I recently stumbled upon the creative work of Fernando Volken Togni. Though he lives in Brazil, his illustrations capture the highlights of interesting cities all over the world. Check out these colorful, graphic prints from his 24 Hours collection:
Zurich, Switzerland
Melbourne, Australia
Madrid, Spain
Ngorongoro, Tanzania
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Cairo, Egypt
Paris, France
New York City, USA
Casablanca, Morocco
London, United Kingdom
Barcelona, Spain
Which illustration is your favorite? My top three are Barcelona, Casablanca, and Melbourne. To learn more about Fernando and see the rest of his work visit his website.
I was lucky enough to visit my friends in Madrid before flying back to Houston earlier this month. Getting to the airport was an experience to say the least. With two suitcases and a carry on, I traveled from the main train station in Saarbrücken to a tiny town called Kirn. Fortunately, I met a nice German soldier there who helped me carry my bags up the stairs. After a thirty minute wait, I transferred my luggage to a bus that went directly to the Frankfurt-Hahn airport. Don't be confused by the name though; it's not actually located in Frankfurt (that would be Frankfurt International.) No. No. Frankfurt Hahn is in the middle of nowhere, Germany. But I really enjoyed my last ride through the small villages of the German countryside, even if I was sitting in the luggage area with my feet propped up on my suitcases to prevent them from rolling all over the bus.
When I finally arrived to Madrid that evening (after a ridiculous wait and having to dispose 5 kg worth of my suitcase contents to meet the strict Ryan Air regulations), Jesus and Diego were waiting for me with a sign in hand. I've always wanted someone to pick me up at the airport with a sign, so I was really excited! (I would insert a picture here of Diego, Jesus, Ludivine, and me with the aforementioned sign, except airport security made me delete it. How sad that we live in a world where taking a picture of a joyous reunion is considered a threat to security.) But words cannot describe how happy I was to see my friends again--I had missed them so much.
We all got into Diego's car and drove to a spot that had a great overlook of the city. We climbed up the hill, sat down in the grass, and watched the sun set over Madrid. It was a perfect moment. Then we went to Diego's house where I met his sweet parents and struggled to communicate with them as we snacked on olives and drank Coca Cola on their balcony. We ate bocadillos for dinner and then met up with Diego's cousin, David, at a discotheca named Penelope where we danced the night away.
The next day was spent in the mountains of Sierra de Guadarrama, just 30 miles northwest of Madrid. In the afternoon we toured El Escorial which is a huge monastery that also used to be a royal palace. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, you can spend an entire day visiting the art gallery, architectural museum, gardens, and royal tombs. We admired the view of the monastery from La Silla de Felipe II and then found our own rock to climb onto and silently watch the beautiful, warm Spanish sun disappear behind the mountains.
Yes, I actually climbed that boulder in those sandals. Be impressed.
After taking a break at Diego's second home in the mountains, we got ready for another late night out. The five of us went to a street fiesta that was not too far from the monastery we had seen earlier in the day. Afterwards, we went to a house party at the home of one of Diego's friends. The home was up in the mountains, where the air was chillier and the stars looked close enough to reach up and grab. The socializing took place in the backyard where his friend has set up a makeshift bar and was playing all the latest Spanish hits. I enjoyed getting to meet new people and watch others interact in a very real environment. It was a lot of fun getting to experience a part of the culture that many visitors do not get to see.
It's a good thing we did not have a busy day planned for Sunday. We ended up sleeping in really late, since we didn't arrive to Jesus' home in Leganes until after 7:00 am from our night out in the mountains. Jesus had already planned a big meal for us, so we enjoyed the entire afternoon in the sun--eating delicious Spanish foods and swimming in the pool. It was just what the doctor ordered after weeks of rain and clouds in Germany.
Jesus' adorable dog, Sara
In the evening, we drove to the center of Madrid where we walked around and saw some of the monuments at night. We also ordered tapas in Plaza Mayor, which is where I ate dinner a year ago with my TCU friends on my one night in Madrid. It was cool to be back a year later and realize how much I have changed and experienced in just a year's time.
Monday was filled with sightseeing. We visited Palacio Real de Madrid (the largest palace in Europe) and Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena (a colorful Catholic cathedral). In the afternoon, we relaxed in Parque del Retiro and rowed around in the small boats on the pond.
an awesome indoor market-- Mercado de San Miguel
I bought a pretty hand-painted fan at this shop
That night we had a big dinner, lovingly prepared by Jesus' father. Sitting outdoors and eating with Jesus, Paloma (Jesus' sister), Ludivine, and the Diegos, I quickly realized that there was no common language between the six of us. I just sat and tried to pick out the few words I understood as the boys were speaking Spanish on one side of the table and the girls were speaking French on the other. It was at that moment that I decided to commit to learning Spanish. I've always wanted to know it, and I'm tired of being in situations where I am unable to communicate with people. I finish my German classes this semester, and I hope to start learning Spanish in the spring.
My time in Spain was short, but wonderful. I'll never forget the fun times I shared with my European friends in Madrid--eating dinner at midnight, driving around the winding mountain roads with the windows rolled down and the radio up, being welcomed with open arms by their family members, and laughing at all of our inside jokes from the summer. Saying goodbye that next morning at Barajas was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do; it's the only time I've ever cried in an airport. I don't know when I'll be able to go back to Europe, but I hope to see my friends again and one day return the warm hospitality they showed me in Madrid.
“A man does not climb a mountain without bringing some of it away with him, and leaving something of himself upon it.” –Sir Martin Conway
I'm currently in an internet cafe in Rome, across the street from our hotel, but more on that later. I only have one hour to recap my experiences in Spain and this keyboard is really confusing so if my spelling and grammar is not up to par, forgive me.
June 24- Today was a learning experience. I now fully understand the importance of flexilibity and patience when traveling. Sometimes everything does not go according to plan, and you have to learn to roll with the punches. I wasted the morning away waiting to meet our Italian interport student, only to discover that his plane was delayed 2 hours and I wasn't going to be able to meet him. We arrived in Barcelona on a Catalonian holiday, so almost all of the shops and museums were closed. Our city orienation trip could have been better, since we spent most of it on a huge tour bus and only had 20-40 minutes at each place we stopped at. But today I experienced new things, and I was challenged to be flexible. And as our interport lecturer Barry the clown said, "When you fail, the sun comes up the next day, the birds chirp, and you move on."
June 25- Today was a new day in Barcelona. I spent most of the day hanging out with Katie and our neighbor Sam. We went to a Starbucks so they could use the Wi-Fi, and I took notes for my project on coffee in the Mediterranean. Afterwards we wandered through the stalls at La Boqueria, an award-winning food market off of Las Ramblas. I tried croquettas, churros con chocolate, and cafe con leche. All of the above were absolutely delicious.
We went inside Gaudi's masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia. This church is incredible, over 100 years old, and is still being built. We payed 2.50€ to take an elevator to the top. The view of the city was incredible. In the evening, we met up with some other kids from our hallway to watch Spain and Chile battle it out in a World Cup game at a restaurant called Top Tapas on Las Ramblas. The bar was filled with high energy and cheers each time Spain scored, and when Spain won the game it cleared out as everyone moved to the streets to celebrate.
June 26- I woke up from what I would call a nap to catch a train to Madrid. Today I traveled to Spain's capitol to meet my friends Ardena and Sara. Traveling by train is definitely the way to go, and I wish I could use it at home. A drive from Barcelona to Madrid would take 8 hours. Traveling at speeds up to 210 mph, the AVE train got us there in two and a half. It was like taking a roadtrip in fast forward, and I enjoyed the comfortable reclining seats and view of the Spanish countryside. Ardena and Sara picked us up at the train station in Tres Cantos and we spent a couple of hours at her house sharing stories and catching up. It was so pleasant and surreal to meet up with familar faces in a foreign country. That night I went out and had a fabulous time with Ardena, her sister Carmen, Sara, Bonnie, and Katie. I wish we could have spent longer in Madrid-- I really loved it. We rolled back into Tres Cantos around 5 a.m., soaked from the rain shower we got caught in. I guess the rain in Spain doesn't always stay mainly in the plain.
June 27- After waking up from a 3 hour nap at Ardena's, we walked to the train station and said our goodbyes. We missed our train by a few minutes, and once we made it to Madrid we learned that all economy class seats were sold for the day. Since we only had a few hours to make it back to the ship, we had to travel first class. It was really nice because they fed us, but I don't ever want to cut it that close again. Today I realized that the Spanish lifestyle is a little too fast for me. As soon as I returned to the ship, I slept-- for 15 hours! I now know that there is a reason for the Spanish siesta.
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