Thursday Thoughts – A Story of …Love

17 november, 201617 november, 2016 / Leya / 12 kommentarer

In Vilnius I saw this young couple coming out of a church. They did not hold hands. The young lady was holding her dress instead. He was walking casually right behind her.

In one of the old city’s most famous spots, they were photographed.

They looked so young…yet I believe they had known each other for a while. No infatuation shining, no signs of being ”in love”. I watched them silently walking down the street – no sign of guests or friends. Still not holding hands. Half an hour later we saw them sitting on a bench in the square, munching some fast food and watching the air balloons sailing across the sky.

I wonder what they were thinking. I wonder about their lives and their future. I would have liked to listen to their story.

CFFC: Roofs

15 november, 2016 / Leya / 10 kommentarer

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Roofs

Cannot resist Spain, of course…Dalí’s home in Figueras and Gaudí’s Casa Battló, Barcelona.

Travel theme: Dark

6 november, 20166 november, 2016 / Leya / 6 kommentarer

Travel theme: Dark

For Ailsa – Dark. As a child I was afraid of the dark. I read many books and had a vivid imagination. Today I can still be afraid sometimes…

In the header, a beautifully lit sky on my own doorstep an early morning.

The darkest country I have ever visited was Tibet. But high above Lhasa there is a soaring, shining light – the Potala Palace.

CFFC: Commercial or Industrial Buildings

1 november, 20161 november, 2016 / Leya / 18 kommentarer

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Commercial or Industrial Buildings

WPC: Transmogrify

29 oktober, 201629 oktober, 2016 / Leya / 16 kommentarer

WPC this Friday – Transmogrify.

Transmogrify into something distorted and ugly or into a work of art? This house in Bilbao reflects and mirrors a bridge where a red car is passing.

The Evening Charms of Lerma

9 oktober, 201610 oktober, 2016 / Leya / 21 kommentarer

We spent an evening walking in Lerma, in Castile and León, Spain. A little village the size of my home town in Sweden, but Lerma has important monuments dating from the 17th century, which were built by the Duke of Lerma, the King’s favourite.

To me, the greatest attraction here was the two main streets. One of them in the header, and in the very old part, I found this remarkable house.

Its façade and its colours caught my eye – and held it there for longer than just a moment.

The unevenness was made even more beautiful in the stray rays of the setting sun.

And further on, down the road, I also found a little door into the unknown…maybe 45 cm wide and 1.50cm high – No key. A stray…uncomfortable bench in a dark alley and some dry thistles on a stone fence…

I do love these things…

…as I loved the stork nest on the church and the lonely dog in the lonely street…

…and the charming restaurant waiting for its bustling guests arriving by 9 p.m.

I do love odd places and odd things and – almost everything about Spain.

Ansó and the Vultures of Foz de Arbaiun

2 oktober, 2016 / Leya / 22 kommentarer

A gallery of pictures from the little village Ansó – isolated for many years, but rather recently opened up to the world.

After a couple of hours on a narrow, winding road, we finally reached

…Ansó

A charming little mountain village

…with narrow, cobbled streets

We found a great bar with absolutely fresh appetizers and tasty beer

And everyday life went on

…just like the water running through the narrow gorges

On our way back to our hotel, we passed Foz de Arbaiun, a narrow gorge made by the river Salazar, 400 m down. As usual, click to enlarge. (Sometimes needed twice)

On the cliff sides, many vultures have found their homes. We saw at least a dozen coming in. Here they are free to live – nobody can touch them.

Unfortunately we had not brought any pair of binoculars – but the flight of the majestic vultures was still great to watch. We did not see any of the other species.

Thursday Thoughts – The Fairy – Castle

29 september, 201629 september, 2016 / Leya / 20 kommentarer

We were driving along the road from Bilbao to visit Gernika this day, when suddenly, out of nowhere, without any road sign – we saw the pinnacles above the dense forest. A castle. This castle is located in Gatika, in the province of Biscay, in northern Spain

We turned left off the road and decided to have a closer look at it – and after some twists and turns of narrow roads – we found it.

The castle has a fairy-tale look about it, and as we started walking around it, we realised that the place was abandoned and nobody lived there. Further down the road we found pictures of knights and horses, together with a closed down, dilapidated café. The premises had probably been used for games or jousting.

A look at Wikipedia tells us that the present building was created as a hobby for its then owner and to create something visually spectacular rather than to produce something for people to live in. ” In fact it would be quite inconvenient as a home as the towers have little useful space and various parts of the castle have exterior connections which are not particularly apt for the wet Basque weather.”

The building is surrounded by an overgrown park which includes palms and exotic plants. We thought the forlorn castle must be totally unknown, but in fact it seems this is not the case…As any other little girl, Kate Middleton’s dream once was to get married in this fairy tale castle. (Said in a BBC interview with David Ferald.)

Back in Bilbao again in the evening, we learned from our host that the castle is named Castillo de Butrón . (He even had a painting of Butrón on the wall.) It dates originally from the Middle Ages, although it owes its present appearance to an almost complete rebuilding, inspired by Bavarian castle models, begun by Francisco de Cubas (also known as Marqués de Cubas) in 1878.

The castle fell into disuse, was later renovated and opened again, but the building was finally closed to visitors although the grounds remained open.

In November 2005 the building was purchased by INBISA (Grupo Empresarial) for about 1,6 million euros, but it remains under the general protection of Spanish law in respect of historic buildings in Spain.

Burgos – the Cathedral of Cathedrals

17 september, 201618 september, 2016 / Leya / 17 kommentarer

Burgos (founded in the year 884) in Castilla y Léon is strategically set on the main road Madrid – France and also on the road to Santiago. The city has always had a prominent position in Spain.

We entered the old city through Arco de Santa Maria.

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Burgos is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Its construction began in 1221, and the style of the cathedral is the Gothic, although it has, in its interior, several decorative Renaissance and Baroque elements. The construction and renovations were made with limestone.

The design of the main facade is related to the purest French Gothic style of the great cathedrals of Paris and Reims, while the interior elevation as a reference to Bourges Cathedral.

The characteristic pinnacles with crab ornaments can be seen in the header.

El Cid (Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, born 1043) was a charismatic, brave and courageous warrior who conquered the Mores and took Valencia for the Christians (and ruled the city until his death). He earned his name, El Cid, from Arabian Sidi (Lord) because of his great courage, but was made immortal by the poem El Cantar de Mío Cid (1180). His (and his wife´s) grave is just beneath the magnificent star dome. A dream place to be buried…

In the cathedral are preserved works of extraordinary artists, and the numerous architectural, sculptural and pictorial treasures inside include:

The Chapel del Constable, of Isabelline Gothic style, which worked the Colonia family, Diego de Siloé and Felipe Bigarny

The Spanish-Flemish Gothic altarpiece by Gil de Siloé for the Chapel of Saint Anne

The Sacristy in Baroque style

Under restoration

Lace…?

Serene vaults to rest under

15th century art work – now being restored

Mild colours …

…create harmony

The Cathedral could have been built yesterday…or restored the day before…that magnificent is its beauty. Every detail exquisite – I have never seen anything like it. And, I have seen many Cathedrals and churches… We enjoyed these treasures for more than two hours, and we could have stayed longer…

The Renaissance Golden staircase by Diego de Siloé, covers a whole wall – and in my opinion, this is the most outstanding gem in the cathedral. In fact, it became so famous, that it served as a model for many other famous staircases. Among others, the one of the Paris Opera.

West facade

Door of the Sarmental

The cathedral was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on October 31, 1984. It is the only Spanish cathedral that has this distinction independently, without being joined to the historic center of a city or in union with other buildings.

Santiago de Compostela – The Goal for Every Pilgrim

6 september, 20167 september, 2016 / Leya / 16 kommentarer

What gave me most joy about Santiago de Compostela, was to see all the pilgrims arriving at Praza do Obradoiro in front of the impressive baroque facade of the Cathedral.

So much joy!

Tired…

With hurting feet…

But happy! The 16-year old boy ,to the left, said he was ready to do the same again – starting tomorrow!

And proud to show their stamped ”passport”…

…and diploma. this man had walked the Camino 7 times. Often together with some difficult young boys

Resting…

Changing shoes and going for a stroll in the city

Then every pilgrim must attend the Pilgrim’s Mass. So, let us join the them and enter into the magnificent Cathedral, built for S:t Jakob in 1000-1200 .