So to begin the last week we visited the Uniklinik in Bonn to observe some surgeries at the teaching hospital. I got to see a man have an infected mastoid process removed from his head, which was actually interesting (even though it took about 4 hours) and overall was a good experience. After that and some tests/presentation, it was off to my journey of the Iberian Peninsula.
For spring break, a few friends and I decided to go to Spain and Portugal which was probably one of the best decisions of my life. To start our trip, we took a train to Brussels and flew to Lisbon. The awesome weather (75 and sunny the whole time), food, and sights made Lisbon my favorite destination.
Also, on a side note, in Lisbon, at every single restaurant, I was greeted by the best service I have ever had, Everyone was inviting and spoke English and just wanted to make sure we had a positive experience in their place of business.
On the first day, we labored up and down the hilly streets of Lisbon and visited a flea market, and a few churches, Castelo do Sao Jorge, and the Arco da Rua Augusta, where we just sat near the water for a little bit, soaking in the sun and watching some seagulls hover over a man who had copious amounts of bread. We then went to the Oceanario Lisboa which was in Parque das Nacoes. The aquarium was alright, but my favorite part was the park itself. There was just something about the quasi futuristic style of the park which made me enjoy just spending time there. We also got to see some Fada music which is traditional Portuguese music, which was very interesting as well.
The next day was our big sightseeing day. We saw: Jeronimos monastery(awesome), the Berardo art museum (very weird even for a modern art museum, featuring 'The Clock'), the Belem Tower, and had some Portuguese pastries. Then it was off to Madrid.
After some confusion with our flights everyone safely arrived in Madrid. That night we went to Chocoleteria San Gines and feasted on ~35 churros and a personal cup of melted chocolate. The next day, our AirBnB host had prepared a route for us to follow to explore Madrid which was very helpful. We walked around the city, visited Puerto de Sol, and arrived in Plaza Mayor only to discover one of the greatest things ever: Menu del dia. After enjoying that and some nice street music we continued our journey by seeing Palacio Real de Madrid. The next day, we saw the Real Madrid soccer stadium, went to Retiro park which was very beautiful and went to the Prado museum ( which we got into for free because of student discounts). That night we went to go watch a Flamenco show which was very entertaining and cultural. Off to our final destination of Barcelona!
The weather in Barcelona was worse than than our previous two destinations but was still decent. Barcelona was all about one guy: Antoni Gaudi. Parque Guell, Gaudi House (Casa Batllo), and La Padrera, and most importantly La Sagrada Familia were some of the Gaudi sights we saw. The Sagrada Familia was like no church I have ever seen before in my life. First off, interestingly, it has never been completed (they are hoping it will be by 2026). But irrespective of that, it is beautiful. Each piece is a story being told by Gaudi and the nature inspired aspects of the cathedral are breathtaking. Other things we did included attending a beer festival where over 300 different beers were present, eating paella, visiting the picasso museum, La Ramblas and the Montjuic Castle and Art museum, and finally, sprinting to see the Arc de Triomf and Toure Agbar with what little time we had left.
Hopefully my synopsis version of these places did not detract from the impression of these cities.
I definitely need to visit these places again, (mainly Lisbon and Barcelona) when I have more time and money to gain a full appreciation of these awesome cities.
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