Sunday, February 10, 2008
From Jerusalem - Friday, February 8, 2008
The alarm rang on Friday just after midnight at 12:30 a.m., after just two hours of sleep, so that we could leave our hotel at 1:30 a.m. for the bus ride to Tel Aviv airport. The very strict security at this airport requires at least a three hour arrival in advance of one's flight. Since our flight left at 5:30 a.m., we wanted to be there around 2:00 a.m.
We arrived in good time and began the security screening process. Once the screeners found that we had spent our time with Palestinians and were carrying home gifts from Palestinians (Kris and I had a ceramic tray from Bishop Younan) we were singled out for intense inspection. Our luggage was completely emptied and searched. The screeners were always polite and professional. This process took around an hour which meant we were still ready for our flight early.
Our flight from Tel Aviv to Frankfurt and then the flight from Frankfurt home to Philadelphia were both uneventful. US Customs at Philadelphia was slow (not enough staff) but that meant that our luggage was waiting for us by the time we cleared customs. After dropping Bishop Burkat at her home, we were home in Lansdale before 7:00 p.m.
Eric
We arrived in good time and began the security screening process. Once the screeners found that we had spent our time with Palestinians and were carrying home gifts from Palestinians (Kris and I had a ceramic tray from Bishop Younan) we were singled out for intense inspection. Our luggage was completely emptied and searched. The screeners were always polite and professional. This process took around an hour which meant we were still ready for our flight early.
Our flight from Tel Aviv to Frankfurt and then the flight from Frankfurt home to Philadelphia were both uneventful. US Customs at Philadelphia was slow (not enough staff) but that meant that our luggage was waiting for us by the time we cleared customs. After dropping Bishop Burkat at her home, we were home in Lansdale before 7:00 p.m.
Eric
