Madrid & Segovia

The weekend of March 5-7 I went on my last CIDE Program excursion. The program got charter buses and 5 hours later we were in Madrid. We actually got to stay in a nice hotel, no hostel, with a big buffet of delicious Spanish food! I learned in my culture class that Madrid has more of dry weather and it is warmer in the interior of the country. However, this was like the one weekend it rained and snowed and was freezing! 


DAY 1:
We arrived at about 1pm and checked into the hotel. This was suppose to be our walking around and seeing all the plazas day but it was pouring! At least the first part, we went to Palacio Real, the Royal Palace. It is the third-greatest palace in Europe with over 2,000 rooms. Of course there are only 24 open to the public. We were running a little late and didn't get an actual tour so we just wandered throughout the rooms and I didn't learn much about them. However, it was all very impressive! It says that you cannot take pictures, but I took a few slyly.

Palacio Real

After the Palace we headed over to la Catedral de la Almudena which is right next to the Palace. The altar of this Catedral was amazing! It is detailed in gold with many religious images! 

The Altar

The plan was to walk around the all the Plazas and then have free time to walk around, but it was raining very hard. We walked through Plaza Mayor, which is the main plaza. It was built in 1619 and each side of the square is uniform. In the middle of the square is a statue of Philip III who ordered the square's construction. It is not as pretty when its gray and wet out. After that we all just went back to the hotel for the night.

La Plaza Mayor

DAY 2:

Saturday we took a day trip to the city of Segovia, about an hour and half north of Madrid through the mountains. During the bus ride I fell asleep and when I woke up we were in a winter wonderland with 5 inches of snow covering the mountains and pine trees. I was so confused and hoping we weren't going to be walking there! I fell back asleep and when I woke up again there were sunny valleys surrounding me. I was very confused and wondering if the winter wonderland was just a dream. 

The winter wonderland we drove through.

Fortunately, Saturday was gorgeous in Segovia, much warmer and sunnier than Madrid. The main sights are the Roman Aqueduct, Alcazar, and the Cathedral. First, we saw the spectacular Roman Aqueduct which is over 2,000 years old. Nine miles long, 2,500 feet long and 100 feet high with 118 arches, it was built to channel water from Rio Frio to the city. The most spectacular part is that it is made out of 20,000 granite stones with no mortar or concrete. Every stone is perfectly balanced on top of one another!

 

Me in front of the Aqueduct

The tour of Segovia continued on to the Cathedral, built 1525 to 1768. We were unable to go inside because of time and it cost 3 euros, but the outside was gorgeous. Next, was the Alcazar, a fortified palace that was home to the monarchs of Castile. One of the rooms is where Christopher Columbus came to ask Ferdinand and Isabel for money to sail the ocean blue in 1492 (so cool!!). After being a palace, it was a prison for 200 years then a Royal Artillery School. It became a museum after a fire in 1862. Through the decorations and structure of the buildings you can see Arab influence. The ceilings are the best part of the whole castle! Also, there is a tower with a spiral staircase of 152 steps I climbed up after the tour. The view from the top was amazing! 

Cathedral

Alcazar

Arab painting from the 12th century

On top of the tower

View from the top, City of Segovia

Lunch, like always, was amazing! Then we headed back to Madrid. As we were driving through the winter wonderland again, a sheet of ice flew off from one of the trees straight into the bus windshield and cracked it in two places! It was so scary! Of course when we got back to Madrid it was still cold and wet. Unfortunately, my boots that were originally my mom's so they're about 25 years old, split on the bottom of the sole. So my feet were so wet! It was just miserable so we just headed back to the hotel after some unsuccessful shopping.

DAY 3:

Our last day in Madrid we took a trip to the Prado Museum where we saw beautiful, classic Spanish works by Francisco de Goya and Diego Velazquez. My favorite had to be by Hieronymous Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights. It is a three paneled work that sends a message that "the pleasures of life are fleeting, so we'd better avoid them or we'll wind up in hell." All the works in there were spectacular. However, our tour guide took us through the place very quickly so we didn't get to see everything. 

The Garden of Earthly Delights

After our tour, we had some free time so some of us walked over to Retiro Park, Parque del Buen Retiro. It was a beautiful park full of jugglers, puppeteers, and other local color. I would have loved to walk around the whole thing but we didn't have the time. We ate lunch back at the hotel and then got on the bus for our 5 hour trek back to Bilbao. 

Retiro Park

These trees look like they belong in Alice in Wonderland!

El Estanque, the big lake in Retiro Park

I'm really glad that CIDE took us to see Madrid and Segovia. I definitely enjoyed Segovia more than Madrid. Madrid was nothing too special, just a big busy city. I did like, though, that there were only 4 skyscrapers so the city was not overwhelming or didn't feel claustrophobic. I am happy that I'm visiting it again when Mom comes, hopefully it will be better weather! However, I am glad that I studied in Bilbao because it still has aspects of a city but it is small enough where I'm never overwhelmed and it isn't too crowded. After visiting Madrid, I knew I didn't make a mistake of where I chose to study. 

 

Heidelberg, Germany

Friday, February 26, I woke up bright and early at 4am to head to the airport for my flight to Frankfurt. I was on my way to Germany to visity my friend, Annalyse Hamill, from UMW. She is studying at Schiller University in Heidelberg, Germany which is about an hour south of Frankfurt. So I had to find the train station and get on the right train from Frankfurt airport to Heidelberg and let me just say that I know NO German. Fortunately everyone I talked to was really nice and basically everyone in Germany knows English. You just have to ask "Sprechen Sie Englisch?" (Sprecken Zee English) which is "Do you speak English?"

I arrived in Heidelberg around noon just in time for lunch. We went to Haupstrasse which is the main, old pedestrian street in Heidelberg which has all these shops, restuarants and churches. We ate at the Dubliner, an irish pub, (yes, i ate at an irish pub in Germany) and I had the BEST vanilla milkshake and bacon cheeseburger ever! It was like a taste of home. Next, we stopped in the Jesuitkirche, Jesuit Church, which is newer. Annalyse attended Ash Wednesday Mass there but she said it was all in German and she couldn't understand half of it. But the church itself was just beautiful! We also went by the older church in Heidelberg, Heilgegeistkirche, Holy Ghost Church, which was not as impressive at all at least on the inside. The outside was much nicer. Unfortunately the day was cloudy, windy and spitting rain. So we stopped in a really cute Starbucks to warm up! Oh how I miss Starbucks! It seems that every European country has them except Spain! It is not necessarily that I miss Starbucks, even, I just miss having a big, warm, cup of coffee to just sip on. In Spain all you get is these tiny mugs with an espresso shot that I can finish in two sips. I still enjoy those, but I do really miss Starbucks.

 

Haupstrasse & steeple of Heilgegeistkirche

 

Inside the Jesuitkirche

 

Alter in the Jesuitkirche

For dinner that night, Annalyse took me to the "Oldest Brewery in Heidelberg" called Vetter for some traditional German food. I had wiesßwurst which is white sausage that comes with a sweet mustard sauce and a soft pretzel. I also got a pale ale which tasted so good! Nothing like good German beer. However, I actually found out later that my meal is not usually a dinner meal, its usually eaten for breakfast or between breakfast and lunch. I still enjoyed it, however. Oh, but for dessert Annalyse and I shared an amazing apple strudel! It was drenched in a vanilla cream sauce and topped with whipped cream! It was the best apple strudel I have ever eaten! 

  

Vetter- Heidelberg's Oldest Brewery

 

My German meal of  wiesßwurst and Pale Ale

 

Best Dessert Ever!

After dinner, we saw the Alt Brücke, the Old Bridge, and Schloss Castle lit up at night. Also, next to the Old Bridge was this statue of a monkey that you can put your face up into and look out from it. Annalyse didn't really know why it was there but I still took a picture with it!

 

Old Bridge lit up at night

 

Castle lit up at night

 

Me inside the Monkey Statue

The next day we walked half way up the mountain on a path called Philosophenweg, Philosopher's Way. It leads up to an amphitheater created by Hitler and the Nazis which was used for Hitler to make propaganda speeches for the war. The people of Heidelberg were actually strongly for the war and Heidelberg University was one of the first universities to kick out its Jewish professors. Now the amphitheater is a popular place for people to walk up to and get a great view of the whole city. We could not have asked for a better day, upper 50s and sunny! At the amphitheater there were buttercups blooming which reminded me that Spring is almost here! We caught our breath after climbing the steep hill on one of the benches and just took in the view. 

  

Signs of Spring

 

Amphitheater

 

View of Heidelberg

 

  

Castle & Church behind me.

 

Me & Annalyse

Then we climbed back down to where the Old Bridge is, took some pictures by the river and then went and found somewhere to eat for lunch on Haupstrasse. After being re-energized by lunch, we hiked up another steep incline to the Castle, Schloss. It was built in the 8th century but in 17th century it was bombed by the French so there are some towers missing and parts that are fallen down, but it is still a pretty castle. And we got to see another amazing view of all of Heidelberg. 

  

  

Old Bridge

 

Old Bridge, Church, & Castle in background

 

View from the Castle

 

Annalyse and I at the Castle

Inside the citadel is a representation of how much Germans enjoy their beer. There is a monstrous Keg or Grose Fass, Great Barrel, which is 25 feet high and can hold 59,000 gallons of beer. When it was built in 1750 it was too big to fill with beer so they just made the beer inside the keg. I cannot even explain to you how massive this thing is! Quite a site! 

  

Gross Fasse

 
 

I look so small next to it!

  

Schoss

 

 

Inside the Citadel

After exploring the castle more, we did some shopping on Haupstrasse and headed back to the dorm to get some needed rest! That night we went to a cafe for dinner where I got tortellini which is also a food I miss greatly! Then we hung out and watched The Office all night! The next morning is when the real adventure began!

Let me just sum up my traveling fiasco with a few bullet points:

• Left Sunday morning by train for the airport. However, I had to change trains in Frankfurt main for a regional train to the airport.
• While waiting for my airport train, every sign in the station changes to a German announcement which I found out said all the trains have been stopped until further notice.
• After an hour and half of waiting, I finally made it onto a train going to the airport.
• Arrive at the airport at 3:30pm, my flight leaves at 4:10pm, I was suppose to get there at 2:15pm.
• Check-in, sprint all the way to my gate which of course is the last one in the terminal. I made it just in time to find out my flight is canceled, along with just about every other flight going out of Frankfurt due to an incoming wind storm.
• Stand in the Lufthansa ticket line for 2 hours to be put on a plane back to Bilbao on Monday at 11:30am. 
• Spent another night in an airport, which was very uncomfortable, long, and contained little sleep. 
• Finally make it back to Bilbao at 2pm just in time to get to my afternoon classes but not enough time to make it home. After 3 hours of class, I finally make it back to the apartment at 7:30pm, quick dinner, and I pass out to get some sleep I desperately needed.  

Basically, I have the worst luck with traveling. 

 

Birthday Celebration

Last Tuesday, February 23, was my new friend's, Dayna, birthday! Actually her 21st birthday! It was unfortunate that it was on a Tuesday but we were determined to have fun! Some bars that we go to have 1 euro beers on Tuesday and Thursday nights. A few of us stopped by the pastry shop to get a cake and then there are these chinese stores that sell just about every, cheap crap you can imagine! So we were able to get "2" and "1" candles and a party hat! 

 Dayna, Birthday Girl, with her Party Hat On!

When we arrived at the bar it was unusually crowded for a Tuesday night so we had to do the cake eating on a bench outside! Dayna was so surprised and excited about the cake when she arrived. But since none of us smoke we had to ask some Spanish girls to light the candles for us. And they joined in singing "Happy Birthday" with us! The cake had cream on the outside with pineapple chunks mixed in and some chocolate drizzled on top, very sweet but delicious!

 

The Cake!

 Me, Val, Kassandra, Dayna, Morgan, & Katie

After cake eating we went into the bar for a few beers. We only hung out for a little bit but Dayna said it was more than she was expecting for her Birthday and she really enjoyed herself! Yeah to birthday celebrations!

Wine Country

This past Saturday me and a group of new friends took a bus trip to La Rioja which is known as wine country in Spain. Northern Spain and particularly this area is known for some of the best wine. According to Rick Steves, "Rioja wine is a D.O.C. product, meaning that by definition it can only be produced in La Rioja region. Protected from the elements by the Cantabrian Mountains to the north, vineyards have thrived in the valley of the Ebro River since Roman times."

Throughout the region there are many towns, one can stop into for wine tasting. However, we chose Haro which is the capital of La Rioja. Haro sits up on the La Mota hill and from the top one can see the whole region. We went up to an overlook and it was gorgeous, the valley and the mountains. We also were extremely lucky and had a beautiful day but the wind was wicked. 

 

La Rioja Region

  

Overlook of the Town

   

All the Bodegas in Haro 

When we first arrived by bus about an hour south of Bilbao, out the bus window on top of the bus station building were the biggest bird's nest I have ever seen! They were storks' nests actually and there was even something about them in the guide book! I just couldn't get over how big they were!

 

The Storks' Nests!

First, we went to the wine museum in Haro. We got there around noon and our wine tour wasn't til 5pm so we had some time to kill. The wine museum was more than I expected, modern, looked newly built and very informative and interactive. First you watch a movie about La Rioja region and the film footage was just gorgeous. I wanted ride around in the helicopter they shot from all day! Then you go up to the 3rd floor and work your way down. The third floor was about the plant and the growing process, second floor was the fermentation, bottling the wine, and how to examine the wine through taste, smell, and appearance. Finally the first was about La Rioja. It was a nice tour and very relaxing. However we could only all get so much out of it because we weren't all studied up on our Spanish Winery vocabulary.

 

Different Types of Wines in La Rioja

 

Part of the Museum

The attendant at the front desk spoke very good English, very friendly and helpful. He pointed out some good places to eat lunch once we were done with the museum. We found this one place that was the cheapest menu of the day but was still 14 euros, a little pricey. But we all saw these chickens roasting in the back so we elected for that platter, chicken, salad, and fries for 7 euros. It was the best chicken I've ever had! And it was also a lot, we each got a small bird. The sauce they dipped it in was like an oil but it was very flavorful. Definitely a satisfying lunch.

We decided to head up to the old part of town after that. We walked through the Plaza de Paz, Plaza of Peace, and up to St. Thomas Church which has been a national monument since 1931. Of course we walked up there during Siesta time and the church wasn't open. A little disappointing but still beautiful to look at from the outside. After some exploring we found a nice bar and tried some wine since we had some time to kill. We all had a glass of red wine for 0.70 euros! So Cheap and so Good!

Plaza de Paz

 

Iglesia de San Tomas

 

Iglesia de San Tomas

 

Bar we stopped into

 

Cheers! 

  

Glasses of Wine

Finally 5 o'clock rolled around and we headed over to the bodega, winery. There was actually a big group on this wine tour, about 20 or more which I was not expecting. Of course we were the only Americans. The guide said he try to talk a little slower for us so we could understand more, but it didn't feel like he was talking any slower! It was wicked fast and so much information! We walked around to see the plants, the fermentation vats, the barrels, where it is corked, ect. He said it would only last an hour and half but at the 2 hour mark, I was done trying to comprehend.

 

  

Fermentation Vats

 

Barrels of Wine

Finally, we got to a nice cozy room where there were two tables with wine glasses set up. We went through the process of looking at the wine color on a piece of paper, smelling it, and then we all tasted it together. Next we tried the same wine but it was 2 years older to taste the difference. I definitely liked the younger wine more. Then we were done. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I thought it would be more like you sit and try all different types and they tell you what the difference is, but it was still a good experience. Also, since I'm not 21 I can't actually say it was the best wine I've ever had. It was my first wine tour. I guess we'll just have to take the guide books' words for it.

 

Bodega Bilbainas

  

Wine set up for tasting

 

  

The group that went Wine Tasting!