Cádiz - one of the oldest cities in Western Europe

#29 Cádiz

The trip to Cádiz was supposed to be one of the highlights of our Andalusia tour, mainly because of its location. The city, with its nearly 120,000 inhabitants, is one of the oldest in all of Western Europe and is actually surrounded by the sea from all sides, only connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus from the south. Today, there are also two bridges that lead into the city from the east.

Our navigation system directed us across the isthmus to Cádiz. So we crossed the 12 square kilometer city from end to end to get to our pitch, which was right by the harbor and therefore close to the old town. What we saw in the more recent part of Cádiz was the image of a typical large city. Lots of traffic, banks, shops, big discount stores lined up seamlessly - it wasn't the Cádiz we had expected...

The main street led us straight to our pitch, where we easily found a suitable spot. The cathedral was supposed to be our first destination. This time it wasn't a café or restaurant that got in the way of my plans, it was the tempting narrow alleys with their small, usually lovingly decorated boutiques that interested me more than art and culture. "Oh please...just this one little alley..." Who can say no to that?

Fortunately, it didn't take long until we came across a café that was just too beautiful to pass up, past countless orange trees whose blossoms emitted a wonderful scent. After a little refreshment, we made much easier progress and finally arrived at our cathedral. It dates back to the 18th century and has two towers that offer a wonderful view of Cádiz - from above. It was once again one of those moments when I was really glad we had the dogs with us. With them, we couldn't climb all the many stairs. Yes, yes...the dogs.

Speaking of which! On our way, we met a young man who happily and jokingly pounced on Emmi. He said she looked almost identical to his female dog. We told him that we had never seen so many dogs in any other country like here in Spain. Suddenly, his laughter disappeared. That's because ordinary earners in his country can no longer afford to have children, he said. He himself also didn't have a girlfriend and still lived with his mother. That's Spain too...

We went to Castell Catalina via Plaza Espana and the beach. We experienced a lively interplay of narrow alleys and wide, open squares. Yes, that was more like the Cádiz we had wished for.

All the sightseeing made us really hungry, and after all, our stomachs hadn't been busy for at least two hours. "Coincidentally," the fish market was on our way. It was almost 2 p.m., but the counters and tables around the stalls were packed. There was a hustle and bustle like at the peak time of the Straubing Gäubodenvolksfest. Eventually, we found a place. Fresh fish was, of course, what we wanted, and I was just about to go and choose one when my gaze fell on the table next to us. A couple our age was busy cutting up a huge fish. "Excuse me, may I ask what fish that is," I asked in my best English. Apparently, it wasn't good enough, because the woman answered me in German: "It's a sea bass," she said and explained that I could choose a fish from one of the many vendors and have it prepared for me here in this café.

Icke wanted to take care of that herself. She confidently walked into the fish hall and came back five minutes later with a sea bream. She handed it over to the server, who brought it back grilled about half an hour later. Just looking at Icke's smile in the photos above was enough to make the trip to Cádiz worthwhile.

P.S.: At night, we got to listen to a free sample of an orchestra. The musicians had to practice outside because of Corona - Icke had found out during a patrol - and had chosen the corner in front of our pitch for that. There were about 50 musicians, who maybe all played very well, but seemingly different pieces at the same time. At least, that's how it sounded. And apparently, the Spaniards are very persistent when it comes to playing music. It lasted until shortly before midnight before the last trumpet, trombone, flute, or whatever had faded away.