Tapas y Pinchos #HogsAborad in Germany

After Andorra, I took a bus to Zaragoza. One of the main goals for my time in Spain is to explore the Muslim influence on its development. Zaragoza was conquered by Muslims in the early 8^th century. Their influence can still be seen today in places such as the Aljaferia Palace. After four centuries, Christians conquered the city and it became the capital of Aragon. Like most things historical, I find the topics very interesting. I am so excited to get to see the remnants of these great societies first hand!

When I arrived in Zaragoza, the first order of business was to find my Airbnb. I had such a horrible time trying to locate it. It turns out that the person had moved apartments but not updated their information. This was complicated by a language barrier and not being able to hook into the city’s wifi for some unknown reason. A local let me borrow their phone and call and learn about the move, and get the new address.

That’s literally the best thing about travelling—the locals. The locals are always so kind and helpful. They really go out of their way to help travelers out. For example, the local who let me borrow her phone, wrote down the new address and walked me to the street it was on. Locals are such a blessing—there are many scrapes and situations I would not have gotten out of if it weren’t for them. I hope to one day be able to return the favor and pay it forward with others…

But, aside from that sentimental rant, it took several hours to figure out the Airbnb situation. Therefore, my sightseeing was restricted to just a few places. However, Zaragoza was truly beautiful. I spent the rest of the evening walking around the old town and exploring the streets. In Spain, Tapas and Pinchos are everywhere. I’m not exactly sure where they come from, but they seem really prominent in Basque Country. They are little snacks, served in a variety of ways. The locals stressing trying some in every city to appreciate the diversity of food.

After exploring Zaragoza, I travelled to Bilbao. Bilbao was the financial hub in the region under the Spanish Empire. The old town consists of seven streets, which per my Airbnb hosts’ advice, I walked in a snake-like pattern. The old area was beautiful and reminded me a lot of the French Quarter. Bilbao is also famous for it’s Pinchos, which is just about anything on a skewer. Like Tapas, the locals recommend going from place to place and buying one at each in order to get a diverse Pinchos experience.

The whole time I was out exploring it was raining. I was soaked through pretty quickly, but it was warm enough and fascinating enough that I just kept going. My favorite thing was Las Columnas de Alhondiga. The building had a large open first floor with numerous pillars supporting the upper floors. Each pillar had a unique design and locals were doing all sorts of activities- skateboarding, studying, hanging out with friends, eating, and on and on.

The next morning, I took a Blablacar to Vallodolid. Which I can not pronounce at all.

One of the other passengers was a student from Italy, who is studying in Spain. She and I hit it off (as lonely travelers do) and ended up going around together. Most of the places were closed on Monday, so we ended up going out with her host who gave us our own personal tour of the city. Also, he brought his dog, which is really hard to top as a fun factor. I had such a great time with both of them and hope to keep in touch. On Tuesday, we went to the museum and cathedral before heading our separate ways. I went on to Madrid… but more about that, next time.
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Follow Claire on her travels to Germany at https://nutzedentagdot.wordpress.com

Read more about studying German with the University of Arkansas.