Escaping the bad weather of Germany, I went to Spain for three weeks to recover from a semester filled with signal processing. I flew to Malaga on the 27th of August and came back to Germany on the 16th of September. Not only did I have a great time going to the beach and enjoying luxurious food and drink every day, I also got to learn Spanish for three weeks in a language school. Given the fact I’ve only taken classes for three hours a day and only during the week, my language skills are mas o menos nonexistant, but it was a fun experience nevertheless.
We also went on trips to some nearby towns, the Alhambra in Granada, an old Islamic fortress complex, and Caminito del Rey, a narrow path through a ravine.
The city I stayed in is located in Andalusia, a province in southern Spain. Besides the great food and view from the castle, there were two things I liked especially about it: the proximity to the Mediterranean Sea as well as the abundance of shade-spending trees and bushes. The region itself is extremely arid and the vegetation as well as the animals are very different compared to Germany (obviously, duh) with parrots flying around instead of blackbirds and magpies.
The first trip took us to Nerja, a town approximately 90 minutes away from Malaga by bus. We didn’t go sightseeing or anything, just strolled around the town, had good things to eat and took a swim in the (at the time wavy) sea.
Granada - a town 750 meters higher than Malaga and further inland with a rich Islamic history and lots of architecture.
Cordoba is famous for its Mezquita-Catedral which continues to carry on a legacy of alternating influence by Islam and Christianity expressing itself through a fascinating mix of completely different architectural styles.
Caminito del Rey, literally the “Path of the King”, is a small path leading through a ravine. The path was new and strongly supported, but the final part in particular troubled me since I am afraid of heights and trusting the assembly didn’t help much. At least we got to eat and drink a lot afterwards so it was worth it I guess. We also had time to go swimming in a nearby lake whose water was lukewarm.
