Haifa

Hello from Haifa!!!

Since we last posted we have been to Masada, the Dead Sea, Tel-Aviv, Cessarrea and now Haifa! The internet in Tel Aviv was a little tough to manage, but it is a little better here. I don't have time for the whole update at this time however, so here's just a taste, and you will need to stay tuned for more!!!

This is us on top of Masada!!! Really AMAZING!!!! But OH, SO, HOT!!!! From here we went to Ein Gedi where Jenny and I swam (more like floated) in the Dead Sea. That was the weirdest sensation ever!!! And boy do you all of a sudden know where any little scratch and scrape are!!! WOW!!!

The next day we had to say goodbye to Jerusalem and our apartment... it was a sad day! We took a bus to Tel Aviv where our hostel was a block away from a beautiful beach!!! I probably swam 6 times in our 2 days there!!

While in Tel Aviv, we saw Old Jaffa (or Joppa) where Simon the Tanner lived, and also where Jonah headed of to sea from!!!

From there we have rented a car and drove to Haifa, by way of Caesarea! Caesarea was amazing, but sooooo hot!!! Now Haifa seems nice so far... This is us eating dinner in Haifa... great food, and a fun atmosphere!!! Tomorrow we plan to go to Akko, and who knows where else, so stay posted for our last few (sniff, sniff) days in Israel!!!

O Little Town of Bethlehem...

This is known as "Shepherd's Field" said to be the place that the Angels appeared to the shepherds! We went to Bethlehem on the 23rd, saw the Church of the Nativity, and then went to the...

Herodium. Named for Herod the Great who had this circular fortress built in 24-15 BC. Later a Jewish leader had the cisterns turned into a series of tunnels that wind down through this man made mountain. We wandered through them and since we were the only tourists there at this time it was a little creepy!!! But very cool!!!

This is us at the Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall!!! As you can see we are all completely covered, from head to toe!!! Although rain jackets in 90 degree weather aren't very practical you do what you can without packing too much!!!

This is known as the "Roof Walk" and it is exactly what it sounds like!!! Yep, a set of iron stairs lead up to the tops of the roofs, there is almost another city up here, and a few different levels reveal the entrances to houses that you wouldn't see from ground level. You can look down through vents to the the market below, and pick your way through some debris to see a slide and some park benches. As you can see from the picture it is even lit at night with some street lamps!! And wow, what a view!!! When the breeze picks up it can be a very pleasant place to spend a little time!

The Dome of the Rock! Same day as the Western Wall, and same attire... it was a hot day even without all those clothes, but a must! It is an amazing sight! So fun to take pictures of, and fun just to sit in the shade (never in the sun ;) and watch people. Tourists and locals, both young and old!

Us at the Garden Tomb. While there is almost no way of being 100% sure where the Crucifixion, Burial and Resurrection took place, there seem to be signs that this garden tomb could be the one. The entrance was damaged and had to be rebuilt (see the bricks to the right of the doorway). This tomb is set in a beautiful, calm and peaceful garden. It was rather refreshing after being in some of the more commercialized spots!

Jerusalem in Photos!

This is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is the supposed site of Jesus death, burial and resurrection (amazing how they were all so close together! wink). While the location of His Crucifixion is generally agreed on, His burial site is greatly debated!

The Pool of Bethesda where Christ healed the invalid who could not make it into the water when it was stirred by an angel of the Lord. John 5:1-15. After visiting with a guide for a few minutes he let Jenny and Me (Katie) climb over the locked gate and touch the water!

The Muslim call to prayer can be heard in the Old City and East Jerusalem 5 times a day! Depending on where you are it can be quite loud. And on Friday during the midday call to prayer we saw hundreds of Muslims streaming through Stephen's gate on their way to El-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount.

Hezekiah's Tunnel

This is called Hezekiah's Tunnel! It goes underground, for 1,750 feet through solid rock, from outside the old city to the inside. King Hezekiah had it dug for a source of water in 700 BC during the Assyrian invasion. It was nice and cool, and they require you to bring flashlights! It is thigh deep in some parts, but mostly ankle to mid calf. This was a really cool experience!!!

Shalom!

Yes! We are in Jerusalem. After leaving Berlin we took a train to Warsaw, where we (Jenny and Katie) got in very late. We spent the night a nice hostel that looked very cookie cutter IKEA-ish! ;) We spent the day seeing some of the sites in Warsaw, and then met up with Dan and flew out very late! Arrived in Tel-Aviv at around 4:00 AM, and took a shared taxi to Jerusalem! Stayed last night on the roof of a hostel in the old city!!! AMAZING view, but we are glad that we aren't staying the whole time there! Today we got into our apartment that we are in for 2 weeks, it's very nice!!! We are renting it from a woman who is on vacation for 2 weeks! We are walking miles a day, sweating profusely, and taking in all the sights, smells and tastes! k... gotta go, but we have Internet access so stay tuned for more!!!
Catch ya later!!!

BERLIN BERLIN!!!

ok, we are still in Berlin, and Dan is off traipsing around in Czech Republic somewhere! Here are a few more pictures of our adventures!!!

Poland and Germany!

ok... Sorry it´s taken a while for this first update! The internet wasn´t reliable in the first hostel where we stayed. Flew to Chicago, had a layover, ate some Chicago style pizza, flew to Krakow where we stayed in a hostel called Mamas Hostel! Very nice! Saw some beautiful things like the old square, Auschwitz(very big, impacting and a must to see), Wawel Castle... ate some Perogies!!! Took the train to Berlin(very long train ride!!!) and now we are staying in 'David´s Hostel', it´s very nice, has a very artistic feel to it!!! Berlin is very nice! I like it a lot so far! It also has a very artistic feel! We took a 'walking tour' (though we rode the underground too) today, but it wasn´t your traditional tour, we went to some little know places as well as the touristy ones!!! Very fun!!! I think that I could live here for a while! But I might get into trouble if I was here for too long... if you´ve been here you should know what I mean ;) well, I better go... maybe more to come before too long!!! Ciao ;)