Jerusalem, Israel

Definitely the busiest day of our trip, Jerusalem was a marvelous wonder. We got up at 4:30 in the morning and caught the first bus there so we'd have the entire day at our disposal. Here was our first glimpse of the Old City:


We began the day at the Western Wall, which was personally meaningful to me. As I sat in the morning stillness, early enough that their weren't other tourists to crowd the area, I had the chance to pray and reflect, and I think that it was the perfect way to start off our soon-to-be packed day.


Navigating the narrow winding streets was disorienting at first, but soon we managed to navigate our way through the city pretty well. The signs helped too.

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During our morning adventures we found a church of the birth place of Mary

View of the city from the base of Mt. of Olives

View from the Mt.

View from the Mt.

The walls of the Old City

The Dome of the Rock

Our adventure to the top of Mt. Olives wasn't too glamorous. It was quite the walk, or rather, hike. And the top just smelled really bad so we didn't stay long


At the base of the Mt. of Olives was the Church of all nations, built around the Gardens of Gethsemane. I think this was my favorite sight of Jerusalem. It was pretty, but not overly ornate, and strangely peaceful. One thing I appreciate about all the churches we visited in Israel was that, for all their grandeur, they still felt authentic. They still felt like places I could come to and find peace and to pray, whereas in most European churches I get the feeling that they've been too commercialized to be a comfortable place of worship. But this is just a personal opinion.

Church of All Nations

Gardens of Gethsemane


By the time we returned to the city, shops were opening up and we strolled along them for a bit.


We then joined an tour group to get an official and informed tour of the city. Our tour guide Yoni took us to all the important sites, or at least as close as we could get, in some cases.



Citadel of King David

Jewish Quarter

Remains of the original city



These are the goons I traveled with

Another great view of the city



Church of the Holy Sepulchre





So much falafel!!!

Towards the evening we wanted to check out the sites on Mount Zion, but it turns out we weren't as good with directions as we thought.

Unrelated wall photo

None of us really knew where we were going

Even if we looked like it

We wound up at these gardens instead

But eventually we found it, and on it was the tomb of King David, Mother Mary, and the room of the Last Supper.



Group photo time!

So yeah, that was Jerusalem guys. It was pretty neat. A lot of walking, a lot of steps, and a lot of hills. By the end I was worn out to the bone but nevertheless I am so grateful for the opportunity to visit this Holy City. And I thank God that during our stay everything was calm and quiet and I pray that it can remain that way for the people there.

     -Natalie

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