wheREISEmil

Iberian de-briefing.

After nine days of traveling to/through Spain and Portugal I am back in Munich and extremely happy with my entire trip itinerary! Nine full days of sightseeing, walking, photographing, sharing images, enjoying the wonderfull atmospheres of Girona, Barcelona, Lisbon, Valencia and Alicante.

What did I learn so far:

• never under-estimate your physical condition, especially your legs! Travelling can be a blessing but at some point the distance quota per day of your feet is reached and even if you want to see more you just can’t even if you’re wearing the most comfortable shoes ever built by mankind! That’s the point when I started making small pauses when slightly tired. I also started using the public transport (metro/bus) from time to time even if the distance to the next sightseeing spot is not that big (esp. in cities with some distinct mountainous character like Lisbon!). You never know how steep the steps of the next church tower are!

• having a plan always helps! Both a city map and a daily sightseeing itinerary. Just for some slight orientation. But: It’s always awesome to get lost in a foreign city (well, not necessarily in Marseille around midnight), to stroll through the narrow paths, have a coffee at some cute little café and then get back to your pre-destined track. I always calculate a more tight schedule, so afterwards I have more time to do some shopping, relaxing at the beach, in a café, etc.

• booking a hotel with a shared bathroom isn’t quite nice but an option which might be interesting if you want to book an affordable hotel in the center of a huge touristic destination. Like Barcelona. Or St. Petersburg.

• Flying low-cost is awesome! This is something I approve every year. Over and over again! When you are familiar with all the regulations of flying lowcost airlines (Ryanair, easyjet, wizzair, etc.) like carry-on baggage limitations, compulsory online check-in & printed boarding pass, free seating, no frills etc. you’re gonna love it. It might be a little bothering flying from and to remote airports, but when you pay 30 Euros with Ryanair from Memmingen to Barcelona Girona instead of 350 Euros with Lufthansa from Munich to Barcelona El Prat, you’ll understand. Besides: consider the transfer shuttles as a kind of sightseeing opportunity! Or a nap opportunity!

I hope you enjoyed the trips as much as I did!

The first and only day in Alicante.

My morning intercity bus was around 7 am, so getting up early in Valencia was a major issue. Nevertheless I made it to Alicante after 2.5 hours of smooth travel.
The good thing about Alicante is that the number of the sightseeing spots is really limited. One of the most interesting cultural things is visiting the quiet San Nicolás de Bari Procathedral. The exterior is everything but spectacular, but the interior is stunning. And with a nice odour!
Around the corner you’ll find Santa María Church, also a pretty place to see.
The workout attraction however is the Castle of Santa Bárbara which is situated on a top of the hill Monte Benacantil just in Alicante. Instead of climbing it by foot I preferred the elevator. The view is great, you see entire Alicante, the surrounding areas, the beaches…
Talking about beaches… the last and “main attraction” was just under my nose… literally: The beach of Postiguet is just under the castle: nice sand, lots of people, sun and fun! The ideal way of finishing this fantastic vacation and then heading to the airport of Alicante, where I boarded my Ryanair afternoon flight back to Memmingen, Germany.

Last day in Valencia.

Day two in Valencia was relaxing. The programme was a visit of the Central Market of Valencia, a quick stop by the Silk Exchange and then hitting the Levante Beach and the La Malvarossa Beach, then going back to Valencia downtown, climbing the 207 steps of the bell tower of Valencia Cathedral and the Santa Catalina church (let’s call it a workout).
And then having some coffee and some traditional churros with Yanko (a designer) and Emiliano (an opera singer), two awesome amd extremely funny folks from Valencia and spending a hilarious evening with them!

Thank you for the great time, Valencia! Thank you, guys!

Good-bye Lisbon, hello Valencia! Day one.

Today was my last (partial) day in Lisbon. I used it to get to the airport and fly further to Valencia, Spain.
It was quite a temperature shock: windy, cloudy weather in Lisbon with 18°C vs. sunny, cloudless sky in Valencia with hot 30°C.
It turns out the hotel I booked is some super-duper four-star place with huge bathrooms, lange comfy beds and a… confusing concierge.
The day one cultural programme could be accomplished without big problems: I could visit the famous Estacion del Norte and the Plaza de Toros. Then straight to the Valencia Cathedral. It holds the world’s one true Holy Grail… they say.
Just behind the Cathedral I bumped into another church service held in Basilica de la Virgen de los Desamparados. I am getting really good at bumping into large groups of old vulnerable religious people…
From there I continued the walk to the Gardens of Turia. This is a large and loooong park that crosses complete Valencia. It used to be a former river bed. Now it’s a beautiful equivalent of the English garden in Munich.
At the end of these gardens you will see the most amazing architecture structures that you might expect in a park: Queen Sofía Palace of the Arts, the IMAX L’Hemisferic, Príncipe Felipe Science Museum and the Oceanographic department.
Valencia’s metro stations aren’t quite smart positioned, so I had to walk a lot but it was worth it!

The second (and last) day in Lisbon.

The day was supposed to run unter the motto “Less walking, more riding”. It didn’t end up that way…
The morning was dedicated to the 25th of April Bridge, a Golden Gate Bridge lookalike, that goes south over Rio Tejo from Lisbon to Almeda/Setúbal. Just after the bridge there is a huge statue of Jesus Christ, dedicated to Lisbon which remained intact in the WWII.
The afternoon brought me back into downtown Lisbon and visiting the Monastery of Sao Vicente de Fora, the National Pantheon, then some candy for my legs: riding the Santa Justa Elevator: a 45-meter old-fashioned elevator having nearly the same design as the Eiffel tower in Paris. Funny story: our elevator got stuck. But we made it to the top nevertheless. Then a quick visit in the nearby Carmo Convent, which used to be the biggest church in Lisbon, which was destroyed by a heavy earthquake in 1755.
The evening was rounded up by a chilly walk in the Rua Augusta Street and in the wavefront boulevard.
Lisbon is a very special city. A superb mixture between Barcelona, Split, Marseille, Budapest, Istanbul and… Helsinki.

Day one in Lisbon.

Well, technically seen it’s day 2 since I arrived yesterday in the evening. Boarding my TAP Lortugal flight from Barcelona to Lisbon was really hard: firstly, I fell in love with Barcelona, secondly, my knees were killing me from all the walking on the same day. Nevertheless, 2 hours later I landed in Lisbon. The TAP Portugal crew even provided the non-fish sandwich I ordered (how can airlines still serve fish on regional routes?)
Today was the day I… got lost in Portugal’s capital. Deliberately. I started my day in a very chilly way: walking down the narrow streets, having my coffee, looking around… Then started my official sightseeing fiasco by heading to the Belém tower (UNESCO world heritage site), en route to it climbing up the majestic Padrão dos Descobrimentros monument, erected to praise many Portuguese explorers. You can see the 25th April bridge from the top (the San Francisco Golden Gate lookalike). After exploring the Belém district I returned to Lisbon and (again) spontaneously desided to climb up to the Castelo de São Jorge. Most of the way I walked then after my knee’s warning lamps went off and on continuously, I switched onto the awesome Lisbon trams. These guys brake like hell. It is something of a Lisboa Drift. While climbing I had a glimpse into several churches, among others Santa Maria Maior. It’s Sunday, so the churches were having the regular church services…
The view from the Castelo is awesome. See for yourself!