Beyond Jerusalem
It's time to say goodbye to the city that we love so dearly and move on.
Before I made it to the city, I tried really hard to not get my hops up too high in case Jerusalem might be a letdown just like some other towns that we approached with great anticipation. One has to become a Jerusalemite to understand the following saying, "God gave ten measures of beauty to the world, Jerusalem got nine the rest got the remaining one." There's layer over layer of stuff to be discovered, and not only archeologically, but also spiritually, in its cultures, history and its diverse and divided inhabitants. I met many people that leave the place after being here a year or so, saying "it's just too intense, I can't take it!" It is intense here indeed: starting with the political situation, then that so many religions consider it their home, and also the different cultures that have immigrated here. To the beauty this stands in stark contrast and we have seen its fringes as well, but non the less I'm convinced that the city is rich in its own terms.
We spent our days here relatively relaxed, exploring here and there, but we could have done much more. Those who know about my experience on mount Athos are familiar with my attraction to Orthodox Christianity. Here, I was captured by its gravity again and subsequently spent most of my time exploring the Orthodox Church deeper. Often I visited churches and monasteries to talk to people that I have been referred to by the previous place. It became a treasure hunt that climaxed last weekend when I participated in many of the Easter services in Jerusalem. I saw a deep and beautiful tradition which illuminated me to see church life from a different perspective.
Tomorrow the real adventure starts!
We'll leave our apartment and start traveling home: no airplane but everything else. Hope to see you soon.
No Equipment No Fun
Many people ask me what I'm bringing on the trip. Here we go:
Here's a list of what i'm bringing:
- Backpack (Deuter)
- Money bag (Deuter)
- Sowing kit (Exped)
- Big Knife (Victorinox)
Getting some Training
Mr T and me were on a 7 hour hike in the swiss alps yesterday (Elm - Schwanden). It was good to get some more training and enjoying the awesome mountains.
Here's Tian filling the bottle at a spring at around 2400 m. Getting water
My New Home
This is will be my new home for the next few months. Its an awesome tent from Hilleberg, a specialized company from Sweden. They are famous for their durable, wind and rain proof tents, but the weight is also mentionable, its only 1.5 kg!
With this generous gift from my mother I've got almost all the equipment together. (I cant wait to test it!)
Link to the official page of the tent: Hilleberg, Akto
What is the Meaning?
The last two weeks were crazy busy at work. Time flew by and I find myself moving closer to the first step than I feel ready. Amazingly the main preparation are questions everyone is asking. By now so many people know of my plan and every day they increase in number. I mean what should I say when people ask me what I'm gonna do now that I have finished the apprenticeship (Grade: 5.2). So talking to everyone makes me answer the question over and over what the meaning or purpose of this trip is. The answer varies from person to person I'm talking to: Having a good time, finding spiritual depth, meeting Jesus... I probably cant give an accurate answer but at the core lies a spiritual yearning and desire to break free from shallowness. Meeting God.
The Route
Many are asking me what route I'm taking, to be honest I don't really know yet but the blue line is my favorite and the green ones are alternatives. Do you have any suggestions?
Here's the link to the google map.
Giving Away and Letting Go
Being quite busy lately, I don't have as much time to prepare for the journey as I would like. It is interesting that the most intensive preparation is all the people that ask me random question to my pilgrimage. Often I don't even know what to answer because I haven't thought about it yet, but through that I'm confronted with many things I have to think through. I really try to study more about the countries I'm walking through, as soon as I have more time (next week), I'll start posting about what I'm learning about the ancient pilgrim, the crusades and the current state of the countries. I plan on writing a post about every country I'm walking through.
The hardest thing right now is giving away all my stuff. Since I know that this is a step into a new season I try to keep only the necessities, like some favorite books, some clothing and some tech stuff that my heart cant say good bye to.
Start Moving
A journey begins in the mind and heart not with the first step. It feels like I've already started to travel. Letting go of the things I love and sending my best wishes to all the comfort.
You may ask what I'm talking about and you have good reason to. Let me introduce you to my project. For the last four years I've been dreaming about walking for a really long time, getting away from all I know and casting myself into an adventure where I may find the borders of my being. Not only that was and is my motivation, it is a spiritual journey too, of finding and meeting what is beyond myself. The dream was to wake the old routes of the pilgrims and walk from Europe to Jerusalem. A trail that only few feet strike every year. It is hard to tell why exactly this way and why through all the dangerous countries, all I know that there is a God that drove the old saints and that is driving me.
So this blog is mainly dedicated to give updates about my journey. For now I'll be preparing and will write from time to time about that: What goes through my mind, what it means to say good bye and all about the equipment I'm taking with me.
