Entering today, I had no idea where I was going. Amsterdam or Brussels looked like the logical choices, via train. However, early this morning, just 10 minutes on the interweb, and boom, Barcelona. I had no intention of going to Barcelona, but I've decided to slow things down a bit; take more shorter trips between stops. Spain seems like the perfect place to do so.
But first, a few notes on Germany and its people
1) Germany seems to have a healthier relationship with alternative energy. Only in Germany have I seen windmills and nuclear power plants in the same panorama.
1) Germany seems to have a healthier relationship with alternative energy. Only in Germany have I seen windmills and nuclear power plants in the same panorama.
2) The most vivacious country I've yet visited. There are families and children everywhere--a stark contrast to, let's say, Italy. Makes sense as Italy is now officially the second oldest country in the world, behind Japan.
3) Germans love apple flavored things, and I trust everything they make with this fruit.
4) Beer is bought, taken, and drunk nearly everywhere. I believe I said "Ein bier bitte" more than hello or goodbye.
5) Germans are famously efficient, and rightly so. At the airport today, maneuvering from bus exit to departure gate, took just eight minutes.
6) There's this pervasive feeling traveling through Germany, almost an instinct, that things are going very well here.
Great country, and a seriously under appreciated travel destination.
Great country, and a seriously under appreciated travel destination.
Other than that, it feels like this journey is winding down a bit. I'm weary from dorm beds, awkward shower stalls, the full days without communication, and over the counter food. It's a bold frontier traveling like this, and I'd say 5% of the people I meet are traveling alone. It's a cold and isolated occupation, and I can tell from the literature accompanying those 5%, that they're searching for something they couldn't find back home.
What's more strange, is that all the things I identified with back home--job, friends, people, music, gym, entertainment, events--are all completely absent. You feel naked with only the harsh light of unbridled introspection shining upon you. You can't make excuses if there's nothing to latch them on to. There's nothing to hide behind, and there's a forced necessity to face mistakes, decisions, and preconceived notions.
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Anyways, on to Spain, and particularly Barcelona--but to be honest, I'm not sure if Barcelona is a true representation of Spain. I see advertisements for paella, tapas, flamenco, and jamon iberico. But those things originate from other areas.
What is Barcelona? What's the culture here? I found myself asking these questions repeatedly.
First off, it's the worldwide home to drifters, grifters, and pocket sifters. A walk along the famed La Rambla quickly reveals roaming packs of unabashed street thieves and peddlers. I was amazed how brazen the thievery was here. Locals joke, calling your pocket being picked the "Barcelona Tourist Tax". I didn't like Barcelona initially, and it was the first city I visited to offer that feeling. However, one key detail to the city irrevocably saved my impression of Barcelona--the art nouveau stylings of one Antoni Gaudi. In no other city in the world is the work of one architect so singularly tied.
READING: The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway. (I love the terseness in which E.H. writes. Every sentence doesn't fuck around.)
LISTENING:
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