December 10th--I left Barcelona to meet up with my friend Ade around noon and got there at 4:00 after a switch in Tarragona. I was pretty shocked at the Spanish rail system, though.
The stations are new-looking and immaculate, but also heavily secured. You go through almost the same amount of security checks there as in an airport. As I sat down on the empty platform in Tarragona to wait for my connecting train 40 minutes later, a concerned looking man walked quickly over to me. He asked where I was going, and when I said I had a connecting train he briskly told me to go into the main terminal first.
I had to go out past the security checkpoint and then wait for them to open it for the train 10 minutes before departure. This all seemed a bit much, but I suppose it's probably largely a reaction to the Madrid train bombing. Still, it makes it feel much more like an airport than the cool, relaxed train culture elsewhere in Europe. Given that the rail system security is overall pretty lax, Spain's approach may be where Europe's headed, but I hope not.
Spain uses the same high speed trains as Germany, and as I boarded my second train I managed to get an awesome and horrifying shot of the front of it.
I first met my friend Ade at camp when we were 12 years old. The last time we saw each other we were 14, and I was taller than him and had a deeper voice. Everything has changed. While we figured out later that we're almost exactly the same size, Adetona has turned into an imposing, charismatic, and gregarious man. It was really incredible to see him after so long, and soon we dropped back into the same old friendly rhythms.
I didn't really see much of Madrid in terms of "sights", as Ade gave me a quick tour around his area before we went out for dinner and drinks. We buzzed around to so many places that I lost count, and tried some pretty interesting drinks along the way, too--Ade seemed to know the whole city. The last stop was a small heavy metal bar with some really hilarious guys.
There are only a few things you need to know about this next picture: 1) that's a lizard 2) it's a Chinese liquor 3) it tasted fantastic.
We eventually headed back to Ade's place so I could get a little sleep before an early train to Granada. Far far too short a time in Madrid.
I first met my friend Ade at camp when we were 12 years old. The last time we saw each other we were 14, and I was taller than him and had a deeper voice. Everything has changed. While we figured out later that we're almost exactly the same size, Adetona has turned into an imposing, charismatic, and gregarious man. It was really incredible to see him after so long, and soon we dropped back into the same old friendly rhythms.
I didn't really see much of Madrid in terms of "sights", as Ade gave me a quick tour around his area before we went out for dinner and drinks. We buzzed around to so many places that I lost count, and tried some pretty interesting drinks along the way, too--Ade seemed to know the whole city. The last stop was a small heavy metal bar with some really hilarious guys.
There are only a few things you need to know about this next picture: 1) that's a lizard 2) it's a Chinese liquor 3) it tasted fantastic.
We eventually headed back to Ade's place so I could get a little sleep before an early train to Granada. Far far too short a time in Madrid.
No comments:
Post a Comment