Back to Madrid and final thought on Spain

 Greetings All!

 The Better Late than Never Final Spain Post...

 

(Burgos to Madrid, Nov. 25-29, 2024)

 

Welcome to the final post on our 2024, 3 month Northern Spain Excursion. 

Kissing Burgos a sweet goodbye, we jumped on the bus for a 2+ hour trip back to Madrid where we will fly back to Mexico city on a direct flight. We had only spent one full day there upon arrival to Spain, but now look forward to getting to know Madrid a bit better on this return trip. 

Click to enlarge photos.... 

 

El Retiro Park: 

 Fountain of the Fallen Angel, The monument was inaugurated by the Queen consort of Spain Maria Christina of Austria in 1885.  A masterpiece of Ricardo Bellver

 

Wow Concept store with the Capitoline Wolf atop, depicting the she-wolf who, according to Roman legend, suckled the founders of Rome, the twins Romulus and Remus....

Campo del Moro and their "Mow" bot....

Apollo Fountain, Ventura Rodríguez, c. 1803

 

Elephant heads in the Architecture! 

The Monument to the Fallen for Spain....

From Wikipedia....Standing close to 30 metres high,^[1] the monument is built on the place where General Joachim Murat ordered the execution of numerous Spaniards after the Dos de Mayo Uprising of 1808. After various attempts to create a memorial as an homage to the participants of the uprising, the inauguration of the monument took place on May 2, 1840, the anniversary of the event. On November 22, 1985, King Juan Carlos I re-inaugurated the monument as a memorial to all those who gave their life for Spain, including those who died in conflicts other than the Peninsular War.^[2] Since then, a flame fueled by gas has been constantly burning on the front of the monument. This parallels other war memorials around the world of national symbolic importance, such as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  

 

 The magnificent Palacio de Cibeles, The City Hall of Madrid...opened 1919....

 

 

The beautiful Windmill Palms in Parque de La Montana....

 

 

In our three month Trip to the Northern Iberian Peninsula, we dove deep into the culture of Spain. 

Living among the Spaniards, we saw amazing sights from the Beaches up to the Mountains, Big cities and Tiny Towns. The traditional and modern, often mixed,  will not be forgotten! 

 

Thanks for  taking the time to look over our Blog.

More to come from Mexico soon!

 

On the Way with KnJ! 

 

 

Burgos and the Museum of Human Evolution...

 

 Vitoria-Gasteiz to Burgos

(Burgos, Spain; Nov. 21 - 25, 2024)

I really didn't think I would be this far behind in posting this next blog, but here it is!

 After our 10 days in Vitoria-Gasteiz we were off to catch a bus for the short 1.25 hr ride to Burgos! It lies in the autonomous community of Castile and León. We arrive early and its cold in the 40s (F).

After grabbing a bite to eat we arrive at our apartment. It a spacious place on the 3rd floor with a large outdoor patio and a big nice kitchen. A fine place for our 4 nights here.

 

Our primary reason for coming to Burgos is because of the fascinating Museum of Human Evolution 

 

We'd been wanting to go for some time. This museum boasts the famous skull, Cranium 5. It is around 400,000 years old and one of the most complete and best preserved cranium fossils worldwide. It was found in the renowned archaeological site of Atapuerca, not far away, providing the earliest known evidence of hominins in the western part of Europe.. The skull is of our extinct relative, Homo heidelbergensis. .....found in 1992.

 

Here you can see "Elvis" the pelvis, the 400,000 - 500,000 year old pelvis found at Atapuerca....

 

 

A walk into an enormous brain? Its made of wool and wires.... 

 Also on display, a metal sculpture of a bison

  It is amazing that at least nine other species of humans walked our planet. We, homo sapiens, being the lucky ones to walk now. To see such undeniable evidence of our past evolution forces me to think of what the future holds. Here you can see our similarities and our differences with our cousins. In this pic, only us and the chimps are extant....

 

Also found in Burgos, is the 1955 sculpture of El Cid. Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar or El Cid, was a medieval Spanish ruler who fought for both Christians and Muslims. (Imagine that!)

There are many stories of this hero worth reading about.

 We really enjoyed walking all around Burgos and seeing the sights....like this...the 16th century Arcos de Castilfalé. This was, for hundreds of years a gateway to the city. Being part of the ancient wall that protected the city of Burgos.

....and more modern art...

 

At least 1200 years old, the Castle of Burgos, located up on a hill overlooking the city....

the view.... 

 The Cathedral and its stunning artwork.....

 

also impressive was the chain of grafted together sycamore trees. Each tree is grafted into the next by wiring the branches together. This walkway goes for maybe a quarter mile or longer....

 

Burgos, its river-walk, the Museum, history, architecture and its trees.... was another impressive stop on our journey through Spain.

Stay tuned for the last post of our trip coming soon!

KnJ

 

Bilbao to Vitoria-Gasteiz

(Nov. 12, 2024 Vitoria-Gasteiz)

 Greetings All! We are slowly wrapping up our 3 month Northern Spain trip. Today we take you from the city of Bilbao southward to Vitoria-Gasteiz, the capital of the Basque Country. Not knowing much about this city we arrived on a cold November day on the bus from Bilbao.

While the year 2012 saw the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz become the European Green Capital, in 2019 it was awarded Global Green City, joining an exclusive group to have been granted the award that includes cities like Vienna (Austria), Vancouver (Canada), Oakland (United States), Curitiba (Brazil), Nantes (France), Mannheim (Germany) and Yokohama (Japan). It also hosts their famous Jazz festival in July.

Upon arrival we could see the emphasis on their Green Technology with the electric buses and tram system.....

A city with contrasts though, as seen here.... In the medieval quarter....

 

Cathedral María Inmaculada of Vitoria

 

The Monument to the Battle of Vitoria (1917) is a sculpture that commemorates the Battle of Vitoria, which took place on June 21, 1813. The battle was fought between the allied forces of Britain, Portugal, and Spain, led by the Duke of Wellington (shown on the horse, center), and the French army, led by José Bonaparte. Miguel Ricardo de Álava y Esquivel is shown on horse at bottom right. The french defeat led to ending the rule of Napoleon's brother Joseph Bonaparte over Spain. Fascinating!

 

 Natural areas surround the city and are linked by its Green Belt, some 31 kms long! We hiked a large part of it.

 

 After the hike it was on to the Armor museum via the ultra modern Tram.....

The museum is now 50 years old, located in front of the palace of Ajuria Enea (1920)

They have a very impressive collection of more than 1500 pieces from Prehistory to the early 20th century, as well as killer suits of armor. How dificult it must have been to walk around, much less fight a battle wearing one of these! Surprisingly, one of our favorite museums we visited.

 

 

We were thoroughly impressed with the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz. With the incredible amount of trees they have planted throughout the city, the easily accessible natural areas and hiking opportunities, the history and culture, the excellent public transportation and its cool vibe, we were fortunate to visit this outstanding city.

 

Thanks for checking out this post and stay tuned for the next one as we head to Burgos!

Regards, KnJ