Israel Part II - A Success Story?

Picking up from last post and our experience in Nazareth, I want to first address our decision not to go to Jerusalem.

It was a tricky one. Before we even left the safety of Basel, having seen snippets in the news, we asked ourselves, if we should cancel our trip to Israel all together. We obviously decided against it. There was too much time and not to mention money invested in the planning of our tip. In addition, we were obviously not the "targets" per se and we rationalized that "things can happen anywhere" (which I still agree with.)

However, after our experience in Nazareth, we realized that the overall atmosphere in these cities was violent and tensions were high. While we still weren't "targets" per se, or a part of either side of the conflict, we decided that we could find ourselves quickly in the middle of a dangerous situation once sparked, it wouldn't matter who we were.

Do we still struggle with this decision? Yes. I mean, we were SO close! We have friends who went to Jerusalem three days later and nothing happened to them. We have friends who are there now and their experiences are wonderful and they say the vibe feels different.

If we had started our experience in Tel Aviv, as you'll see from below, where the conflict is barely visible, we probably would've still headed to Jerusalem. That being said, we in no way regret our decision. We can go back another time. We can return when there are opportunities to experience the sites with a clear head and feelings of safety.

All this being said, we were setting off for Tel Aviv!

First stop, Caesarea National Park along the Mediterranean Sea. A port city from the time of King Herod, now turned beautifully reconstructed old city / shopping, restaurant and artist tourist destination. For us, it was the perfect destination to turn around the mood of our trip.

 

 

After the most delicious lunch, that again monster man ate up every bit, including the ground lamb, we continued on our way to Tel Aviv.

We arrived at our hotel on the beach! The only issue was that we had obviously not planned for time playing on the beach. We walked into town to try to find some water gear. Little man was the only successful one. Then we were off to jump in the waves.

My favorite series: hehe. I'm not exactly certain what Matt is looking at, but it is not the wave that is coming to crush our child, who is thrilled about it. Don't worry this didn't slow us down! 

  

This was his first time in the waves on the beach and he LOVED it! He could've played in the waves and eaten the sand for hours. Now, we were truly enjoying our first time in Israel! After a delicious seafood dinner and a full night of rest, we were finally set to meet up with our friends from Duke.

They were wonderful hosts. Picking us up at our hotel and taking us to the pier. Their daughter is 4 and are due to have another in just a month. The kids loved running along the pier, playing on the carousel and climbing all over the multiple playgrounds.

We then drove to the city center for a tasty lunch. The city center felt like a mini NYC. Every street had a slightly different character with people out and about enjoying drinks in the open air bars and restaurants, etc. They showed us around different neighborhoods that we probably wouldn't have stumbled into on our own. That's always the best part about having local tour guides! We were so grateful for their hospitality and sharing their lives with us during our visit.

 

In Tel Aviv, from our experience, there is hardly any acknowledgement of the conflicts occurring just a few miles away. It's not that people don't talk about it and it's certainly not that people don't care, but it feels as though they have had to find a way to find peace and a way for their lives to go on.

In conclusion: was our trip a success?
I don't know that I had the answer before I started writing all of this. Now, that I've had a chance to reflect, I have to say yes. While we didn't see some of the highlights on our planned agenda, our goals of traveling in general are to meet new people (and we met some truly generous and wonderful people on this trip), experience new cultures, gain a greater understanding about the world around us. This normally involves us visiting beautiful sights and finding time to relax and disconnect. Our Israel experience was different, however, it was worth it to have a greater appreciation for the conflicts that are going on all around us that we just do not completely understand.

Our trip was a success. Not in the traditional way, but I'm incredibly happy we went and for the eye-opening experience. We would gladly travel to Israel again, but will probably wait a little while longer.

Headed back home

Was Our Israel Trip a Success?

When we returned from our trip to Israel, we asked ourselves the question: was it a successful trip? Honestly, I'm not quite sure. On the one hand, it was an incredibly eye-opening experience, we got to reunite with some wonderful friends and we survived. On the other hand, we didn't get to go to Jerusalem which was the original purpose of our trip and we found our family in a potentially dangerous situation.

Here was the first part of our Israel experience:

We arrived at the Tel Aviv airport and Matt managed to negotiate our way into a rental car even though neither of us had our drivers license (they were in Swiss custody for exchange into Swiss licenses).

Our first stop was a view of the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus recruited four fishermen as his first disciples, from the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount.

 

 

Praying or changing a diaper?

The Beatitudes are "eight" blessings that "present a new set of Christian ideals that focus on a spirit of love and humility"  They are engraved in stone throughout the site.

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. (5:3)
2. Blessed are those who mourn: for they will be comforted. (5:4)
3. Blessed are the meek: for they will inherit the earth. (5:5)
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they will be filled. (5:6)
5. Blessed are the merciful: for they will be shown mercy. (5:7)
6. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they will see God. (5:8)
7. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they will be called children of God. (5:9)
8. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (5:10)

We drove back south to spend the night in Nazareth. We checked in to our adorable little guest house, the Alexandra House, tucked into the very center of the Old City. Our more than generous host, Michele, was incredibly welcoming. He whisked us off to take a drive around the city to point out the highlights so we could more easily navigate the next day to check out the sights. This included a stop to his home to meet his wife and one of his daughters.

Entrance to Alexandra House

 

Our little room. I've been told it looked like a crypt but really it was on the 3rd floor and it was quite adorable. :)

Old streets of Nazareth

On our way to drop us off at his recommended spot for dinner is when everything got interesting. Honestly, we were naive. Incredibly naive. Driving up the main street of Nazareth, we encountered a huge traffic jam. Some teenagers running down the street in the opposite direction. A woman walking by saw us with a baby in the back and told us to turn around. She explained in Arabic to Michele as to why and she helped us navigate the turn in the middle of the street.

Something felt off about the situation, but all of the pieces weren't coming together for us just yet. Michele dropped us off at his favorite Shwarma spot. (It was delicious.) Then we started the direct walk back to the house.

We passed the Basilica of the Annunciation, the celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Mary that she would bear the Son of God, Jesus. It is the largest Christian church in the Middle East and it was beautifully lit at night plus still open to the public so we couldn't resist stopping in.

The center crypt is the "home of the Virgin Mary"

The grotto is composed of remnants of earlier churches on the site.

Donated Virgin Mary icons from all over the world

 

Statue of Mary at age 14, the age when she is believed to be at the time of the Annunciation.

On our way out, we saw Michele driving the wrong direction up the one way street. He was looking for us. Still not registering everything, we were grateful for him saving us the walk with a stroller up a cobble-stoned street.

We headed back through the center of town and now things were out of the control. More teenagers were running down the hill. Trash bins, bus stops and unknown objects were on fire in the middle of the streets. Cars were at a stand still. A few of the teenagers had stones in their hands, but on the whole they were headed in the other direction. Some were running, obviously running away from something or someone. The way a child would run and hide if they'd done something wrong.

Honestly, it was scary. We did not feel comfortable. We were kicking ourselves for putting our little guy in this situation. We wanted out. Michele again veered left the wrong way up a one way street. Driving through back alleys to get us back to the house. Once safely locked back inside we knew it would still be a restless night. We could hear what sounded like fireworks going on all night long. (We are still unclear if it was small bombs from the protesters or from the police to help disperse the crowds.)

Facts about Nazareth (incredibly difficult to find a great source) that we honestly didn't complete our research on in advance:
- Known as the hometown of Jesus, obviously why it was on our agenda
- Considered "the Arab capital of Israel" with the population predominantly Muslim: 69% and Christian: 31%
- Become the center of Arab and Palestinian nationalism after the incorporation into Israel
- As with many sites throughout Israel, Nazareth has significance across religions including the Muslim holy sites of Shrine of al-Sheikh Amer and the White Mosque
- some more interesting background https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazareth#Modern_era

This is the protest that we were caught in:
http://www.timesofisrael.com/police-arrest-dozens-as-nazareth-protest-turns-violent/ 

Needless to say when we woke up the next morning, we weren't keen on additional touring. In addition, we had planned to head to Jerusalem. However, based upon our experience the previous night combined with the news we were hearing about the rising conflicts in Jerusalem, we decided to head directly to Tel Aviv.

Michele prepared an amazing Israeli / Mediterranean breakfast for us. Incredibly wonderful and our little monster ate it all up. He loves a Mediterranean diet.

Our friend Michele

We've been thinking quite a bit about our experience in Nazareth. It is difficult for us to draw conclusions about things we don't understand. About a history and a background of experience on both sides that is opposite of our own.

All we do know, is that it was sad. It was scary, but upon reflection, it was mainly just sad. Sad that this is just a sampling of people who live in a different world from us. Who live in a world where neither side can go to bed every night feeling safe. To live in a world where you constantly feel hate. Hatred towards individuals and hatred towards a whole race of individuals. We went from a morning reflecting on Jesus's teachings of peace and compassion, to an evening of witnessing  people whose hearts and heads are pushing them towards the opposite goals. I know our family lives in a different world. We've only seen a glimpse and we feel incredibly blessed and lucky for what we do have. Each other, family, friends and love.

A Night at the Movies - Al Fresco

Earlier this week, I went to the movies with some girlfriends. Like DC's Screen on the Green, the movies are shown outside on a large movie screen in the Münsterplatz, which is one town square at the top of the city. It's not free so you have to buy tickets in advance and they do set out chairs instead of picnic style. The city sets up about a dozen little outdoor stalls with food & drink, include a fajita stand! I didn't know about the food options beforehand so we arrived for the show and missed out on some of the treats.  Typically Swiss, however, every single person was already seated and fully fed by the time we showed up. (At least 10min before show time!)

We saw "What If?" starring Daniel Radcliffe. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Lots of poop related jokes but I honestly laughed most of the time. (Plot was incredibly predictable romantic comedy but that's right up my alley)

A great night out in the city. 

The (not so great) photo is the back of the screen looking at the seats but you get the idea. 

On our walk up we also spotted the free summer Rhine concerts. Basel is the coolest place to be!