The wonderful coffee grinder / espresso dispenser at the hostel has been gone for repairs since Sunday, so Tuesday began without my customary hit of caffeine. I was feeling a little sluggish, so rather than explore on my own, I decided to take advantage […]

This morning while lingering over the breakfast table, I bade farewell to three people‎ I had made significant connections with while staying at the hostel. I doubt any of them will ever see this, but – Sasha, Marija, Tobias – I have been enriched […]

My arrival in Jerusalem on Wednesday ‎marked the end of daily walking with my pack on my back. Thursday morning, I walked from the hostel to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which was the marker I’d set when calculating the distance remaining. Saturday […]

Friday morning both me and my Russian ‎roommate were up shortly after 6:00. He was heading off to the 7:00 service at the Russian cathedral where I’d been last night, while I was headed to the Holy Sepulchre. I knew the first service of […]

It was around 9:00 on Wednesday evening when I walked into the lobby of the Abraham Hostel on Davidka Square in Jerusalem. An older gentleman I’d met in the hostel in Haifa had recommended ‎it, and it’s part of the independent Israeli hostel organisation […]

This passage from the appointed readings for the past Friday stuck with me, for obvious reasons. I guess I’m technically in Jerusalem now, although I haven’t seen a sign announcing the city limits. (Then again, I did dodge away from Highway 1 for a […]