And the next destination is...

To those of you still reading my blog, well done. Feelings of envy, jealousy or irritation are apparently unknown to you. Just kiddin', but I do have a good reason for saying this. I'm planning my next far trip again! The destination I'm talking about is Israel and Jordan. Quite a risk, you might say. But it's not that bad. Many tourists visit Israel today, despite the conflict. Of course, we should be careful and we should definitely not go to parts of Egypt and Syria, but well, we didn't plan on doing so anyway. Yes, we know that there are certain dangers in that part of the world, but we - my fernweh fellow and roommate Paula - can't wait to see the countries. Must be wildly amazing.

Israel is only a tiny country - comparable to Belgium for all my Dutch followers - but there's so much to it. Many, many cultures and religions of course: Jews, Islams, Christians. Lots of cities as well - and a pretty varying offer of cities. There's Tel Aviv, the party place par excellence. There's Jerusalem, the holy City. There's Bethlehem (which lies in Palestina actually), the birth place of Jesus. And I haven't even begun talking about Jordan. Haven't been there yet, fair enough, but from what I've seen at Google pictures (and that isn't even the best place to look for stunning photo material), it must be close to heaven.

Yes, I am pretty sure we're going to have a splendid time in the Middle East. We still have a long time to prepare before take off (we're leaving in July) but time flies as a student in Amsterdam. Jesus - nice word in this context, have to be careful with this - I sound almost optimistic. Which I'm not, don't worry, because I'm sick and stressed at this moment. My voice is completely gone while I'm writing this, but fortunately I don't need it today. Let's hope it has returned next week, because...

Next week I'm flying to London! Only for a weekend, but I'm really looking forward to it. I'm going with my interrail buddy and we've been there once before, which was one of the best weeks of my life. We are into all that London has to offer: vintage markets, huge parks, cute coffee places and wine bars. We're still looking for a host via Couchsurfing, but - and here prevails my positive side again - I'm sure it will all work out right. Keep you posted!