Gabi's Narnia

Travels

Did you notice that I haven't updated the travel list?
Where have I been to this year???
-Prague jan
-Frankfurt febr
-Slovakia-Poland apr
-Brussels apr

I can't recall more, apart from the in country ones. Need to check with Moleskine-Meisterin.

Shine!

One of the gratifying rewards of waking up early to teach (while living downtown) is the burdensome duty of crossing the Chain Bridge at least twice a week and Elisabeth Bridge at least once a week in the early morning.
With winter already in, it is the most spectacular place you could get your endorphins into motion. Glaring into the bright sun on the right hand (I am coming from Buda, towards Pest, you see) with its picturesque building tops is counterbalanced when you look back, to your left and wonder at the vivid orange reflections on the Buda Castle and embankment buildings, basking in the first rays of light of the day. Let me tell you, it's worth waking up for such a sight.
If some other times mysterious haze covers the dormant/just waking city, you are still in awe of the spiry towers of the Parliament, enveloped in the fog and at the seeping through light which casts a strange spell on the beloved lady. Hey, friends! Who of you haven't been to Budapest? Come and see!

The Finnish government loves its people

Travelling through Finland one has the conviction that this is a place where things work. Listening to Coldplay's Viva la Vida and a Rush of blood to the head while peeking out the window of the coach I was amazed at how well built railways and highways there are in this immense country of only 5 or so million citizens. If you also learn that the overall tax deduction is only 27% percent, and also know that the social security indeed entails security you might even forgive that Finland can be dark for months and even Christians decide to stop their lives far more frequently that anyone would expect.

It seems to be a livable place upon this single visit in mid-October to Turku and Lahti, having voyaged on an extremely clean and orderly train, a small van cross-country and the national long-distance coach service. You also seem to get whatever you want, having seen certain tropical produce for the first time in a downtown supermarket in the pop. 100.000 Lahti. (And in case you didn't know I did travel to mainland Tanzania, Zanzibar, Israel, Turkey, Malaysia, Australia and visited "local" markets in England.) Strange world.

Well, architecture I do miss tremendously, but come on. Born in Budapest there are only a handful of things that can excite me and those are mostly UNESCO World Heritage sites and modern architecture anyway. Nature seems to compensate for all here. Space, pines, lakes, lovely cottages or cottage-like ordinary homes. I can hardly wait to return and visit Saamiland. And good friends, of course.

Short blurbs on Israel

Going to dig deeper afterwards :)

1. Even at the Budapest airport it felt like being in Israel. There were only two flights at that late hour, both to Tel-Aviv and all the passengers spoke Ivrit/Hebrew.
2. People warned us about the crazy check at Passport Control, but we almost encountered something similar :) When the man learnt that we are Hungarian he gave us a big smile and told that her mother is originally from Hungary, listed some Hungarian words, most of them very affectionate or funny and wished us a very pleasant first stay. It didn't matter that I had previously been to four or so Mus'lim countries.
3. Because we flew with Travel Services I was also allowed to do sth that I cannot publicly reveal here :) Ask and you shall be answered!
4. Actually Israel is the first place where being a Hungarian is a valuable asset (where I have been). In most countries either it is considered to be some Eastern European underdeveloped spot or simply they have no clue where it is or when they do, my pet peeve, the Budapest/Bucharest dilemma occurs. It was shocking as the cable car operator in Masada knowingly smiled at my answer "from Budapest" and affirmed that it is in Hungary. This applied to Arabs and Jews alike and for Christians as well. Since Hungary gave Herzl and many others... being a Hungarian here is somehow chic and it was a very-very good thing. If you cannot be healthily proud about being a Hungarian (and a Jew) in the passport country, it's good to be one in Israel :) On that note, people also do smile in Israel, contrary to Hungary!
5. Ok, it shouldn't be the fourth fifth point, but I early on jotted down that the concentration of handsome Jewish men per street is delightfully high all over Israel :)
6. It's really hard to imagine that this place could host a war (again). As we watched children play on the beach or tanned people jog along the shore it was the most distant notion.
7. Israel seems to be a very livable place.
8. We were led by the Spirit so obviously... We met Vanunu Mordechai as we walked down from the Mount of Olives. He didn't complain against the state of Israel, but was very helpful about which way to go :) We also bumped into the vice ambassador of Hungary to Israel, Levente Varga twice. Well, the second time is not sth one can be overly proud of... I shouted a spicy cuss word right at the beginning of Via Dolorosa as I was pondering on the capitalistic features of the Hungarian!!! brochure on the path that led Jesus from Pilate's Palace to the cross. Religious heck like this, but I think Jesus didn't cuss. Well, I did, to the utmost shame it was in front a group of some high ranking Hungarian politicians, some faces I could recall from newspaper columns (no I still don't watch TV). Very embarrassing, especially that normally the only time when I cuss loud and in public is when a car almost hits me while lawfully riding the bike... Oh, well. In Yemin Moshe, on our way to Cinematheque, I also accidentally sensed that I need to walk down some stairs and to my greatest delight I found it was a 24-7 house of prayer & praise, the Succat Hallel. Here is a short video on the ministry. Unfortunately didn't have a chance to stay longer than a minute or so, we walked out of the strategically located building (facing Mount Sion). I know I'll return there :)
9. Mom kept wondering who has the wits to rub oil on the stones of the city... When she realized it was age that made them so shiny and smooth we had a huge laughter.
10. Israeli contemporary art is cool. If you are around, my favourite at the Israel Museum was the video of an installation of Shahar Marcus which featured a special chess game, played with melting ice chunks in front of the Shrine of the Book. Another was Eliezer Sonnenschein's painting with the title Landscape & Jerusalem. Here. If you think my taste is twisted, that's ok, but check out this. He is pretty sharp on the spiritual dimensions. It's noteworthy that all the white figures are either dead or bleeding. Hmm, remarkable, eh?
11. Our Arab driver, Nedal, was born in Israel, he holds an Israeli passport. Upon my gentle questions concerning his identity (surprise, surprise) he shared that if Israel went to war he would also go and fight to protect her. You heard it well. Nedal is an guy who started to make fun of me for spending 2 hours in 50 Celsius grades in Masada and also made cutting remarks about my personality (very to the point ones :) So he was very upfront, straightforward in other areas so I take what he said at face value, and may he never have to prove that I was right! (On a funny note when his wife started to ring him he remarked: "the Pentagon is calling!")
12. I don't really want to get into politics here (maybe that would give a huge push for comments to arrive though), but I was appalled that all highway and street and whatever signs were at least in 3 languages: Hebrew, Arabic, English (Latin) in this order, sometimes in Russian, with the cyrillic letters as well. Now ask the question that you think I'm answering now. And also place a picture of the land of Palestine and present day Israel next to each other. And we haven't even got to the spiritual dimensions!!!
13. People mix and mingle in glorious peace. It was the most natural as the Mus'lim believers rush for their service, the Jewish ones were hurrying by and the coptic priests were seen over there, here came a bunch of Westerners, etc. New York must be sth like this, in a slightly more Western setting :)

Intentionality in travelling

Although Mom is 49 not that young any more and hasn't enjoyed perfect health for some time now, she enjoys traveling with me the most. One of the main reasons is the intentionality how I approach a location and make the most of the time available. Formerly it was primarily touristic, over the years it is becoming more and more spiritually inspired.

So just for you to be able to have a little feel into we crammed 4x24 hours, here are the places we visited (it's really for me to remember):

Thursday: Airport-Central Bus Station Tel-Aviv-WALK to the Intercontinental on the beach-office of Dan-taxi up to promenade-walk down on the beach almost until Intercontinental-lunch with Dan-Jaffa walk up&down-sherut from Tel-Aviv to Jaffa street Jerusalem

Friday: walk on the walls-coffee with NeverBeSilent.org Bart and friends-Wailing Wall-walk through Old Town-Damascus Gate-by bus up to Mount of Olives-Garden of Getsemane-Via Dolorosa-rest (really!)-Sabbath by Wailing Wall WOW -downtown modern Jerusalem (this contains all the Jerusalem pictures not put in any other album)

Saturday: Israel Museum, Dead Sea, Ein-Gedi, Masada, back to Jerusalem, walk in Yemin Moshe, Cinematheque dinner

Sunday: Blue Mosque, Al-Aksa, walk around on Temple Mount, market, Bet Shearim walk (Orthodox Quarter), Yad Vashem, sherut to airport

DANGER: by clicking on the links you might be exposed to an overwhelming amount of pictures. If you want to control your visual intake, start your journey from here.

RECOMMENDATION: impatient ones could click on FAST and it rolls the shots pretty fast. I cannot watch my own pictures with the MEDIUM or SLOW speed either!

Jerusalem, how often I wanted to...

Yes, change and huge change was obvious but I am still puzzled by what the Lord has done and is doing... all my expectation and human planning (which I always do with all my might) vanished in a second... God thought it's better to go to Israel BEFORE Yalta and before really being able to prepare humanly. Once again it's not my strength, but His...

And decided to travel with only a tiny backpack and pretty much not take anything apart from a guidebook, a bible, some tops, a pair of flip-flops and hikers' towels and a toothbrush. No credit card either, it's a new challenge I was affronted with :) Thanks, Marc! Mom will carry a small luggage... we are going to be modern day pilgrims on a spiritual quest, eager to be led by the Spirit. Wrote to some friends around there and we shall see... Brunó says we must have coffee by Cinematheque. He also gave hints as to where we should celebrate the Sabbath and he recommended us to check out the best bookshop café. Gosh, 3 days in Jerusalem at least... and maybe hooking up with the Jewish guy my flatmate met on her way to New York because she was reading my copy of Malcolm Gladwell's Blink :) And I shall bring back the audio book... And maybe Demis and Lydia are available as well... How often I wanted to go and breathe in and listen... God, you orchestrated it, you lead it, you bless it. It's your thing. We are yours.

I beg you to pray for this time. Something is going to happen. And everything these years have absorbed, taken in and nurtured now are slowly let out. I'm going to Israel. We are going to pray on her Walls. Lord, you are an amazing God and it's the best thing to belong to you.

Wellness in&out

Before diving into the translation job I have been postponing for weeks now this weekend was a real treat with excellent home-made food, great quilting club experience (where the ladies don't smash each other in the face verbally and emotionally) and ultimately the great fitness and spa centre situated in the gorgeous tiny city of Gyula, South-East Hungary.
It was relaxing and refreshing to indulge in the services offered... jacuzzi  lying, jacuzzi sitting, sauna, hot tub, cold tub, stream water, beach bed... and it was a real surprise to find there a man who could "manage" and make me confront with some prevalent feminine traits... and to enjoy great Baileys coffee at the 100 years old pastry shop and the conversation with Pálma, while Zsuzsi and Christina stayed back for some afternoon nap. Wow, these are rare moments of full relaxation...
We also discussed some very vital questions about ministry and calling. The way we are supposed to live our faith and be light to the world. A cell group where one can be totally vulnerable. The way someone lives his/her life in purity... What that entails and other deep issues of the heart. I'm rich to be able to belong to such friends!

Visa... piece of cake

Applying for a visa has never been easier. That means the probability of g ever stepping onto Australian soil is ever increasing. But to have a Jewish connection even in this regard?!? God is full of surprises! (Would still appreciate prayers that the visa would be granted. Ultimately it's not application only what matters ;)

Highlights UK

Before I dive into the various places and names etc let me suffice to say that I am as skint as ever. Many people think you need big bucks to travel. No, the only thing you need is time and friends, really. Since we set out together with my student/friend (not usual!) she offered a "pay-as-you-go" solution, i.e. she purchased the tickets and over the course of 3 months I'm going to teach off the cost of the airfare. If you are tight with money (which you had painfully saved) on your yearly holiday then you have some banknotes left and if your gracious friends give you some pocket money which with the former was enough to cover almost all the expenses... the only supplement that was required is 35 quids from the "safety pocket" of another friend. Gosh, had I not bought a book and drunk less coffee that wouldn't even have been necessary! But we were living like Queens!

#1 the weather: remarkable autumn colours, shades and lights, all the way through. It was particularly amazing during the ride to and from Oxford!

#2 Oxford: though I lived in the UK for a semester and had visited at other times, it was my first time to Oxford, the city of C.S.Lewis, the guy whose intellect led me to the "brink of salvation". The spiry towers and churches, colleges all gave more than we could have ever imagined.

#3 Friends: we stayed only at friends' friends and at friends. So we were at home everywhere. Wonderful people with wonderful lives and warm showers, delicious meals, lovely teas, empty couches and short, but great conversations. Thanks Mela, Anna, Frauke and Jason!

#4 Greenwich: although at this point I hit the bottom, it was still a highlight to be with one foot on the Eastern with the other on the Western hemisphere. Pictures soon!

#5 Zsuzsi: I knew that she is a very special and intelligent person even before, but her depths got revealed only when we had some issues to discuss. I'm speechless if I think about the treasure she has collected over the years. It is also a special blessing when someone can laugh at your stupidity in a way you don't get worked up in rejection, but start laughing too.

#6: London still rocks. Extremes allure me all the more. A city? May it be big, gigantic, busy and noisy. A mountain? May it be almost 6000m. So as you can guess I love London, even carrying a sleeping bag and a self-inflating mattress didn't diminish the level of enjoyment :) I guess wouldn't want to live as downtown as I do now...

Pictures will be up as soon as I get the camera back from "Susie".

That's where I belong (home, it's sweet home)

In your presence... that's where I belong... we sing sometimes and actually I'm emotionally and most probably even physically drained. So much happening in such short amount of time... This morning we were running across the meadows of Bulstrode  as 3-year-olds enjoy nature... so that our shoes got soaking wet and we were hopping on the top of horse manure by the fields... exactly here:

View Larger Map

And afterwards the walk through Soho, a thoughtful train ride to Luton, then submerging in The Tipping Point and at last eating a delicious warm tomato soup at the regular place with my dear friend who knows the deepest pits of my heart. My flatmate had that unmistakable smile on her face which expressed appreciation, love and care. I'm rich. And newer and newer depths open up every time I choose to be vulnerable and let the scissors penetrate. I guess I have a new friend who takes the prize (on Tuesday).

Well... I'm at home again. This is where I belong.