SKI Trip - the first. Europe 2024

We woke early and packed ready for a smooth exit. Then going the route we've travelled before, we headed into Jerusalem and took the light trail to the Yam Visham, the Holocaust centre. Entry was free but we opted for the audio guide, which in the end we didn't use much. There was so much to read and videos to listen to that the audio guide tended to get in the way.  This is a beautiful, well curated museum. The people speaking about their experiences and about their family members they had lost was profoundly moving.  I found myself crying often and tried to wipe the tears away. But it's a hard person who doesn't cry when a woman tells how her five year old son screamed for her when they were separated. She says, "I only wish that someone was holding him, that someone was with him in the chamber." And then she buried her head in her hands sobbing. She's telling the story fifty years later.  Another man says that people ask him how he can smile. He says th

 We had decided to hire a car today, but 7 hire places later we gave up and hired a taxi and driver for the day. This cost $NZ600.  It was a lot more relaxing, we didn't need to worry about parking, or returning it later.  We headed down to The Valley of Elah where David faced Goliath. We wandered around the hill top and worked out where the two armies may have been, and chatted about the history. Then we went to where the story of Samson unfolded amongst a vineyard, and bought ourselves a bottle of wine, some good cheeses and olives and had a great lunch looking over this valley. We headed into Rishon le Zion to pick up some items for a friend of mine, from his parents and then into Jaffa to have a tour of the old city.  We said good-bye to our wonderful guide, and our Arab driver for the day and headed inside to eat some of the pastries that the parents had given us.  After dinner, I felt it would be a great final evening to go to the Tel Aviv beach. We headed down there as the s

 It's ten thirty in the morning and we've just landed. The weather is warm, the airport is clean and modern and easy to navigate. It's also not crowded.  Customs was a breeze, and soon we were in a taxi and heading for Moshe Rosen Centre, our humble abode for the next 3 nights.  There was a slight misunderstanding around the driver accepting card and I needed to go to one of those expensive atm's and get shekels out, but all in all, a good easy arrival.  Our room is large - it has 6 beds - (3 bunks) and plenty of storage. There is a washing machine and dryer, two showers and a large bathroom. Downstairs is a coffee machine, and a fridge with milk etc. It's run by the Jews for Jesus people, and it's a blessing being here, despite it being less than fancy.  We headed out into the 30 degree Tel Aviv streets, and navigated ourselves to the beach and a tourist centre. We went through the Jaffa market area and Selah got a skirt and a very pretty dress after some inten

 Another early start, but we needed to navigate to the train station and catch the correct train to get to Jerusalem. First we bought each of us a day ticket allowing us to go to Jerusalem and back. That done, we arrived at the very flash new train station at 8.22. It's a half hour train journey, with only one stop at Ben Gurion on the way.  4 two storey escalators, and we were at street level and met our guide for the day - Dan.  We took the light rail to Jaffa gate, but did not tap our cards, so a somewhat officious officer gave us all fines. Despite them being day passes, we still needed to tap on and off apparently.  Dan is writing an explanation letter on our behalf.  So, through Jaffa gate and into an abandoned courtyard. Where are the Arab boys selling budgies? The tea seller, the merchants haggling for a sale.  It's quiet.  Dan tells me that we are his first tour since October.  We do come across another tour of people mostly from Australia, and a group of p

 Sunday morning saw us packed and ready to go to Church Albania style. Once there we greeted most of the 30 odd people, about 5 of whom spoke English. It was very friendly. One man sat next to us and started translating, which was wonderful. The service was based around Abraham and Isaac and was to do with the sacrifice today of Eid for the majority Muslim population. Remember the goats tied up from yesterday?  After the service we ate icecream in a downstairs cafe and then headed off to the airport. We were a couple of hours earlier than necessary as we needed to fit in with Xaku's family, but that was fine. We felt we'd had a great taste of Albania and weren't hankering to see anything else.  We arrived in Athens, took an uber to the apartment which was gorgeous and we wished we could stay longer. Slept well and woke at 5.15 for a 5.45 departure. 

 Still not feeling 100% we slept in a bit and then Bruce and I and Selah went for a wander  up to the market and bought an icecream. Then we bought some fresh fruit - apricots, peaches, nectarines and cherries. Fruit here is really cheap. I think the cherries were 250 Lek per kg which is about $NZ 4.30.  I saw a guy with his freshly killed chicken slung over his shoulder and a bunch of goats lying hobbled on the footpath. Then Xaku said it was Eid, and they were getting ready to be sacrificed.  There was a stray horse and a stray donkey eating grass in a random plot of land. There are dogs everywhere, and no one seems to be looking after them.  In the afternoon Bruce and I went for a walk back up to the castle as that is the closest ATM and got out some money for a gift for Xaku. When we returned he wanted us to go to visit his friend, but there was one catch - Bruce had to drive.  So, off we went with not a little trepidation. The traffic can be quite erratic, and the roads are freque

 I woke up feeling a bit seedy, took a panadol and once our driver had arrived we took off for Tirana. This was about an hour's drive, and the traffic was interesting. In Tirana we explored a communist bunker which had video of interviews of people who had survived the imprisonment and torture, and long long lists of those that hadn't. There was also some good examples of the spying that went on, and how people were encouraged to spy on their neighbours and even their family and were rewarded depending on how good the information was. There was no necessity for the information to be true.  After this sobering tour, we walked through the streets and past a protest against the Government. There were a lot of police closing roads and redirecting traffic. We walked down an alleyway festooned with Israeli flags; that was a welcome sight.  Soon we came to a modern structure built in the shape of a pyramid. We've gotten good at walking up hills - when I get home Jenny we will have

A man taking his goat for a walk.  ThiT  Somewhat of a restless night, different bed, different sounds. Woke after 7, and Xaku had left for a doctor's appointment. He had left a loaf of bread and some margarine, so we had some breakfast and then Bruce and I set off to the village to find a supermarket. We had decided to buy sandwich fillings for the bread. We took shortcuts and got lost a couple of times but eventually found the place.  The cheapest drink is beer - 89 lek for a 500ml can. That's about 40c.  We bought some luncheon meat, cheese, snacks and fruit and then met Lydia and Ana at the door, quite by surprise. That saved us the trek down the hill, at which time we collected Selah and went back up the hill and to the castle.  We decided on seeing the history of Albania - there's two museums, the other one showing life in Albania in the 19th century, so we paid our 1000 lek (500 each for Bruce and I, Selah was free) and wandered around the museum. It was mostly about

We packed and repacked, weighed and reweighed our bags. Each bag had to be less than 10 kg, and we were allowed only one personal piece of carry on baggage. Finally we were ready to depart the apartment at 9.30 so we summoned an Uber, locked the doors and off we went.  Well, the Uber driver had scant regard for our ears and even less for our blood pressure as we wove in and out the traffic at high speed and I spent the entire time in prayer.  We finally breathed a sigh of relief and leapt with aclarity out of the uber and into the airport. Once we found the correct queue after a few false starts, we discovered the scales declared all our bags as less than 8 kg and they were whisked away into the body of the plane.  We finally relaxed and waited for our departure to Albania. This was without incident, though it was amusing to watch several passengers change their seats according to where they wanted to sit rather than the seats assigned to them. As Selah was seated a few rows away, we f

 The 4 hour tour started at 10, and maps said it would take 25 minutes to get there. We walked for 20 minutes and then maps said it would take 44 minutes! Oh no. Uber to the rescue, and Whatsapp calling to the guide. The guide had only one other participant so she was happy to wait ten minutes till we arrived.  So we set off on a very interesting bike tour of the effects of communism on Romania, and the different architecture from the late 1700's on. We saw old churches, and learnt that Bucharest is 90% Romanian Orthodox.  We learnt about the effects of communism on everyday life, and the causes and results of the revolution that occurred in November 1989, which eventually overturned the communist rule.  We went inside a fabulous restaurant and would have dearly loved to have had a meal there, but getting back there after the tour would have been a mission.  We did end up getting coffees a bit further on so that was a welcome respite. A wonderful tour, despite the temperature getti

 At 5 am I went up on deck to watch the docking of the boat, and enjoyed seeing the fishing boats going out. I had a last swim in the pool and chatted to a couple of friends in New Zealand.  Breakfast was served, our bags had their last packing and checking and at 8.30 we said last goodbyes and boarded the mini bus for Bucharest.  This 2.5 hour ride wound through a variety of landscapes, from small cities, to run down cottages and villages. Late spring is here, with its ripening plums  and cherries. Mulberries paint the footpaths.  We arrived in Bucharest, got an uber to our apartment and dropped off our luggage while we waited for check in. The apartment has 3 levels of security. First there is a gate on the road with a combination lock. Then there is another combination to enter the building, and finally a combination to enter the apartment itself. (This is the cafe where we bought coffee while we waited. ) On the way I'd bought a small bottle of milk as I was longing for a cup o