Gipatik: 10.09.2018
Wednesday, 05.09.2018
It almost felt like we were leaving Morocco by plane. Multiple passport controls, baggage and body scanners, waiting hall with duty-free shop - but no, we didn't take the air route, but the water route to enter Europe from Africa. To be honest, we were rather glad about the many passport controls, because this ensured that we definitely received the departure stamp in Morocco and after the one-hour speedboat ride in the port of Tarifa, Spain, the corresponding entry stamp for Europe. Without this stamp, we would have been illegal entrants and we wanted to avoid that. So after just under an hour, we disembarked in Spain... and found ourselves in a completely different world: suddenly the traffic rules applied (not that there were no stop signs and the like in Morocco, they just didn't apply), the currency was Euro, and when it came to clothing, "the shorter, the better" applied. Only the conversation was considerably more difficult. Only very few people here speak more than their native language, Spanish. The woman at the bus ticket counter was not one of them. It took a while and a total of 6 hands and 6 feet until we understood that the next bus to Seville is completely full and we have to wait 4 hours for the next one. In our disappointment, we completely forgot that we are students and paid the regular fare price for the ticket. So we spent the afternoon on a bench at the sunny bus station, got a sunburn here and there, and played a round of Shoppingqueen. At 4 pm, we got comfortable on the bus and only left it in Seville 4 hours later. And just a few kilometers of walking later, we reached our lovely hotel. Apparently, we accidentally booked the VIP status and ended up grumpy, sweaty, and overwhelmed in the so-called Level Lounge, where the Level Snack Bar is also included in the price. There are all kinds of delicious treats there, which we can snack on to our heart's content. A nice surprise after this long day of travel.
Thursday, 06.09.2018 - Monday, 10.09.2018
The last days of our trip were divided into two parts. There was a little bit of culture every day in the form of architecture or culinary - just as much as we could still enjoy after almost 3 weeks in Morocco - as well as plenty of stretching in the sun by the pool. I had to admit to myself that I focused solely on Morocco when packing and completely forgot about sexy Sevilla. So on the first morning, we had no choice but to extensively visit the nearby shopping center. Sevilla is not a bad place for shopping, I must say! But this student city also has a lot to offer culturally: Torre del Or, the Cathedral, Parque Maria-Luisa, and so on. We dedicated another morning to these sights, while we ended the evening comfortably by the pool and in the lounge. The following Saturday came with pretty gloomy weather - perfect for Leon's thick reading material and my anticipation of fitness. However, sports was not part of our travel plans either, so the pajamas had to do. On another evening, we spent time in downtown Sevilla, where we found numerous wedding parties - some marching through the streets, others occupying the pubs. Rarely have I seen so many well-dressed, good-looking ladies and gentlemen in one place. The actual reason for this evening outing was our planned "Tapas Bar Hopping". Go into any bar, try and move on. The reality should probably be called "Tapas Bar Hocking" instead, because in the first bar, the chef was not on duty yet, while the chef in the next bar looked like a god and we kept ordering more and more until we were bursting. Add a beer to that. Not a bad evening.
Now we are looking forward to being back home, to everyday life, and a little bit to freshly washed t-shirts.