The Crystal Palace now sits empty (it was once a greenhouse) but is still a striking structure. The palace is nestled in Retiro park, located in a very affluent section of Madrid. The park is massive and was fun to wonder around in. At Cibeles, there is a tower with a viewing platform that gives a fantastic vista of the surrounding area.
Both of these building are more modern, dating to the 19th and 20th centuries. With my love of the historical, I made sure to visit the archeological museum. The exhibits ranged from prehistory to the early modern area. This gave me a great opportunity to learn about the Iberian Peninsula and the peoples who lived there. The museum had several in depth exhibits over the different burial rights and traditions for several of the different societies.
After my time in Madrid, I took a Blablacar to Alicante. I stayed
with a German who was living in Spain. It was nice to get to practice
speaking before jumping in head first in Munich. Alicante is beautiful,
located on Costa Blanca on the Mediterranean. Of course, I had to go for
a swim. The waves were a lot stronger than I expected but I had a lot
of fun bobbing up and down in them. After splashing around to my heart’s
content, I walked up to Santa Barbara Castle. The current castle dates
to the Muslim rule of Spain. They controlled the castle until the middle
of the 13th century when it was conquered
by Castilian forces, and then fifty years later was captured by the
Aragon military. From the top, you can see the sea on one side and the
mountains in the distance on the other side.
When I was done wondering around all the nooks that I could find, I headed back down on the other side of the fortress. I made my way back to where I was staying through the old town, which was a mish-mash of colorful houses, people sitting out and enjoying the evening and flowers blooming around every doorstep.
On Friday morning, I took a train to Barcelona. In Barcelona, I was determined to spend as much of my time as possible enjoying the cool evenings outside. I love sitting out on the patio, having some tea or dinner while the city bustled all around me
One evening I went to see the “magical fountain” which has a light and music show from 9-11 each night. The plaza around the area was packed with people- lots of entrepreneurs setting up stalls to sell drinks, food, and toys. My favorite thing about Barcelona was MUHBA. MUHBA is Barcelona’s history museum (surprise, surprise). The building covers a vast area where there are ruins from the roman times that have exposed the buried buildings and road ways.
As my last stop before heading to Germany, I spoiled myself with a trip to the spa. I found an app called Atrapalo, where spas post discounts for their slow times. It was a nice place and I had the majority of the place to myself, which was relaxing. Luckily for me my plane didn’t leave until the next afternoon, so I got to sleep in and go at my own place.
Now, I am in Germany with my study abroad group. We are about twenty
students, mostly from the University of Kansas and the University of
Arkansas… Jay Hawks… + Razor Backs… = Jay Hogs!--
Follow Claire on her travels to Germany at https://nutzedentagdot.wordpress.com
Read more about studying German with the University of Arkansas
