Originally written in May of 2014; published on December 31, 2014.
I'm sitting on the balcony of my 6th floor room at the King Solomon Hotel in Netanya. It is a hazy, pleasant morning on the Mediterranean Sea. I don't think I've ever slept so well (although up and down as usual.) The sounds of the waves pulsing onto the shore are powerfully hypnotic.
We spent about 15 hours yesterday reaching this ancient land. It would seem the height of ingratitude to complain about cramping knees or restless legs, or about the length of time between meals or the sprint through the Philadelphia airport to m make the connection when I was wearing very non-sprinting sandals, so instead I will shout alleluia for traveling mercies and safe and uneventful flights and the miracle of aerodynamics that picks us up on one side of the ocean and deposits us on the other, time confused but intact.
Netanya is about an hour north of Tel Aviv. Already I am beginning to appreciate that the tiny sliver of country on the map is actually a place about the size of New Jersey. The city is surrounded by ancient places but is itself very modern, being built in the 1950's. This bit of incongruity is indicative of the country - ancient and timeless, and yet very much a land of the 20th century.
I'm sitting on the balcony of my 6th floor room at the King Solomon Hotel in Netanya. It is a hazy, pleasant morning on the Mediterranean Sea. I don't think I've ever slept so well (although up and down as usual.) The sounds of the waves pulsing onto the shore are powerfully hypnotic.
We spent about 15 hours yesterday reaching this ancient land. It would seem the height of ingratitude to complain about cramping knees or restless legs, or about the length of time between meals or the sprint through the Philadelphia airport to m make the connection when I was wearing very non-sprinting sandals, so instead I will shout alleluia for traveling mercies and safe and uneventful flights and the miracle of aerodynamics that picks us up on one side of the ocean and deposits us on the other, time confused but intact.
Netanya is about an hour north of Tel Aviv. Already I am beginning to appreciate that the tiny sliver of country on the map is actually a place about the size of New Jersey. The city is surrounded by ancient places but is itself very modern, being built in the 1950's. This bit of incongruity is indicative of the country - ancient and timeless, and yet very much a land of the 20th century.
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