After I collected my dad, my sister and a rental car at Tel Aviv airport, I showed them my hotspots in the city, we had smoothies and Shawarma in Old Jaffa at dusk and then took off to Jerusalem. It took us ages to find that damn hotel, who would have known that all of Jerusalem's streets are one-way and that maps don't help? Anyway, we were the first guests in a freshly renovated room at Jerusalem Inn (so fresh, indeed, we neither had a mirror, nor anything to put any clothes on...).

So, during the next two days, I explored Jerusalem - and have to say it wasn't really my place to be. I found the architecture to be super boring compared to Tel Aviv and walking and strolling aimlessly around the city was really only half the fun. All the religious sides didn't really strike me due to my lack of religious passion I have to admit. The masses of tourists scared me to death and the "nice" yet quite agressive sale's attitude of the people on the markets and souks reminded me of my worst days in Morocco last year.








In the Old Town of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem's highlights were probably the little secret insider tour that a friend of a friend gave me in the old city (not due to what he actually showed me, but the amazing stories he knew to tell along...), the Western Wall, actually impressing, though I found the forced seperation between women and men quite irritating, and the pasta party held by the marathon organizers the night before my dad and sister ran the half marathon over the countless hills of Jerusalem. They served us all kinds of pasta and rice, with all kinds of desserts and teas and coffees and juices. I really enjoyed :).









At the Western Wall.







Strolling around Jerusalem during the Marathon.

I was actually most excited when we finally wrapped our stuff and left East, observing a crazy high, concrete wall on the side of the street, entering the Westbank towards the Dead Sea and leaving it again for the Israeli shore. We had a blast getting soaked in mudd and floating around like crazy people, though I have to say, the Israeli beach we went to was only half the fun of Khalia Beach in the West Bank where I had been earlier, by myself.





A big, scary wall. East Jerusalem.





Posing in the desert.




By and in the Dead Sea.

We had delicious food in Jericho, strolled the market (a great example that people can be good sellers without getting super annoying and following and touching you, yes!) and went North towards the Sea of Galilee, having to cross a very intimidating Israeli check point, getting all of us, our luggage and the rental car completely frisked.





In the Westbank.

The Sea of Galilee, mainly due to Shabbat, was honestly, highly unspectacular, but the drive there must have been one of the most beautiful ever, oscillating between desert, hills, bustling green, seas of blossoms...

That night, we made it back to Tel Aviv, had some amazing Falafel in a sidestreet and I took a long walk with my dad: good conversation passing by beautiful architecture.

It's my dad's birthday today, and this post is just for him ♥.



All photos: Carolin Weinkopf

Time is flying and I lost my mind somewhere in between. Finally, my appetite is going crazy and the belly might be called a bump pretty soon. I had the loveliest company for the past few days and was treated with lots of love.

Things are getting more and more real every day, though I still cannot imagine where all this belly is going to grow to in the next five months.





All photos: Carolin Weinkopf via iPhone

Just photos, no words.

















All photos: Carolin Weinkopf via iPhone

A few weeks ago I got a visit by supercute Elaine Jung, editor at Venture Village, here in Berlin. We had a blast and talked about the rise of mobile photography, went on a little photo walk and drank coffee. Though it's hard for me to watch myself on video, I do like this little feature on mobile photography, also including opinions by >>EYEEM<<'s Flo Meissner and graphic designer >>Linda Gavin<<.


Video: Elaine Jung/Venture Village

>>Klara<< is a fellow photographer and film maker. I found her sometime last year when googling iceland, one of my top-on-the-list-to-go-countries. What a passionate traveler - I really love this film.



She is currently planning a new project in Madagascar. Please help finance her project via crowdfunding --> >>with love from madagascar<<. Only 4 days to go!

Back in the days when i was still studying and planning on becoming a journalist or a polician or both, I met >>Lydia<< on a film set during one of my first serious photography jobs, for MySpace Germany. She loved the photos I took of her and contacted me weeks later if I could take some serious headshots of her. Of course I could, and the pictures were the beginning of a long tradition of actor's photos I've taken over the past years. Lydia's from 2008 were still >>some of my favourites<< when she recently asked me to do it all over again.

I truly love these photos and the day walking around, loughing and chatting made me, once again, realize how much I love my job and everything that's related to it. Thanks for a wonderful day and a great set of new portraits, Lydia.










All photos: Carolin Weinkopf

Even though I was kissed-on-the-forehead-good-night, my sleep that night in Jericho was rather bad. Really tired, I attended my taxi driver host's morning tour, taking people to work and kids to school. Afterwards, he dropped me at the Northern tip of the Dead Sea and we waved good-bye.


Sun rising over Jericho's palm trees.


Crossing in Jericho, with camels.


By the main square, kids on their way to school (and famous streetart in the background).


Happy family in Jericho.

Now, the Dead Sea, from far away, seems like a stupid clichée. From close and in real, it's that exact clichée - but so absolutely great and worth it. I was the first person on the beach in the morning, so I got a private floating lesson from the lifeguard (it's actually much harder than it looks, but I was immediately offered a Dead Sea life guard job!), swam out further than allowed, got myself tanned (and terribly sunburned in two tiny spots I forgot to put lotion on...), made some friends and was greatly amused by the international busloads of tourist arriving, dipping and disappearing in an instant.






(via iPhone)




(via iPhone)




Mudd and float impressions at Khalia Beach.

At night I decided to go south but missed the last bus, so a great guy working at the beach invited me to have dinner with his family back in Jericho and offered me to sleep over. I did and got to know a wonderful, huge Palestinian family in an age range from around 1 month to 70 years, all living under one roof filled with love. It was amazing. When Nic called me late at night to ask if I had found a place to sleep, I had to wisper as I was lying in bed in a room with six other girls sleeping. He did think for a moment that I got kidnapped, but I could prove him wrong.


Youngest family member in Jericho.






The lovely mother.

The next morning, I went back to the Dead Sea, I floated some more and finally decided to take the bus from the main road down south, out of the Westbank towards Massada - because a ton of people, including my super excited gynocologist, had told me I had to go, if possible for sunrise. So that was my plan, look for a bed nearby and get up early to climb up the rocks to watch the sun crawl up over the silver sea.


New friends at Khalia Beach.

First I waited for the bus for more than an hour, getting nervous a bit, as it was usually supposed to have passed me twice already, and I was in the desert, not carrying big amounts of water on me. Finally a truck driver stopped at the busstation, nestling on his truck and finally asking me (in Hebrew, I think - or Arabic... I don't know!) if I needed a ride. Of course I did, and I jumped on the truck.


My bus stop.

Now, have you ever been in a real, huge truck? It's amazing! I sat so high it felt as if I was the queen of the desert, fast on the road, with a big panoramic window in front of me. The lovely driver tried to tell me things (and I told back) - but there was no way we could communicate. He finally called a friend who spoke English to make sure where exactly I wanted to go and smoked many cigarettes and blinked at me proudly when I was completely smitten with the landscapes all around us.


Abondened houses by the road.


Life saver truck driver.


Very excited!


My hitchhike through the desert.


So pretty! (via iPhone)


Trucker style.

When we passed Massada, he dropped me by the road, and a lovely Tel Avivian with her old mother took me up the rest of the hill in her car. Massada, here I was. It was too late to get all the way up to the fort, the only hotel within walking reach was booked out and the McDonald's in the valley scared the shit out of me (though I love McDonald's, but we were in the desert - right?). So I ate some hummus in the tourist trap and jumped on the next bus back to Jerusalem (taking some awesome street photos from the bus), and from there to Tel Aviv. It was an impulse that turned out to be right I guess and I was happily back with my lovely hosts in Tel Aviv by late evening, sharing my stories and munching cheerios. Yum!


Desert on the way back to Jerusalem.


Most beautiful Dead Sea coastline.


(via iPhone)


(via iPhone)


(via iPhone)


Street photography Jerusalem (via iPhone).

All photos: Carolin Weinkopf

I used to share an office with Constantin in Kreuzberg and just realized he wrote a >>mini-feature<< on me a while ago. Thanks, Consti and keep up the good work.


Photo: Carolin Weinkopf

So I've reached the state where it's starting to get hard to hide that belly, but at the same time it just looks like I ate 14 brickstones, but not as if I am pregnant (yet). The hormones are completely messing up all my thinking and all my doing, I always thought I would be this supercool, superrelaxed preg. Now I cry most of the day, read stupid mommy blogs and dream of baby clothing all night long. I've officially gone crazy and hope this stops really, really soon - or I might have to shoot myself.

Today we looked at really cool apartments we might actually get and might be able to afford (fingers crossed) - plus I bought the best-in-the-world rocking chair on ebay for unbelievable 3,83€. We're nesting, and it's actually fun (shoot!).

Since the hormones have also really messed up my usually quite crappy sleeping schedule, I might have to go to bed now and wake up fresh and fed with one more brick stone tomorrow morning between 5 and 6 am. Good night and good luck.




All photos: Carolin Weinkopf via iPhone

After a few days strolling through Tel Aviv and gaining weight due to delicious breakfasts, lunches and dinners, I decided to check out some of the rest of the country.

I took a bus from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and from there, I tried to figure out how to get to Jericho. The lady at the bus station looked at me as if I was completely crazy, stating she had no idea how to get there or where it even was.

Somehow I figured out I had to go from Damascus Gate (where, again, I had to ask several people where to go and what bus to take). Finally, I was sitting in a collect taxi taking me out of Jerusalem, to a town (which was more a road) called Abu Dis. Unfortunately the driver forgot I was going to Jericho (and of course, I had no idea where I was), so he took me way too far and when he realized later he put me into a taxi driving in the opposite direction, showing me where to take the next car.

The drive through the desert was breathtaking and, finally arriving in Jericho, a lovely scent crawled into my nose, jasmine and citrus blossoms.

Though Jericho is not big, streets seem to have no names and it was impossible for me to find the hotel with the promising name "Hisham Palace" (which has never been better described than by one of my favourite authors, Angelika Schrobsdorff, in "Jericho. A Lovestory." - which initially made me want to go here). I found a taxidriver who was more than willing to take me there, but after getting to the place we both loughed about our miscommunication - he had taken me to the place the hotel was named after, an excarvation site outside of the city.

We both giggled, took a photo at the site and in the end the friendly taxi driver took me home to his family, where I was fed and kissed on my forehead before going to sleep.


Jerusalem (via iPhone).


Outer Jerusalem (via iPhone).


Highway through the desert.


Sunset in Jericho (via iPhone).


Dinner in Jericho.


Hide and Seek.


Visitor during dinner.

All photos: Carolin Weinkopf