I woke up thinking I was waking up in my own bed in my own cozy apartment but my eyes saw that it was that crappy hotel room instead. Amidst my grogginess I decided to go back to sleep so that when I’d wake up for real, it would indeed be in my comfortable bedroom—certainly not here. 

Wrong. I was “here” and not “there” and there was nothing I could do about it. Is it any surprise that after coffee, it took until 2 pm for me to finally get out of the place? I asked the hotel staffer where to jog and she showed me a path on the map directly East and up a hill. Not used to jogging on cobblestones, it was a bit disjointed but as soon as I ascended and looked North, I was floored. 

I saw an entire vista of classic Jerusalem: Picturesque mountain tops filled with colorful buildings, climaxing with the gold dome on the Temple Mount. The map called the area I was above the “Peace Forest”. It was exquisite. And may it stay peaceful forever!

On future days I found routes equally as illuminating. But I revisited this one 2 or 3 more times—each time rendering something new. On my last day at that hotel, I did it again, but much further: far enough out as to pass the U.N. building, an Installation from the country of Poland to Jerusalem and other official buildings, beyond.