them. Again our time together ended too quickly, and now I am almost home.
I am excited that after a taxi, 2 planes, 2 busses, and 2 trains I will finally be home. I have decided not to start work until tomorrow when I am refreshed. Traveling is exhausting! I am thankful that we are not going anywhere big for a while. I need some time to just get back into routine.
I will say that I am definitely excited to get back to Israel someday as from Geneva it is only a 3 hour flight and will cost $160 roundtrip. I will say one thing about Switzerland, it really is in the middle of many interesting places. I would like to go to Egypt too, but at the moment it is not the best idea. That government and system looks ready to collapse any day now.
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Well I’ve got to get my 500 bags together to change trains. Is it nap time yet?
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