Weekend in Salamanca

Plaza Mayor de Salamanca

Salamanca offers a mixed bag of activities for a first time visitor. Combining new and old, this quintessentially Spanish city leaves me satisfied for the time and money.

Sunrise in Salamanca

I began Saturday at around 8:00, leaving me enough time before most major sights opened at 9:00. I made my way to a cafe near the plaza for a breakfast of toast with fresh chopped tomatoes and olive oil. To drink, cafe con leche, the national coffee of Spain: espresso and milk. Taking a brief stroll around the plaza just before 9:00, you could really tell the emptiness of the city for the time of day. The plaza (normally filled with people) was completely empty minus a few service trucks restocking the local bars. I could probably conquer all of Spain without anyone noticing if done so early in the morning.
With a few moments before things opened. I strolled to the famous roman bridge of the. The low lying bridge is authentic and provides wonderful views of the city above. At the bridge head is the famous headless bull, the symbol of the city. The bull was actually broken by the Romans when they conquered the city and threw it into the river. It's head was never found.

My first stop was the definitive landmarks of Salamanca, the Old and New Cathedrals. I must emphasize the relative definition of 'new'; the New Cathedral was finished in the early 1700s and the old was built in the 12th century. The new cathedral is the larger and taller of the two. Entering the New (free of charge), the expanse is hard to comprehend. The main church is bordered by several smaller chapels, each closed by a gate. Each chapel is its own artistic masterpiece, usually honoring a particular saint or holy figure. Nearing the alter and the pews, the highest part of the cathedral is directly above. Mirrors pointed upward to reveal the intricate artistic dome. A few highlights were the distinctive pulpit and choir, the rectangular section of chairs where monks would sing from large songbooks placed on an equally large spinal in the center. The alter (by comparison to others I would see later) was simple. The most elegant part is the recently restored organ with artistically arranged pipes. While walking around, it is very easy to find yourself gazing upward, following the prominent columns and wondering how such an artistic building could be built that tall.

Entrance to the Old Cathedral 

The Old Cathedral is actually attached to the new one and accessible from inside. Paying 4 euros, the more intimate old cathedral is no less splendid. Decorated with original frescos on the walls, the highlight is the altarpiece: a 53 panel epic of Jeasus and Mary. At the top, a depiction of the final judgement, where sinners are sent into the jaws of a hellish beast. To the side of the church is the cloister (if someone wants to tell me what that is, I would appreciate that). Though no photos were allowed, it consisted of a number of chapels and tombs of famous religious figures. A few audio guides in each chapel explained the significance of each in Spainsh. I could translate enough to get the idea, though I preferred my English guide pamphlet. A few of the rooms were also the first classrooms of the university of Salamanca (more on that later). A courtyard occupied the interior of this section of the cathedral.

Altar of the Old Cathedral

The Final Judgement

Just before leaving, I found an entrance to the towers of the cathedrals, a separate entry fee. Thinking the entrance was outside as I noticed earlier, I went anyway and it turned out to be the same. This particular exhibit allowed you to visit the tower of the old cathedral, the rooftops of the cathedrals, and other catacomb like rooms of the cathedrals. The tower of the new cathedral, the taller of the two, was covered by scaffolding for restoration. The rooftop views of the city are some of the best from the high points of the cathedrals.

Old in foreground. 

Here, I detour to discuss weather. I really lucked out with sunny skies, low wind, and temperatures that topped in the low 50s. Still, the overall weather here is colder than Madrid, with Salamanca being higher in altitude.
Walkways also provided interior viewed of both cathedrals, allowing another perspective to the magnificence of each building. At times, I questioned the construction of the exterior walkways, so I walked carefully. The two hours I spent in the Cathedrals was definitely worth the price.

Walkways around the Old Cathedral

Walkways around the New Cathedral

A talk about the cathedrals would not be complete without discussing their most famous attributes: the astronaut and dragon. Sculpted into the side door of the new cathedral, a restorer placed an astronaut into the famous stone doorway. I mean, it's not really hidden or disguised, it's just an astronaut. Below is the more harder to interpret carving of a dragon eating ice cream. As you can imagine, both do not look out of place on a centuries old cathedral. Not at all.

A little hungry, but not ready for lunch, I made my way close to the plaza to find the public market. There, I purchased an orange to snack on as I decided my next visit. Along my walk, I encountered several smaller plazas (though the Mayor plaza is THE plaza). Some are dedicated to famous writers but my favorite had a statue of Christopher Columbus, who frequented Salamanca for the knowledge of the university. Salamanca was also the last place where Columbus visited the catholic kings of Spain before departing for America.

I like public Markets

Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus)

My next stop was the third most important church in the city: Iglesia de San Esteban. Probably the largest single church in the city, the highlight was its brilliant altarpiece. Described as almost gaudy, the gold covered wood cannot be ignored. The centerpiece is a depiction of the stoning of Saint Stephen the myatr. Most of the artistic beauty of the church comes from its separate artworks along the walls. A tilted staircase led up to the choir loft overlooking the majority of the church. Also attached was another cloister, with another beautifully simple interior plaza. Getting close to 1:00, I left just as the church was closing for the afternoon break.

I think Jesus is freestylin' 

By this time, I was looking for a place to eat. The Bar Cervantes was recommended by my book. The bar is a traditional bar with a restaurant overlooking the plaza. My lunch consisted of a combination plate of steak, fries, potato salad, and fried eggs. They even had Heinz ketchup, if you could call that a taste of home. With bread and beer to drink, the total was around 15 eur, almost overpriced in my opinion. The table probably added to the price. From one floor up, I got a prime view of the plaza mayor through the window. This was high time for watching things on the plaza: tour groups in all white jackets, people actually eating outside in the 50 ish weather, and multitudes of locals and tourists alike. More interesting was when a red sedan decorated in white ribbon drive around the plaza celebrating a wedding with the bride and groom in back. The car was moving as quickly as possible around the plaza I was sure someone would be run over!

Entrance of the University

My first stop after lunch was the second most famous landmark in Salamanca: the University of Salamanca. The existence of the university dates back to the 11th century when it occupied parts of the cathedrals. The buildings were constructed a few hundred years later by a donation from the royal family. This event is marked by the ornate grand entrance of the university. The entrance itself is famous for a few reasons (more on that later). The old university buildings are a museum. The cloister style building is of two levels. In the middle of the plaza stands a tall tree, from California. Most of the old classrooms are modeled like churches even with traditional pulpits. Fear not! There is an actual chapel in this historically catholic university. The old library on the second level would make Harry Potter proud but was only visible through glass windows near the door. The university is so old that it is historically credited with the first instance of a professor beginning a lecture with "As we were saying..." Yep, it's THAT old.

"I would not cheat if I were you..."

Old school classroom

Library

Leaving the university took me back to the entrance. There, small crowds of people were admiring the facad. More importantly, they were all looking for the famous symbol of the city: la rana. The rana de buena suerte (the frog of good luck) occupies the top of a skull along the entrance, maybe 15 feet from the ground. The frog itself is small and hard to find (maybe the size of a small orange on such a large facade. Historically, students have looked for the frog seeking good luck before exams. Attempts to find the frog on my own failed, needing to consult both my guide book and the informational display about the facade.
Accross from the university is the museum of Salamanca. It appears to be an old home turned into a museum. In the end, nothing really special to see there; just some religious artworks, pottery, and other things. I was the only one in there (for free) and it was a little awkward communicating with the museum staff at the front desk directing me to different locations.

La Rana and skull

Adjacent to the museum was some random plaza (suprise!) that was rather decorative. A few photos were necessary. Along this plaza was the entrance to the famous mural "cielo de salamanca" depicting the heavens and zodiac symbols made from the stars. Around 10 minutes were necessary to absorb the details of the large work.
After this, I went wandering around the actual university. It is really impossible to separate the town from the university. All of the buildings look the same and match the style of the city. The real university is right next to the old university, though the old university buildings are only used for special occasions now.
Later, I walked across the roman bridge to the other side of the river. There, walking toward the 'new bridge', I found some wonderful views of the city.

I found this in a nearby park. A love story. 

The "New" Bridge

Exhausted from walking all day, I returned to my hostel and took a typical Spanish siesta.
Beginning the evening, I decided to walk around the plaza as sunset with the perfect food for a winter evening: ice cream! The Cafe Novelty is one of the oldest on the plaza with a very classy (cerca 1900) style. The ice cream stand serves the public on the plaza and is the most famous in the city. Ordering oreo ice cream, I ignored some awkward glances from locals as I walked around the plaza that evening. Returning to the cafe, I ordered a beer and enjoyed the ambiance of the establishment. The beer, though, was over two euros and did not come with a tapa (as typical at most restaurants). What a ripoff!
I picked a random cafe for dinner, which consisted of a cheese sandwich, cafe con leche, and salad while watching a Real Madrid match on tv. The sandwich was of note; I believe it was pharmesan cheese, high class for a sandwich!
The evening involved bar hopping, following the other students. Don't let the look of the city fool you; with such a large student population, this place knows how to party!

Sunday was such a letdown. Cloudy, windy, and rainy throughout, it was the 'perfect' day for some indoor activities. I really only had one planned: Museo Art Nouveau y Art Déco. This museum, occupying a former house built in the 1920s, was a pleasant change of pace from other museums. No religious art! Specializing in American and European art from the roaring '20s, there were several beautiful works including an original Faberge egg (which I guess are famous).    

For the record, it says "Calle Van Dyck" on the maps...

For lunch, I made my way to the famous Calle Van Dyck, filled with a few noteworthy eating establishments.  I ended up at Bar Chintas. Standing at the bar for my entire meal, I looked rather out of place among the older locals, men in leather jackets and women in fur coats. The tapas were wonderful: tortilla espanola, shrimp with sauce on bread, fried calamari rings, and a free squid with sauce on bread tapa courtesy of the owner (I must have looked so miserable with all of my bags and hungry). 

My friend who lives in the city, Javi, suggested driving back to the city with him if I could change my train ticket. Doing so, I had a few more hours to kill before leaving with nothing to do in the seemingly empty city during the rain. Thus, I sat myself down in another random cafe near the plaza, ordered a coffee (just to order something) with potato tapa, and started writing this.

I was driven back to Madrid by the cousin of my friend. The car ride was enjoyable even as the darkness of evening obscured the scenery. I worked on improving my Spanish by talking as much as possible with everyone. A memorable moment was getting fuel somewhere in the Siera region before you arrived in Spain. Having increased in altitude, it started snowing and the wind was fierce. Arriving in the city some two hours after we departed, the journey finished by taking a metro ride to the dorms with Javi.

Overall, Salamanca was an above average experience for a first visit.  Described as one of Spain's most quintessential cities, its reputation cannot be ignored!