The Greek Αλφα Βετα(Athens: Part Ένα)

Over the weekend of my birthday, I flew to Greece, a place I have wanted to visit for a long while. Greece has been in the news recently because of its poor economic situation and the many protests and riots surrounding it. While I was there, I noticed some of this, but it was not always on the surface. I visited the capital city, Athens, which was once the capital of art, philosophy, and splendour in the ancient Greek world. Athens has had a tumultuous history since its rise to prominence in the 400s BC. The city saw the rise of Alexander the Great to the north, then was later conquered by the Roman Empire. Athens remained a center of learning throughout the period of the Roman Empire. When Rome fell around the fifth century AD, its legacy remained in the east with the wealthy Byzantine Empire, which Greece was a part of. Much of the attention of the Byzantines turned away from Athens to its capital, Constantinople. Athens, and the rest of the Byzantine Empire split from the western world in terms of religion as well. While the west remained under the auspices of the Pope in Rome, the Byzantines followed a more traditional Christianity based on ancient traditions and fewer rituals. This became known as the Orthodox Church. The population of Athens declined, but the city experienced a revitilization in the 1000s and 1100s when most of its medieval Orthodox churches were constructed. As the Byzantine Empire declined, the control of Athens switched between the hands of various merchant companies from Burgundy, Florence, and Catalonia. In 1458, Athens, now sparsely populated, fell to the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire. The city and the rest of Greece remained under Turkish rule until the Greek War of Independence in 1833. At this time, Athens had fallen far from glory and consisted of only a few houses around the Acropolis. Nonetheless, the new Greek government chose the city as the capital for its new nation because of its symbolic place in Greek history. Athens grew rapidly over the following decades. It saw the rise of Ioannis Metaxas' dictatorship in the 1930s and was occupied by the Nazis during the Second World War. Heavy fighting took place within the city in 1944. A military dictatorship followed briefly after the war and, since then, the city has attempted to revitalize itself as a major European capital.

Many people who visit Athens admire the Acropolis and the surrounding area but complain about the run-down look of the rest of the city. Its true that the outskirts of Athens consist of mostly poured-concrete apartment complexes, but there is still some charm there, as well as a strange sense of familiarity. After a three-hour flight I landed at the Athens airport, which is about twenty minutes outside of the city, and took a little time to orient myself. I found some free maps of the city as well as some information which would direct me to my hotel at Voula, an Athenian suburb. I found the bus I needed and sat in the back. On the way there, the bus passed many familiar sights: billboards, movie theatres, large hardware and appliance retail stores, and weeds growing up alongside highway guardrails. I began to think about all of my travels and how, with each trip, my destinations seemed to feel less foreign. The bus dropped me off right outside my hotel:

The elderly Greek woman at the front desk spoke quite a bit of English. I learned later that she was one of two owners, the other being a British expat. The hotel was nice and had recently been remodeled:

Across the street was the last stop of the tram which traveled straight to the center of Athens. As it was getting late, I decided to stay in the area of Voula and look around. This was a new town, founded in the 1960s and it gave me a good sense of what suburban life is like in Greece. I walked through neighborhoods, spotting several stray cats and dogs (stray dogs are a common theme in Athens) and hearing children yell to their friends, "Yia su!" ("Hello!"). Here are some scenes of the Voula neighborhoods, which seemed far away from the Greek economic crisis forbiddingly headlined on every European newspaper:

I wandered past Voula Beach:

and a relatively new Orthodox church:

I then found a food stall and was able to use the limited Greek I had obtained from a travel book to order some souvlaki:

This contained lamb, lettuce, tomato, carrots, and tzatziki (a cucumber/yogurt sauce) wrapped in pita. All around this food stall were several kiosks (something which the Greeks seem to love more than other Europeans) which sold newspapers, soft drinks, and snacks. I then went back to my hotel for a good night's sleep before my full day in Athens.

Swedish Fish (Stockholm: Part Ett)

Scene One: A knight returning from the Crusades meets Death along a rocky, black and white beach and enters into a game of chess to save his life. Cut to scene two: A retired doctor walks down an abandoned street in shades of grey, noting that every clock has no hands. Scene Three: a peasant, mourning the murder of his teenaged daughter stands atop a hill and wrenches a solitary sapling from the soil.

Before last month, I knew very little about Sweden other than the existential films of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. Who are the Swedes? Are they really as insular and depressed as these films would suggest? Who was Pippi Longstocking? What's a lingonberry? And what's the deal with Swedish Death Metal? I found answers to all of these questions by the time my long weekend in Stockholm was over. Answer key: a friendly and sober people; no; a fictional character created by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren; a fruit also called a cowberry, which grows above the Arctic Circle; and only the people from Gothenburg can understand.

I was intrigued by this country. I knew the Swedes didn't have as strong of a Viking heritage as their Scandinavian brethren in Denmark and Norway. I knew Sweden was once a major empire, one of the largest in Europe, before a disastrous war against Peter the Great of Russia in the early 1700s. I knew the country managed avoid major conflicts of the sort which plagued twentieth century Europe. I also knew the modern nation was a model for social systems across Europe. And I knew Stockholm was supposedly one of the most beautiful cities in the world, located on a series of islands in the Baltic Sea. So, I hopped on a plane and flew from Madrid to Arlanda Airport, one of Stockholm's four major airports. Once I got off my plane, I went to exchange money. Sweden is a member of the European Union, but not the Eurozone, which means they do not have the euro as their currency. I received somewhere around two-thousand kronors in exchange for my euros. Afterwards, I found the bus I needed to take to the center of the city. It was about a thirty-minute ride into central Stockholm. The bus driver spoke in both Swedish and English as he announced each stop. His English was quite good. I soon found that nearly everyone in the city spoke perfect English and sometimes addressed other Swedish people in their second language. I took the bus to its final stop at the central train station and from there walked about three minutes to get to my hotel. The weather was slightly cold, but the sun was shining. The river I crossed to get to Kungsholmen, where my hotel was located, was still frozen over. Here's my hotel:

The couple who ran the bed and breakfast were very nice. They showed me the different denominations of the kronor and told me the best places to visit in the city. I left the hotel and headed out for the central part of the city, which is known simply as "City" and is located on the mainland part of Stockholm. On the way, I took some pictures of the street outside my hotel:

I took the tunnel (short for tunnelbana, Stockholm's underground train system) to City and was amazed at how fascinating this network looked. It resembled some underground fantasy world. (I'll post more on this later as I took a tour of various tunnel stations). Once I got off the tunnel, I walked to the Nationalmuseum, which houses many artworks by Swedish painters, such as the amazing Carl Larsson. Once I finished this brief tour, I went behind the museum and walked along the shoreline, taking in the beautiful coastal views which, thanks to the city's layout over several islands, are visible nearly everywhere:

I walked down some streets and took first notice of the ubiquitous 7-Eleven chain, which I had not seen anywhere else in Europe. Somehow, Stockholm made this place seem very classy:

I also took notice of some cool ornamentation on the buildings:

I soon ended up at Kungstädgården, a square (or "torg" in Swedish) with some interesting statues:

Sweden produced quite a few wonderful sculptors in the twentieth century. The above statue is King Karl XIII. There is also an impressive fountain sculpted by JP Molin here:

Adjacent to this square is Jacobs Kyrka ("kyrka" is Swedish for "church" and is pronounced "chewrka"). It was built between the years 1580 and 1643:

I walked down the main road, past several department stores and the headquarters of the Swedish clothing store, H&M, before arriving at the Konserthuset, the Stockholm concert hall, which has an amazing sculpture, Orpheus, by Carl Milles in front:

The city was surprisingly highly multi-ethnic. I bought a hot dog from a street vendor and was informed that it was halal. There are many side streets which lead to small open spaces for outdoor restaurants in this area. Since it was still cold, these areas were often abandoned:

The modern area of Sergels Torg is nearby. It is a square built in the early 1960s with a glass obelisk which was placed there in the 1970s:

Also nearby was Klara Kyrka, built in the 1590s:

Near the church is this statue of a man smoking a cigarette. I'm sure it's supposed to be someone specific:

The Stockholm City Hall, or Stadshuset, was near my hotel. On the way there, I came across this little house:

The Stadshuset sits on the coast and is an enormous building, part of which is used as a reception hall each year for the Nobel Prize ceremonies. It was built in 1923 and is topped by the three crowns (Tre Kronor), which are the symbol of Sweden. Here are some views of the coastline of City and the island of Gamla Stan from the Stadshuset:

Here is the Stadshuset itself:

Two statues by Carl Eldh stand outside the Stadshuset by the water:

The "tomb" of Birger Jarl (which does not really hold his remains) rests outside the building. Birger Jarl was the Jarl (or chieftan) of Sweden who helped bring the various lands together in the 1200s. Tradition states that he also founded Stockholm:

I left the Stadshuset:

and went for a walk around City as the sun set. I came across the glass obelisk in Sergels Torg again as it was lit up from within:

Stockholm was strange in that the shops all closed at five in the afternoon and there seemed to be no nightlife at all. The streets (which had very little auto traffic anyway) and sidewalks were nearly completely clear of motorists and pedestrians after sundown. I found that getting around the city was very easy. I could walk nearly everywhere without using the tunnel or even a map. Stockholm is a beautiful city for walking anyway. I went back to the hotel, where the owner had left out hot tea and gummies (of the ever-popular Swedish fish variety). This was located in the front room which served as the café during the day. At night the lights were turned off an the only illumination came from a computer screen and the streetlights which shone through the storefront window. It was a peaceful place.

Is This Spain? (Barcelona: Part Quatre)

The next morning I went to the Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria and got a breakfast of dragon fruit and a crêpe with melted chocolate. Not far off Las Ramblas, on a street called Carrer Nou de la Rambla, I saw the exterior of the Palau Güell, a palace built by Gaudí for his patron, the industrialist Eusebi Güell:

After this I took the metro across the city and visited a relatively new park called Parc de Diagonal Mar. The park was located in a residential area near the beach surrounded by high-rises and shopping centers. The artwork was quite bizarre:

Yet this is not the park for which Barcelona is most famous. I began my trek from this area to visit this other park. I started with the metro and took it to the northern part of the city where I had quite an uphill trek past graffiti:

and a strange fountain:

After walking up a steep hill lined with souvenir shops and convenience stores, I reached my destination:

Park Güell was planned by Gaudí and is one of the most imaginative spaces I have ever visited. It was built between 1900 and 1914 and includes two buildings at the entrance gate:

You can spend a lot of time in this park, looking at all of the details Gaudí used in the gardens and pathways. One of the most famous images from the park is the mosaic lizard the architect placed in the middle of the stairway leading up the park's main hill. Reproductions of this creature can be purchased in shops all throughout Spain:

At the top of this hill is a huge terrace, supported by a series of columns which seem to form a cavern:

Atop this hill was the house which Gaudí lived in between 1906 and 1926:

The garden outside his house featured many sculptures copied from decorative elements on his various projects, such as this one taken from La Sagrada Família:

Not far from this house were two ramps supported by columns which led to an even higher area of the park:

At this level, you could see much of the city out to the Mediterranean:

After spending a few hours relaxing at Park Güell, I returned to the Barri Gòtic near my hotel and found a museum dedicated to Catalonia's most famous artist, Salvador Dalí. The museum featured many of his sketches as well as his sculptures and decorative art objects for which he is not as well-known:

Most of his decorative items, like the one above, were based on his earlier paintings. Outside the museum stood this interesting cutout of the artist:

I walked back to the area of the Arc de Triomf and entered the city's central park, Parc de la Ciutadella. The first building I came across in this park was Castell dels Tres Dragons, which is now used as a science museum:

The park was filled with greenhouses, bicycles, and old schools and churches:

The Parliament of Catalonia was near the edge of the park:

One of the most famous landmarks in this park is the giant waterfall/fountain, Cascada:

After leaving the park I walked around Barri Gòtic, taking pictures of the alleyways:

The next morning I walked around the city before my flight left that afternoon. I saw this strange life-sized figure outside a shop:

I then walked back down Passeig de Gràcia and turned right on a street to visit Josep Puig i Cadafalch's Casa Terrades (or Casa de les Punxes), which resembles a medieval castle:

I then returned to the Palau Nacional and visited the the Catalan art museum. There was an impressive collection of Romanesque frescoes which were originally located inside stone churches in the Pyrenees Mountains. The paintings (which dated from roughly between 1000 and 1350) were endangered as the churches were crumbling after centuries of abandonment. In the late 1800s a group of art collectors organized a rescue of these frescoes. The paintings were removed and transported on the backs of donkeys down the mountains to their current location in Barcelona. Other artists in the museum included Miró, Picasso, Dalí, and Casas. Here are some photos of Barcelona taken from the front of the museum:

I walked down Montjuïc and took the metro back to Plaça de Catalunya where I took the bus to the airport. My flight arrived on time and I returned to Madrid in what seemed like no time. Catalonia left an impression on me. I didn't feel as though I was in Spain. Even advertisements for stores and businesses listed their web address as .cat rather than .es which is used elsewhere through Spain. The spirit of the Catalan people seemed different as well, more in tune with the "European ideal" which the EU is trying to stress now. Catalonia is a beautiful area and I would love to visit it again.

As everyone was still gone on their various trips, I was in Alcalá alone for a few days before I left on the next leg of my trip.