Distant Hands in Foreign Lands

We arrived in Malaga on the Southern Coast of Spain. It is warm and sunny. Probably about 68 degrees. Our hotel room faces the west and gets direct afternoon sunlight. It is probably about 95 degrees in the room. I tried the room air conditioning but only heat emerged. I asked the hotel desk clerk about air conditioning.
"I'm sorry, Sir, the clerk explained. "There is no air conditioning, it is still winter."

I have read of musicians who travel and do concerts each night in different cities...and sometimes they will say to the audience...."It's great to be here in Philadelphia!" And the audience moans, because it's Cleveland.

I have had no trouble remember which city we are in but I am surprised that there are large chunks of days in which I am not certain what century I am in. It's pretty clear from the traffic and people that this is the 21st Century but one can be immersed the whole day in other centuries.

Case in point. In Granada. I blogged yesterday about the fabulous Alhambra. It is amazing. It's glory years were the 14th century or so, when the Muslims held power in southern Spain. It was built a few centuries before that and the Alhambra itself was built on top of Roman ruins from centuries before that. As you tour the grounds, with its cobblestone streets and paths and the architecture and turrets and ancient prisons and bath houses, palaces and intricate artwork, one does lose track of time...sometimes whole centuries disappear.

If you continue in the Alhambra complex you will see the 15th or 16th century courtyards of Spanish rulers. Stand on a lookout wall and gaze across the valley to several centuries-old monasteries on the other side of the valley.

We found ourselves in whole other centuries for the entire day of Friday. We left the Alhambra and walked through the Gate of Pomegranates to continue the walk down the hill. All of this is a part of old Granada, built centuries ago. Later in the afternoon, we walked up the other side of the valley along tiny stone paved streets past a very old cathedral where we stopped in for a quick look. The priest was celebrating communion with the faithful. We continued up the street and valley in a section called the Albaicin. This is one of the oldest parts of the city also. Many centuries old. The look and feel of it is old even if small cars drive through slowly so as not to hit buildings and tourists and locals.

That evening we walk the "newer" old part of the city. This is only several hundred years old and contains the massive Cathedral which we visited the day before. And once again we are plunged into the 1700's as we realize the church is about to present a Friday night concert with the organ and a choir. We take a seat in the sanctuary and wait (and freeze! We left for the evening and though it was fairly warm we were not expecting to sit in a very cold cathedral for a concert. We sit on our hands to keep warm. But, this too is like ancient days. If you came to church, you dressed warmly for a February evening.) The cathedral lighting slowly illuminates the massive columns and corners of the place as the musicians begin. Pipe organ and voices and the cathedral. Who knows what century you are in?

Just before we leave the city on a bus, we have three hours to spare. I decide I want to see one last monestary and church and sure enough, there is one about 10 blocks away and so we walk.

This is the 16th century Monastery of San Jeronimo. As so many Spanish Cathedrals are, this is on a plaza and the church is looking a bit forlorn but the ancient wooden door is open and people are walking in and we discover a place to buy tickets. We enter.

My favorites in these church grounds? The ancient wooden doors. Many of massive doors have smaller "cut out" doors within them for regular foot traffic and the massive doors are for more eleborate entrances. Look through my blogs, I am constantly posing in front of wooden doors. Also, enjoy the cloisters of the churches.

And the sacristy rooms of most cathedrals contain wonderful, intricately carved wooden paneling and closets. (Lots of dusting and re-staining needed to keep them looking good.) San Jeronimo has frescoes on the walls, which sort of gives it the effect of being tattooed.

When you see these pictures, one can understand how difficult it is to keep track of the centuries. No wonder Europeans have different outlooks on life than Americans. Just down the street from Gucci and Prada are ancient cathedrals and works of art and wonder.

And the only thing in between them are a few hundred autos and a few hundred years.

Peace, Bob

In the Shadow of the Alhambra

Signage is not a big business in this country, or continent apparently. Directions for how to go about something are sparse and spare when they do appear. In spite of all we went through to secure tickets to the Alhambra, it was definitely worth it.

We ordered the tickets on line and got some of the few still remaining for Friday. Tried to access them at automated teller machines but that didn't work. So on the morning of our reservations, went to the Alhambra and stood in a sort of "will call" line. Was told to go over and use the machines to access tickets. The ticket machines told us we could not access the tickets and so ended up back in line where the teller told us that we could indeed access the machines. And so it went. But, we got in.

The Alhambra was palace, courts, gardens and other buildings of the Muslim rulers of this area built in the 1200s over previously built structures which date back to the 900s. When the Catholic Rulers waged war and kicked out the Muslims in the 1500s it reverted to them. So, it is a European Court built on a Mulim rulers edifices which are built over Roman occupation.

Today it is a World Heritage Site and the most visited place in Spain, hence the tickets and complexity of it all. Tour groups deluge the place and if you are doing this trip solo, as we are, you have to scrample for tickets. Nevertheless, it was well worth it.

This is still winter in Southern Spain. The nearby mountains have snow, the early morning temperatures are brisk and we had a beautiful sunny day which made it near perfect. The site allows one to just wander among parks, gardens and old buildings which the Moors and the Court of Charles V (who took over after the Muslims were defeated) left behind. The most sought after site here is the Nasrid Palaces which are the heart of the Alhambra. Your ticket assigns you a time to enter there, to avoid overcrowding. Once you have strolled through the Nasrid, you can wander anywhere else, like the fortress, gardens, Generalife (part of the European Court area). It is complex to explain since there are competing sites of the Muslim and European rulers buildings sitting beside and on top of one another.

At one point I wandered into the Catholic Church which was build beside the Muslim buildings and on top of former main mosque, a sort of in-your-face gesture on the part of the Conquering Catholics. Rather like installing a first aid station in a Christian Science Reading Room.

I would advise you to Google the whole thing and work on the history. Permit me to show some pictures.

Somthing which the Muslims excelled at, among many things, was the art of design. Everywhere you looked, one would see intricate design (the conquering Europeans tried to copy it, but couldn't come close to competing.)

Gardens and views over the city.

After several hours of stunning splendor we were all Alhambra'd out and we discovered that you could exit the "back door."

And so we did.

More on that particular day, next time

 

Peace,  Bob

Your Man in Granada

"Hola!"
"Hola."
"Uno Kit Kat, Por Favor."
"Si....uno Euro."
"Bueno. Gracias."
"De nada."
(Proof positive that 2 years of High School and 4 quarters of college Spanish has finally paid off.....a major business transaction which I conducted....entirely in Spanish! I have contacted the State Department and I am now ready to be....."Your Man in Granada." Qualified to conduct any and all high level cash exchanges for goods and services....chocolate, coffee, cervesa and complex menu items like "paellas." I can even work my way around tricky menu problems. Don't want onions on the menu item? Point to the word "onion" on the menu...say, "No...no!" and gently touch your belly and grimace.

This was a day for getting our bearings and getting tickets for this and that. The main thing was to figure out how to get tickets to the Alhambra...the 14th Century Moor palace and buildings which are world reknowned. Seems that Ferdinand and Isabella kicked out the Moors (Muslims) about the same time they sent Columbus to the new world and kicked out the Jews who ended up in Greece. (I viewed their museum in Athens a few weeks back.)

Ferdinand and Isabella are beloved around here. There are statues to them. I was visiting a church yesterday and it was telling about how the Franciscans were kicked out of this city too, though not by Isabella. I noted that the Muslims are back, not sure if the Franciscans are back. Judging from the crowds of people in this city, I guess the king and queen didn't kick everybody out. I suppose you had to be a part of the "in" crowd, but if you were not...you were shown the exit.

Anyway, they may not have liked the Moors back in the 14th Century but they do now....the Alhambra is great for tourism. Buses, people all over the place. We had to go online the day before and reserve tickets (heck, even the Vatican lets you in without a ticket, just stand in line). We went online and every (EVERY!) ticket was taken for today for every hour....except the earliest...8:30 am. Ticket brokers buy them up for tour groups who pull up in huge buses. We have to walk to the local "Alhambra" bus stop or walk way up the hill. We have opted for a cab, but need to get out of the hotel at 7:30 or so...no wonder the tour groups left the 8:30 tickets alone. Super Bowl tickets are easier to come by.

I wanted to see the grand Cathedral here in the city. I had it on the map. We walked around the city center and saw signs but the shopping/business district had grown up around it. Down a side street we found some shops, spice and tea sellers and finally the big plaza in front of the Cathedral. And....some huge wrought iron gates locked. Hmmmm. They take this religion-stuff pretty seriously here in Granada....kicking people out because of their religion and then locking gates in front of working parishes. But, we have learned...keep walking around the place....and we did and found the ticket office and people selling all sorts of religious items (a sure sign that God is in this place) and finally the entrance.

Fantastic. Talk about huge columns and gold and symmetry. The light was just wonderful as it filtered through. They would not allow photos in he Sacristy and museum but there were no signs in the sanctuary and so we looked and saw some guy filming the place and others felt at ease to do the same. The individual chapels for the cathedral were among the most ornate I have seen. Lots of paintings too.

Back out on the street we found a place to eat and decided we needed to make train tickets out of Granada to Malaga, so we went to the train station and found that there is not train to Malaga. "Take the bus." said the Information guy. I showed him a map and asked him to point out where that was and he looked at the map and pointed way off the western side of the city map...sort of in the general direction of Portugal and said..."way out here." .....where there was nothing listed on the map. I began to wondered if Isabella and Ferdinand has kicked buses out of the city back in the 14th Century too.

Since I couldn't locate it and was only told take bus 33...we punted and hailed a cab who took us. The automatic ticket machine wouldn't work for us...the ticket seller sold us the wrong date which necessitated another 20 minutes in line but besides that....everything went smoothly.

I should tell you that this city is situated in the south of Spain. Sounds sunny and wonderful, right? It is too. It is a bustling city, digging a subway system and has shopping galore and wonderful attractions but right outside of the city are snow capped mountains. Yesterday we saw some folks carrying their snow skis along the street, heading for the trails.

The guide book said that there is a thriving night life in the old part of town. I mean, it is shopping and dining and the like. We headed up that way around the Cathedral in the evening.

We were somewhat familiar with the area but had no idea how energetic the place was. Street after street of shoppers and mainly people stolling down old city streets. See and be seen. Occasionally the streets were broken by plazas of even more people. (Picture Easton at Christmas time and triple the crowds and you'll see what it is like every evening in old town Granada. We're glad we came.)

Peace,  Bob 

Light of the World, Shine on Me

We are in the club car of the train as we travel through the mountains of Spain. Gathered at one table are a few American Students. I guess they are Engineering students judging from the following conversation which was difficult not to hear.
“We have a double shear and double pin on this joint here (pointing to the paper) and that makes for the bearing stress point,” (or the conversation went something like that…anyway..) said the one guy.
The other guy chimes in….“You know what would be a good example of double stress?”
“What?”
“A pogo stick.”
“What is THAT?”
“Oh, you know….bouncy, bouncy, bouncy.”

Take the train south of Barcelona and you will follow the sea for a couple hours. You can see the waves breaking on the Mediterranean shore. The small towns crowded around the sea. And you will see the condos, hotels, vacation homes and McDonalds all of which no doubt are fed from the metropolis of Barcelona just up the shore from this vacation wonderland. It is still winter around here. Jacket weather, not cold. And the shore and water does look a lot like Florida. It is very flat. But inland you can see the land gently slope upwards and as we travel south it begins to become mountainous.

We pass places with names like “Valencia” and the countryside is surrounded with fruit trees in all directions. Haven’t a clue what the trees might hold though. We travel onward and the place begins to look more like Arizona with its dry mountain peaks surrounding a very dry landscape. Finally about 3 pm we pull into a town and the train sits. I surmise that the train crew is changing and I’m right. But then about 3:30 we pull out of the station heading in the same direction from which we came.

Back in my college days, I spent five summers working for the B&O Railroad and at that moment I was able to put all my years of experience into action. My razor-sharp mind, with its railroading skills still honed to a fine edge could confidently say to my not-so-easily impressed daughter. “We are heading backwards right now.”

And though she was in awe of my perception she managed a lame, “It would appear so.”

An hour later when it was clear we were now heading south and not NE back to Barcelona it was evident that we had done some sort of “shunting” and been moved over to a different track for our journey. I was hoping that the railroading terminology would distract Makaila and she wouldn’t ask the obvious question…which she eventually did, “How come you didn’t know we were now headed SW and not NE?”

I told her, “I worked with freight trains, not passenger trains and that is a whole ‘nother ballgame.”

I think she bought that.

In Turkey we ate olives. Lots of olives. We visited Ephesus and the owner of the hotel grew and served his own olives. Greece…olives. Italy….more olives. On the train yesterday, one of the snack options was a beer and olives. Very nice, I tasted both, for a cultural experience, mind you. But then we got into the mountains of Spain and it’s olives on overdrive. We rode for three hours in the mountains and all there were on each side of us and as far as the eye could see…olive trees. No regular trees. Just olive trees. Every portion of the hills and mountains where a tractor and human could remain upright had a grove of olive trees. Do the cooks of the world really use that much olive oil? Are martini’s that popular that most of Spain is blanketed in olive groves? Must be. It was quite a sight. The mountains themselves, where there were not olive trees had a dusting of snow capped peaks.

One of the best train trips I have ever taken. The sun was brilliant and as we wound our way south the light changed in ways hard to describe but was always breath taking. Near the end of our journey in Granada the entire landscape glowed with red as we pulled into the region.

Our plan is to see the Alhambra. If you want a preview, Google it. If not, I’m sure I’ll share more with you tomorrow. A final note, we are in the south of Spain and so they speak the type of Spanish which I studied in high school and college. It doesn’t mean I will understand it any better than Catalonian Spanish but at least I will be familiar with its unfamiliarity. I should feel right at home around here.

Peace, Bob

Power to the People

"Don't touch the Salamander! Por Favor!!"
How many times a day have you heard that? That is exactly what the park-guard kept saying to the visitors...and yet the salamder was out in the rain, cold and nighttime for years.

I read somewhere that Barcelona is a relatively flat city and built in blocks and squares and that certainly seems to be the case. In Rome, with all its hills, every street is an adventure in navigation. I mentioned that at every street intersection in Rome you would find at least a half dozen tourists checking their maps to see if their street angles left, right or disappears altogether in some piazza. But not so with Barcelona.

Yes, indeed, the Mediterranean is right here and so the land gracefully and slowly goes up as you go inland. And, much further back there are hills and mountains. But, for the most part, for the areas which we have been walking, the streets are wonderfully symmetrical and square with intersections and pretty flat. Great for walking. Great for looking at a map and confidently thinking of walking for say, 4 more blocks and being assured of ones destination.

Until yesterday afternoon.

And it is all because of Gaudi and his architecture.

I blogged yesterday about the great Spaniard, Gaudi and his great cathedral, La Sagrada Familia. Check it out if you have not done so. He died in 1926 as he was building the cathedral (which is still far from being finished) but in his life and work prior to the all-consuming work of La Sagrada Familia, he had other projects. We walked through the city to see a couple of his buildings which are so unique. But then we read about a park designed by him. We looked it up and it was a mile or two inland....meaning to the north of the city center where the land starts to get steep and the streets narrow and curvy. And we were determined to go. So we walked and walked.

The streets, though still crowded and very attractive began to take on the feel of San Francisco. Finally the streets just about disappeared, and the houses and appartment buildings were up against the hills of Barcelona. The street we took ended....and in front of us was.....an escalator. Just like the kind you would see in the airport. A stainless steel three story escalator, the kind you see in subways...and yet, and yet, this was right out in the open on the street. We were so glad to see it. At the top was a school and religious order and....the Park Guell...our destination.

I would advise you to Google Park Guell. It is amazing. The architect Gaudi had a patron, Guell.....and the idea was to create this fantastic gated community for the wealthy in the Gaudi style. This was around the early 1900's. The plan called for 60 palatial homes in the graceful hills overlooking Barcelona and (about 4 miles away) the Mediterranean. Alas, only four homes were built in the hills. The project fizzled, but not before Gaudi designed a park with his signature style of architecture and art. The park survives, it belongs to the people of Barcelona (and the tourists and trinket sellers).

On first glance you might think you had overdone your cold medicine because of the playfulness of the design. On second glance you might expect the Oompah Loompahs from Willy Wonka to come marching out with some sugar covered treats. Maybe I should use the idea of Star Wars design or Disney design in order to convey the lack of "common" park ideas and ideals. Gaudi messes with your mind in both colors and shapes.

In this project he reshaped how you view nature and so brings a liveliness to the surroundings.

Barcelona has got it going in so many ways. A wonderful city. In no small part due to the vision of Gaudi and the park reclaimed by the people.

Peace,   Bob

The Wisdom of the Perruqueria Masculina de Barcelona

I had an appointment with a barber (Perruqueria Masculina) for a haircut. (His barber pole was all the way from Wisconsin!) He was just down the street from the amazing Gaudi La Sagrada Familia Cathedral. As I settled into the chair we conversed (keep in mind we conducted this conversation with my college Spanish and his semi-Catalunyan and Andalusian Spanish. Thus....I will sort of translate.)
"We have just been to the La Sagrada Familia down the street. Increable! Fantastico! Muy Grande! I raved.
"Si...es muy bonita y grande! Pero.....Porque??

If Dr Suess had designed a cathedral, this would have been it. The design and feeling of this place is beyond anything I have ever seen. Its only rival is St. Peter's in Rome. St. Peters has the weight of history, besides being just fantastic. La Sagrada Familia has the vision of Gaudi. Makaila described it as a sand castle with wet sand dripping architecture. That is pretty close. I am not even certain where to begin and when I do try to give you a picture, it will be inadequet. Perhaps photos are the only way.

 The cathedral was started in the 1880's and still has a few decades to go. I was reading an up to date guide book and even it did not mention that the main part of the sanctuary was finished. It is done. Yet, there are still a few more tremendous spires to top the cathedral, one for Mary and one for Jesus. Just last year, Pope Benedict was here to celebrate Mass and dedicate the cathedral. They show the video of the event in the museum and it is awe-inspiring.

What you have to do is arrive before 9 am and get in line outside and then pay about $18 to see the place. We found out that you could take the elevator up in the spires for a few bucks more and then walk down through these almost medieval type spiral steps. We went for that too.

Gaudi has been the guiding visionary of this project and he died in the 1920's. He is buried underneath the church, and one can view the spot and there is a movement afoot to give him sainthood. I suppose one of his miracles can be the cathedral itself. To walk into the main sanctuary with its marble floor and soaring, dreamlike towering worship area is beyond description. The video on the project mentions that he created or pioneered his own mathmatical concepts as to how to support the building. It looks as if soaring marble arches are holding up everything but it is really rebar with brick and plaster stuff covering the steel rods. There is light everywhere.

There are three main entrances, on depicting the life and family of Jesus, one depicting the Passion and one to be....which will be the Glory. The statues of those Biblical scenes are startling as they surround the grand entrances and tell so much just by their mere presence.

One could spend days and weeks in the Cathedral and still be awed by the scope of this project. When we took the elevator onto the top of one of the spires, we could look at the roof of the cathedral and see that there is a whole city of workers scurrying about (well, it they are paid by the hour, they are not scurrying) as they put the vision of the architects into creation. Most cathedrals took centuries to complete and so viewing an actual-being-built-as-you-stand-there cathedral is quite thrilling. And we went from the top of the spires to the museum in the basement to see the ongoing workshop of creative talent beneath the cathedral.

The price of admission helps pay for its completiong. The time and expense of getting here was worth it, this is so impressive. But, the Protestant boy in me is constantly wondering......

We viewed the video of the dedication of the Cathedral from just last year. There was the King and Queen of Spain, dignitaries, church dignitaries, crowds of people and the Pope. And within the dedication was Holy Communion and I realized that were I present, I would not be welcome to partake. And the words of my favorite perruqueria masculina in Barcelona come back to me..."Porque?"

Bob and the wise Perruqueria Masculina (who also said I had great hair, which is so true)

Peace,   Bob

El Rey en La Camba (Muy Frio)

"I'll take the "hoke" fish and have it grilled." I tell the waiter at the restaurant.
"Oh sir, you don't want that fish, we'll get you the monkfish grilled." he coaches me.
"And for you Madam?" he asks Makaila.
"I'll have this type of fish" she points to the menu.
"You want it with this sauce?"  he enquirers.
"What would you suggest? replies Makaila.
"Not that sauce, try this sauce, it is more buttery."
"Fine, I'll go with that. says Makaila.
"You have both made excellent choices!" shouts the waiter.

With rain threatening, we walked several blocks away to this major street called, Las Ramblas. I noted that at various places along the way it referred to itself as "The Worlds Most Exciting Street."

I'll give the Barcelonins credit for hyped promotion but they may not have been far from the truth...probably not on this particular Sunday but I imagine when the tourist season gets going, this street is one of the more exciting around. It is about a mile long boulevard with a center section just for the people to promenade. It is the place to see and be seen, (and of course, that is where I am going to gravitate if I am in town.)

You have your usual selection of street performers and immigrants selling watches, shoes and childrens toys and you have high-end fashion stores and trendy restaurants. (And some familiar American favorites like "Subway," "McDonalds" and "Dominos.") But the over all feel is of "street fair." And I get the feeling that the vast majority of folks were Barcelonins, the tourist season has not arrived and the locals have not yet surrended their beloved Ramblas to foreigners....yet.

But, if you look off on the side streets and some beautiful town squares off the main-drag you'll find numerous flea-markets.

We wandered through one that had hundreds of sellers of coins and stamps....and cigar bands.....and champaign tops (the little metal tops over the corks). I had never paid attention to those things and probably have opened only a half dozen bottles of champaign in my life but obviously lots of people have and they have a thriving trade champaign caps. The men traided them as if they were life-giving amulets. The also were trading beer bottle caps with great seriousness. I watched one man take a couple Heineken caps from his notebook with all the delicacy of a surgeon replacing a heart valve...probably more so....hey, this is a beer cap of great value! I made a mental note to save my PBR caps and return to Las Ramblas and impress the natives some day.

Along the way were three cathedrals which I wished to see. One was on the west side of the Ramblas and we wandered through the labyrinth of streets and came upon this old looking (surprise) cathedral, which alas, had seen better days. About a half dozen men were not collecting wine corks but they clearly had opened a few recently and the steel fence gates were shuttered. I guess once mass was done in this neighborhood, it was lights out...and we moved on.

The second cathedral was wedged into a small square off the major street. I know it is not that the cathedral was "wedged in" but that the city had grown up around it and thus it appeared wedged in. Had I not been looking for it, I would have walked on by. It too was locked tight, though there would be a flamenco guitar concert that evening in the sanctuary and judging by the cost, this wasn't a couple college students singing Bob Dylan. There was a picture of the sanctuary and that was all I saw.

In between times we walked Las Ramblas to the Sea. At the beach, the Mediterranean, was the harbor with sail boats and some cruise ships about a mile further west. All of Barcelona was there. Since it is February, the sea breeze was a bit cool, but the rain clouds stayed away and the sun played tag with us as we walked along underneath the huge pillar and statue of Christopher Columbus pointing dramatically to the New World. Spain claims the guy and is proud of him. Nobody asked, but I think we may have been the only two from the Columbus, Ohio area and their seemed a bit of symmetry to being there.

A final cathedral to see if we could fine....and when we find it....we hoped it was open. This is the famous "Catedral Barri Gothic" and we found it open for business. And indeed it was...they had an entrance fee and that was fair enough, the church was undergoing major restoration.

Like some other of the Barcelona Cathedrals, there is bare cinder block and bare stone...the effect is actually quite refreshing. But this cathedral had numerous chapels which were fenced off. The cloister was quiet and beautiful with 13 white geese...part of the legend of the 13 year old girl who told the non-Christian King to stop persecuting the Christians. The King then devised 13 tortures for this young girl....one for each year of her life. Fortunately the church did not detail all those tortures though one was putting her in barrel filled with knives and cut glass and rolling it down hill. Alas, she survived them all and today they have 13 geese residing in the cloister.

Great legend and it was fortunate for the girl that she was but 13 and fortunate for the caretakers of the cathedral today that there are but 13 geese. Knowing geese as we do...can you imagine her fate and ours if she had been 100 when she confronted the king?

Peace,  Bob