Abroad in Spain: Travel Blog » Burgos

¡Campeones!

Chris — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:31:25 +0000

A large screen was put up in the Plaza Mayor of Burgos this afternoon so that soccer fans could watch the final match of the World Cup.

Right now as I’m writing this, the Queen song “We are the Champions” is blasting from speakers on the street below my house. No, Spaniards don’t just really like Queen — the song is being played over and over again because Spain won the World Cup this evening. It goes without saying that, since the win, there has been some massive celebrating going on here in Burgos. It’s safe to say that these Spaniards really know the meaning of the phrase ”party hearty.”

The afternoon started peacefully enough with almost everyone in the city heading to the Plaza Mayor to watch the final match of the World Cup on a large screen that had been set up just for today. As you can see from the picture above, there was a big turnout of red-clad, Spain-supporting, Burgos-dwelling people. The afternoon turned out to be a tense one: it was a really close game. Still, Spain won in the end.

When Spain won, what did those watching the game in the Plaza Mayor do? They went to the Plaza España, of course. Why? To jump in the fountain and celebrate the victory. Now, I’m no soccer expert and I could be missing something, but I don’t really see the connection between “victory” and “jumping in a city fountain full of cold water to celebrate.” Of course, that’s just me. In any event, the celebration started about two hours ago and it’s now 1:00 a.m. and still going strong. I have a feeling it will last well into the night.

In any case, I send my congrats to Spain’s team. This is the first World Cup that Spain has won and it deserves the victory. ¡Enhorabuena España!

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

Amigos, hay crisis

Chris — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 21:06:27 +0000

I woke up this morning at the usual time and, just like every other day, set out for the Plaza España to catch the bus that would transport me across the city and to the school where I work. After a few minutes at the bus stop, I began to realize that I was having to wait for the bus for a lot more time than usual. At first I thought my “number six” bus line was just running a little late… but then it dawned on me: the civil servant strike.

You see, city bus drivers are civil servants in Spain. As civil servants, they are included in the 5% average pay cut that Zapatero recently announced to help reduce Spain’s deficit and thus “save” the country from the financial crisis. Of course, this announced pay cut didn’t exactly go over very well with the civil servants (surprising, right?) and today they all went on a one-day strike to speak out against the change.

Spain seems to have become the “hot topic” in Europe right now with respect to the financial crisis and everyone is wondering if it will become the “next Greece.” Personally, I don’t think that things in Spain will reach the level they did in Greece; but, I’m no economic expert. In any case, if you’d like to read more about Spain and the financial crisis, you can check out this very good New York Times Blog article that explains the situation much better than I can.

I don’t really know how “worried” I should be about the crisis. In fact, I sometimes think that people here are blowing the whole thing a bit out of proportion and hoarding money unnecessarily. I suppose it’s understandable to an extent: nobody wants to be without a job or loose money that they have spent a lifetime saving. Still, I can’t help but feel as if Spaniards are overreacting. Who knows? Maybe I’m wrong.

In the end, thanks to the civil servant strike, I had to take a taxi to get to school today. Let’s hope they don’t strike again anytime soon… taxis are much less convenient (and more expensive) than city buses.

Please, leave your thoughts about the crisis in Spain in the comments below. I’d like to know what others think about all this — expats and Spaniards alike.

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

The “Nativity on steroids” of the Burgos Cathedral

Chris — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:20:52 +0000

Visitors view the humongous Nativity of the Burgos Cathedral.

I have memories from when I was a child of helping my mother set up the Christmas tree and the Nativity set in our home. I never really liked doing the task that much because there were always so many lights to put on the tree and so many little figures to put into the Nativity set. In fact, I’m sure my mother would tell you that I complained quite a bit about having to do the chore.

It turns out that I probably shouldn’t have complained so much. Why? My mother’s Nativity set was nothing compared to the monstrous ”Nativity on steroids” of the Burgos Cathedral. In fact, I think my mom’s Nativity contained a Joseph, a Mary, a Baby Jesus, the Three Wise Men, and a couple of camels… it probably had no more than ten pieces. The Nativity set of the Burgos Cathedral, on the other hand, contains over 1,200 pieces. How’d you like to be the guy who has to put that thing up?

All joking aside, it’s not all that uncommon to put up a very large Nativity set here in Spain. They are usually put up around Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and remain up until the 6th of January — the day that the Three Kings visited Jesus. In fact, Nativities like these are so common that I have seen them in several other churches (not just the Burgos Cathedral) and have even seen them proudly displayed in people’s homes (of course, you have to remove everything but the sofa from your living room to get one of these Nativities to fit).

The very last scene in the Cathedral's Nativity depicted the death of Jesus.

As you can see from the above photos, the quality of these sets is amazing and they typically depict the life of Christ from just before his birth to his death. In fact, the Burgos Cathedral’s set was laid out so that the visitor could “walk through” the various stages of Jesus’ life from birth to death. Located at each stage was a small plaque explaining exactly what was being depicted. It was a very interesting visit.

If you’d like to see more photos of the Burgos Cathedral Nativity, check out my Nativity photos on Picasa.

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

Merry (ongoing) Christmas from Spain!

Chris — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:24:20 +0000

As part of the Christmas festivities in Burgos, a "Christmas Fair" was set up in the Plaza Mayor in which people purchased crafts from local vendors.

I’ve decided to title this post “Merry (ongoing) Christmas.” You may be asking yourself why I’ve put the word “ongoing” in the title and the answer is really rather simple: in Spain, Christmas is not over yet. In fact, I’ve discovered that the Spanish love to “make the most” of their holidays — no matter how big or how small they are — and that’s exactly what they’ve done with Christmas (you’ll see what I mean in a moment).

In the USA, Christmas is usually celebrated on the 24th and 25th of December with a large dinner, the exchanging of gifts, and the arrival of Santa Claus. Later, we typically celebrate the coming of the New Year; but, once January 2nd arrives, the holiday season is pretty much over for us. In Spain, on the contrary, Christmas is “stretched” from the 24th of December to the 6th of January. How can this be? The answer to that question lies in two very important words: the Epiphany.

You see, here in Spain gifts are exchanged on the 24th and 25th of December much like in the USA; however, people then celebrate New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day and then celebrate the Epiphany. As a result, the whole Christmas season becomes a bit “blurred” and stretches from the 24th of December all the way to the 6th of January, which is the day that the Three Kings visit children’s homes to deliver gifts (much in the way that Santa visits homes in the USA).

Personally, I have mixed feelings about this “stretching” of Christmas. On the one hand, I think it’s a bit unfair that most Spanish children get to receive gifts from Santa on the 25th and then again from the Three Kings on the 6th — I wish I had been that lucky when I was a kid. Also, because Christmas isn’t really over in Spain until the Epiphany, it seems to me that Christmas here is a bit perpetual – today is the 31st of December and I’m still hearing Christmas carols on the radio and people are still in stores doing Christmas shopping for Kings’ Day. On the other hand, of course, I think it’s really nice that people in Spain have such a long holiday to relax and spend time with their families.

In any event, I’d like to hear what you think about all this. How much Christmas is “too much?” Whether you’re from Spain, the USA, or some other part of the world, please leave a comment explaining your thoughts on the subject and your personal Christmas traditions.

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

Spaniards are “loco” for the lottery

Chris — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:56:36 +0000

Signs advertising the Christmas Lottery are EVERYWHERE in Burgos.

I was walking home from a class tonight when I noticed a small “pattern” start to emerge: lighted signs advertising the “Christmas Lottery” were on just about every street corner. I always knew that Spaniards were a little crazy about their “Lotería de Navidad;” but, I guess I’ve never before noticed the extremes to which the craziness goes.

If you’re not familiar with the Christmas Lottery in Spain, it’s basically a huge lottery drawing held around Christmas that the entire country buys a ticket for (or maybe two tickets, or sometimes three tickets, and there are probably cases of people buying four tickets, or five, but certainly not more than six… or seven). The truth is that the popularity of this lottery is unbelievable.

Since I’m not Spanish, I don’t totally understand the attraction to the Christmas Lottery — I suppose your odds of winning are higher or the jackpot is bigger, but since I don’t play I’m not really sure. In any event, I can tell you that people stand in long lines to buy Christmas Lottery tickets at places where winning tickets have been sold in the past and, in general, the entire population goes “crazy” buying up all the tickets in existence in places like tobacco shops, bars, and official lottery retail outlets.

So, if you’re Spanish and you’ve bought a ticket for the Christmas Lottery this year, let me wish you all the “suerte” in the world… and please, do leave me a comment explaining what you think is the attraction to the Christmas Lottery in Spain. I guess Americans like me just don’t understand this type of thing.

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

Chocolate con churros: Harder to order than one might think

Chris — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:54:19 +0000

During the winter, churros stands like this one begin to crop up all over Burgos. It’s easy to eat these delicious delicacies; however, it’s somewhat more complex to order them.

The winter has finally arrived to Burgos. The days are darker, the temperatures are lower, and the people of the city are sporting their “Eskimo attire” to combat the cold. Of course, if you don’t like bundling up to stay warm, you could try another “heat-seeking” technique: eating freshly made churros.

Since the weather has begun to get colder, churros stands (like the one pictured above) have been popping up all over the place around the city. For those of you who don’t know what churros are, they’re basically rod-shaped pieces of fried dough that are covered in sugar — the Spanish version of the doughnut. The truth is, nothing quite warms you up on a winter day like some freshly fried churros along with a little hot chocolate to accompany them.

Despite their delectable goodness, ordering churros from a street vendor posed a bit of a problem for me when I first moved to Spain. It turns out that ordering churros is more difficult than you might think.

You see, before coming to Burgos last year, I had never seen a churros stand anywhere. I had eaten churros in various bars and restaurants before; however, the whole “street churros experience” was something new to me.

When you’re in a bar and you want churros, the “norm” is to tell the waiter or waitress that you want “churros for one person” or “churros for two people.” In other words, you tell the waiter how many people are going to be eating the churros and then let the staff in the kitchen decide exactly how many to give you (they typically allot three or four churros per person). At the stands on the street, on the contrary, churros are ordered by the piece. The first time that I went to a street vendor to order churros, I applied my “bar logic” and asked the employee for “churros for one person.” Of course, the worker promptly responded with a puzzled look. He later asked me exactly how many churros I wanted.

Since my first “churros mishap” last year, I have ordered churros from street vendors many times. After so much experience ordering them, I have come to realize that the “norm” for buying churros off the street is to ask for them by the dozen or by the half-dozen. I wish I had known that last year when I visited my first churros stand — maybe I could have saved the churros guy his puzzled look.

In any event, I’d like to dedicate this post to the discussion of Spanish snacks. What is your favorite Spanish snack for a cold (or warm) day? Leave your response below.

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

The Cathedral of Burgos: A treat on the inside

Chris — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:12:45 +0000

A spectacular view of one of the largest altarpieces in the Cathedral of Burgos. Whether you’re Catholic or not, it’s impressive to look at.

Not too long ago I wrote a post about the exterior of the Cathedral of Burgos, a thirteenth century Catholic Cathedral. As far as cathedrals in Spain go, this one is a bit on the famous side — and it’s no wonder why. The building itself is beautiful.

Just the other day I paid another trip to the Burgos Cathedral and I decided to expand upon my last post by taking some photos of the interior of the building to share with you. As you can see, the interior is very ornate and beautiful. Still, what’s really amazing to me is the fact that practically all of the art housed in this cathedral (sculptures, statues, altarpieces, etc.) dates back centuries. To put it in perspective for you, work on this cathedral began before the continent of America was even discovered by Christopher Columbus — that’s a long time for a bunch of “old statues” to survive.

The "Golden Staircase" links the interior of the cathedral with the outside world by serving as a point of entry.

If you like the above photos, you may wish to check out my complete collection on Picasa. If you’re going to be in the Burgos area, I’d recommend that you visit the cathedral. The building is open to the public seven days a week (hours vary by season) and the cost for tourists to enter is around five Euros. The visit is definitely worth the price.

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

The “quick and hassle-free” process of renewing my residency card in Spain

Chris — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:03:17 +0000

Last month I picked up my new foreigner residency card at the police station so that I could be “legal” for another year in Spain. This was the first time I have actually had to renew my card from within Spain and I must say that the process, while extremely interesting to me as a foreigner (I’d never seen anything quite like it in my life), was not exactly what I would consider “seamless.”

To give you an idea of what I had to do to get my residency card renewed here in Spain, I’m going to break the process down into steps. So, without further ado, here are the steps along with their approximate dates:

Step 1 (June, 2009): I went to the Foreigner Services Office and requested information about renewing my residency permit. I was given forms to fill out and was told I wouldn’t be able to submit them until August because my current card wasn’t actually due to expire until September.

Step 2 (August, 2009): I returned to the Foreign Services Office and turned in the forms that they had given me in June. But I ran into a problem — I didn’t have all the photocopies I needed (they neglected to tell me about the copies when I went for information the first time). To fix the problem I needed to get photocopies.

Step 3 (August, 2009): I left the Foreign Services Office, walked down the street, and made photocopies at a UPS Store.

Step 4 (August, 2009): I returned to the Foreign Services Office — this time with the correct photocopies — and submitted the paperwork. I was told that the next step would be to wait for a letter to arrive in the mail.

Step 5 (September, 2009): The letter arrived in my mail saying that my request for the renewal of my residency permit was granted. Along with the letter came a form for me to pay a fee into a public account at the bank.

Step 6 (September, 2009): I took the letter to the bank and made the necessary payment. The man at the bank gave me a receipt for me to deliver personally back to the Foreign Services Office.

Step 7 (September, 2009): I delivered the receipt from the bank to the Foreign Services Office. There, they instructed me to go to the main police station of the city with three passport photos so that my foreigner ID card could be made.

Step 8 (September, 2009): I went to the police station and told them I was there to have my ID card made. Once there, they told me that there was another fee that I would have to pay (not the same as the one I paid to the Foreign Services Office) and there were also several other forms I would need to fill out. I got all the information.

Step 9 (September, 2009): After getting the information at the police station, I filled out the forms and made the second payment at the bank. The bank again gave me a receipt. This receipt was to be submitted with the forms at the police station.

Step 10 (September 2009): I returned to the police station with my receipt from the bank. My fingerprints were taken and they told me to return in one month to pick up my new ID card.

Step 11 (October, 2009): After the one-month waiting period, I returned to the police station to pick up my ID card. By this time, I had made so many trips back and forth to public buildings that I practically kissed the officer who handed me the card because I knew it meant the end to my “paperwork madness.”

So, after an eleven-step process that spanned four or five months, I can finally say that I am in possession of my new residency card. For the most part, the public workers who I encountered during this ordeal were friendly and helpful; however, I found all these steps to be, well, a bit illogical and counterproductive. Towards the end, however, the “haphazardness” of the whole process became a bit amusing to me; in fact, I even began to chuckle a bit to myself during one of my several trips between banks and public offices.

So, here is my question to those who have lived in Spain longer than I have. Is everything like this when it comes to submitting paperwork to the government? I would love to hear your stories related with these types of “situations” in Spain. Leave your comments below.

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

He stepped on my fruits!

Chris — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:23:26 +0000

As most of you probably already know, I’m an English teacher by trade. I work in a high school here in Burgos and I also teach a few private English classes on the side. I enjoy all my classes (both at the school and the private ones) and really like working with my students. Still, no matter how much I enjoy my job or like working with my students, there are always those days when things just don’t seem to go right.

Today was one of those days. You see, I just got home from a private class with a “very energetic” five year old student. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great kid, but keeping his attention is a task. Let me give you an example….

The topic of today’s lesson was “fruits.” I went to my young student’s house with my colorful “fruit book” and I also brought along some plastic fruits to use as visual aids. I read him the fruit book a couple of times and everything went fine. After a while, my young student was starting to recognize the fruits in the book pretty well… so I decided it was time to whip out the plastic fruits and do some vocabulary practice — bad idea. My dear little student saw the plastic fruits and went totally “loco.” He began to grab the fruits from me, hit me over the head with them, and he even went as far as to step on my plastic apple leaving it totally squashed. Of course, he did all this while laughing uncontrollably and saying “frutas, frutas” in Spanish.

What have I learned from this ordeal? When using plastic fruits with five-year-olds, be careful that they don’t throw any at your head. You may also want to watch their feet just in case they get the urge to trample a plastic apple. And always carry a “back-up” supply of plastic fruit — something is bound to come up missing.

I suppose I can say that the class was a learning experience… for the teacher, at least.

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

The chanting monks of the Santo Domingo de Silos Abbey

Chris — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:49:07 +0000

The cloister of the monastery.

I just got back from visiting the Monasterio de Santo Domingo de Silos and thought I would share a little information with you about the monastery and the monks that live inside it.

The monastery is located about 45 minutes outside the city of Burgos in a quaint little village known as “Santo Domingo de Silos.” It’s home to a group of Benedictine monks. Certain parts of the monastery are open to the public and visitors can pay three Euros to have a guided tour. On the tour you will see things like the beautifully landscaped cloister of the monastery and some very interesting (and very old) religious sculptures and carvings which line the walls of the complex.

One of the many religious sculptures housed within the monastery walls.

Still, the tour of the monastery was not what I found most interesting about my visit. You see, each day around 7:00 PM there is a vesper held in the abbey church in which the monks of the monastery sing Gregorian chant. The thing that makes this special is that the monks of this particular monastery are very well-known internationally for their Gregorian chant and they even have released two albums — entitled Chant and Chant II — which have actually topped the Billboard music charts. Thus, for me, the most interesting part of the visit to Santo Domingo de Silos was not the actual visit to the monastery. Instead, it was being able to watch the “monk concert” (which, incidentally, was a much more solemn affair than a Kiss concert).

If you’re interested in hearing what these monks sound like when they chant, you can check out their CD on Amazon. You may also be interested in taking a look at their official website. I would absolutely recommend a visit to Santo Domingo de Silos if you’re ever in the area — it’s a visit that can be done in as little time as one afternoon and, whether you’re religious or not, it’s extremely interesting to see how these monks live and to watch them chant.

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com