Day 2

After the alarm clock rang synchronously at 7:30, we went to have breakfast at 9 o'clock. We met in the lobby at 10. Mrs. Blau was late and joined us shortly after 10. We walked to Jerusalem and saw the surroundings of our hostel for the first time in daylight. One of the first observations in Jerusalem was that the ground was very slippery. Our tour initially led us through the Armenian quarter. The next destination was Mount Zion. There, we found a shady spot and were given a detailed summary of the history of Jerusalem in about 15 minutes. Our tour guide, Sara, illustrated the ever-changing borders of the areas with maps. Then we walked up to Mount Zion. Here we learned something that most of us did not know. The pelican was an important symbol during the time of the Crusaders. The pelican mother feeds her child with a red liquid from her beak, which was interpreted as the mother's devotion to her child.

When we arrived at the top, Sara told us the history of the wall that we could see from above. The wall, which represents the border between Palestine and Israel, was built in 2003. The main reason was the suicide bombers who began to blend in with the people around 2000. Next, the tour took us to the Jewish quarter. Here, the different currents of orthodox Jews were explained and illustrated to us. Then we arrived at the excavation site where a seven-meter wide wall is currently being excavated, which had withstood the Syrian invasion at that time. We viewed the Western Wall from above and had a brief history lesson. It was explained how the Temple was built on the site and the political problems that followed were also explained to us. Then we went to the Western Wall and divided into groups to visit the Wall. We continued our tour in the Arab quarter, saw the bazaar, and were greeted by many unfamiliar smells. There we visited some sections of the Via Dolorosa. Our final stop was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which we also entered. For lunch, we went to a restaurant in the Arab quarter and ate shawarma and falafel in pita bread there. We were in a separate room and therefore had the peace and quiet to talk to each other. After that, we split up. Some went back to the hostel, others stayed at the bazaar, and a small group went to a park near the Jaffa Gate.

There, we played Durak and enjoyed the sun. We wanted to see the sunset from the Mount of Olives, so we set off around 4 p.m. We followed a long, winding path. On the way to the top of the Mount of Olives, we saw many armed soldiers and visited the Garden of Gethsemane. Some also went into the church next to it.

At the top of the Mount of Olives, we then met our teachers for a photoshoot.

When we were at the top, we enjoyed the sun for a while, but it quickly got cold. So we started on our way back during the sunset. There, Kim first met Kyle, who then joined our group and we went to eat falafel together. Thanks to a tip from another German, we got it relatively cheap.

We went back to the hostel around 7 p.m. On the way there, we saw blown-up birds, and at that point, the discussion of sausages or nests started between Sarah and Paul, as something visible was hanging under the birds. When we arrived at the hostel, we all went up to the rooftop bar and spent the evening together.