Blogs from Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain, Europe
May 16th 2012
Ayer dia de San Isidro, patrono de Madrid nos fuimos de excursión a Córdoba. Dün Madtritte bayram vardi, ondan dolay Kordobaya gittik, Yesterday was Saint Isdro day, the saint patron of Madrid we went to Cordoba... read more
April 5th 2012
I've done Semana Santa in Sevilla back in 2002. So I actually planned on spending the Holy Week based in Madrid this time around, perhaps doing day trips to Toledo, Avila, Segovia or Valladolid and heading back to the city where I have been based for 6 weeks now. Back In Andalusia Well, guess what. My itchy feet led me back to Andalusia. The Madrid procession last Palm Sunday (Domingo de Ramos) must have whetted my appetite to see more of those Nazarenos with their pointed hoods, costaleros swaying in rhythm bearing the "Pasos" on their shoulders. Truly, Semana Santa is at its best in this corner of the world. It was easy to buy an AVE ticket for that fast train ride to Cordoba. No hotel reservations were made as my niece and I were ... read more
November 14th 2011
Nachdem ich in der letzten Woche erfolgreich meinen Topografie-Test hinter mich gebracht habe und nachdem ich eine 8 (10 ist die beste Note, 1 die schlechteste) für meine Gruppenarbeit bekommen habe (für die ich aber nicht sonderlich viel getan hatte), dachte ich mir, dass die Uni und die damit eventuell verbundenen Hausaufgaben und Lernereien etwas ruhen könnten. So kam es dann, dass ich mit dem ESN ein zweites Mal nach Córdoba gefahren bin, um mir noch einmal eine der schönsten Städte Andalusiens anzusehen. Es war ein schöner Herbsttag und bei gefühlten 25 Grad und strahlendem Sonnenschein ließ es sich gut aushalten :-) Unser erster Stopp führte uns zu der ehemaligen Palaststadt Madinat al-Zahra, die von dem Kalifen Abd ar-Rahman III. in Auftrag gegeben wurde. Von dem Palast sind heutzutage nur noch Ruinen übrig, aber man kann ... read more
November 3rd 2011
Driving and driving and driving and driving… That’s what we did all day today. We went from Tiedra, near Valladolid, to Lucena, near Cordoba. It took about 6.5 hours. Now, we didn’t reach our hotel for an additional 1.5 hours because the hotel is in a new area that our Nav System didn’t know. I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown… but we’re here, now, and it’s a nice place. Seems very much like a convention hotel. That being said… we drove through some beautiful countryside. Some sweeping plains, some rolling hills. We saw earth and plants of so many colors. Sometimes there were patches of red earth, golden grass, green pines, yellow and amber trees. It was gorgeous. Throughout Castilla y Leon, there were also beautiful churches and castles all along the ... read more
Wo die Mauren und Römer aufeinander trafen
Published: October 23rd 2011Europe » Spain » Andalusia » Córdoba
October 23rd 2011
Wenn man einen Andalusier fragt welche Städte Andalusiens man sich angucken sollte, bekommt man fast immer die Antwort: Sevilla, Córdoba und Granada. In Sevilla war ich ja schon 2 Mal und gestern bin ich mit Mama und Papa nach Córdoba gefahren. Die Fahrt hat 3,5 Stunden mit dem Reisebus gedauert. Als wir ankamen war es mittags und da der Magen etwas geknurrt hat, haben wir uns in einer Tapasbar einige Montaditos (kleine belegte Brötchen) bestellt. Danach waren wir in der Mezquita und haben uns die einzigartige Kathedrale angeschaut. Die Mezquita war ehemals eine Moschee, die von den Mauren erbaut wurde. Später wurde sie aber von den Christen erobert und zu einer Kathedrale umgebaut. In der Mezquita treffen 2 Baustile und 2 Kulturen aufeinander, was sie zu etwas Besonderem macht...Nach dem Besuch der Mezquita haben wir uns ... read more
October 16th 2011
13.30 train from Madrid arriving in Granada. A blonde bobbing head in the crowd. My mom had arrived, and I immediately began to relax as seeing her gave me comfort. Seeing her gave me a rapid reminder of who I am: seeing her was like seeing me in my purest form. The hotel receptionist begins talking to me, "Mother and daughter? You two look very similar." Yes. Como dos gotas de agua. The voice, the hair, some of the same behaviorisms. I used to dread the comment, but now I've come to realize its just genetics-- I am fifty percent her-- its in my tree, my roots, passed down from the older generation to the younger. Older to younger with space to evolve. We decided to take the 2 hour bus ride out of Granada to ... read more
September 3rd 2011
Cordoba (Iberian and Roman city in ancient times, in the Middle Ages it became the capital of an Islamic caliphate). Córdoba has the second largest Old town in Europe, the largest urban area in the world declared World Heritage by UNESCO. The most important building and symbol of the city, the Great Mosque of Córdoba and current cathedral. ... read more
the best catholic church is an islamic one
Published: October 26th 2011Europe » Spain » Andalusia » Córdoba
July 25th 2011
Then we cut south. We headed into Andalucia, Córdoba in particular. Straight down the deck really, but not all that far – sort of Darwin to a b it south of Katherine, and the scenery was similarly dry. Except for the olives. Olive trees. Everywhere were olives. Seriously, a sea of olive trees. For hours, as far as the eye could see. A tear welled up in my eye as I though about all of those olives. Spain and me, we were going to get along just fine. And everywhere solar farms – an intelligent option in this sun drenched country. And many different types. The majority were photovoltaic, but there were also quite a few CSP plants using parabolic troughs, and at least one with a solar tower. Impressive. Spain has one of the highest ... read more
June 21st 2011
Sorry about the lame title ... I am clearly running out of ideas for them! But really ... meandering is what I did. This is a great little town where getting lost in the streets and just poking in and out of museums is a really nice way to spend the day. Oh and disregard the comments on some of the photos ... for some reason my problem with uploading photos is back ... comments don't match the photo that I uploaded. I was a little worse for wear today ... stomach not good. I have been eating raw ham and carpaccio and chorizo and all kinds of crap ... no problem. A lovely little gazpacho ... and yes that's what tips me over the edge. It's tomatoes for the love of God! My body is ... read more
June 20th 2011
I woke up this morning not feeling 100%. I certainly was not in the mood for another train ride. If I had the choice, I probably would have rolled over and stayed in bed much longer. But I didn't have that choice. It was a short ride and if I didn't feel better, I could only hope that my room would be ready when I got there. So a little over an hour later and a long nap on the train, I made it to Cordoba feeling much better. Just an off morning I guess. Maybe too much detoxing in the saunas and pool yesterday! I found my hotel with no problems. Don't know what I would do without my iPhone and the great little app where you can download maps and the built-in GPS!!! It ... read more
