Vicky Cristina-less Barcelona Part I

Living in Spain for three months and not visiting Barcelona is pretty much a sin, considering Barcelona is viewed as the toast of Spain, a haven of beaches and unique architecture, with enough clubs and restaurants to satisfy anyone's palate. Therefore, before heading back to the United States, I decided to visit the Catalan capital and experience for myself the ciudad* that I had heard so much about (yes, partially thanks to Woody Allen). Ok, and the linguist in me was terribly curious to hear Catalan spoken, too. Unfortunately, Barcelona greeted me with cold and unpleasant weather, so I did not spend much time on the beach. However, I saw a great deal of other things that Barcelona has to offer, ones that weren't so season specific.

Upon my arrival in the city--after a completely uneventful plane ride--I set out, after lunch at the historic Café Zürich, on a walk through some of Barcelona's most notable neighborhoods: La Rambla, Barrio Gótico,** and Barceloneta. La Rambla is Barcelona's most famous street. It is a long boulevard, stretching from Plaça Catalunya to Plaça del Portal de la Pau, and it is lined with stores, souvenir shops, kiosks (some of them selling live chickens), probably the highest density of street performers in Spain, and Gaudi's Palau Güell. There are tons of tourists, despite the Catalan people's disdain for foreigners. Sorry, Cataluña, you can't be independent from Spain and be tourist-free.

Off of La Rambla is the Barrio Gótico, an old neighborhood with tiny, narrow streets, stone buildings, and the Barcelona Cathedral, the interior of which I visited at night, thus resulting in dark, low quality photographs that would only take up space if I posted them on here. The cathedral boasted an impressive nativity scene, which was uniquely beautiful amidst the colossal arches and flying buttresses of the cathedral. There was also a herd of gandering geese, whose presence I am still not quite clear about...Never mind, I suppose.

Barceloneta, which means little Barcelona, is the seaside neighborhood. Crowds of boats gently rock in the sunkissed, piercing blue Mediterranean Sea. People stroll down the pier to the mall that stands on the edge of the water. Modern statues appear here and there, contributing to Barcelona's already storybook appearance. A strip of clubs and bars lines the beach, topped by a giant Frank Gehry creation that resembles a whale. Appropriate. Houses in Barceloneta are old, colorful, and quaint--and as I learned firsthand, some of them don't have central heating.

To be continued...

*city

**Gothic Quarter

Madrid, Te Amo*

I am sort of obsessed with this picture I took of downtown Madrid tonight:

Unfortunately, my camera was not able to do this view total justice.

*I love you

Crushed Dreams

Everyone is familiar with cinematic daydreaming sequences. The person is blissfully floating in sweet thoughts, pretty music is playing, and then reality ruthlessly hits and the music halts with an askew, atonal chord. Well, that's what happened to me while I was fantasizing about the end of finals and my last week in Spain, fun-filled and worry free. Bam. British Airways strike. Apparently, the cabin crew has voted to strike for higher wages, which may possibly cancel all flights between December 22 and January 2. I am due to fly home on December 23. British Airways, get your bloody act together! I want go home on the day that I payed $600 to go home on!

Swiss is Delicious

Google images did not fail me. Upon entering downtown Zürich, I was greeted by the exact view that I had been expecting: cottage-like houses lining the river, bridges, clock towers, and Germanic churches popping out of the low line of roofs. The Limmat River, glittering despite the dull, overcast sky that hung over the city until my last day there, joins with the vast Lake Zürich, leading the eyes past the rippled water to the Swiss houses lining the lake to the magnificent Alps in the distance. Complete serenity, if you ignore the deranged, rambunctious seagulls that circulate the harbor, squawking Swiss nonsense.

Every half hour, the deep sound of church bells fills every corner of the city, penetrating even the busy bustle of Bahnofstrasse, an avenue commercially similar to Paris' Rue de Rivoli that ends in Zürich's train station, Hauptbahnhof. The Hauptbahnhof is worth mentioning because it houses Zürich's Christmas market. Dozens of stalls, side to side, fill up the space, displaying a plethora of items: candles, ornaments, potpourri, baking forms, food (and much to my pleasant surprise, free samples), scarves, jewelry, and a whole lot more. A giant Christmas tree adorns one end of the market. From far away, the tree appears to be covered in fresh frost, but upon closer examination, the tree is actually covered in Swarovski crystals, with crystal toys on display around the base.

Yes, Zürich is almost a fairytale place, but despite its charming Alpine beauty and exquisite food (coughSprünglicough), one needs to be very financially stable to keep busy in Zürich because it is a ridiculously expensive city. As much as I enjoy simply wandering the streets of foreign locales, it does eventually get boring--and Zürich is small--especially when it costs too much to relax in a café somewhere.

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The order of blog business is as follows:

1. Zürich

2. goodbye Madrid

The problem is finding time to write.

I Went to Salzburg and All I Got Was a Mild Stick Beating From a Demon

The crowd parted rather quickly, loud enough for me not to discern between screams of awe and laughter. I saw a shaggy-haired demon heading towards me, staring venemously with tiny, rubber, black dots--eyes. I panicked and turned rapidly to follow my friends, but the demon had found his target. He grabbed my arm and lightly hit me with a stick. The crowd was amused but quickly closed in again. The demon disappeared, the sound of his stick hitting the sidewalk the only marker of his presence.

No, the Alpine yuletide does not involve public humiliation. I had walked right into the middle of an old pagan tradition: men dressing up as demons and running around with sticks, hitting people. Welcome to Christmastime in Salzburg, Austria, a tiny valley town alive with history and beauty, surrounded by the Alps, and at this time of the year, decked out in Christmas markets, which warm the December chill, and weird traditions.

So I was lucky enough to be properly initiated into Salzburg, but despite the title of this post, that wasn't all I did. The highlight of my weekend in Salzburg was the Sound of Music tour, a four-hour endeavor that took me to all the classic film's principle locations: the lake, the houses used as the front and back of the Von Trapp residence, the gazebo, and St. Michael's church--from the wedding scene--which is located in the small town of Mondsee just outside of Salzburg. It was amazing, as well as mildly surreal, seeing all the places that had existed only on my television for thirteen years. However, my favorite part of the tour was seeing the Austrian countryside through the windows of the tour bus as it rolled down the autobahn.* I saw rolling green fields, the towering Alps, glistening lakes, and small houses dotting the uneven terrain. I had the opportunity to get off the bus and take pictures of the town of St. Gilgen--and Wolfgangsee, the lake--and Mondsee, which is one of those charming Alpine towns that only seem to exist on postcards.

Salzburg itself is a charming Alpine town, the likes of which also appear on postcards: old European buildings, churches, orange-lit Christmas markets selling traditional glühwein (hot spiced wine) and stollen (Christmas bread), and the ambiance of local authenticity. Despite modern times, Germanic tradition seems to be deeply rooted in Salzburg. St. Nicholas walks around, distributing peanuts and candy to children, the demons float through the crowds with their sticks, carolers sing on the steps of the Dom Cathedral, and vendors at the market dole out--for money, of course--every handcrafted good imaginable. The Christmas spirit is alive and well, and despite the evening chill, I'm happy to be there among the demons.

*highway

Say Cheese

I think I have eaten more cheese in the last 24 hours than I have eaten in the last several weeks. I'm pleasantly surprised that my heart is still functioning properly. Good. There's always room for more cheese, but not more $30 fondue.

In Case I Overdose on Quality Cheese and Chocolate...

I would like to throw several words your way before parting with my beloved keyboard for almost a week to traverse through a small, albeit exciting, portion of the Alps region. Technically, that was the first order of business, but I will expand on the topic. Tomorrow evening, I leave for Zürich, Switzerland (I'm obsessed with umlauts, but that one really does belong there). Switzerland, to me, seems like a veritable wonderland of beauty, with little streets and quaint houses, all situated around water, with the snow-capped mountains looming in the background. I have wanted to visit Switzerland for quite some time now. Apart from being in love with its beauty (I've only seen pictures, but if Google images convince me, can you imagine what the actual country will do?), I find Switzerland's melange of cultures and languages fascinating. I will come back bearing stories of this seemingly mystical place, along with the more tangible treasures that are cheese and chocolate.

The wonderful thing about Europe is its proximity to everything else in Europe, so while in the Swiss region of this spectacular continent, I will also be visiting Salzburg, Austria. Six years ago, I had the opportunity to see Vienna, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I am sure Salzburg will be just as wonderful, especially because I will be going on the Sound of Music tour! Considering I was raised on that splendid film, I am horribly excited. Doe, a deer, a female deer...

Third order of business? I'm addicted to coffee. Perhaps I should create a separate bank account for java expenses.