Granada

“If you were to visit only a city in Spain, this should be Granada.” - Ernest Hemingway

Granada cannot be explained, it must be seen. There are few places in the world that instill the same sensation of awe and wonder.  It comes to little surprise that Boabdil, last Sultan of Granada, shed tears of sadness upon leaving the city after the Catholic conquest in 1492.

I arrived in Granada at about 12:00 on Saturday the 1st of February, all alone, with only a vague description on how to get to the Oasis Hostel Granada from the bus station.  Luckily, the buses don't tell you what stop it is and I was left guessing which one the "cathedral stop" was.  So in the end I got off two stations after the one I was supposed to and began sightseeing before checking in. 

Walking towards the center of the Alhambra

While travelling in low season means not having to reserve tickets to the Alhambra online, I was quite eager to get inside after queuing for an hour (especially after I discovered I didn't have enough cash and had to run to an ATM. Thankfully, the guard let me pass without having to wait once more!). However, whether or not I had waited two hours, it would still have been worth it.

View of the Albaiyzín behind me

The Alhambra is an astonishing patchwork of history whose edifices tell the tale of imperial glory and cultural achievement.  I was extremely impressed by the remarkable detail of the Nasrid Palaces, showcasing the highest forms of Arab architecture.  In the Generalife, I tried to imagine the Sultan of Granada, escaping his daily obligations to enjoy the magnificent view. 

However, my best experience of the Alhambra was standing on top of the Torre de la Vela, the watchtower overlooking Granada. By that time the skies had cleared and the setting sun cast a beautiful light upon the land. Looking down one could see the city of Granada while if one turned around one could see the Sierra Nevada.

The Alcazaba of the Alhambra

In the evening I went to a tapas bar to have a dinner of sorts with Kohl, a friend from the language course who came to visit for a few hours (Visit his blog, Gayography).  Perhaps the greatest thing after the Alhambra in Granada are the complimentary tapas that come with your drinks! And not just a bowl of chips but a delicious bread with jamón and Roquefort cheese.  

Next to us were two drunk men, one of whom turned out to be a flamenco singer upon which the effect of alcohol gave the urgent need to sing.  He gave an amazing show despite the laments of the bartender who looked like he has seen this too many times. One thing I am finding interesting in Andalusia, is the prevailing popularity of traditional culture such as flamenco.  For example, while walking on the streets in Granada I came across three aspiring young boys who gave an impressive performance.

View of Granada from the watchtower

At night, I met a group of Americans studying abroad in Granada that I met in Seville.  Great people who like to party :) but more on nightlife in an upcoming post on, "la vida de la noche" en Andalusia...

An entire wall full with graffiti in Realejo

The next day I explored Realejo, the old Jewish quarter which is now the student/creative/still-cheap-to-live part of town famous for its graffiti art.  While worth the walk, I didn’t discover anything particularly out of the ordinary.  Yes, some of the graffiti was cool but it wasn't all together awe-inspiring. 

Afterwards, I went to the Albayzín; the old Muslim neighborhood.  The viewpoint by the church of San Nicolas is breath taking. It provides a perfect view of the Alhambra with the Sierra Nevada as a backdrop. It is easy to spend a lot time here enjoying the view and the listening to the street performance of, “Bamboleo” by the Gipsy Kings.

Going to Granada was also an interesting experience for me because it was the first time I organized and traveled somewhere completely by myself. While I did meet people I know there, it was the first time I went sightseeing and did things on my own.  It has its benefits in that I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted without having to wait.  All the same, a travel companion or two to share the experiences of travel with are always heartily welcomed. 

Click here to see all of my photos from the trip

Splendid Sevilla

Seville is a city of immense beauty and grandeur. Once the center of the Spanish Empire and of Europe, it is a sight to behold. It was my first travel within Spain and certainly worth it.

One of the prettiest views of the tower

I stayed at the Oasis Hostel Sevilla, part of a chain of hostels located in Granada, Málaga, Toledo and Lisbon.  The facilities are perfect for travelers and at 10 euros a night, nothing can beat it (that is unless you don't mind sharing the room with 10 people from all kinds of backgrounds). 

Organ pipes of the Seville Cathedral

On the Saturday we went and saw the Cathedral.  It is an enormous structure with pillars around 9 square meters in size and an impressive organ pipe almost reaching the ceiling.  What bothered me was the darkness within the church.  There were only a handful of windows that could scarcely have assisted Father Carlos in his readings! Jokes aside, it is certainly worth a visit, especially to climb the Arab built tower providing a fantastic 360° view of the city.

View from the tower of Canal de Alfonso XIII

A little later we went on a walking tour organized through the hostel.  It was free with the guides depending on the good will of their listeners. Taking a risk, we opted for the Spanish tour which was very good and I understood nearly everything. However, the guide enjoyed poking fun at people’s nationalities, especially if they were German (since I was the only German I had to take a lot of crap).  The best example being when he asked me to count how many circles there were on a wall.  I counted them but as soon as I told him how many he turned and continued the tour! All was in good nature and I did give him a tip (de Alemaña, I said).

The tour guide, Edu

In the evening we went for a flamenco show which was absolutely fantastic.  I must say that I was very impressed with how rich, and how many elements the dance, or rather the culture, had. All of them; the dancers, the guitarist, the singer all put so much passion and emotion into their performances that they really captured their audience.  The guitarist was exceptionally good and struck out one beautiful tune after another.

L to R: Dancer, dancer, singer, guitarist

Entrance to the Alcazaba

On the Sunday we went to the Alcazaba, an old Moorish fort used by every subsequent occupier of Seville.  It is very pretty, and well restored.  It is perhaps not as large or as overwhelming as the Mezquita or the Alhambra yet a very interesting look into the history of Seville which intrigued me very much. Since we were lucky to have nice weather on the Sunday, a coffee in the gardens was an apt solution to rest our legs.

View towards the gardens of the Alcazaba

All in all, I really enjoyed this city for its architectural beauty, its history, the tapas and the great company I was with :) 

Click here to view all of my photos from the trip.

Nerja and Frigiliana

These past two weeks I have been so busy that I had to sit down for about 30 minutes and just write down everything I have done. That is not to say I don't like it, it already feels like I've spent a month here. I go to bed dead tired but content with all the things that I was able to do. That said, it would be impossible for me to speak of everything I have been doing In a single post. Therefore I would like to begin with my trip to Nerja and Frigiliana on the 14th of January.

The coast looking east from Nerja

The king of Spain and I

I hadn't heard much about the two villages before we headed out from Malaga that afternoon. I was told they were traditional Spanish villages known for being painted nearly entirely white and surrounded by beautiful scenery.  Which was precisely the case.  However, in my opinion the two villages don't live up to the hype equally. 

Nerja is a town built on the coast and baptized the "balcony of Europe". Still not entirely sure why. Walking through the village was a bit disappointing because almost everything was closed and very little was going on. To be sure, it was pretty and the view of the water was fantastic.  It just seems that we came at the lowest point of the low season so that it nearly felt odd walking around as tourists.  Perhaps the slightly grey weather came into play...

The team walks through Frigiliana

 While also extremely empty, Frigiliana was different. Although we came into the town in an overpriced taxi (it costed us €12 for 5 minutes compared with €3,50 for a 1 hour bus ride to get to Nerja), I much preferred it to Nerja. As we walked through the village we came across a path that lead us up to the hill that Frigiliana is built along.  As we ascended we saw beautiful views of Frigiliana and of the Andalusian coastal landscape. We topped the day off with the famous moscatel of the region overlooking the valley that leads down to the Mediterranean.

Above and Below: views of Frigiliana

Our new friend, the donkey!

From Snow to Sun

Arriving in Málaga last Sunday was like coming into a different world.  The setting changed from this...

...To this.

From the freezing temperatures of Stockholm to the 18 degree Málaga winter. I was picked up from the airport by a Cervantes representative who showed me a bit of Málaga, the school and to my host family.  To the left is the view from my room! Unfortunately the swimming pool is closed until May, apparently it is much too cold for such an activity.

The family is very kind and very relaxed.  What I find interesting is that the construct of time doesn´t seem to take on the same importance as in Germany or Sweden.  Dinner is an extremely flexible arrangement.  Yesterday, just before I wanted to go to bed at 23:30, I heard the distinct sound of sizzling meat on a frying pan coming from the kitchen.  Luckily for me, Cervantes asks them to cook a dinner for the students at 20:30 (which can also be pushed later depending on the events of the evening). The rigid structures of a northern European household and a Malagueño household are as separate as the weather.




On the same day I arrived, I met with an old friend from school, Gustavo. Gustavo is studying at the University of Málaga and happened to be nearby when I told him I had arrived.  We went for a coffee on the waterfront (shown above), which is full of charming cafes and restaurants with a view on the Mediterranean Sea,






I had my first Spanish lesson today and although it is too early to judge, I think it 's done quite well. The teacher is articulate, patient and has 14 years of experience. Lessons are from 9:00 to 12:15 with one 15 minute break in between.  At the moment we are studying movies and the cinema.  The topic may be  relatively simple, but since I haven't been studying Spanish at all since May, it is nice to begin with something easier.

We do get a lot of free time to do what we want which I find is very nice.  This opens the possibility for travel and tourism or things around the area like going to the gym, playing football on the beach or buying a Spanish SIM card.

At Home in Stockholm

After nearly 4 months away from home, nothing could be better than sleeping in my own bed, eating something other than schnitzel and simply seeing my friends and family.  Gone are the days of the caretaker that began at 5:30 in the morning.  In fact, I have swiftly turned around my sleeping pattern with no day beginning before 10 (that doesn't always mean I'm getting more sleep).  

Though the weather is absolutely miserable at the moment, it doesn't seem to matter so much.  In an case, I will soon be making the shift from the fog and rain of Stockholm to the sun and blue skies of Malaga. The temperature there averages at about 18 degrees Celsius! While I am excited for this, I believe I will cut the trip short, from 3 months to 2 and a half. Like this I will have an entire month back in Stockholm to get bored and ready for the next trip: Ethiopia.