Category Archives: Catalonia

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On the road through the Pyrenees: Coll d’Ares and around

It is November 2019. After having spent two weeks in the appartment of our friends in L’Hospitalet de l’Infant, we now return to Switzerland. Our first overnight stop will be in Narbonne and we take the route along the river Ter to the Coll d’Ares. It is our third time here; we have crossed the Coll d’Ares in November before, in 2016 (fog on the pass) and in 2017 (Ripoll and Prats-de-Molló, view of the Pyrenees). In 2019 we see St. Joan de les Abadesses. And we know, there will be more to explore along this route.

Source: Googlemaps

 

Coll d’Ares – now our third time – we were here in the fog in 2016, in sunshine in 2017 and now, 2019, again

In November 2016 there was fog on the Coll d’Ares.

This viewpoint is recommended to photographers. In 2016, there was not much to see, let alone to take a picture of – except the sign in the fog.

End November 2017 we give the Coll d’Ares a second try. The viewpoint is no longer in the fog and we can see the pass height behind the hint to photographers.

From the hint for photographers, there is a great view of the Spanish-Catalan Pyrenees…

… with the great late autumn/early winter atmosphere.

Also on the French side, the trees shined yellow…

… and we could see THE mountain of the Catalans, the Canigou.

Now, end November 2019, on our third tour to the Coll d’Ares, we again have a good view of the Spanish Pyrenees south of us,…

… while clouds are coming in from the north, from the French-Catalan side.

Let me now tell you about Ripoll and St. Joan de les Abadesses south of the Coll d’Ares, in Spanish-Catalonia and then let us turn to the north, to the French side of Catalonia with Prats-de-Molló.

 

South of the Coll d’Ares: Ripoll with its gorgeous portal of the monastery church, explored in 2017

In 879 Duke William the Hairy (Guifré el Pelos) founded the Benedictine monastery Santa Maria de Ripoll, after having conquered the area from the Moors. William was then buried here. Soon a town emerged around the monastery. Around 1000 AD, it was an important intellectual centre of Catalonia, with the support of the famous abbot Oliba who took new ideas about the architecture of churches from Rome back to Catalonia. He had the church of Ripoll built by the model of early Christian Saint Peter of Rome. An earthquake in 1428 (terratrèmol de la candelera) destroyed the church and the monastery. In 1835 revolting people looted and burnt it.

Around 1895 the church was reconstructed in historicized style. I like the sober atmosphere of the Neo-romanesque nave.

Fortunately the magnificent Romanesque west portal from the 12th century has been preserved. It is now protected by a narthex. Bongässer (p.44) says that this bible in stone is unprecedented. Not only the portal, but also the flanks are covered with sculptures referring to the Old and the New Testament, with Christ as Pantokrator above the arch of the portal. As it was in the 12th century that the south of Catalonia had been reconquered, Bongösser thinks that this portal expresses the triumph of Christianity.

From the series of monthly pictures showing the cycle of the year I like the harvesting of corn…

… and from the bible scenes this striking Jonas being spat out by the whale.

In the cloister with the ground level dating from the 12th century, many of the capitals are well preserved and…

… from the animals found here, this dog is my favorite.

 

Also south of the Coll d’Ares: St. Joan de les Abadesses, Romanesque church and welcoming mountain village (2019)

In November 2019, we have a short break in the mountain village St. Joan de les Abadesses. We find the Romanesque church with the same name.

Some capitals around the choir are preserved. The Dumont says that they take up islamic patterns from southern Moorish Spain.

The Benedictine nun monastery Sant Joan de les Abadesses thrived from the 9th to the 11th century.  Like Ripoll it was founded by William the Hairy. His daughter was the first abbot. In the 12th century the Augustins took over the monastery. With them, the monastery thrived again and the church that we see today was constructed. The earthquake of 1428 also damaged this church (like Ripoll).  Around 1900, Josej Puigi Cadalfach restored the place (Cadalfach is an important Modernista architect of Catalonia; he documented and restored some of Catalonia’s cultural inheritance). Our art books praise the church because of the ambulatory around the choir, unusual for Catalonia, and because of the amazing deposition of the cross from the 12th/13th century. But everything is closed now, we will have to return to see the deposition.

We slender through the narrow streets and have a coffee.

It is about one o’clock, time to have the aperitif outside on this sunny and warm autumn Sunday.

The trees have kept some golden leaves around the old corn mill of the village.

We continue our way – Sant Joan de les Abadesses was a nice mountain village and its cultural treasures will make it worth to return.

 

North of the Coll d’Ares: Prats-de-Molló, pedestrian-friendly and well fortified French-Catalan town

When descending north from the Coll d’Ares to France, the Vauban fortification of Prats-de-Molló appears behind the trees.

Yes, Vauban carefully assured the frontiers here, as Louis XIV had gained the Roussillon (or French Catalonia) in the Treaty of the Pyrenees of 1659.

In November 2017, we stopped at Prats-de-Molló and entered the medieval small town through the main gate. Inside the wall only pedestrians are allowed.

The church Sainte-Juste-et-Sainte-Ruffine with a Romanesque tower marks the highest point above the roofs of the small town.

The river Tech is nascent. The town has about 1200 inhabitants.

The town wall surrounds the city and the gates are well-fortified.

We stop in a bookshop that has a nice selection of books for children and about cooking. We ask the owner, whether he is Catalan or French. “French”, he says immediately, “yes, primarily French, but then in addition Catalan”. We want to know, how he pronounces “Prats-de-Molló”, the French or the Catalan way. He says, “of course I say it the French way, I say “Prats-de-Molló””… and he pronounces each letter clearly and the “ll” not like l-l (as the French would say it), but softly as “ly” (or “lj”), as the Catalans (and the Spaniards) say it. We smile, because we like his French AND Catalan, attitude.

 

 

In 2019 we continue our way along the canyons of the river Tech to the Mediterranean coast and to Narbonne which I will talk about in my next blog.

Sources: Fritz René Allemann und Xenia v. Bahder, “Katalonien und Andorra”, DuMont Kunst-Reiseführer, Köln 1980; Thomas Schröder, “Katalonien”, Michael Müller Verlag – individuell reisen, Erlangen 2015; Barbara Bongässer, “Katalonien, Kunst, Landschaft, Architektur”, Könemann, Köln 2000; Ralf Nestmeyer, “Südfrankreich”, Michael Müller Verlag – individuell reisen, Erlangen 2015.

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On the road to Spain – visiting Vilella Alta and Escala Dei in the Priorat

It is November 2019. We are spending two weeks in the appartment of our friends at L’Hospitalet del l’Infant. Some days ago we had already visited the Priorat to walk in the vineyards of Bellmunt. On a sunny day, we now return to the Priorat to visit another wine village, Vilella Alta, where we buy some wine in the bodega Vilella de la Cartoixa de Montsalvat. In addition, we look at the ruins of the former Carthusian Monastery Escala Dei.

Source: Googlemaps

 

Steep vineyards in the Priorat aound Gratallops

Just before arriving at Gratallops we stop to have a coffee in the restaurant La Cassola with the amazing view of the small town perched on a mountain edge…

… and with the view of these steep vineyards above the river Siurana.

This is an amazingly steep vineyard with very loosely planted vines that shine golden in the sun.

And here is the view of the Siurana valley with the table mountain Montsant in the background.

Gratallops is the wine village, where in the 1980’s the Priorat started to revive (Vinos de España, p. 171). Gratallops is pretty and worth a visit, but today, our target is Vilella Alta.

 

Vilella Alta, wine village perched on a rock, and the welcoming Cellers Vilella de la Cartoixa de Montsalvat

Vilella Alta is another pretty Priorat village perched on a steep hill. The streets are narrow. This is the Carrer Major with the view of the church.

Here we stand below the small village and look uphill.

In one of the small streets, we find this beautifully restored house. with the carefully arranged plants in front of the main entry.

I look for the Cellers Vilella de la Cartoixa de Monsalvat. I walk down this street, almost to the end of it. Ursula stops in front of the door arch of the small house on the right hand side. “Come back, the celler is here”, she says.

Yes, Ursula is right, here it is, the bodega Cellers de Vilella de la Cartoixa de Montsalvant that I have looked for, based on the hints found in “Vinos de España”, p. 172 and in “Més d’enlla del vi – DOQ Priorat”, p. 123. The Montsalvant is a small family owned bodega. This unpretentious entry in the narrow street reminds me again of how different the DOQ Priorat is from the second Spanish DOQ Rioja, where some bodegas have been constructed by star architects and are visited by hords of tourists. Here we are alone… almost…

According to “Més d’enlla del vi”, Francesc Sánchez-Bas, has founded the bodega de la Cartoixa with two friends in 1995, and he took it over ten years later, when one of his companions became president of the Conseil Regulador de la DOQ Priorat. 1995, this was almost 25 years ago. We count back – yes we were in our forties then, and hence Francesc Sánchez-Bas must be in his early sixties now. Is this him, rushing through the large door just below where we stand?

Yes, it is him. He is about to leave for Tarragona, but nevertheless finds time to prepare two bottles of his best red Montsalvat (2006, mainly Carignena, aged 18 months in barrels and made from old vines) and one bottle of white Montsalvat 2016 (made from Trepot Blanc, Macabeu and  Garnatxa Blanca, two months in barrel… I am particularly interested in the Trepot Blanc, an autochthonous Priorat grape that is new to me). Francesc gives us “identity cards” of his wines and apologizes that he does not have the time to show his bodega to us.

Well, we might return to this friendly place next year. We say good-bye and hope, the bodega helps to build a future for the children of Francesc, as he said in “Més enllà del vi”.

We take another photo of the surroundings of Vilella Alta…

… and admire some fragmented slate that is favorable for the wines of the Priorat. On his wine identity card, Francesc talks about “granite and quartzite shards”, which might be the better term coined by engineers in agronomy.

Next we continue to the monastery Escala Dei.

 

The Charterhouse Escala Dei – the nucleus of the Priorat, now a ruin

The ruins of the Carthusian monastery or charterhouse of Escala Dei are in a gorgeous location just below the table mountain Montsant. The monastery was the nucleus of the Priorat. It owned the nine villages that now form the DOQ wine region Priorat and – being a monastery – gave the area the Name: “Priorat”. The monastery was built, where a shepherd once saw a ladder with angels climbing to heaven. “Escala Dei” means “ladder  of God”. It was the first Carthusian monastery in Spain and for centuries it was an important cultural center. Now, it is even not mentioned in my art guide books, neither in Dumont’s “Katalonien und Andorra” nor in Barbara Bongässer’s “Katalonien – Kunst – Landschaft – Architektur”. The formerly wealthy monastery, reconstructed in baroque and neoclassical style from the 16th to the 18th century, has been destroyed effectively in the beginning of the 19th century. However, the monastery is well worth a visit, due to the amazing location and the restoration efforts that started in 1989 and illustrate life in the former monastery.

Entering Escala Dei is just stunning. The Montsant massif watches over the line of three gates and the alley of cypresses. This is the second gate…

… and the Santa Maria portal leading to the center of the monastery.

The style of the Santa Maria portal looks baroque to us, with Maria standing in a niche.

The small Romanesque cloister has been reconstructed with the elements excavated. A film in the former refectorium documents the process of reconstruction. The ladder to heaven or “Escala Dei” is engraved on the fountain.

The ladder of God is also on the tableware in the reconstructed living area of the monks. There is a room for study and praying, a second room for cutting wood, a third room for handcrafting and this is the room for eating and sleeping. All rooms are arranged around a small garden, it is just like a small “atrium house”. Through a small, “curved” window, the  monk received his meal from a laybrother that could not see the monk through the pass-thorugh.

Behind the “atrium house”, there is a double garden on two levels. This is the upper level. The monk planted his herbs and vegetables in these gardens.

A complex system provided water to the monastery. Above the monastery, spring water was captured in a cistern and distributed to the individual cells (or “atrium houses”). Each “atrium house” had its system of tubes and fountains. First the upper garden received water (top level in the scheme), second the water continued to the fountain in the lower garden (middle level in the scheme), and third the water arrived at the lowest level, the “atrium house”, where the monk lived (lowest level of the scheme). At this lowest level, an underground tube collected the water.

This is the fountain that carries water to the lower garden.

And this is the (reconstructed) lowest fountain that the monk used in his small “atrium house”, for his personal needs.

We look back to the refectory in front of the Montsant massif and say good-bye to the charterhouse Escala Dei.

We have lunch in the small restaurant near the monastery and then return to Hospitalet to enjoy our balcony with the view of the Mediterranean Sea.

Sources: Sebastiano Albo, “Més enllà del vi – DOQ Priorat”, Barcelona 2011; “Vinos de España”, Larousse, Barcelona 2008; Thomas Schröder: “Katalonien, Michael Müller Verlag, Erlangen 2015 (for the monastery Escala Dei) and explanatory plates in the monastery Escala Dei.

 

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On the road to Spain – hiking to the Miranda in the Llaberia mountains

We spend November 2019 in Spain. We are now in the appartment of our friends at L’Hospitalet de l’Infant. One day, the weather forecast announces blue sky and we decide to drive to the village Llaberia in the Llaberia mountains and to walk to the La Miranda peak with its great view.

Source: Googlemaps

Llaberia is a small village, located in the middle of the Llaberia mountains on 700m. It is an almost perfectly restored village with narrow streets, but now, in late autumn, it is a ghost village. It is mainly inhabitated during summer, as the leaflet tells us that we have received at the tourism office in Pratdip (Consorci de la Serra de Llaberia, La Serra d’Almos). There is a museum, only open in summer, where visitors can learn more about traditional packsaddles and transportation methods in Catalonia (Museu del Bast). Interesting, I have never thought that such a museum would attract visitors, but considering the steep mountains of Catalonia, it may be well worth remembering traditional methods of transportation. Llaberia, this now empty village, used to live from farming and their cattle grazed in the hills around the village. Today, they have installed a photovoltaic power plant that can be visited on request, as our leaflet says.

The leaflet proposes a circular walk of 6km to the La Miranda and back to the Llaberia village. Near the Romanesque church Saint John the Baptist (12/13th century) the trail starts.

As we climb higher, the view to the west opens up. This is the  Ebro valley with Móra d’Ebre, still hidden in the fog.

The Llaberia mountains have been classified as an area of national interest with their Mediterranean vegetation such as holm oaks (quercus Ilex) and pine trees. In shady places, there is a Eurosiberian vegetaion with yew groves (Eibe in German).

Our target is the radar station of La Miranda on 918m.  The metallic “ball” appears between the trees above us…

… again and again.

Now we have reached the Miranda. A plate on the side wall of the meteorologic radar explains that it has been co-financed by the EU. La Miranda is one of four weather stations of the meteorologic service of Catalonia. and belongs to the community Tivissa-Llaberia. Our leaflet says that the station is useful to give insights into the storms from south and southwest that can cause abundant rain. And, with the twinkle of an eye, the leaflet adds weather singnals that we should not forget to take note of such as “when the aunt takes earth out of its nest, fix the leak and flee from the river” or “when you see a fish jump out of the water, hang out the laundry, good weather will come.”

We look south east against the eleven o’clock sun. The Mediterranean Sea shines under the blue sky with some dispersed clouds.

The panoramic view from the La Miranda is gorgeous. To the north east we can see the small village Colldejou and the Prades mountains in the direction of Tarragona.

To the southwest are the Tivissa-Vandellós mountains and, farther away, the Parc Natural del Ports and Terra Alta…

Now the mountains to the southwest are zoomed in; Ursula is fascinated by these rows of rugged mountains – one after the next. Cumbersome to cross, going up and down and up and down. Yes, that is, what the Museu of Bast of the Llaberia village could tell us more about – traditional methods of transportation in such ruggy mountains.

In the meantime, the fog in the Ebro valley near Móra d’Ebre has almost dissipated. Just in front of the light mist we identify the flat hill range, where the Iberian village near Tivissa is located, with its strategic view of the Ebro valley. (Two days later, we walk to the Iberian village and can identify the round ball of the Miranda metereologic station from there).

We walk back to the Llaberia village. The roundwalk ends at the Romanesque church of Saint John the Baptist.

The sun warms us up. We take off our jackets at the main square with the mulberry tree.

The tree invites us to play with the sun and the shade.

We say good-bye to the Llaberia village.

We stop for lunch in La Cuina d’en Carlos at the Ermitá Santa Marina, where we have been before. I love their salad with the goat cheese and Ursula loves their cannelloni which are also a specialty of Catalonia (that once had possessions in what is Italy today).

Then we return to our cosy apartment in L’Hospitalet de l’Infant.

 

 

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On the road to Spain – Ebrodelta and Amposta

It is November 2019. We are spending two weeks in the appartment of our friends, at L’Hospitalet del Infant.

Once more we visit the Ebrodelta. We have been in the delta before and it is always worth a visit. In addition we explore Amposta, a small town that we have passed by so far.

Source: Googlemaps

 

Ebrodelta: l´Encanyissada

After two very stormy days, the wind has stopped, but there are still clouds in the sky. We drive to the Ebrodelta and to the Casa de Fusta at the l’Encanyissada pond. From the Fusta viewpoint, we look at the Montsía mountains with the clouds above them.

This is the zoomed-in view of the Montsía mountains with San Carlo de la Rápida.

Igrets are all over… looking for a tasty fish meal.

We switch to another viewpoint at the l’Encanyissada pond. The clouds reflect in the channel.

Above the water of the l’Encanyissada pond, Ursula detects a kingfisher perched on to reed grass. It is the first time that we come across a kingfisher in the Ebrodelta.

More igrets – this one sits on the harvested rice field.

Swarms of glossy ibis are in the sky (called “Brauner Sichler” in German) and more of them sit in the harvested rice field – they look like black dots.

 

Ebro delta: The Salines de la Tancada 

Where are the flamingos? In spring, half a year ago, we found them standing in the Salinas de la Tancada. We drive there, and indeed, here they are, a pink stripe at the horizon.

One individuum decided to look for food all alone and much closer to us.

In the background, we can again see the Montsía mountains, now with fluffy cirrus clouds above them.

After having bought some of our favourite “Bomba” rice and some bottles of olive oil in the Case de Fusta, we decide to have lunch at Amposta.

 

Lunch and stroll through Amposta, the capital of the Ebrodelta

Amposta is the capital of the Ebrodelta and of the Comarca Montsía which is the southern most Comarca of Catalonia. The small city with about 20’000 inhabitants is very proud of their Suspension bridge across the Ebro. It has been constructed from 1915-1921 to replace the former ferry. The engineer was inspired by the Brooklin Bridge of New York , and his bridge was the second suspension bridge built from armoured concrete worldwide. In 1938 (during the civil war) the bridge was destroyed, and one year later it was inaugurated again. The ropes hang on arches built in German historizing style, as I read on the Webpage.

We stroll through the pedestrian zone and find one square after the next – we suppose that on hot summer days all these squares are joyfully busy. We also find welcoming restaurants such as this one selling hot “small dogs” (perritos calientes) that the parents can eat calmly, while their children play on the motor cycle.

Not far from the townhall, we settle in the bar Il Viale and enjoy a well prepared meal  with stewed veal and crema Catalana.

Amposta is not a pretentious town with overly restored houses. It has an old history though. Historians suppose that Amposta was an important Celtiberian settlement. Then the Romans were here. The name “Amposta” is said to derive from Latin “amnis = river” and “imposita” seems to refer to a guesthouse that was located on the rocks above the river Ebro.

Around 1150, the king of Aragon reconquered Amposta from the Moors. He gave it to the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. The flag of Amposta contains their cross. With the castle on the rock above the Ebro, Amposta thrived. In 1465 the castle was destroyed during the civil war in Catalonia. Not much is left of the castle today; this is the view from the suspension bridge.

Only in the 17th century, Amposta slowly recovered, when cultivation of the Ebro delta started. Today, Amposta is the regional center that lives primarily from agriculture in the Ebro delta, from the related mechanical industry and from tourism in the Ebro delta and in the near mountains.

In the early 20th century, some modernist houses were constructed. A congestion of them is on the street to San Carlos de la Rapita, such as this house with elegant oriels…

… a second one with pretty balconies,…

… and a third one made from red bricks.

When walking through the small streets, we find more modernist houses,…

… and, sorely, some of them are at the brink of decay.

We say good-bye to Amposta, this small town located on the rocks above the Ebro and return to our apartment in Hospitalet to enjoy the balcony.

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On the road – mysterious ermità on a red rock and Bellmunt in the Priorat

We spend the whole month of November 2019 in Spain. Now we are staying in the appartment of our friends in L’Hospitalet de l’Infant. One day we go for an excursion to Montroig del Camp (where we buy leather bags from our favourite leather workshop) and then drive through the Llaberia mountains to the Priorat, to Bellmunt. On the way, we stop at the Ermità de la Mare de Déu.

Source: Googlemaps

 

La Ermità de la Mare de Déu de la Roca – spectacular location

So far we have always ignored the signs pointing to the Ermità de la Mare de Déu de la Roca, when driving through the Llaberia mountains. This time, we turn left and arrive under this sandstone rock with the mysterious building on top. It is the Ermità de la Mare de Déu de la Roca, and I can understand, why this ermità is called “de la Roca”.

The ermità is closed. Turismo of Montroig  shows, what it looks like inside. Their site explains that the ermità, going back to the 13th century, has been ingeniously integrated with the red rock. Yes I agree, But – red rocks? Now I understand, why the village Montroig del Camp is called “Redmountain” (in Catalan “roig”, pronounced “rotsh/rotsch”, means red and “mont” is “mountain”): Montroig lies in the fields at the foot of the red sandstone mountains.

We enjoy the view towards Tarragona, with olive groves, forests and the Mediterranean Sea.

Then we climb up to the viewpoint with the pictoresque sandstone formations shaped by wind an water.

From the “sandy” rock, we look back to the ermità. Gorgeous place and very secluded.

We continue on curvy roads across the picturesque Llaberia mountains to reach Bellmunt in the Priorat.

 

Bellmunt – quiet village of winegrowers in the Priorat

Bellmunt stretches along a mountain edge above the river Suirana.

The table mountain Monsant can be seen in the background.

The village is surrounded by vineyards,…

olive groves,…

… and almond trees.

Bellmunt belongs to the wine area Priorat, one of the two highest Quality or DOQ wine areas of Spain. A panel at the village parking shows the nine wine producing villages of the Priorat.

Casa Gran del Siurana is one of the bodegas of Bellmunt. According to their website, the bodega was founded in 2000 and belongs to the Peralada Group, a family owned commercial conglomerate from the Empordà (Catalonia).

This bodega is named after a large house or “casa gran” located on the banks of the river Siurana; it once was inhabited by Carthusian monks from the monastery Scala Dei that owned all nine Priorat villages and introduced vines here in the 12th century.

We slender through the vineyards of Bellmunt that shine in autumn colours…

… and cross a small affluent of the river Siurana.

We admire the elaborate terraces made from stone and…

… carved into the steep mountain slopes.

We return to the village…

… and stroll through the narrow streets with the laundry hanging on the windows.

The village was vivid, when we arrived, as it was full of joyful children returning from school. The smell of lunch was in the air. Now the streets are empty and quiet, it is siesta time. We even do not find a bar open to have a coffee.

We decide to return to our appartment in Hospitalet by driving through the hills of the Montsant DO. We take a foto of this Monsant vinyeard near El Guyamets. The DO Montsant wine region forms a ring around the DOQ Priorat and in general, the Montsant vineyards are less steep and the vines planted more densely. Some innovative villages and wine growers also make excellent Montsant wines, one of the most successful being the Celler of Capçanes.

 

Some backgorund Information about the DOQ Priorat

Having arrived in L’Hospitalet de l’Infant, we stop at the city library, where we find an excellent book about the villages and winegrowers of the Priorat, written by Sebastian Alba : «Més enllà del vi – DOQ Priorat », Barcelona 2012. It gives general information about the Priorat wine area and each winegrower of the Priorat has a chapter of his own to talk about his background and about his bodega. Though the book is written in Catalan, we understand pretty much of it, as we speak both French and Spanish. From this book we learn:

  • The Carthusian monks of the monastery Scala Dei (ladder of God) introduced vines to the Priorat in the 12th century. They owned what is today the DOQ area of Priorat, and the name “Priorat” still reminds of the monastery.
  • The fate of the village Bellmunt is connected with their plumb mines. They were closed in 1972 which caused an exodus of inhabitants. The mines can now be visited and a museum tells all about them.
  • In the late 1990’s and beginnings of 2000 seven bodegas were established in Bellmunt, mostly family enterprises. The vineyards of one of them, La Gran Casa de Siurana, I have photographed, and another one, Rosa Maria Bartolomé Vernet, is the offspring of a family that immigrated from Andalusia to work in the mines. When the mines closed down, this family stayed. They started their wine growing business in 1997.

“Vinos de España”, Editions Larousse 2008 tells us more about the Priorat. The Priorat is mostly hills, some very steep – up to 30-40%, called “costers”. The best wines come from slate fragmented ground that is called “licorello” here. The Priorat wines have been almost forgotten in the 20th century and revived in the 1980’s thanks to four innovative winegrowers. In 2001 the Priorat received the label DOQ. Today about 22 winegrowers produce Priorat wine that is renowned in the large wine markets of the world and can be ordered in the best restaurants. The Priorat vineyards comprise just 1600 ha in all. 1600 ha… compare that to Rioja, the second of the two DOQ wine regions in Spain: Rioja comprises 48’000 ha. The total of vineyards of the Priorat makes just 3.3% of the total of the vineyards of Rioja. Rioja being so close to France has evolved since the 19th century, when the French turned to the Rioja area, after having been hit by Phylloxera. Rioja is stunning with some prestige winegrowers that have engaged the best architects of the world to build enormous bodegas. The Priorat is more modest with its nine villages crouched on hills among steep vineyards, where vines grow uncongestedly on terraces; the bodegas are sober and functional, mostly owned by families some of which have relations to larger companies from other Spanish wine areas.

Rioja and Priorat – both DOQ regions have their own charm, though being very, very different.

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On the road to Spain – driving around the Moncayo and returning to Catalonia

It is November 2019. We are travelling in Spain. Now we leave Soria and return to Catalonia. On the way, we stop in the Moncayo area.

Source: Googlemaps

 

The Moncayo mountain and the wine area Campo de Borja

We have looked at the Moncayo from the window of our room in the Posada de Soria. It reaches about 2300m and is covered with snow.

The Moncayo is located east of Soria. We are travelling eastwards today, to Catalonia, and the shortest way means driving around the Moncayo – first north of it, than east of it. And east of the Moncayo is the DO Campo de Borja wine area. The Moncayo creates a microclimate that allows to grow wine here. The Campo de Borja belongs to Aragón and we have already reached the Ebro valley, west of Zaragoza.

We stop at a small bodega, Prados Bodega Pagos del Moncayo in Vera de Moncayo. The bodega is young and family owned. It produces wines from the grapes Garnacha and Syrah, and their “Fusion” is a blend of the two grapes. We speak with the son. He shows us his cellar and tells us that they use traditional methods to make their wine, mostly working manually. He also mentions a wind, called el cierzo. I later find that the “cierzo” comes from the north or northwest from the Cantabrian mountains into the Ebro valley and towards Zaragoza drying out the area which is beneficial for the grapes. We feel welcomed and I buy a bottle of Garnacha and a bottle of Syrah Privé, the latter being their most valued wine.

Then we look at the mountains of the Moncayo massif from the east…

… most of which is now – like from the other side, from Soria – hiding in the clouds.

We drive down to the Ebro river. I can see the snowy Moncayo massif in my rear mirror almost up to Zaragoza. We continue our way to Lleida and Flix – through the Catalan mountains and down to L’Hospitalet de l’Infant on the Mediterranean coastline, where we reach the small apartment of our friends. Here we will rest from two weeks travelling and may continue to explore the area.

Source: “Vinos de España”, Edition Larousse, Barcelona 2008, p. 201.

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Empordá with its rich heritage from the past

Monday, June 5th 2019, our quiet days on the sunny balcony with the view of the Mediterranean sea are over. From Hospitalet, we head north towards Switzerland, with two breaks, the first in the Empordá (still in Spain or, more precisely, in Catalonia) and the second in Valence (France). Let me start with the Empordá region.

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Romanesque churches – there are many, many of them in Northern Catalonia and also here in the Empordá 

The publication “Routen der Romanik in Katalonien” (edited by the Generalitat de Catalunya) promises three Romanesque churches around Bisbal, in Cruilles, in Canapost and in Sant Julià de Boada. We find another one in Peratallada.

Our first target is Cruilles with the church Sant Miquel, located amidst fertile wheat fields.

It is a former Benedictine monastery from the 11th century built in Lombardic style.

We continue our route through fields surrounded by poppies,…

… have lunch in La Bisbal de Empordà and continue to Peratallada, where we find another Romanesque church, Sant Esteve with this “wall” belfry, where the bells hang side by side.

Sant Esteve is late Romanesque from the 13th century.

But… what we really look for is the Preromanesque church Sant Julià de Boada. Finding it requires quite some persistence. There is the villlage called Sant Julià de Boada, and there are no signs directing us to that church. We oscillate around the village, continue to Sant Feliú de Boada, turn back to the village Sant Julià de Boada – it MUST be here! The church has got the same name: Sant Julià de Boada ! We enter something that looks like a dead-end street, are about to take another turn… and – unexpectedly – I see this.

“Could it be that this is, what we are looking for?” I ask. We both hop out of our car to explore this unimposing church.

The entry door shows the form of a horseshoe pointing to the Visigoths. Inside there are more arches in horseshoe shape that Ursula carefully photographs across the mirroring glass door.

We are happy – finally we found this Preromanesque gem. And then, what a mishap, then we lose part of “our” paper “Routen der Romanik in Katalonien” published by the Generalitat de Catalunya that we take so much care of. Some kilometers away, we discover the mishap – half of “our” paper is missing. We drive back to this small Visigothic church – and there we find the other half of “our” paper on the pavement. We are happy, as we plan to visit more Romanesque churches in Northern Catalonia – we have not seen all of them so far, and “our” paper of the Generalitat is a very useful guide.

Our next Romanesque church is Sant Esteve in Canapost.

Behind the church we find the necropolis from medieval times (14/15th century). The church was built in the 9th/10th century (rectangular shape, Preromanesque) and extended in the 11th/12th century (Romanesque apsis and belfry of Lombardian style). The modest main entry (see above) is from the 18th century and remained incomplete.

There are sculptured heads above the windows of the belfry.

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Medieval small city Peratallada

Between visiting the pretty churches, we enjoy the medieval city of Peratallada that has kept its appearance from the 16th century. Peratallada may come from “pedra tailada” which means “carved stone”.

Across a deep ditch carved into the rock (7m deep), we enter the city through the Portal de la Virgen.

Narrow streets,…

… cosy restaurants,…

… this castle adorned with the Bougainvillea in full bloom…

… and there is more to see such as medieval towers, squares with vaults along narrow streets. Perhaps a little too many shops and too many restaurants. I am sure, in summer, this small town is busy with tourists that take a break from the beaches nearby.

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Sant Martí de Empúries – beaches and medieval village with many restaurants

It is late afternoon. Enough sightseeing for today. We drive to Sant Martí de Empúrias, where we have booked a room in the Hotel Riomar, north of Sant Martí. The Riomar may have been built by the friendly elderly couple that still runs it today. The pool and the garden DO welcome children, as the inflated swan illustrates.

The garden has been planted with much care. There is even a tennis court and there are ping pong tables. But they are at the brink of decay.

The rooms – and that is important to us – have been nicely refurbished and, from our room, we have a nice view of the sea .

We have a delicious dinner in the hotel Riomar. Everything cooked a la plancha (barbecued), but never before have I had such juicy and tasty grilled vegetables and fish.

We are so close to the beach that I feel like an early morning walk, when the rising sun starts to hide behind some clouds.

I am not alone. People walk their dogs along the beach.

I enjoy the symphony in blue and purple…

… and reach the small city of Sant Martí, located on a rock above the beach. This was an island that became the first Greek trading settlement in 600 BC. Later the Greek transferred their city to the main land which is now Ampurias. In the mean time nature has connected the island of Sant Martí, with the main land…

… and the medieval city of Sant Martí has replaced the first settlement of the Greeks. The Plaza Mayor is full of restaurants.

Not far from here is a famous bird reserve. This hoopoe (Wiedehopf) is currently visiting the small town. I have never seen a hoopoe before, what a beautiful bird!

I return to the beach, …

… and to the hotel Riomar. It serves breakfast in the garden – what a nice atmosphere.

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Ampurias – Greek and Roman settlement

“Our” Allemann (who wrote the DuMont Kunstführer) has visited Ampurias, this Greek-Roman settlement, in 1980 (Fritz René Allemann and Xenia v. Bahder, “Katalonien und Andorra”, DuMont Buchverlag Köln 1980). He tells us that not much is left and that it is difficult to imagine the former grandeur of the Greek and Roman cities. In the meantime, the Catalans have installed a video center that tells the history and they have placed explanatory panels all over that explain what may have been here before (often though, they are also not a hundert percent sure).

The Greeks founded Emporion on the former island of Sant Martí (they called it “Palaiapolis”), and later they founded Neapolis on the main land. From Neapolis, foundations are left, with this magnificent view of the Mediterranean.

Famous is the statue of Asklepios, the god of medicine. The statue is a copy, the original is in the archaeological museum of Barcelona.

Does Asklepios not have a magnificent view of the sea?

What might he think about the cities that arose around the bay and grew with the tourists. This is the view of l’Escala, taken not far away from Asklepios.

It was in Emporion, where Scipio landed in 218 BC to attack Hannibal from behind. In 195 BC, Cato started to subdue the Iberian tribes from here. And later, Caesar had the Roman city Ampuriae built above the former Greek settlement of Emporion. Retired soldiers lived here. We stroll along the remains of the Cardo and the Decumanus between the mosaics that decorated the Roman villas.

Ursula dreams of being a Roman soldier in retirement that was so lucky to be sent here with this gorgeous view of the sea.

We now say good-bye and drive north, to France. In France, we plan to stay one more night in Valence and visit another Romanesque church, Léoncel.

 

 

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Hospitalet de l’Infant – larger excursions

While spending two quiet weeks in Hospitalet de l’Infant in May 2019, we go for two larger excursions, first to the Ebro Delta, then to the Roman villa Centcelles returning via Reus.

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The Ebro Delta – again worth a visit

We have visited the Ebrodelta again and again, also now we drive there early in the morning to capture  the morning sun. The rice has been seeded and has started to grow.

Ursula tells me, what she has learnt from a TV show (Arte): The ampullariidae or apple snails (Apfelschnecke in German) eat rice offsprings. In the last seven years, their population has grown strongly in the water of the irrigated rice fields. The damage was such that the farmers had to seed the rice once more. As a consequence, the farmers started to seed their rice in less or no water to make it less comfortable for the snails. In addition the glossy ibis (plegadis falcinellus) love to eat the snails and their population also grew which is help from nature to fight the snails. This is what we understood from the TV show.

With snails and Ibis in mind, we play with the light in the rice fields…

… and in the ponds of the delta.

Then we lose our orientation in this flat land with one rice field after the next and a few ponds around, end up near Ell Muntells and find some flamingos in the ponds nearby.

We have lunch in Amettla and then return to our balcony overlooking the Mediterranean in the sun.

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Centcelles – astounding Roman mosaics

Tarragona was the capital of Hispania Citerior in Roman times (since 200 BC). We have seen the city wall, the circus, the theatre, the cathedral and the archaeological museum in Tarragona some years ago. In the museum, we then noticed  the special exhibition of children’s drawings of Centcelles, the Roman villa that later was used as a Roman mausoleum. Centcelles is some kilometres northwest of Tarragona, in a small city called Constantí, and this is where we head to today.

What we see in the villa-mausoleum of Centcelles is from the 4th century AD. Perhaps Constans, the son of the Roman emperor Constantin the Great, was buried here (he died in 350 AD).

The main attraction is the hall with the cupola decorated with mosaics.

The mosaics are unique. They were redicscovered in the late 19th century and restored in the 1950s. The scenes of the mosaics have been completed by the renovators, but very discretely, just to help visitors identify the scenes. 

The lowest row of mosaics shows hunting scenes…

... near a villa that is supposed to be this villa of Centcelles.

The second level refers to the bible – a very early documentation of Christianism in the Roman Empire. The Arche Noah looks like a box.

Daniel stands in the lions ditch… the lion is full of life.

This mosaic shows the scene of Jonas being swallowed by the whale.

On another mosaic, three men can be distinguished. It is assumed that they are martyrs that denied to pray to gods and had to die in the fire (which can be seen in the right-hand lower corner).

The third level is dedicated to the seasons. The best kept mosaic here is the boy that carries grapes-  obviosly representing “autumn”.

Next to the cupola hall with the mosaics are some amenities of the Roman villa such as this bath.

Source: Barbara Bongässer: Katalonien, Kunst, Landschaft, Kultur, Könemann, Köln 2000.

Returning from Centcelles we stop over in Reus.

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Reus – a charming small town

We have visited Reus before to explore the route of modernism and the museum about Gaudí who was born here.

We now return for a short stroll through the center of this charming town starting with Plaça Prim, named after General Prim who was born here and became Prime Minister of Spain in the late 19th century.

Just round the corner we find the Xixona that sells gelats i torrons. Their selection of ice creams is extraordinary. I have ice cream made from fresh goat cheese (reminding me of the Catalan dessert mel i mato) and Ursula has lemon ice cream with little nibbles of lemon zest.

We stroll through the pedestrian area with the art nouveau buildings…

… cross the Plaça Mercadal with the townhall and the green modernist Casa Pinyol…,

… pass by the Casa Rull, another art nouveau building from 1901…

… and return to our balcony with the view of the Mediterranean.

Yes, Reus was again worth the detour.

 

 

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In Hospitalet de l’Infant – relaxing

It is two quiet weeks that we spend in Hospitalet de l’Infant, end of May 2019, after our grand tour across northern Spain.

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Enjoying beach life – reading, walking…

There are various beaches in and around Hospitalet. In May they are still pretty quiet.

Dogs may need washing after a day on the beach.

The sun rises early behind the port of Hospitalet,…

… soon makes long shades…

… and then warms our balcony, where we stay during the day, sunbathing, swimming…

… and reading. Some of our topics are art and landscape in Catalonia, the history of the Iberian Peninsula and Spanish cooking and wines. In the Larousse about Spanish wines (2008), I learn more about the Txakolí wine from the Basque Country. There is a white variety called “Zuri” and a red grape called “Beltza” and the vineyards are in three areas, one of which we have seen, namely Getaria.

When back at home, I will have to try cooking the oxtail in wine sauce with chocolate. I have eaten it once, and it was delicious (Karlos Arguiñano, “1000 recetas de oro”, Barcelona 2019).

We have found these books in the library of Hospitalet. They dispose of an excellent book selection and rent them out free of cost, even to tourists (we just had to register our names).

Sometimes we have lunch in one of our favorite restaurants such as in La Becana in Ametlla where I eat steamed mussels…

… and, for dessert, a crema Catalana with the crunchy sugar.

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Small walks around Hospitalet – to the Ermita, the Punta or the Iberian village

From time to time we go for a walk around Hospitalet. One of our destinations is the Ermita de Sant Roc. A drivable road leads up to the Ermita. We walk and pick some rosemary to spice our meals.

From here the view of Hospitalet and the coast line towards Salou is magnificent.

Another small walk takes us up to Punto de los Rojales…

… with another magnificent view of the Mediterranean sea.

High above the Ebro near Tivissa, we love to walk to the Iberian settlement dating from 400 to 600 BC and to the medieval Castellet de Banyoles. The Ebro could be well controlled from this point.

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Special event at Hospitalet de l’Infant – Cursa BTT

Hospitalet is a quiet place, especially now, in May. But…  one Sunday promises to be busy. Signs announce a mountain bike race, starting at ten up to two o’clock.

On Saturday evening, the trails are ready.

On Sunday morning the bikers arrive. They take out their bikes and warm up diligently by spinning on their bikes fixed to a stand.

Then they leave in groups behind the pine trees (teenagers, young men, veterans, ladies…)

The dog of one biker couple is waiting for the masters – what may take them so long, it may ask himself.

Yes, we spend two quiet weeks in Hospitalet recovering from our grand tour across the north of Spain.

 

 

 

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Back to Catalonia (Hospitalet), with two stops in the mountains

On Saturday, May 19th, we drive from Zaragoza through the mountains to Hospitalet de l’Infant, south of Tarragona in Catalonia. On the way, we stop in Alcañiz and Horta de San Joan.

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Alcañiz – domicile of the Calatrava order (still in Aragón)

We follow the road to Morella up to Alcañiz. Here we maneuver our Audi through narrow-narrow streets, find the last parking slot near the city wall and walk to the  Iglesia de Santa Maria Mayor – baroque  from the 18th century – where we have a café solo.

We do not find the way out of the small town and land on top with its castle (now a parador) and this gorgeous view. This was the domicile of the order of the Calatrava.

Does our famous architect Calatrava have a relation with this order?

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Culture and lunch break in Horta de San Joan (now in Catalonia)

Horta de San Joan is a pretty small town in the mountains El Ports. Young Picasso was here twice, once as a teenager, when he stayed with the family of a friend of his and about ten years later again. This quote in Catalonian says: “Everything that I know, I have learnt at Horta”.

We visit the museum that tells the story of Picasso and Horta de San Joan. All the places that he painted are documented with photos. When he was here the first time, he recovered from an illness. And when he was here for the second time, he is said to have started his cubist way of painting.

Horta de San Joan also appears in literature. Perucho in his “Las historias naturales” described, how the scientist Montpalau (an invented figure) visited Horta de San Joan, when looking for the vampire Dip that terrorized the area in the first Carlist War, in 1840 (p. 164f): “Días más tarde… nuestras caballeros… abandaron Gandesa, en busca de la pista sangrante del vampiro… En Horta de San Juan visitaron la Plaza gótica porticada…

… y el convento de San Salvador…

… El aíre era muy frío y tuvieron que abrocharse hasta el último botón de la levita…El paisaje había cambiado ahora: Salvaje, grandioso, y como telón de fondo las altas montañas del Maestrazgo…”

(Some days later, our men left Gandesa, looking for the bloody track of the vampire… in Horta San Joan they visited the gothic square with the arches… the monastery of San Salvador… The air was very cold and they had to close their jackets up to the last button… The landscape had changed now: Wild, magnificent, and in the background the high mountains of the Maestrazgo…).

We do what  Perucho’s Montpalau has done… we visit the gothic square, enjoy the view of the wild mountains and the monastery and stroll through the narrow streets…

… adorned with Amaryllis…

… and barked at by cute little dogs,…

… until we lose our way and in the maze of streets and end up in front of this door. It is the restaurant “Gran Parrado”. It is one o’clock and we are hungry.

All tables are taken… the friendly manager offers a table in the bar. Lucky we are. We have a delicious lunch. This is the first course, cannelloni (yes, the Catalonians picked that up in Italy) and codfish salad. My second course is oxtail in chocolate sauce – very tasty. For dessert we choose fresh goat cheese with honey – a marvellous Catalonian specialty.

The host has a small wine cellar that he is proud of. Already Perucho’s Montpalau praised the wines from Terra Alta: “Se consumieron grandes bocoyes de vino de lágrima, finísimo al paladar…” (we drank large glasses of Lagrima wine, very fine in the palate”), p.163. I buy two bottles, one of them produced in Horta de San Joan (Els Costums made from Granatxa negra).

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Back at Hospitalet in the apartment of or friends

About one hour later, we are in Hospitalet. The full moon welcomes us.

Two quiet weeks are ahead of us. Reading, swimming, going for excursions and enjoying the Mediterranean.

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Looking back at our tour that we have completed in Northern Spain

Our route through Northern Spain started with a short break in Donzenac in France and then continued to

  • Hondarribia (with excursions to Bayonne, Biaritz, St-Jean-de-Luz and Hendaye as well as San Sebastián)
  • Bilbao (visiting Getaria on the way)
  • Santillana del Mar (with excursions to Altamira, Comillas, Bárçena Mayor and the origin of the Ebro, Cabrales)
  • Oviedo (visiting Covadonga on the way)
  • León
  • Zamora (visiting Benavente on the way, excursions to El Campillo and Toro)
  • Santo Domingo de Silos (visiting Peñafiel on the way)
  • Zaragoza (or Sarragossa)
  • Back to Catalonia (visiting Alcañiz and Horta de San Joan on the way)