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Grenoble

There was this guy in the hostel in Grenoble, who worked as a delivery driver for a big stationery company. He went to play chess in the evening and dreamed of wandering France from south to north, feeding on what people would give him.

 

 

Palais Idéal / Ferdinand Cheval

 

In Hauterives, in France, you can visit and walk through a special building. It was built by Ferdinand Cheval, a postman, in his garden for over 30 years. He picked up the stones for it, while he was doing his work .. delivering mail.

Actually, he wanted to be buried in it, but did not get the permission.

http://www.facteurcheval.com/en/index.html

 

 

 

Castles and Palaces

.. there is an endless Number of them in France, Spain and Portugal. I think the French built one on almost every hill.

 

 

Puente Valentré, Cahors, The pact with the devil

Construction began in 1308. It took more than half a century to complete this bridge. There is the legend that the architect knew no other way than to make a contract with the devil, because it seemed, the construction was a never-ending story.

 

When the completion was near, the devil wanted to collect the soul of the architect. The architect then asked the devil to bring water for the workers with a sieve. The devil, of course, was not able to fulfill this. Thus, the contract could not be redeemed and the devil went furious to hell. In revenge, he came back every night and tore the last stone out of the middle tower. The workers had to come back every day and the bridge was never completed.

Finally, in 1879, when the bridge was renovated, they put a statue of a devil in the place of the missing stone, whose claws were trapped in concrete. The devil never came back.

Source: text and image: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_Valentré

 

 

Pamplona

I liked Pamplona. I had a very nice time there. Pamplona is known for the annual Sanfermines, a 1-week festival from 6 to 14 July. It is held in honor of Firmin the Elder of Amiens. The biggest attractions during this week are the bull runs (Encierros) through the streets and the bullfights. Ernest Hemingway was in Pamplona many times. Parts of his novel Fiesta play in Pamplona and especially in hotels, bars and restaurants around the Plaza del Castillo.

I also liked the incredibly good tapas in uncountable variations for 1-2 EUR and beer for 1.5 EUR.

 

 

On one of the days, when I was walking around in the city to take some pictures, I observed a male person around 50 years old. The behavior was different for the “typical beggar” (I will not go into more detail here what I mean with “typical”). He was much too friendly and spent too much time with the people.

 

He also addressed me, asked me where I come from, what I do. I continued walking slowly. He walked beside me, but never asked for money. We chatted .. I asked him who he is, where he comes from. He told me that he is a Syrian refugee and that he is sleeping in the park with a few others and that his family is still in Syria.

I wanted to know if there is no facility in Pamplona where his case is processed. He said no. I got the impression that he was in Pamplona illegally. We talked for a while. Finally, I ask if he needs / wants money. There were a lot of people on the street. He looked around, as if he did not want to be seen. I gave him a few Euros and we went our ways separately.

 

The next day, when I left the hostel in the morning to take a walk, I saw him standing at a crossroad. He did not notice me. I put on sunglasses and a cap and followed him unobtrusively at a distance – at least as well as I could. I’m not a professional at such things, it was the first time I did that. I followed him for a while through the streets and alleys. At some point he started to speak to a person again. Like he did with me, he walked 10 to 15 minutes next to that person and talked to him. I don’t remember that I have seen a beggar, who spent that much time getting a few Euros or even not getting anything. At some point I felt that he had discovered me and I stopped it, after following him for about an hour. I’m still not sure if he really was a Syrian refugee or if it was just his way to ask people for money.

 

 

El Camino

Pamplona is also a stopover for El Camino. In the north, I met a lot of people in the hostels, who were traveling for just a week, or many weeks, or since years, every year for a few days. I did not know that El Camino is such an international phenomenon.
I thought only Europeans do it. There were people from all over the world, for different personal reasons. As I was told, everything is discussed in various internet forums, from ideal socks to hats.
In the north of Spain, there are hostels with hundreds of bunk beds along the way, even there you do not always get a place to sleep.

 

 

Bardenas Reales

Bardenas Reales is a semi-desert and national park south of Pamplona. A kind of mini Death / Monument Valley. Europe also has some surprises to offer.