ISRAEL

I prefer to travel to places where I know someone, because I believe that is the only way to understand a place through the eyes of its inhabitants, without the glitz that one sees if one only goes to tourist places.  And Israel and Palestine have been on my list for a long time, but I’ve always been a little hesitant to visit because of the ethics and general pressure from my inner and outer circle because of the ongoing conflict that exists in the area. But by moving to Berlin, I’ve gotten to know many people from different Jewish communities around the world – Australia, New Zealand, America, and just Israel and decided to overcome my thoughts and go to visit. This post is just a description of my visit, far from being a political statement or an expression of opinion regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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So one rainy day in Berlin I spontaneously bought tickets for my birthday and decided to visit a lovely human being called Bar and spend Purim and a festival in the desert with him and his friends.

HAIFA

Immediately after arriving in TelAviv, I took a train to a city in the north of Israel, Haifa. I was so tired because I hadn’t slept all night. But already on the train I felt such great happiness and freedom I also remember talking to my angel, feeling his protection. And that was with me pretty much the whole time on this trip. I met Roy in Haifa and we made lowcarb cookies together and then went for a ride on his electric bikes. I watched the moon and was fascinated by it. I liked how yellow it was through my yellow glasses.

Baha’i Gardens

I know this religion from India, because I visited their lotus temple in New Delhi. It is the youngest religion and I found it interesting that those who believe in Bahai may not visit the whole Middle East. The gardens were beautiful, but I realized I prefer to travel in nature where I fee really the connection to myself through the mother Earth.

RoshHaNikra

The trip to the border of Israel and Lebanon was totally unexpected and delightful. Roy loves bikes as much as I do, so we decided to take a bike trip. I took the train to the town of Nahariyya, and along the way had fun with about the third guy in the army. But I tried to avoid the subject altogether and was only interested in his normal interests. He asked me a lot about what I was doing. From Nahariyya, Roy and I then drove together towards RoshHaNikra (a super beautiful geological formation) – the weather was beautiful and I felt happy. We met a female army unit at the monument and I noticed that the ladies were taking lots of selfies. It actually looked like such a school trip, but with army suits. I found it a little creepy.

 

ACRE

When we drove back, we had my first Israeli falafel. We ate too much. On the way, we came to the town of Acre. I really loved the Arabic vibe there and the whole sunset was so magical.

 

Tel Aviv

I arrived on the train at about 7pm and Bar picked me up at the station. The very first night we went to an Italian restaurant called Cena and I felt like, TelAviv is cool. Kind of like Berlin, but without the winter doldrums.

The next day I went for a walk around the city and couldn’t stop smiling. So many wonderful people and places! Cafes, shops, restaurants.

Then Bar and I also went to a Purim party at Club Phi and then another one. I loved the energy of the people and how relaxed they danced. It was like Berlin, but less stressful and more intimate. I danced for about 6 hours straight. So what was quite different from Berlin is that as soon as I stepped into a bar somewhere, at elast 5 guys started to hit on me. A little uncomfortable. But then Bar looked after me and protected me so it helped.

  

  

On the last day before I left for Jerusalem we went to a lovely fine dining restaurant. I thought it was cool to watch the people in that restaurant and also the bartenders, how professional they were. Bar called me a “fake hippie” again with the comment that I may be a hippie, but I like going to fine dining restaurants. 😀

JAFFA

Jaffa is a city right next to TelAviv and right next to Bar’s appartment actually, which was located in Florentine. Ancient city where I took a very interesting free walking tour and hanged out later with Bar. I felt soo happy and just fully in the present. We had Malabi -Israeli dessert that I loved a lot!

 

 

PURIM

Purim is a bit like Carnival, but on a much larger scale. The holiday is celebrated to commemorate the rescue of the Jews living in the Persian Empire in the time shortly after the destruction of the First Temple of Jerusalem by the Babylonians.I thought it was going to be some sort of parade, but it was more than that. It’s actually celebrated in Israel for almost 2 weeks. The weekend before Purim and then the weekend after. The first weekend we went to celebrate it at the Imagine festival.

NEGEV DESERT FESTIVAL (IMAGINE)

Before describing this experience, I have to say that I had during these 3 days the purest fun and joy in my life with no anxieties in the background. Something completely new to me and I think that from that moment on, I started to notice how big personal and mental journey I did in the last 6 or so months. The most meaningful moments in the festival for me were:

• Laughing basically 3 days in the row so much, that in the next days, my back hurt a lot from all the contraction of small muscles in my body
• Talking and appreciating the desert with Bar
• Being scared of not getting out of the psychadelic experience but at the same time surrendering to that state and just pure presence and waiting
• Dancing in the desert
• The energy that radiated from the people on Saturday night. 4 elements where suddenly the fire was nothing. I have never experienced so much energy in one place. It was incredible. The bar said that people in Israel just party so much because it’s a complicated place and they like to just completely give themselves over to the partying and celebrating. I was really shocked. Beautiful and such an awful purity and sincerity that radiated from the event.
• I felt completely myself and accepted. By everyone. Just the way I am without any judgement.
• I fell even more in love with psytrans music and the energy it creates in people.
• Deep connections matter.
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JERUSALEM

Jerusalem is a place I was really looking forward to and somehow felt that it was a magical place that I had to spend at least a few days in.

For the three days I was there I read about history, about religions, and also about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in general. My body was getting weaker and weaker as the 5 or so consecutive days with the parties pretty much compromised my immunity. Still, I walked a lot and tried to ignore it. There were far more Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem than anywhere else in Israel, and it was very apparent that it was a religious city. Prices were generally lower than in TelAviv and the city seemed so much more spacious and cleaner.

Very very special place with a magical energy. 

 

PALESTINE

Bethlehem

I had originally planned to discover more places in Palestine, but unfortunately after all the celebrations and festivals I didn’t feel well and didn’t have the energy to go further than Bethlehem. But I am grateful that I went, because it allowed me to get a better informed idea of the area and to realise how complicated the whole situation in the area is .

The journey to Bethelehem was easy, there is a bus that goes there directly from the centre of Jerusalem, from Damascus Gate. When I arrived, the city was quite dark. I then met Bisho and we went to the Apo & Apostles concert. In the morning I woke up and went to the Walled Off Hotel. I didn’t know anything about the place before, but it was a beautiful boutique hotel that was all designed by the artist Banksy. The hotel had a very informative exhibition about the wall and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and a great exhibition of paintings by Palestinian artists.I was deeply shocked and moved to learn about the stark disparities between the lives of Israelis and Palestinians. The idea that Palestinians are effectively ‘marked’ by their status, down to what they can do or where they can go in Israel, is profoundly disturbing to me. When I learned that even their cars are marked to signify this status, I was literally frozen in disbelief and tears came to my eyes. It’s disheartening to feel so helpless in the face of such injustice and inequality. The emotional weight of the situation has made me deeply sad, and has intensified my desire for a peaceful and equitable resolution for everyone involved.

Additionally, seeing the enormous wall in Bethlehem was a jarring and heartbreaking experience. The sheer scale of the physical barrier only magnified the emotional and psychological divisions between the communities. It served as a very tangible, very imposing symbol of the separation and struggles faced by the people living there. The sight of that wall deepened my sense of sadness and hopelessness, leaving me questioning how such divisions could exist in our world today.

Then I visited the local flea market, which was pure chaos. I didn’t have the energy to do touristy things at all and noticed that most tourists only go to the “official places” and don’t go into town at all. I thought that was a shame.

On the way back from WestBank, we all had to get off the bus and show our passports. I thought the check would be more stringent, but it was easy and uneventful. I met some great artists in Bethelem and had some excellent coffee with cardamom, which I miss a lot in Berlin.

 

This trip to the middle east was definitely a turning point in that for perhaps the first time in my life, I felt consistently happy most of the time. I arrived with no expectations and was purely in the present moment for most of the time, enjoying every moment. I realised that happiness is really only within me and I am the only person who can influence it. I realized that it takes a while to reopen the heart after a very painful loss of a person, but that it will come. That you just have to be patient and everything will work out the way it’s supposed to. Like now. I’m truly happy for the first time in my life and it’s coming from the inside, not the outside. Endlessly grateful, open and accepting. HALLELUJA!! IN LOVE WITH LIFE SO MUCH