Highway to Heaven ?

My arrival in Spain was marked by the most chaotic journey I've ever made. Indeed, I came down by car… from Berlin.

A stupid issue, not worth mentioning, made it temporarily impossible for me to fly. Thus I had no choice to do a last minute preparation for a car travel. In Germany, a brilliant website exists for that and I’m really wondering why it hasn't reached other countries yet, or at least the ones I live in. It bears the barbarian word of ‘Mitfahrgelegenheit’ and describes the opportunity of sharing a car. Thus you can search for your departure and destination in order to see if anyone on that day has put his/her car on the site and how much it will cost. The system is getting really popular and is mainly used by students.

Following the advice of my flatmate, I checked the foreign routes and found indeed a Mercedes C-class going to Algeciras, passing Valencia and Malaga. After quick look on the map, I call the number of the carshare and got it confirmed… the only problem, that he was leaving from Frankfurt, wasn’t actually a problem, as I just looked for another car share from Berlin- Frankfurt. Thus for roughly 2800 kilometers, I paid less than 100 euros, and I organised it two days before I left.

However 2800km is long, very long.

But all that counts is that I am here - in Granada.
The beautiful city, the great weather (or let me stop lying, it rained on my first day, but since then it has been great!) and the general atmosphere have welcomed me. To hear Spanish around me all the time has been pretty scary but when it comes to actually talking to you, most make the effort of speaking slowly, I said most…

Looking for a flat went about quite differently than from what I know… it looked more like picking some pieces of paper off walls and phone boxes around the city, calling twenty people and getting three flat visits in a day… I was really lucky and quickly found my very nice flat! An Erasmus flat, as they like to call it, in the very centre of Granada.

I didn’t expect the enrolment process to be easy and my expectations were met. Offices close for unknown reasons and most things shut at 2pm, which doesn’t make it easy when you have class in the morning, but I feel like it will work out.

University is starting tomorrow and a general strike is announced for the day after… this semester is going to be interesting!

I have miles to go before I sleep…

Berlin: Take 3... Bis Bald!

This is it. It's the last night. I just got home from some casual drinks with my friends and there is nothing left to do but to say goodbye. The luggages are ready, I sent some packages off and I have 4 hours to sleep.


To describe the time I have spent in Berlin, I would need many more words in many more languages than I know. I regret not a single second of it... or maybe just that one time where I told this (probably German) guy to go back to his stupid country... I got (slightly) carried away, because he was being incredibly rude.

Whenever it's the end of something, I can't help to have flashbacks of memories that have made that something. I still remember vividly my first day in Berlin, without a real plan where to live the next couple of days. I see the afternoons we spent at the lake, the hours we gossiped in the sun, the coffees we had in Friedrichshain, the drinks at the Que Pasa, the dinners at Tempo box and of course the incredible times I have spent with the ICD guys! I also remember the strange places I have discovered in Berlin, the strange people I have seen (ask me about an adult-rated story in the tube ) and it just makes me realise how much I love this city.

I will miss it, but as most of my friends here are leaving as well and as Spain is calling, it is time to move on. Tomorrow I'll hopefully take the first car to Frankfurt and then the day after that another car will leave with me and my big luggage to Andalucia.


Indeed...I have miles to go before I sleep.

More on Berlin: Take 1 and Take 2.

Labas from Lithuania!

My most recent journey took me to the Baltic republic of Lithuania. It's great having friends living all accross Europe, as you can travel by just visiting :)


After an early start and a warm welcome at the airport, I was on the road to Vilnius, with  four girls in a van, ready to discover the capital ( ok, that was just me, the girls were mainly excited about the party): The countryside was not necessarily the most exciting panorama you could imagine, as the country is very flat, but once we arrived in the city, I was charmed by the old buildings.


Vilnius might not be the biggest city, but it makes visiting it by foot a really enjoyable experience. The historical heritage is varied and I didn't find as many communist vestiges as I expected. The orthodox churches, built for the Russian minority, add some colour to the picture. 



According to my guides, on each hill in Lithuania, you can find a castle. And indeed, they spoke the truth. (as I mentioned the country is flat...) Also every castle is made of red bricks, the brought-up hypothesis explained it by the fact that this material had been the cheapest at the time. Probably we weren't far from the truth. The most beautiful location we visited was Trakai, where a castle was built on an island in the middle of a lake. Another great place is the confluence of the Nemunas and the Neris in Kaunas, and surprise! there is a castle as well...

As for Lithuanians, they have the reputation of being a rather rude population; if that's true? I wouldn't put it that way. I think that people, that are strangers to each other or people who only deal at a punctual interchange, are not very warm, don't necessarily smile, but that's just current practice. However, as soon as you enter a home, Lithuanians have shown to be the most welcoming hosts, always preoccupied with the guest's wellbeing and needs.  So I think that the apparent rudeness you might encounter in shops is just not comparable of the polite but fake smile you find in Western European countries. 


Lithuania is very nice to be discovered  on  a weekend, but I think it is far nicer if you know people there!


But short were my goodbyes, as I have miles to go before I sleep...