Madrid, Spain
I have another upcoming holiday. I was planning to stay in Morocco with a friend of mine from Germany. But things changed as you probably know if you read through it before. The funny coincidence is that my friend’s flight to Morocco got canceled too since Germany was suddenly on the dangerous list of countries and Morocco closed the border for those arrivals completely. So we adjusted our travel plans and decided to explore another country — it was Andorra. But to reach that country, we decided to meet in Madrid and make our way up.
So I took a high-speed train from Sevilla to Madrid. It’s around 4 hours and I love the journey. It’s very comfortable, has internet, and is great to work with. My favorite place to work actually. I recommend everyone to travel by train in Spain instead of taking airplanes to domestic destinations. As a personal side note, I think it should be forbidden by the government. Even sad is that the flight prices are sometimes lower than the train and that’s not because the trains are expensive (30–60 Euros). Flights are just way too low.
Arrived in Madrid I didn’t have time to explore a lot. But I also already know the city well enough. Later in the evening, my friend arrived as well and we went out for some fancy food and a quick walk in the city.
Ripoll, Spain
We took another high-speed train to Barcelona. From there we rented a car for a week to head to Andorra and other parts of Catalunya.
On picking up our car for the week, we actually got a free upgrade (travel tip: always book the cheapest automatic car and you mostly get an upgrade because they don’t have it on-site). So we got a very nice and automatic Audi. We headed up North to visit some small towns on the way. In Camprodon and Ripoll we stopped and also stayed for a night.
Andorra la Vella, Andorra
Andorra is one of the few countries I never visited in Europe. So it was time. The tiny country is famous for its mountains and shopping. Tourism is a very big part and their facility is stunning.
The next day our goal was to reach the capital of Andorra. The road through the mountains was gorgeous. Fall colors and curvy roads. We sometimes stopped to take pictures and flew the drone. A very relaxed and fun ride with music and nice conversations. I like such road trips a lot.
Arrived in Andorra la Vella, the capital, we went for a walk around the main street to find some food. We got 2 nights in a big hotel just up the mountain with a beautiful view down to the city.
The next day was dedicated to do another road trip within Andorra. Doing a round trip up the mountains and the skiing area of the country (if there’s snow). The landscape is very nice and I can imagine how pretty it is with snow. They have all the modern facilities for a great skiing holiday. The houses are built out of stone and look very fitting within the landscape. And inside mostly super modern hotels. I was surprised.
Barcelona, Spain
We returned to Barcelona to spend some vacation days there to explore. The weather was quite fresh and windy. But understandable, it’s November. The usual touristy things of Barcelona were on our roadmap. Park Güell, Sagrada Família, Parc de la Ciutadella, Arc de Triomf, Old Town, Squares, Casa Batlló and food.
At the end of the holiday, my friend left for Germany and I decided to stay longer in Barcelona. A month to be exact. So I got myself an Airbnb (super expensive and outside the center) to work and enjoy the vibes. My daily routine was work, explore, food, sleep. Sometimes it’s great to go back to an easy and usual routine.
I have a couple of friends in Barcelona with whom I was exploring. Especially during the weekend. Great times and the city has so much to offer.
