Burrrrrrgos

As the bus sped down the highway, I looked nervously out the window at the brown Spanish landscape. Sparse shacks sprinkled the land. For a few seconds, I panicked. Was I going to spend the next six months on top of an unpopulated mountain?

Fortunately, as the clock neared 10:45am, a town appeared, its little buildings swallowing the bus in its Castilian stomach. I craned my neck to see as much as I could through the bus window. I saw European houses, all different colors, all old and cartoon-like. I was reminded of the Benelux region. A mixture of cobblestone and gray cement reflected the morning sun in the puddles left over from the earlier rainfall. People were just appearing on the streets. It was small, but definitely not as sparse and forlorn as I had expected.

Walking out of the bus station, I was greeted by a stately arc, decorated with statues and turrets. Typical Castilla León. It was as though the arc was saying to me, "Bienvenida a Burgos*" and ushering me into the heart of the city. Behind the arc, the Burgos cathedral towered majestically, its gothic splendor bathing in the November sun. The Burgos cathedral, La Catedral de Santa María, is the third largest cathedral in Spain. As the Spaniards like to say, it's muy impresionante.** I have seen many gothic cathedrals in my 20 years, but I never cease to be amazed by these ornate, colossal structures, built by human hands over centuries.

Burgos is an interesting and comfortable mix of the old and the new (where else are you going to see an antique, castle-like structure next to a Vodafone? Or bank headquarters in what looks like a medieval fort?), but the word that I think describes it best is charming. It's charming. The center boasts little streets and plazas lined with colorful homes--mauve, yellow, cyan, ivory--and various restaurants and cafés whose warm yellow lights are welcoming after the sun sets. Modern businesses rupture the antique homeliness, but it is 2009.

El Paseo de Espolón, one of Burgos' most beautiful and walkable streets, looks like a modern art exhibit. Chunky trees resembling ginger roots line either side of the street, their callused fingers reaching up to the sky. While some of the trees still sport some leaves, the majority is bald and exposed to the changing season. Leaves cover the ground, coloring it gold and rosy red. At night, the blue and purple lights illuminate the street, making it look like wonderland.

It's a far cry from Madrid, but Burgos, here I come!

*welcome to Burgos

**very impressive

P.S.-According to my friends, my pronunciation of Burgos is highly entertaining and Russian-sounding, hence the title of this post.