Burrrrr, it’s Berlin

Stepping out of the airport, I am hit with a blast of freezing artic air. Berlin is definitely in the throws of winter and noticeably colder than Barcelona. We head to a bed and breakfast located in the heart of the town. It is on one floor of a typical apartment and is only 35 euro a night. Tall coffered ceilings, shuttered windows and radiator heat make me feel more like a Berliner than a tourist. The streets of the city are in full seasonal festivity. Beautiful Christmas trees decked out in hand-blown glass ornaments and colorful twinkling lights fill the windows of all the stores. Christmas villages are set up along the wide sidewalks selling things you would only buy during this season. Candy canes, hot roasted chestnuts, and of course, plenty of presents. It is a modern city with reminders of the past strewed throughout the city. I walk by a huge stone cathedral that looks like it was bombed out, just a shell of its original self, too historic to tear down and too much of a rubble to restore. East and West Berlin seems to be seamlessly melted together from what I could tell. I never saw any remnants of a city torn in half by cold war politics. It’s Thanksgiving Day, and no turkey in sight. The Europeans are aware of this unique American holiday but take little notice of it. We find a nondescript corner Asian restaurant. I settle for pressed duck. The next day I find a coffee shop selling slices of apple pie. Half way through the slice I am thinking of family, friends and being thankful to be able to have this little adventure with so many of you. The next day it is back on Clickair and the flying bus taking us back to Barcelona.

Off to Sitges for Humanity

As most of you know, I have done a lot of volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity. Each year they have a big gala to raise money for building homes. For the past couple of years I have done the décor for the event. Because I was sailing, I was unable to help this year. So I offered to use my boat and a week on the coast of Spain as an auction item. It ended up being the highest paid auction item of the event. Last week, the couple that won the auction came to claim their prize. They came a few days early and spent some time in Barcelona exploring the wonders of the city. We met together late Saturday and planned out our week. The next day we set sail for Casteldefels, a small coastal town just south of Barcelona. It was a typical coastal Spanish village with whitewashed houses and colorful fishing boats. The town was just a short walk away from the port and the castle up on the hill was a long walk. The Wades were up for the challenge of exploring the castle in the early afternoon. It wasn’t until long after dark before they returned to the boat. The next day we sailed off to Sitges

Just a couple of hours further up the coast is the town of Sitges. It is the main resort town for Barcelona. In the summer, the beaches sprout colorful umbrellas and the sand is carpeted with bronze tan bodies stretched out on festive towels. Restaurants are bustling with activity and the streets are a tide of people. This time of year however, it is a shadow of itself. It feels more like a lazy Sunday morning before anyone is out of bed. A few strollers, and shops that half-heartily open late in the afternoon. Some don’t even bother to do that. But the beauty that made this a popular beach town is still there. The cathedral right on the edge of the surging sea, three museums, cobblestone streets and stone-crafted architecture seduce you into its charm.

The next day the Wades decided to go to Tarragona. It is too far to go by boat in the short week that we have together, so they hop on a train and make an overnight adventure of it. It gives me a great opportunity to soak up Sitges and hang out at the port. The week passes by in lightning speed and soon we are heading back to Barcelona.

I am getting comfortable with Barcelona. Working on my Spanish in the morning, going to the gym, taking care of business and working on the computer. I met a guy who lives in Sitges that is from Denver. Alex has been here a couple of years. In the beginning he was teaching English to Spanish kids. Now he is teaching Spanish to transplanted adults. We got together for lunch. Alex tells me he is headed to Berlin for a couple of days. There is an airline called Clickair that has insane pricing to the major cities in Europe. Most of the tickets are 20 euro including all the taxes and fees. It doesn’t take much to talk me into joining him. The plane leaves in a couple of hours so we go back to the boat, I throw a backpack together with a few clothes while he books the ticket on the internet and off we go.

Over 2500 Nautical Miles Later

After a long day on calm seas we pull into Porto Olympica. It is a port that was built for the Olympic games back in the 90’s. There are two towering skyscrapers that mark the port where the athletes were housed during the games. After the games, the units were sold off as apartments. The port doesn’t have a regular berth for us, but allow us to tie up across from the Capitainare as long as we promise to leave by 9am. And no, they don’t have any long term spaces. So the next morning we go to the main port in Barcelona. It looks like there are a bunch of new berths and things look hopeful. We find an empty berth and head to the Capitainare. Sorry no room for long term berthing there either. I was hoping to spend the winter months in Barcelona. There is one last chance, Port Frovm. It is a new port and they might have a space for us. We do manage to find a place and report one more time to the Capitainare. It seems that they do have room, but there is a low bridge that is 16 meters high. Looks pretty tight. We try it, I get right up next to it, and it looks like my mast is about 6” too tall. Now what? We go back only to find that the only places they have are on the other side of the bridge. They encourage us to try again and to go up right next to the wall. So the next morning we attempt it again. With a little luck we squeeze under, bending the top VHF antenna as we pass. Wow that is close. Water is up a bit because of winter and a full moon. I just hope we can make it out when we need to. But we are here in Barcelona, safely tucked into a nice berth for a while. I have sailed over 2500 nautical miles before arriving in Barcelona. It has been a great adventure sharing with family and friends. I am ready to stay put for a while, and this looks like a great place to hang out during the winter months.

My friend Jun and I decide to explore the city a bit. There is a lot to see in this grand city. And the best way to see all of the highlights and get a feel for where everything is located is by taking a ride on the Bus Turistic. We have seen these busses in other ports. These double decker busses stop at all of the points of interest. A bus comes about every 10 minutes and can get on and off at any of the spots, spending as much time as you want each time. The first thing we head to is Goudi’s Art Nouveau masterpiece, the temple Expiatori de la Sagrada, church of the holy family. Breathtaking, spectacular, incredible, astounding, what ever you want to say, it doesn’t do this architecture sculpture justice. The church was started in 1883. Goudi spent a lifetime working on it including the last 16 years of his life living like a recluse until he died in 1926. The church is still unfinished and probably will not be completed in my lifetime. With 12 spires for each of the apostles, 4 more for the gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, one for Mary and then the crowning spire for Christ, it is unique in all the world. Even more interesting is the concept for the church. All the religious symbols are on the outside of the building. Words shouting Hosanna, peace and Glory to God wrap around the spires along with depicting the life, death and resurrection of Christ. The inside of the church is stripped of all religious symbols. Instead, the supporting pillars resemble tall trees, creating a ceiling of forest leaves. When finished, stain glass ceilings will filter colored light through the naïve. Goudi’s concept is to make you feel like you are worshiping in a forest of trees rather than a man-made church. I love Art Nouveau. Claiming to have the greatest collection of Art Nouveau buildings, Barcelona has them generously sprinkled throughout the city, and Expiatori de la Sagrada is the crowning jewel.

After two days double deckering it, we only scratch the surface of what this city has to offer. It is going to take me a while to do all of the exploring that I am excited to do. I hope to get a lot of bike riding in, and learning to speak Spanish. Not sure what else, I guess I will do what I always do, make it up as I go.

Why is Everyone Naked

Our next port is Cap d’ Agde, as we make our way to the border of Spain. We planned to just stay the night but the next day it was poring rain so we stayed a little longer. Nearby is the famous town of Anbone, a naturalist city of over 20,000 people. Fortunately this time of year, the weather is cold enough to make even the most avid nudist from walking around naked. They won’t shed their clothes again until the summer heat returns. The whole area is a community built from scratch. All of the buildings are new, the roads are some of the widest I have seen in Europe, nice sidewalks and landscaped common areas. It is really a wonderful community. The whole town is spotless with no litter and no graffiti. This time of year it is pretty empty. Most of the shops and restaurants are closed and the roadways are almost empty. If you like peace and quiet, this is the place to come during the winter.

Sailing for Sete

We stayed a couple more days in Marseille and then when the weather calmed down a bit headed for Sete. This stretch of the Mediterranean has some of the strongest winds. The French call it the Mistral. When there is a high in the Alps, the only way to equalize the pressure is through the gorge cut by the Rone River. As a result the winds just howl through this part affecting the wind all the way to Toulon. We waited until the winds were as calm as they get and then headed across the water. Even with our cautious waiting, winds gusted to over 35 knots. We made great time sailing at the fastest speeds yet, t one point reaching 10 knots. That is about thirty percent faster than the engines will take us. By the time we reach Sete, the winds had calmed down to about 10 knots. It was a fun and fast day of sailing.

Sete has a huge harbor that runs deep into the town. Beautiful stone buildings with wroth iron balconies line each side of the waterway. The harbor had clear water that you could see deep down. Swimming amongst the rocks were fish about 12” long. They looked like dinner, but I have no skills in catching such things. Fishing is still a major part of the economy here and all the fishing boats were just coming in when we arrived. Along with the fishing boats following their catch were a sky filled with seagulls looking for their evening meal. It looked like something out of the Hitchcock film “The Birds”. We found a nice berth and the capitanerie office could not have been more welcoming. The lady there told us all the restaurants to check out and what nightlife was going on. We wandered around the city for a while, had dinner and skipped the night on the town.

Poking Around the Pope’s Place

The next day we took the train to Avignon. Because of the unrest in Rome, Pope Clement V sought refuge in Avignon. For most of the 14th century, it was here that the popes resided. They build a huge heavily fortified palace. None of the furnishing exists and very few of the walls are preserved with their original decorative frescos. Nonetheless, it is still an imposing structure. 7 official popes governed from these stonewalls. It was during this time that the Catholic Church had two popes serving at one time, one in Rome and one in Avignon. In the end, things got ironed out and the papacy was returned to Rome.

Taking the Train

The seas are a bit rough so we decide to stay in Marseille a little longer, and wait for things to calm down. It is not a bad place to hang out. We take the train to nearby Nimes famous for its textile industry. Their most famous fabric, denim, which got its name from de nimes. This ancient town was an important Roman stronghold. When the Romans included France as part of the Roman Empire, they invested in the town of Nimes. Among the other Roman ruins is the most preserved coliseum in existence. It is not much different than the day it was built. Still in use today for concerts, bullfights and community festivals, spectators still climb the stone stairs and sit on the same stone benches that were in use 2000 years ago. We took the guided tour and learned that Hollywood has greatly distorted what happened in these arenas. Contrary to popular belief, gladiators were not persecuted slaves or prisoners, but were men that choose that profession much like boxers do today. They went to school and learned the art of combat. The contest was to make the opponent submit. The rules were pretty simple; you could do anything but kill the other guy. They had referees that made sure no deadly force was used. When an opponent was conquered, all eyes went to the leading dignitary. He would either tuck his thumb into his fingers indicating that the sword should be sheathed or hold his palm out flat indicating death to the defeated. Rarely was death ruled. A lot of money and time went into training these men. If the dignitary signaled death, he would be responsible to paying the school that trained the gladiator significant sums of money. At mid day most of the spectators left the arena to have lunch. It was during this time that the bloodiest of the spectacle took place. Wild animals such as bears or lions would be put into the arena along with prisoners and enemies of the state chained in place and not allowed to defend themselves. What happened next is a bloodbath with the wild animals feasting on human flesh. Even the Romans considered this pretty barbaric and few watched. It was used as a warning to not cross the might of the Roman Empire. After lunch, the sand on the arena floor was turned, soaking up the blood and the afternoon games would continue.

We also went to the Maison Carree, a temple with typical fluted columns and sculpted frieze. It is the best preserved in the world as well. These two gems made the trip well worth the train ride. They made the Maison Carree into a theater that showed a 3D movie on the history of the area. We got swords poking inches from our face and lances from the Middle Ages hurling towards us. It was all quite fun.