The Smallest Home in Porto

Two churches and the Smallest House. Porto, Portugal. July 2019.

After 4 days in Porto, you get a strange sense that you understand a lot of the joy and humor here by looking into the tiny details in the city, and with those details, is the story of the tiniest home in Porto.

SO to understand this, you have to understand a little bit about church politics.

First, religion is political and – even after the inquisition – a lot of this region (and Europe as a whole) are still mainly Catholic and with the Catholic Church comes hierarchies, specific church regions, customs and laws, and the money that comes with these. Each church is a place for a person to come and worship but they are also businesses who need money to do their jobs – ie, house and feed the religious, do charity, keep the church clean, ect. Even if you don’t agree with the Church in other regards – or dislike this dispassionate look – It’s the truth.

In the 1750s, one way that churches brought in money to keep their parishes running was to be on a pilgrimage circuit. This could be very lucrative for the church, the parish, and the city and Porto was lucky enough to have Igreja dos Carmelitas.

I won’t go into every detail but basically, in the 1750s, another priest wanted to have his church benefit from this pilgrim road, so he bought the lot next to the over 100-year-old church, claiming he was going to build a convent and a hospital which the pastor of Igreja do Carmelitas had no issues with.

However, it soon became evident that the lot was to house a luxurious and beautifully constructed church and the pastor was, understandably angry. However, the new tenant claimed that what they were seeing was simply a misunderstanding – after all, every hospital has a chapel!

And so it went. Eventually, church law cam into it and a stipulation was found that mandates situations just like this: Two churches may not share a wall. And from the front of these two churches, it really looks like they do.

The new priest, then, brought them into the doorway between the two churches and into said priests house – The narrowest house in Porto which doesn’t allow the two churches to share any part of the same wall.

But now, they are famous for being beautiful and a little dramatic – you should pay attention to the newer tower on the furthest-most left of the churches: it was constructed to keep Igrejas dos Carmelitas stays the taller of the two.

You can tour the tiniest house and see where the priests lived as well as Igreja do Carmo, but remember, despite this story, these are still houses of worship and should be shown the respect they deserve.

This is Leave on the Wind, helping you soar.

Gaudi and Cheap Barcelona

La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain. July 2019.

Spain has been on my bucket since taking Spanish in high school and covering the chapter on art and culture. While every aspect from food to the midday siesta sounded amazing, I fell absolutely in love with Gaudi’s work which spans Barcelona’s landscape.

That being said, if you are doing more than a short trip to Barcelona, exploring all of Gaudi’s masterpieces will quickly add up (remember there are 10 sites! and they are generally not quick stops!). So if you are watching your budget I have a few suggestions:

I have always loved La Sagrada Familia: the look; the history; watching it slowly come together almost 100 years after Gaudi’s death (that anniversary is the date they hope to complete this amazing church). This is a Catholic cathedral the likes of which you will not see anywhere else in the world. Inspired by nature and Catholic iconography, there isn’t a single place in this church that isn’t in and of itself a beautiful piece of art. From whimsical tortoises and fruit baskets to stark, visceral depictions of Christ’s life and death, Gaudi takes you to a place I have never experienced.

I loved booking with ‘Get Your Guide’ because we could make it work with our schedule, booking by app as late as the day before for popular destinations like Gaudi’s masterpieces. Not to mention, the fast-track ticket to La Sagrada Familia made it so much easier than ticketing there followed by the crazy security line (which you can’t bypass)! The only thing you have to remember is to get in line early enough to show you were on time even when getting through security takes 30-45 minutes (and this looked like a good day!).

Booking with the app gave us access to the audio guide which is a must, but we chose not to climb the towers. I had read a lot and they are cramped and can be hard to navigate and you only have access to one tower for a fairly high price. This may be more worth it to me when the church is finally complete. Again, deciding where to add extras to your budget is key and a personal choice.

The other notes I have for this monument are to (first) dress conservatively which simply means no midriff and nothing too short. It was super hot when Corinne and I were here and while they were not turning people away when they didn’t meet dress code, they were not allowed to enter the silent prayer area even if they legitimately wanted to worship there. Secondly, give yourself time. We were here for about 4 hours and probably could have done more.

But I could go on and on about La Sagrada Familia and in the end, this was the only one we ended up paying for (again, if you are visiting a lot of places, it’s hard to pay for a lot at your first destination!), but we did go and walk by Casa Milá also known as La Pedrera.

Casa Milá is gorgeous and one of Gaudi’s most famous because of the building’s eye-catching waves. I am sad I didn’t make it to the upper courtyard – actually, the whole building is worth a trip – but since the entrance tickets are about the same or more than what we had paid for the church, we just couldn’t do it. But again, looking through the doors and viewing from the outside is free and the architecture is fascinating.

These high prices are pretty much the case with all of Gaudi’s work across the city but the real trick involves Parc Güell. While going into the park in regular hours will cost you around $15 for admission alone, if you go at certain times of the day and (especially an hour or two before opening) you can walk through the gates at no cost and explore for free! The hardest part about this early admission is that the park is at the topmost edge of the city which is quite the trek. It’s made much easier through public transportation but does require you to wake up early and get going.

Of course, we loved hanging out – as I have mentioned in past posts – at one of Gaudi’s first works which was absolutely free: Cascada Fountain at Parc de la Ciutadella. I had no idea until much later that this was one of Gaudi’s creations but with how much detail covers this Grecian monument, I am not surprised!

Otherwise, the best ways to save money in Barcelona (and Spain in general) are to take advantage of as many free things as you can and just walk around. The city is breathtaking for anyone interested in architecture and there is always something beautiful to see. We’ll talk more about where you can find money-saving opportunities later, but until then:

This is Leave on the Wind, helping you soar.

 

The Sun in Skofja Loka

Skofja Loka, Slovenia. April 2019.

Skofja Loka!

Not only is it a name I love to say, but a stop I would have loved to stop over longer at. At the point we drove into town, we had only a few hours – basically, a three or four hour lunch stop – because we were on our way from Ljublijana to Lake Bled.

If you look up this cute little Slovenian town, you should be able to understand fairly easily why even a quick stop was well worth our effort. It is full of a castle (now converted into a museum), a beautiful church on the other hilltop (we didn’t make it there, ut the pictures are awesome!), and there are tons of active things to do and viewpoints to hit.

Let’s start with what we managed to do:

We loved exploring the castle museum and the grounds. The museum has so many different kinds of exhibits from history and art to culture and modern icons. We spent so long here but none of our time was boring! But before that, you should definitely venture the castle grounds. There are a lot of old buildings and lookouts like an old mill house and a small amphitheater.

Outside the gate, you will see a hiking and workout trail. We only made it to the first stop not realizing that it was a smaller hike than we expected – by the time we relooked at the map, we had already hiked up and down the hardest part of the hike and didn’t have the heart or the time to do it again.

The first stop is on a highish peak and is an old ruin sight that Ryan and I absolutely loved. There are old walls and overgrown wells – it is just very cool! However, the hardest part is that the path is a little tricky. there are gates talking about private property and sheep lands but the path goes through them (well, more like along them) in a way that made me feel like we were trespassing. Once you get past this, the hike is fun and there are three old castle ruins along the trail.

The last two parts that are definitely worth seeing but that we didn’t have time to are the little church which you can photograph beautifully from the castle hill and the picturesque town with a lazy river running through it. There are cafes to eat at and, while I don’t think you need to stay overnight, if you want a fun hike as well as more exploring, give yourself a few extra hours.

Especially if you hit the odd day in April where the weather was this perfect!

This is Leave on the Wind, helping you soar.

Kamnik, Slovenia

Kamnik, Slovenia. April 2019.

Kamnik, Slovenia is a cute medieval town about an hour and a half above the capital city of Ljubljana, most people’s main stop in this beautiful country. The town is full of slopes and if you are looking to see the biggest sights, the ability to climb stairs and steep slopes is an absolute must.

When researching, the biggest things to see in Kamnik are clustered around the city center. These include two castle ruins, Mali Grad (or Little) Castle (which is actually a chapel) and Old Town. The Monastery is a little further out but we skipped it.

We had these written down but since this was a quick trip on a mostly rainy day, we took the idea of the itinerary and just wandered using the castle icons on Google maps as a rough guide. But that is the biggest part: Just Wander.

We ended up parking in a gym parking lot – we don’t know if this was actually free or we just got lucky, but it was connected to a great burger joint and since we were starving, it worked for us. The burgers were big and messy and exactly what the doctor ordered after being stuck in the car an extra hour due to a few wrong turns getting into town.

From here, we lucked out with only minor sprinkles over the two or three-ish hours we wandered. We headed straight up the hill and past some beautiful murals, to hike up to Mail Grad Castle.

If you are just wandering, it may be a little difficult to navigate here directly – there were quite a few small streets we cut across and the entrance road looked more like an alley between houses (until you get to the train tracks) than an entrance and it definitely was a driveway we hiked to the gate.

But it was well worth it.

The Little Castle houses a museum but we didn’t make it with enough time to go in and fully explore so we wandered the small grounds instead. The walls are intact if a little beat up and the views overlook the whole city. Then on the other side of the castle walls is a flat area where old wooden houses and what looked like a medieval setup – houses with thatched roofs, a well, and a pretty lawn area.

As we were told by our tour guide later, everything important buildings to the “smart people” who originally settled the country (so churches and castles) are built on top of the hills and mountains because everything else floods. So anyone one else who was smart built high and as close to those places as possible. This makes a country full of mountainside towns and cities – and the views of them from these “important” perches.

So we moved on to these other perches.

We wandered and found a beautiful colorful lane that took us past a Baroque church and then up to the foot of the castle ruins. There are levels and even if the buildings are closed according to the sign, you can still walk through the grounds and levels at any time. It’s up on top of this set of stairs that you will find the green heart photo frame we took too many pictures with.

We ran up a few more hills and found a few monuments and a graveyard with more views of the city. And as always, there’s nothing wrong with popping into the tourist information center.

If you are looking for something off of the beaten path and have more time to spend, there is a local escape room that has rooms based on local history and persons including a local commander and the battles that took place here.

Again, including eating, we were probably in Kamnik for three hours and I don’t think you would need much more than this unless you are going to tour the monastery or a winery nearby. But the short stay does not mean it isn’t worth the trip – in fact, for the price of two burgers and a cup of fries, it was a great and cheap outing before heading to the capital.

Outside Prague: A Day of Czech Churches

Sedlec Ossuary, Czech Republic. February 2019.

On our fourth and final day in the Czech Republic, we left Prague to hit our last two sites before the long drive home: Sedlec for the Sedlec Ossuary and the Cathedral of Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist, and the Zizkov for Saint Barbara’s Church.

When you get to Sedlec, be aware that you can’t just walk to these two sites. On the road connecting the Ossuary and the Cathedral, there is a ticket building. Don’t ignore the signs that say to start here or you will have to circle back and add an extra hike to your day!

The Sedlec Ossuary is a church which has undergone some changes over the years (and is still undergoing partial refurbishment) but has become famous for its use of human bones in every part on the interior decor. From a family crest and the artist’s name embedded in the walls to mountains of skulls to crosses and chandeliers, everywhere you look, you are faced with bones.

When you go, I must make some very serious suggestions:

First, read up on the site. There are controversies as well as a lot of history. These are people’s remains – knowing their stories or at least why they are here is a show of respect.

Second, this is the resting place of actual human remains and as such be respectful! Pictures are allowed but remember as you have conversations and look at these pieces of art that you are standing in a church and a tomb. Yelling, running, touching things, and other disruptive behavior is not going to go down well here.

Next up was the Cathedral of Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist. I don’t know if we would have stopped in the cathedral if we weren’t already here for the Ossuary, but I am glad we did. Once again, Ryan and I took much more time here than the rest of our party but we loved it.

There is a surprising amount to see in the cathedral especially if you are interested in art restoration – there are boards full of information on the changes made to the frescos and finding hidden layers and the choices made during the restoration. Another thing to pay attention to is all the faked marble! Look closely at the lowest parts of pillars and statue stands: many are actually wood with clever painting!

Then when you head upstairs and through the rafters, pay close attention: Ryan spotted a few subtle angels carved along the interior – near the midpoint of the passage. If you aren’t looking you will miss them!

Our Final stop was St. Barbara’s Church. On the outside, this looks much more like a cathedral than our last stop but what I really loved was the area it is in. All of us thought this would be a nice day trip if we were there in the area in Spring or Summer when more of the town is open a lively.

When in the church, make sure you take your time and explore every nook and cranny and be prepared to climb. My favorite part was being above the organ and trying to decipher where some of the pipes went – we couldn’t figure them all out!

I don’t know how accessible these areas are without a car but if you are driving, they are well worth the day trip.

This is Leave on the Wind, helping you soar.