Abroad in Spain: Travel Blog

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.  Continue reading this post…

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.  Continue reading this post…

I never tire of walking past the Cathedral of Burgos on a sunny day.

Here in Burgos, we are lucky enough to have a Gothic-style cathedral known as the “Cathedral of Burgos” (unique name, right?).  Construction on the cathedral began way back in the year 1221 and the marvelous building has been standing ever since then.  As far as Spanish cathedrals go, this one is actually a bit on the famous side and, during the summer months, tourists flock to see it. 

You know, I have been living in Burgos for about a year now, have walked past this cathedral hundreds of times, and have made numerous visits to see its interior.  Still, I can’t help but stop and admire it every time I walk by.  When I think of the age of the building and the fact that its ornate artwork had to have been done by hand, I simply can’t help but be impressed — and believe me, the building is impressive both inside and out.  I guess having it here is just another “perk” of living in Burgos.

For those of you who are interested, you can visit the interior of the cathedral any day of the week (the times vary by season).  If you’re going to be in Burgos either the second or fourth Sunday of the month, you can enter the cathedral for free after 4:00 PM; otherwise, entrance costs four or five Euros.  The visit includes seeing the actual cathedral itself and a walk through a small museum that explains how the building was originally built and later restored.  Continue reading this post…