Catch Up!

Oh Dear! This is my first long-term blog. I am quickly finding out that a travel blog must be kept up with or there will be huge gaps.--- ( La Puerta- this post will be a long one so it may have to be broken up into parts)

So, I spent a week in Madrid. I met with friends on a couple of (lovely) occasions, which helped a lot with Spanish ability.

I also walked a LOT, taking pictures all the while. I went back to the river park. On my way down to it I saw a small flock of parrots. These are released pets that have established a population around the river.

I took a ton more picture of the river and the things around it. It is a beautiful park that was built two years ago, so it's brand new. There are tons of amazing bridges- old and new. 

It was a quite week for me. I mainly cooked a big breakfast and a big dinner for myself at home each day- to save money and eat right. One of the most exciting things I did all week was go to the Prado Museum.   http://www.museodelprado.es/en  I had spent  many days there as teenager, and loved it at the time. I forgot how much I enjoy seeing in person the pieces that form the foundation of what we call fine art. These works have been studied by millions of people and they were an inspiration to the artists that came after them.

Art was a huge part of my education, I looked at the collected works of all of the most famous European painters from the 1400's to the 1900's. It is always so impressive to see these paintings in person. They show the development of European culture and the greatest historical events of each painter's life. Of course, the majority of the pieces in the Prado have to do with Christian imagery and symbolism, but that is just as interesting as the technique.

I have tickets to go to the other two big museums in Madrid, but they won't expire any time soon so I think I'll go to one before I go to Cáceres and one another time. BUT, now I am in Switzerland (where I have also gone to a couple museums).


WOW!! I had not thought too much about what Switzerland would be like. I just thought about spending time with my family. My uncle and cousin live in Lausanne. My uncle suggested that I get a Swiss Pass so that I could have unlimited train and boat rides, as well as museum admittance. It was a great idea.

My aunt and I flew in on Friday night. My cousin had a ski race on Saturday, so I spent the day walking around Lausanne with my aunt and along the lake front by myself. The lake is the largest in Europe- not on the surface, but in terms of quantity of water because it is so deep. It is on the edge of the Alps and part of the lake front is owned by France. So that when I stand on the balcony and look across the lake the mountains I see on the other side are in France.->

It was so strange to suddenly be surrounded by by French. Imagine my surprise when my family and I took a drive into the mountains the next day, and the language changed to German! The change did not happen gradually and we did not drive far. The mountains town are pretty close together. We were driving through towns with French names and French signs and then a few kilometers up the road, we were in towns with German names and German signs.

I have experienced this acutely while on the trains. I get on the train in Lausanne every morning, surrounded by people speaking French. As we get into German areas, and people get on and off the train, the language being spoken on the train changes and I get off in a town where everyone speaks German! The first couple of days my mind just reeled. I said that Switzerland is the land of a thousand languages. Because there is also an Italian side (I'm going there tomorrow), and a Romansch side (which I will pass through tomorrow). But, besides the four official languages of the country, most people speak English, and there are a ton of immigrants in Switzerland, so I often hear Russian, Portuguese and Arabic, to name a few. Not to mention all of the tourists speaking Japanese and Korean. As I said, my mind reeled.

Switzerland is so beautiful. I have taken hundreds of pictures, which I hope to get up in my picasa account soon. https://picasaweb.google.com/108130257872901649119/SuisseSchweiz . This week I have been leaving for the train station between 7-8am everyday and getting home between 6-7pm. So, with time to shower, visit with my family, and eat some dinner- I have not had much time to spend uploading photos. I have already been working on this blog post for three days.

On Monday I rode the panoramic, sightseeing train through the Alps. It was spellbinding, a truly wonderful experience. Yesterday, Tuesday, I went to Basel, an old city on the Rhine ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine ), and ate lunch overlooking the river. It really impressed me as a huge and powerful waterway, it is the widest, fastest flowing river I have ever seen.

I also went to the Kunstmuseum of fine art in Basel. It covered 500 years of painters and sculptures who are native to this general area- German, French, and Italian. I really enjoy getting to see the way artists represent the cultural growth of these areas that I am getting to know. I see the people around as being connected to the land, language, food, agriculture, and architecture; and I can see the progress of all of these things in the paintings.

Today I rode a boat around a big lake. The lake is surrounded by high peaks; but the clouds were in all day so though I knew they were there, I could not see them. Nevertheless, it was really pleasant and I did take a bunch of photos.

Tomorrow I am going on another panoramic scenic train route. (For La Puerta- and I am going to visit Iren's son and family!!!) I will go through the Romansch area and arrive in the Italian part. Across a lake from Italy, in fact. I will take tons of pictures. I am not sure what I will do on Friday, maybe go to Milan!

I hope I take some more time to reflect on my time in Switzerland before I move on to all things Spanish. One thing I have learned (one of a great meany things) is that Switzerland has tons of beautiful lakes high in the mountains, surrounded by peaks. I am so happy to find myself in such magnificent scenery.

Thank you all. Please comment and ask questions. As I said this is my first real blog, so I will learn how to improve  with your feedback.

Much love, peace, and happiness. Be well~ A.B.

Los Principios

My arrival was smooth and easy. My aunt picked me up at the airport, took me to her apartment and left for work. I spent an hour or two eating and unpacking before I left to go buy a phone and a map. Then I came back to the house and slept for an hour, for although it was 2pm here, it was 7am in NM.

Then I went walking. I had a destination in mind- the plaza where I have spent the most time in Madrid. But, somehow, when out on the street I just started walking. I looked at my map occasionally, finding where I was again and again. Yet never walking in the direction I intended. It was a fun way to get lost. Eventually I asked someone how to get to Plaza del Sol (the center of Spain) and he helped me mightily.

By the time the sun was going down I had made it my plazita (Plaza Santa Ana) to a renowned restaurant where I had spent many hours as a teenager. They recognized me, greeted me enthusiastically and served me some warm hake (merluza) and a cold beer (a small serving is called a caña). After the merluza I still felt hungry so I asked for another caña and some croquetas. Finishing my meal, I was completely stuffed, I walked home slowly and without using my map.

I had decided to spend the next day reading in a park I didn't know. Not any specific park, just any one that I was not familiar with. Looking at my map in the morning I found to my surprise and delight that the river running through Madrid is the Rio Manzanares! (A brief note: One of the students at La Puerta and a good friend of mine is named Rio Manzanares)

Leaving the house just before noon, I made a bee-line through the park, down the hill to the river. I forgot until I arrived there that water and bridges are two of my favorite things to photograph! I strolled and snapped shots until my camera battery died. At which point I sat by an awesome bridge, reading and wishing I could photograph it. I think I may have to spend another whole day by the river, and I may have to go back to that bridge. It had three points of contact with the bank (ribera), it was Y shaped!

After walking through parts of town I had never seen, I eventually made it home to put some more layers on to protect against the cold before going out to meet a friend, Jose. I rode the metro down to see him, back to Plaza del Sol. We walked to a small restaurant that I had eaten at with him one of the last evenings we spent together nine years ago.

It was so enjoyable to see him, to talk of our friends and family, and to be speaking Spanish. He told me my Spanish is really bad. Nobody I know in Madrid has much time for me right now, so I'm going to have to work hard to have conversations (beyond asking for the check) everyday. I am not going to worry, I have a long time to learn a lot. But, I must be proactive about the time I have and improving my skills daily, at least at the start (a principio).