Looking Back

Note: Picture taken in the car window looking back while riding through Northern Germany

Well I am a little bit past the mid way point of my Grand Adventure and I've been processing some travel thoughts.
Here they are (not in specific but rather random order)

Travel Rule #1: Never pack more than you are willing to carry. Never pack something you can't live without in case it gets lost. Never wear pants with lots of zippers.

I'm doing pretty well with this rule. Of course I had to purchase a suitcase because I've got a terrible case of Souveniritis (the dreaded disease where you think you have to purchase every cute thing you see for yourself and friends because you'll NEVER get a chance to see it again). However after reviewing the list of things purchased AND trying to pack them into a smaller space (as the airlines are trying to charge me for my extra bag) I've realized that I really REALLY have too much stuff.

My Anna may have lost her beloved Scortch on the way back from Israel. This stuffed dragon has been with her EVERYWHERE she's been since she was 11 or 12. I really hope she finds it. It's got a special place in her heart.

Today I got the Full Body Search treatment while going through the Hamburg airport. Dietmar had shared with me that many of the 9/11 terrorists came out of Hamburg so maybe the security is tighter here. They found zippers and metal on my person (pants, shoes,under where) where I never knew they existed before! And I pride myself on being a minimalist traveller--not one of those who has to spend 5 minutes taking things off in security lines. It was amazing. My friend MJ says she always gets searched no matter where she goes. And she finds it a good thing if the search is SOO GOOD that she's smiling when she's finished ;-) (ya gotta know MJ, she's got an amazing sense of humor).

Travel Rule #2: Always purchase food and drink BEFORE you get on the plane. Always go to the bathroom before you get on the plane. Always arrive at the gate at least 45 minutes before the plane departs. 

As my husband well knows, I suffer greatly from HBS (hungry bitch syndrome) where I get VERY nasty if I don't have food in my stomach. I don't care if you're friend or family or friendly stewardess, you will NOT want to piss me off if I don't have enough in my blood sugar. So to keep the Dr Hyde in her proper place, I try to always snack at the gate while I am waiting.

There's a similar beast that lies within me if I have to pee, but where as Ms HungryHyde is mean. Ms PollyPee is just pathetic. She whines, she worries, she walks funny, she's embarrassing to people who know me (just ask my family). I try to not let her out AT ALL when I'm traveling but I get nervous when I don't know where the nearest bathroom is. It's complicated here in Europe because many public bathrooms require a payment of 1Euro. Always have change ready.

And as far as getting to the gate, it's good to have enough time to write a rambling blog post while waiting to depart towards my next destination.

"Home"--Aachen--here I come!

Having a lovely time here in Hamburg Germany. Didi and Katrin and their lovely Irish Setter/German Shephard Pepee have been ROYAL hosts. We saw the North Sea on Sunday (as mentioned) and yesterday we saw the Baltic. Which is quite a contrast as the Baltic is a very mellow, quiet, gentle sea vs her WILD sister, the North. 

We went to Kiel which has a special place in the hearts of D and K as it's where they went to University. Not at the same time, but still their second "home".Kiel was the site of the 1972 Summer Olympic sailing competition so we went to what was the Olympic Village. It's now apartments and shopping centers, but still a great place to view boats and the sea,  I'm so lucky that I can say I've seen the whole of Germany through visits with our friends who live here.

Spring is starting to "sprout" here as you can see by the little flowers. The weather has been quite lovely, I'm sure a contrast to what my loved ones are dealing with in MN.

Today (Tuesday) I am off to Aachen to stay with Godsister Marion. The plans are to return to Cologne where the family visited in 2003. I enjoyed the Cathedral so much, I want one more crack at it.

Know that I am safe, happy and doing well now that I've got a German beer to make me smile ;-)

Safe in Germany

Having arrived here in Hamburg Saturday evening, and promptly sleeping 12 hours (was I tired?), life looked infinitely brighter Sunday morning when I woke up at the lovely home of Didi and Katrin. D is a Pelican Rapids "son" by exchange as he lived in PR during the year 97-98. He has spent a lot of time in PR so it's like being with someone from Home.

 We went on a spectacular drive to the North Sea (now I can cross that off my "list") and enjoyed many things. We stopped at a nature preserve area where we saw birds beginning their migratory route home and these wild horses.

As you can see, the North Sea greeted me before I greeted it (big waves). It was delightfully cold, brisk, salty…just like a sea!

 This is in an old church(*OLD 1427 was the date on the church wall). The photo shows a family "Box" where the Hans Grobt family sat.

Katrin and Didi smiling. They took me to this very interesting old quaint restaurant where they were married in 2009. It had the BEST pie and coffee I think I've had (or at least in a long time). 

AND they had a wonderful concoction that tasted like egg nog. Darn good. D said that it's tradition to get the mustache when you take the first drink. I thought he was pulling my leg (he's quite capable of doing that) but as I looked at their wedding pictures, I saw several people with the same mustache.

One cannot help but to be impressed with all of the wind and solar energy techniques being employed here in Northern Germany. 

Farewell Israel Shalom

Our last day in Israel included visiting the Tel Aviv Museum of Modern Art, riding bicycles (although briefly), going for dinner by the beach and leaving the hostel at 3 am in order to get our rental car back by 4am.

I have really enjoyed this trip for many reasons: 1) I was able to spend time with my daughter, the most time since probably 2011. 2) I finally was able to see the "mysterious Israel"…after living in Kuwait, it seemed like this place had so much allure mainly because we couldn't visit. (well we could but it was sketchy) 3) Travelling is really fun. Yes it's got it's pains and challenges, especially if you're traveling with someone…anyone but all in all, I really enjoy seeing new places, meeting new people, etc.

But it's time to go. There's a strain here that wears on a person. I don't know if it's because I am so totally unfamiliar with the Jewish customs and practices that I am always afraid I'm going to offend someone or say something wrong. I am not sure if it's because everything is very expensive and I'm always cautious of spending even more money. Although our daughter warned us, I don't think I was prepared for how expensive everything (especially food) actually costs. Readers beware: SAVE UP if you plan to visit.

Maybe I feel like it's time to go  because I'm the tired of being the one in charge. Well that's not really true as I've depended on Anna ALOT  for translations, explanations, direction, etc. Believe it or not, I miss traveling with David, as it was always easier to have him make a lot of the decisions. ;-)  I owe you one Babe!

This coming week will find me on four planes, two trains and staying in four different homes. It's going to be a whirlwind visit with each, but I'm looking forward to having a chance to be less of a tourist and more of a friend. What a nice break before I hit it hard in Ireland with friends JER and MJR from Kuwait.

Bottom line: I'm still trying to process all what I saw, heard, tasted and experienced here. My respect for  our daughter has increased significantly as I've discovered that it's sometimes just "hard" to figure things out. As I said earlier, I am so glad I came here after living in the Middle East for five years. It was a great preparatory course.

A couple photos to end: We toured the Art Museum in Tel Aviv which has a great permanent collection. Here's a couple of photos. Nice way to end the trip. Next report will be from Germany…Cheers!

Anna viewing a black and white film that really made no sense to me whatsoever.

 A lovely painting of the Wailing Wall by a famous artist. When I took the picture I thought I would remember who, but in actuality, I don't. It's either Monet-Matisse-or Van Gogh…. I think.

 The funky parking lot we kept the rental car had art on the walls. The guy was a real crab but I do complement him on his attempt to make his basement dark walls a little bit more cultured.

I am sure that the beaches in Tel Aviv are lovely. Anna talks a lot about how much fun she had at the different beaches in the area. This is a google image. I had this view last night at dinner, only it was dark but I am sure that if it would have been daylight,  it looked like this!

Shalom Israel

"You have arrived at your Destination" (Nazareth)

CHURCH OF THE ANNUNCIATION 

This is the spot where Mary first received word (from an angel) that she was to be the Mother of Jesus. There is a lovely church built over the grotto. After an exciting trip here (see previous blog) we were ready for anything! The Church is beautiful but on the outside as you walk through the courtyard, you are struck by these lovely mosaic depictions of Mary and Jesus from other countries. I am going to guess they are gifts. Here are three of my favorite from China, Thailand and the US.

Today's audience was quite small so we were able to get up closer to the grotto. As mentioned the church and surrounding areas were quite beautiful. Look at those beauties who appeared also!

After we left the Church, we headed off to see a Greek Orthodox church. This involved us wandering through the neighborhoods of Nazareth and the nearby market place. It was fascinating and often times I felt like Jesus and Joseph could appear at any moment. Thanks to Anna's sense of direction we made it to the end but by then we decided that this had been the adventure and we didn't go to the church. 

As we returned to the main area, I saw this man. I said to Anna: "oh look an Arab in a wheelchair playing the accordion: to which she replied : "Oh you don't know how often I've seen That!" When we walked by him, he played When the Saints Go Marching In. I am sure it was for us!

We left Nazareth and programmed the GPS to take us a scenic overlook. I should say that Anna programmed the GPS as I am doing the driving and she's the map reader, etc. Well we drove for about 50 minutes and ended up in a small village at the end of a dead end road in a cow pasture to which "Patricia" the GPS proudly announced "You have arrived at your destination". We laughed and decided it would make a great picnic spot anyway. As we were sitting on the ground, enjoying our sandwiches and Coke, a huge tour bus also came barreling down the road, turned around and left. We don't know if their GPS was "funny" too or if it was a turnaround. A perfect example of just letting things happen to you while traveling.

And speaking of letting things happen. We saw this lovely Church on a hillside from afar after leaving the big city of (XX-insert name here when Anna tells me ;-)! So we decided to drive there. It turned out to be the Church of the Beatitudes where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. It was totally beautiful place and is actually a working Franciscan Sisters Convent. We even ran into our friends, the Singing Korean Choir who were singing in the Chapel. (we've been following them accidentally to three previous sites). But it's the picture below that will stick in my memory the longest. I don't know if the Nuns saw the humor in their work, but it made me laugh for a long time.

While leaving the Convent, we saw another church in an opposite hillside. Anna says "Oh I've been there Mom, we have to go!" We drove up to a totally modern, almost futurist (Anna said alien ship) Monastery run also by the Catholic Church. This church, finished in 2003, is a look to the future. They have a totally different view. The statues above were actually place on top of a building which allowed this great view. I appreciate visionaries . 

Stay Left… Stay Left… Stay Left ( a road trip diary)

Today Anna and I left Jerusalem and set off across Israel in a rented car. This is quite an adventure for me as usually David is the one who does all the driving when we travel overseas. But, Anna wanted to see some parts of Israel she hasn't visited and so it's my "duty" to be the driver.
First we headed to Haifa

The city itself isn't that wonderful. It's a port town and there was lots of congestion. We did have an interesting experience with the Cat Lady of Haifa… this older woman was leaning over by our car feeding her "babies", about 10 local feral cats. She was totally oblivious to the fact that she was leaning on our car as I started it up. The cat that had jumped on the hood lazily decided to get off. There are no pictures because we were too intrigued watching her.

The story behind the title is that the GPS (which we have named Patricia) keeps on telling me to STAY LEFT. I think we've taken 5 right turns in the whole country! As usual, Anna does a great job of reading the maps, listening to "Patricia" and telling me where to drive. We've only had one screwup but more on that later.

Our next stop is Atta, a sleepier town that has great history. It seemed to be definitely non-tourist time as we almost had the mosque and the old town to ourselves. We enjoyed leisurely wandering. Unlike her mother, my children (Ben and Anna both) have an almost eirie ability to walk through places and remember exactly where they are and how to return to the starting point. Thank goodness because we wandered quite a bit.

To honor our family and friends, we stopped by the seaside and had a beer and toasted people in colder climates. Here are some photos of our walk.

We left Atta just at sundown and headed to our place of rest, Nazareth. As we were driving, I was thinking about how lucky we had been during the day with finding places to park, seeing interesting things and just having time to be together. Nothing monumental, just good times.

And then we arrived in Nazareth….

We actually got to turn RIGHT into the town and started what seemed to be a long dark ascent. It was a little creepy driving as there weren't many street lights. Up and down, around and around, through narrow streets we drove. Anna had us on the GPS and "Patricia" kept telling us where to go, but it was a little spooky. At one point Anna said "Maybe she's taking us on non toll roads". It made sense, although it was still creepy.

Down the hill to what appeared to be a parking lot (or auto repair shop lot). I turned right (again!) and headed up a road. Nope, it ended with a large cement barrier across the road. "You turned the wrong way" said Anna and "Patricia" (although I only heard my daughter) So I turned around and started over, turning where both ladies said I should. We ended up on top of the hill at a VERY FANCY (think Kuwaiti) home complete with security alarm, barking dogs AND bleating sheep (I kid you not)

What I didn't mention is that both of these times, we could SEE the hotel but couldn't figure out HOW to get to it! But, third time was the charm, and we ended our journey in a beautiful (least expensive hotel so far) space with a lovely swimming pool, marble floors and walls AND a fantastic Japanese choir singing by the pool!

Tomorrow we will see what historical sites we can find and then spend the evening in Tel Aviv where Anna will attend a cast party. I'm going to be having close conversations with my suitcase and see just how I can rearrange all my newest possessions….

Until the next time, here's a bit of sun for those of you in the Frozen Tundra

Wandering

Anna's final night in AIDA. People were impressed (it's hard to write glowing reviews of one's own daughter) and several commented to her and me (of course I told them I was her MOTHER!) about how Wonderful she was. Geesh, maybe we'll both stay in Israel ;-)

 This is the area near the place where Jesus was crucified and buried in the tomb. There are hundreds of markets. So of course, one thinks of Jesus throwing down the tables in the marketplace and being angry at the sellers. BUT there's such wonderful things to be observed and purchased. I was very good with my pocketbook, but oh to return with empty suitcases and full pocketbooks!!

 So here's an interesting story. We were wandering around this area, Nachlaot, which was a fascinating neighborhood. Anna says it's where the religious people and college students live. I spied this sign for an Art store, so in we went. We had a great conversation with the owner (on right) and complimented him on his art. Then the gentleman on the left came in (with a 3/4 empty bottle of whisky..it was 11 am) and he proceeded to tell us he had been a medical student from London who is now living in Jerusalem and he "Works" at a magician, entertainer, inspirational speaker. He invited us to a Shabbat (holy day) dinner but unfortunately we won't be here.

 Love these doors.

 Anna purchased some earrings from Doodoo the oriental jeweler. (that's what his sign said…)

 Love this photo although Anna has scolded me several times to stop taking pictures of religious people (sorry, can't help it!)

Jerusalem is complex. There is so much happening here politically, culturally, historically that one easily gets overwhelmed. However, I have enjoyed talking with people. I think if the leaders of countries would just try having conversations with people instead of worrying who is right, who is more powerful and how is "in charge", the world would be a better place. Shalom