spain: montserrat

the next day i woke up and decided to go for another day trip...i made sure i was up early enough to walk to the train station and catch the earliest train to montserrat...it's a popular enough place to visit for tourists that the ticket machines offer a special combined (train and cable car) ticket...very convenient, yay!!
the train took me to a stop called montserrat, then i crossed the tracks and got in the queue for the cable car...the cable car took everyone halfway up the mountain...from there you can hop on a funicular to go higher up, or you can hike higher up without taking the funicular...

people go to montserrat because it's a beautiful location, and because it offers two things: culture and nature...montserrat is a monastery halfway up a mountrain...the outside of each building is rather bland, but the insides are very nice looking...the basilica is beautiful, and big...on the back wall, a little over halfway up the wall is a display case showing the black virgin...
there is a separate queue to go up close to the black virgin, i joined the line...when i jumped in, it was 'only' a 45 minute line, walking through several chapels along the way...

the guidebook says the queue is more than 2 hrs long later in the day...wow! there is someone standing close to the black virgin who keeps the line moving, you only get a few second by yourself in front of the black virgin...
by the time i got out of that line, the basilica was closed until 1200 for a worship service...to fill time, i started walking...i ended up going all the way up to where the funicular takes people...i had great views the whole time, looking out over the area...awesome...i was hot, and hoping the heat rash and heat exhaustion from the day before didn't get worse...two russian guys also hiking took off their shirts when they got hot...

as i returned to the basilica, i arrived not too long before another service started, this one open to visitors...the priest started by welcoming everyone in spanish, english, french, italian, and german...the first prayer was the Lord's Prayer, i loved hearing it spoken in all the languages of the visitors...
to get back to barcelona i did everything in reverse...cable car down the mountain, train back to the city...
if i had the chance, i'd go back to montserrat for more hiking!

spain: tarragona

tarragona is a UNESCO listed heritage city, about an hour from barcelona, south along the coast...a perfect day trip, since i was using barcelona as my base...my original plan was to see tarragona and a town called sitges in one day, but i ended up spending more time in tarragona than planned, and the public transport options between the two weren't very amenable to my plan...oh well...
the train dropped me off in tarragona, and i made my way up a hill and found the information office...they gave me a city map, an information brochure about the city, and ticket prices for the sights that make up the UNESCO listing...

to keep statistics, the info people asked me where i'm from...i told them i didn't know how to answer the question, as my citizenship is american, but i now live in ukraine...i dont know which box they checked for me...
i used the map to make my way to the closest sight, and bought an entrance ticket that allowed me access to all the sights in town for a simple 11 euro...awesome price, and it made everything convenient, especially since the ticket was good for two days...

my first sight was the former roman forum...there wasn't much left of this one, it was a bit hard to imagine how it used to be...it was during this stop that i started to realize it was going to be a hot day filled with sun sun sun...
along the streets to my next walk, i found a market building, the outside of which was covered with graffiti/paintings of the vendors inside...very cool looking...
i walked to the former city walls, when the city was roman...with my ticket i was able to walk nearly all the way around...some of the walls have been rebuilt, but not everything...it's a peaceful walk, or at least it is when there aren't too many other people around...

as i got to the end of the wall section i explored, i found a gate giving me entrance to the old city...i followed a few signs and eventually found the cathedral...there is only a small platz in front of the cathedral, no good way for me to get a photo of the whole front...the main entrance has statues of saints (i think) above it...very impressive...
the inside of the church is pretty big, with a main worship area in the middle...as i walked in, i realized mass was happening, but the church wasn't at all closed off...thankfully, all the visitors i could see were being respectful, and not walking down the middle aisle...

the sides of the church were all made into smaller chapels...some of the chapels had gates in front, some weren't blocked off at all...i don't know what the reasons were...
postcards in tarragona were expensive, i was excited when i found some for 'only' 40cents euro...i had to buy more drinking water, as i'd already drunk the 1.5L contained i'd brought with me...
my next sight was the old circ, which was also a history museum...i found it rather confusing to figure out where to go to see everything...there was an area that allowed me to look out over the whole city, both the beach/water side, and the old city side...very nice...

i ended up exiting and walking around to another entrance to see another area, which had underground tunnels...
my last sight was the roman amphitheatre...by this point i was really feeling the heat/sun, despite drinking a lot of water and eating a few snacks...since the amphitheatre is made of stone, it soaked up the heat then reflected it back at visitors...i loved walking around, though i was feeling rather faint...visitors can walk around the rows of seats, part of the ground in the middle, and look out over the outer walls to the beach!

after the amphitheatre, i found a cafe with a daily menu option for cheap...only 10 euro, and i got to have pasta, grilled chicken and veggies, a roll, a dessert, and water...good food :)
while i was eating i realized i had heat rash all over my legs...not fun...even after eating, i was still feeling faint, ugh...the feeling didn't go away until i woke up the next morning...
the train back to barcelona was easy:)

andorra: andorra la vella and santa coloma

when i looked at a map of europe, i noticed a small country called andorra in between spain and france...i did a quick check on google maps, which told me i could get between andorra and barcelona with a 3 hour bus ride...yahoo!
a few quick facts about andorra: they use the euro as currency...the official language is catalan, though most everything is listed in three languages: catalan, french, and spanish...i had fun comparing catalan to the other two and seeing what i could figure out...official population is just under 85,000 people...wikipedia tells me andorra has the highest capital city in europe!
my bus left barcelona at 1100, i arrived in andorra at 1400...i noticed when we crossed the border, but there was no stop, no check of passports, no stamps, etc...there was a border station, but i'm not sure who is required to stop there, if anyone...(i didn't end up with a passport stamp, i'm wondering if it's possible to get one at this station if i asked nicely? i need to go back to find out)...i tried looking online for this information, and didn't find anything posted anytime recently...is there an official place i can look?

andorra is a very small country, and when you visit, you're probably going to andorra la vella...this is part of the twin cities, the other 'city' is called les escaldes...i think the split between the two is a bridge...until i was looking at the labels of postcards, i didn't even realize there were two cities...(there are also small ski towns around the country, and another town down the road called santa coloma)...
the bus dropped me off, i think the station is in andorra la vella...i walked to my hotel, i think it was in les escaldes...(a 15 minute walk, at most)...

i checked in, and wasn't thrilled with the accomodations (extra charge for wifi, which wouldn't have reached to my room even if i was willing to pay for it) but it was fine for the night...
after figuring out a plan, i headed back out, stopping first for lunch...nothing special, just a random cafe...then to the tourist information center...(free wifi around that area!)...they gave me a city map and marked a walking tour of sorts, and told me where i could buy postcards :)
i walked through the historical center, which is pretty small, so it didn't take me long...

an old administration building, an old church, and i've forgotten what else...the aspect that makes this area kinda awesome is that it's all in a valley...several valleys actually...so everywhere you look, there are mountains in the immediate background...beautiful, and my camera isn't nearly good enough to capture it all properly...i need a lens that is much wider, and a better viewpoint...and a car so i could get out of the city and try to find more scenic spots...the actual cities of andorra la vella and les escaldes weren't anything to write home about...

since it didn't take long to see the 'sights' i walked into the shopping area of les escaldes...there are very few reasons people come to andorra...one is to say they've been to another country...a second reason is for the outdoor activities: skiing/snowboarding in winter, hiking/climbing in summer...
and third: duty free shopping...there are several malls set up for just this reason...i didn't see anything i wanted, so i watched people more than anything...
i did see a ferris wheel under contruction, i wonder if anything more was going to be added to that...there were kids playing pickup basketball in a somewhat rundown looking court just outside the construction zone...

the next morning i got up early, with the intention of walking to santa coloma to see a UNESCO listed church...i ended up getting there way early, i had to wait about 40 minutes until it was officially opened...
when it did open, the lady asked me if i wanted a free tour, i said why not...she asked what language, i said english, she said her english wasn't very good...i asked if she could go for french, of course she answered...so i got my tour in french, and i'm happy to say i think i understood most of what she said...yay!! i was even able to respond a few times and ask questions...yahoo!!

the church was built between the 9th and 12th centuries...i wanted to go in the tower, but the lady said that was unsafe...booo...i wonder if there are plans to fix that? part of the church is still original, including some of the walls, and the archway over the entrance...the roof is wood...it's really small, but i liked it...
after my tour the lady gave me a detailed brochure of all the cultural sights in andorra...too bad i didn't have a car to go see everything...
i walked back to my hotel, picked up my bag, and walked to the bus station to catch the next bus back to barcelona...
if i had more time, i would come back to andorra and hike as much as i could in the summer/fall...

czech republic: prague

this post is mostly going to be mostly photos, since i was in and out of prague for two weeks this summer...i was thrilled to spend some time with mom, and to get to know her city a bit better...lots of time walking, exploring, relaxing, people watching, etc...
i ate one of my favourite type of yogurts every day, sometimes i had two...they're awesome, and i can't get them in ukraine, i figured i might as well take advantage while i can:)
mom showed me a couple sculptures by the artist david czerny...they're modern, and not well liked by many czechs, but they are unique...one of them was a guy riding an upside down horse! it's suspended inside a small mall, of all places...somehow there is an agreement that it will stay there for quite a while, whether people want it there or not...hee hee...

another day she showed me another of his sculptures, this one of a guy hanging at the end of a pole...this wouldn't seem like anything special except that the pole is hanging off the edge of a building, over the middle of the street...you don't notice it at first, but when you do notice, it's quite a shock...at first i didn't realize what she was showing me, then it seemed like a real guy hanging over the street...his sculptures definitely command your attention!
mom showed me a statue of the guy who wrote the first dictionary of the czech language...
i went walking for an hour or so most nights, and got to know the neighbor hood pretty well...at least the looks of it, if nothing else...there are cafes on many corners, small shops, a few churches, small parks, etc...beautiful...mom said during the days of communism everything was grey, not particularly noteworthy...since then, many buildings have been painted, so every street seems picturesque to me...it was easy to keep taking photos, until i realized they all looked similar, to some extent...
i got to see where some of my extended family is buried and ashes spread...definitely not a touristy area of town...i can't tell if this cemetary is still used or not, but some of the gravemarkers and tombs look quite old, in a beautiful way...

i got to see a big thing dedicated to stalin...locals know that's why the metronome was built, but it isn't obvious to anyone else...so when communism fell, it was easy to disguise or hide why it's there...it's located in letna park, which has awesome views over the city...
i got to see a beautiful park/gardens, located up the side of a hill...the top of the garden is at the bottom of US embassy property...this wouldn't mean anything to most visitors, but the gardens weren't open for quite a while, during the days of communism, because of their location...



during those days, people tried to jump the fence into US embassy property, it was a way of getting to freedom...eventually the boundary fence of the gardens was built to be quite large, and the embassy fence was even taller, with barbed wire on top...that still didn't stop people from trying...the views over prague from the top of the gardens are stunning...you can see the tops of a lot of churches, you can see the castle, you can see the tv tower...it was sooo nice just to sit and look...when we first arrived a wedding had just finished, then the lady was having wedding photos taken while we were there, i can see why :)

one day we had lunch at a place called the dancing house...when you see the picture of the building in which the restaurant is located, it's easy to see where the name came from...originally it was called fred and ginger, but the powers that be decided that was too western...since the restaurant is at the top of the building, and is right next to the river, it's got great views...
there is a big tv tower not too far from where mom lives...the powers that be decided it was too ugly on it's own, so they commissioned someone to do some artwork...if you look closely, you can see sculptures of kids climbing on the tower...locals didn't like these either, but i think it's cute...it's definitely different from the way most tv towers look...

czech republic: karlovy vary

karlovy vary was the last town mom and i visited during my time in the czech republic this summer...we arrived to a rainy town in a valley, after a bus ride from plzen...it rained as we walked to the information office to figure out where our hotel was located, argh...
mom was surprised when the taxi driver didn't know immediately where the hotel was located, the information office told us the name had been changed in the last few months, so it wasn't entirely surprising...that being said, you'd think the hotel would've made sure people like taxi drivers would know about the name change...

according to the little brochure map handed out by the information office, the legend of the discovery of the local springs happened when emperor charles IV went hunting in the area...allegedly one of the dogs along for the hunt fell into a hot pool of water, and instead of being hurt, his injuries were healed due to the properties of the water...when the emperor heard about this, he put his arms in the water, and his body was healed as well...then he ordered the area to be settled, and now we have karlovy vary...somehow i doubt a dog fall into steaming hot water and felt good afterward, but i bet at least part of the story is true...

karlovy vary is a spa town...back in the day, czechs from all over the country would come for 2-3 weeks at a time, to 'take the waters' and be cured of their bodily ills...these visits were state sponsored!! can you imagine anything like that happening now??? (i'd be the first to sign up)...now the town is filled with spas and businesses catering to the tourists spending time in those spas...
mom noticed she heard almost no czech being spoken while walking along the streets...i noticed most menu boards and signs were written in russian and czech, a few had english as well...booo...

back in the day, people we start their daily treatments in the morning, then spend the afternoon walking along the promenade while drinking water from the springs in special cups...there are benches all over, so people can sit for a while...obviously, this is a great town for people watching...
our hotel was in the spa area of town, and since this is the area mom wanted me to see, i didn't have time to explore anywhere else in the city...
after checking into our hotel, and relaxing for a while, we went for a walk...it was nice to see the famous springs for which the town was founded, and the areas along which people walk walk walk...

we stopped for a snack/drink at cafe hotel pupp, the oldest hotel in the area...it's an old hotel, but still quite glorious...some of the people who have stayed there are well known, of course they promote the names of their famous guests...(i think every business in this town promotes its history and famous patrons?)
dinner that night came from food vladka had packed for us, YUM...
the next morning mom and i were both slow about waking up...after finding our way to the breakfast area (we had to take the elevator down, then walk across the building, then take a different elevator back up...neither one of us understood why two parts of the same hotel aren't connected) and taking a while at breakfast, we tried to figure out how to sign me up for one of the spa services offered by the spa in the hotel...massage, mud wrap, baths, etc...some needed a medical check ahead of time, others were possible straightaway...all prices listed in euros...

this is one place where communist bureaucracy still exists...mom asked the front desk how to sign me up, that lady sent us to a room in the spa area...then that room said we should go somewhere else...since mom and i have both lived in the west, we were both annoyed by the total lack of convenience...if you want visitors to spend money, you have to make it possible for them to do so!! at the same time, because we've both spent time in the east, we understood that bureaucracy sometimes exists just to give people official jobs...(in which they don't always actually DO anything)...

anywho, i ended up getting a foot massage at another place in town...it felt sooo good...i wish i had a few days so i could take advantage of more spa options...we checked out of the hotel, then walked around for 90 minutes before heading back to the bus station for our bus back to prague...

czech republic: plzen, and a day trip around the area

mom and i took an early morning bus from prague to plzen, which is the hometown of one of mom's friends from university...plzen is only an hour from prague, and buses leave regularly...this was another bus with free wifi :)
mom's friend picked us up from the bus stop, and took us to their home...they own the entire home, which is three floors...each floor is actually an individual flat, mom and i stayed on the second floor...i loved it, there were large windows letting in lots of natural light...
mom has kept in touch with several of her friends from university, so she now has friends in various areas of the country...

vladka had prepared lunch so it was ready as soon as we got home...it was a very early lunch so mom and i weren't super hungry, but both of us loved it and probably ate too much...something about homemade food makes me eat eat eat!! zucchini soup and a dish called moroccan chicken...and dessert afterward...
as soon as lunch was done, all four of us got in the car, vladka's husband drove...i thought we were going to the city centre for a tour, i had no idea what was happening...a while later we drove into another town, and parked near a castle...
they asked me if i wanted to take a tour of the castle, i said i had no idea...

mom wanted a more specific answer, and i told her i had no idea what was going on, i wasn't able to make a decision when i didn't know what was happening...the castle was called horsovsky tyn...
i ended up passing on the tour, but we walked around the gardens behind the castle, there were ducks and a couple swans paddling around the pond...cute...i would've been happy to walk around more of the town and take photos if anyone had wanted to, especially since there was some kind of festival going on near the castle, but i found out this was a day road trip so there was more on the itinerary, and we had to go...

before going, mom bought two coffee mugs...one had the diminutive of my name, the other had the diminutive of my sister's name...i love it and use it all the time in my flat in kyiv...
the next stop was a town called domazlice...the platz in the middle of town reminded me of the platz in telc, but this one was not at all touristy, as it does not have the UNESCO designation...for that reason, i liked this one a little better, as it seemed more 'real'...it was super picturesque, and very quiet...it was saturday in the middle of the day, which would normally be the time everyone is out for a promenade, so i'm guessing there aren't a lot of people here...

vladka's husband pointed out the white bell tower, and said the views from the tower were nice...we decided to climb up, though the sign you see straightaway after entering says the tower is leaning by 59 centimeters...there were just under 200 steps to get to the viewing level...since domazlice is a small town, i was able again to see nearby agricultural areas...
after domazlice we kept going, to an area known as ujezd...vladka's husband and mom told me some history related to this area, and the country as a whole, but i admit i don't remember the specifics...a dog was involved though, and i could see this at our next stop, as there was a statue of the guy and a statue of his dog...it was a BIG dog statue!! both of these statues are on a hill looking over the area, i was even able to see domazlice off in the distance...

from this point, we crossed the border into germany, just because we could...when mom and her contemporaries were growing up, they were not able to cross this border...mom took photos of me standing in between the signs marking the borders of cesko and germany...you can still see remnants of the border, as there are a number of allegedly duty free shops right there...back in the day, the few people who could cross the border would do so and shop shop shop, then bring the goods back to their cities and sell them...
we stopped in the closest german town called waldmunchen, and found a cafe...ice cream and drinks, YUM...mom and her friends figured out our server was actually czech, all of them spoke in their native language...

the chick was obviously used to speaking german while at work, and a couple times we all noticed a mix of the two languages coming out, which was really funny...when it comes to ice cream, i understand/speak enough german to get what i want, so i laughed too...i love languages :)
from there we drove back into cesko, and stopped in a town called rokycany...there is a small monument marking the exact line designating the easternmost movement of american troops during WWII...east of the line, the area was 'liberated' by the soviet army, and west of the line the area was liberated by the americans...the sign next to the monument is written in russian, czech, and english...

i'm not sure, but i'm guessing this monument was not built until after the fall of communism, as the puppet government didn't want to admit that the 'freedom' enjoyed by the area wasn't due to the soviet army...
after the monument, vladka's husband took us to an outdoor history museum...we arrived after closing time, but jiri knew the owner, and we were able to walk around anywho...the museum holds a lot of 'old vehicles' (and a couple planes, tanks, etc)...according to jiri, when movies are being made about this period of history, the movie companies arrange to use these vehicles in the filming...i bet this museum gets lots of visits from school children on field trips...i loved it...

dinner that night back in plzen came from vladka's backyard...she grows several fruit trees, and has other produce...awesome!! (though none of us were very hungry, the ice cream from earlier was still in our bellies:)
the next morning vladka prepared another big meal for breakfast...jiri dropped off me, mom, and vladka at the brewery for pilsner urquel at opening time, we were annoyed to find out that the first tour of the day wasn't offered until 1030...so we bought those tickets, then went into the city centre...
since this was sunday, the buses weren't running as often, so we crossed the street and took a tram...the tram tracks were being worked on, so we didn't go as far as vladka wanted, but it didn't matter to me...

we saw the exterior of the world's 3rd largest synagogue...it's red, and looks nothing like any other synagogue i've ever seen...it didn't open until 10, we weren't able to see the inside...
we also saw a memorial that specifically thanks the american troops who liberated the city during WWII...it is written in both czech and english, and is located at the start of america street....there is a map showing the movement of american troops as well...it's simple, but awesome...mom told me the monument wasn't built until after communism fell, as the government wouldn't allow it before then...apparently as soon as the communists fell, money poured in to build the monument even though most czechs had little or no extra money for such a thing...

from the monument we walked to the city center platz...there is a huge church in the middle of the square, but it's otherwise a very open area...city hall is on one side of the square, the decor of the building is awesome...this square reminded me of what i've seen in lviv, ukraine...the inside of the church is pretty, didn't have much light, so it was a bit dark despite the sunlight streaming into some of the windows...
after leavning the square, we walked past a church, part of a monastery...it was early baroque, so it wasn't quite as 'busy' as full on baroque churches...only the front entry area was open, but i liked what i saw...
we continued walking back to the brewery, i took a few more photos along the way...there is a lot of history in this town, and the streets look good in photos...i wish we'd had a couple more days so i could wander without worrying about time...

our tour group gathered, and since it was in czech, i got a print out of all the information in english...mom and i both opted not to pay the fee to take photos, i think only one person in the group did pay the fee...(he then proceeded to take photos of EVERYTHING during the tour)...
the tour tells the history of the brewery, and shows the historical area of the brewery...(it didn't surprise me that we weren't taken into the modern areas, as they probably don't want people stealing their 'secrets'...we did get to see the building in which the bottles are cleaned and sorted...it's LOUD, we were told the employees all wear ear plugs...a lot of machinery keeps everything going in a smooth line...

during the tour we learned that the company employs master barrel makers, so the beer is fermented properly...the room in which the barrels are kept is chilly, i think they said 12C? this was the point in the tour i wish i'd had a jumper with me...this was also the area where tourists could taste the beer, mom tried it...this is one of those times i wish i could drink, i always want to try the local alcoholic drink in any place i visit...
on a side note, vladka and her husband told us most locals don't drink beer from this brewery anymore...they think its good beer and all, but there is other beer that is equally good, and costs less...they figure locals don't need to support such an international company...(pilsner urquel is now owned by a south african company)...

after the tour, we went back home for another awesome lunch, then they took us to the bus station for our next bus...
i would love to come back, both to spend more time with vladka and her husband, and to see more of this area of the country...