Family breakfast at the Snack-Bar Juventus in Andorra la Vella (Principality of Andorra, Europe).

Andorra la Vella (in Spanish Andorra la Vieja) is the national capital and one of the seven parishes (municipalities) of the Principality of Andorra (Europe). The name 'Andorra la Vella' is relatively recent, dating back to the late 18th century, and it derives from the traditional name for the capital: the Vila d'Andorra (the Town of Andorra) or also called Andorra la Vila (Andorra the Town). Today, it serves as the nerve center of the country, the political, cultural, and commercial capital of Andorra, and the most populated urban area in the Pyrenees. Along with the neighboring city and parish of Escaldes-Engordany, it forms a conurbation of over 30,000 inhabitants commonly known as 'the Metropolis of the Pyrenees'.

It has a population (according to data from 2023) of 24,042 inhabitants and an area of 12 km² (this is the least extensive and most populated parish in all of Andorra).

The beautiful Archpriest Church of Andorra la Vella is dedicated to Sant Esteve (Saint Stephen); it was built in the 12th century and is in the Pyrenean Romanesque style. The patron saint of Andorra la Vella is Sant Esteve (Saint Stephen), and the national patroness of Andorra (and the Valleys of Andorra) is the revered Virgin of Meritxell (her name means 'midday light'). The Festa Major (Major Festival) of Andorra la Vella is celebrated around August 2nd; and the National Festival of Andorra, honoring the Virgin of Meritxell, is celebrated on September 8th (that day is a holiday throughout Andorra).

Several panoramas that I took of Andorra la Vella during my trip to Andorra (Principality of Andorra) in October 2024.

The CCA Shopping Center (Centre Comercial Andorrà), which houses a Super U hypermarket among other stores, is one of the most popular, largest, and most centrally located shopping centers in Andorra la Vella and of course in the Principality of Andorra.

From Baga the journey continued, first towards France. The next destination was Ax-les-Thermes. I'll keep it short - this place is a spa town that is a bit old. The location in the narrow valley does have a certain charm, but the construction work currently underway to redesign the town center will hopefully have the desired effect on the town. We set off towards Andorra.

We crossed the Pyrenees via Pas de la Casa and the pass of the same name. Once we reached around 2400 m above sea level, we were treated to a wide view of the surrounding mountains and valleys. The lifts and summer slopes give you an idea of how skiers flock here in the winter months, contributing to Andorra's main source of income.

Immediately after crossing the border, Andorra opens up with a completely different face.

I try to remember what it was like about 50 years ago when I first travelled this route, but you can't compare it anymore. Especially if you continue on towards Andorra la Vella.

One sophisticated ski resort after another is lined up like pearls on a chain. Respect for what the few Andorrans have achieved in these 50 years.

While we used to pitch our tents on the campsite opposite the old town centre of Andorra la Vella, today the whole valley is built up. The Valira d'Orient mountain stream, which at that time still ran openly through the valley, now has a concrete channel. The old relics, haystacks and houses, have been partially integrated into the new buildings. Due to the lack of space, construction is moving upwards. Large areas of the town have basements and underground car parks.

Of course we took the opportunity to buy a few things. This country lives from that and from tourism. Even if we would like to stop time, the people who live there have discovered a market for themselves that enables them to participate in the overall prosperity. Who could blame them?

All in all, I was very impressed by this experience; I would hardly have believed it possible that something like this could be achieved in a remote region like Andorra in 50 years.

Our recommendation: it's worth it. Next time we'll prepare better and take a little more time.

39 Pas de la Casa

40 Col d'Ordino

As if I wasn't warned a few years ago by a colleague 'Andorra only has two entry or exit roads, there's always traffic'. You have to experience it to understand. 

At the entrance and exit, IDs were checked and license plates were checked by the Comune => 1 hour of sauna. Then struggling through the city for another hour => Andorra is not my thing, except for fuel prices 1.40 E5

So the dream, but like everywhere in Europe, the snow was only lightly powdered over a few peaks; individual slopes covered by snow cannons. Oh, by the way, 'Europe'! Andorra may have the Euro, but it does not belong to the EU. So be careful! ... turn off calls and roaming, otherwise it'll be expensive! And even the duty-free shopping is more of a fantasy than it's worth. In short, Andorra appeared just as gray to me as it did on my first drive-through 15 years ago. The houses are made of natural stone - actually quite pretty, just very dark. That makes it look rather ... gray amidst the gray rocks. There are no flowers or snow or fresh, delicate green, in fact it even rained on the first day... Signs of homesickness?!?!?! Micha's dream of a powder snow course shattered against these very gray rocks ... peeeng! The ski school sold us a powder snow course with great optimism, and fortunately, Micha was the only participant, so he could race down the slopes with Diego from Argentina ... and he wasn't alone. Because Diego couldn't pull powder snow out of his pocket and the experienced skier didn't want to hear any advice. 2 hours of fun for 200 'bucks' - no wonder Michi can get grumpy and so I had to present 'the complaint' in my bumpy English. I succeeded. Maybe it was also Michas' angry look... in any case, we got our money back.

But in the end, not everything was gray! On the 2nd day, the Spanish warm sun came back, the hotel was pure luxury after 6 months in the Vito, the staff here as friendly as in a commercial, and the food was super delicious, sauna and pool were never crowded, and we had a wonderful view from the window. We went hiking, even with snowshoes. Since the signage was more like Spanish, we kept straying off the beaten path - finally a little off the slopes. For my sweetheart's birthday, we had the desired peaceful day with plenty of time for shopping (shoes are unbeatably cheap here, like in Spain). And so we were not at all bored and could really enjoy the 7 days at the hotel.

We traverse Andorra and camp right on the border of Andorra-Spain, oh sorry, Catalonia. Honestly, I didn't expect us to drive so high, at 2,300 m it's not so funny at night with a sleeping bag. Finally, it pays off to have carried the fleece and down stuff.

We can't continue without a little hike, of course. So off to the next summit, but what's going on there? I'm just not a person for 2500+, German flatland blood after all. But well, at the summit I still give my best and strike a pose:

We make a road trip back to Edu's hometown and camp for one more night at a very special river. Here there's something to laugh about, or maybe to marvel at: how do I manage to keep my aristocratic pale complexion after 3 weeks of sunshine?

I can't really serve with clichés yet, well Edu is a true Catalan, but you can't take him as the standard. Tapas are delicious, but so far not really high cuisine and I miss the carafe of tap water, which is always included in France and protects against certain death by dehydration. ;)

Today over the Col du Toses and La Molina (a definitely cool ski area), the Col du Puymorens (France) to Andorra and over the Port Envalira to Canillo on a camping site.

Between the town of Ripoll and the city of Puigcerda, a challenging winding road, sometimes a bit narrow; I let a lot of knee sliders pass - they are somewhat annoying companions! From Porto it becomes high alpine, the morphology resembles our Alps, only the rock is much darker, almost black. Out of nowhere, a city appears on a plateau in the distance. When I approach, the place turns out to be a grotesque collection of shops of all kinds - amidst an otherwise untouched, almost hostile rock scenery! I briefly consider taking a break here, but witness a heated argument over a parking space and troll down the Envalira Pass. Since I'm very hungry, I stop at a steakhouse.

The campground in Canillo is very basic. It's windy and very cool. Fat rain clouds suggest something bad, so I keep the tent packed and stay overnight in a caravan! I sit half under the awning, half in the evening sun and eat bacon, cheese, bell pepper, baguette. I empty a bottle of red wine. It's windy and quite chilly and the night will be cold!

A truly extremely polite, lively, and truly British gentleman had the extraordinary honor of serving the fetid BOSAMO, and already in the description of the hut it said: British Breakfast!

So what happened in the morning?

A dissatisfied, emaciated shrew felt the need to explain to the host that they were in France and, with a glance, denied the noble food, which froze the Gaijin's testicles, causing him to be thermally castrated and making it impossible for him to ever remove that gaze from his brain.

I'm afraid that a men's magazine purchased as a remedy will remain ineffective!

Non-bloody, visual testicular obliteration is definitely possible, but an simple cut appears far less painful to the ignorant.

What on earth could one have against British Breakfast?

Berta was truly motivated today, driven into the Pyrenees like a young, lively deer, with Andorra as the chosen destination.

A great chase on beautiful roads!

Once arrived, the uneducated One believed that it wouldn't hurt his heathen but godlike, well-trained body to visit a Romanesque church from within, as Andorra has a few of them in the mountains and they haven't been violated with baroque, golden glory.

Said and done, up the mountain and NOTHING.

The devil stays outside, mischief still sits on my shoulder, my esteemed, educated, beautiful, intelligent, alabaster-skinned, worshipped readers will find out later if the demonic Gaijin would have caught fire upon entering holy ground, but it will be a while until the next interesting church.

Oh, and today the weather had the goodness of covering the sun with lovely clouds! It was delightful!

In a way, the last mercy before my stage of fear begins, as the south of Spain is now ahead of me, and truly, just looking at the weather app makes me sweat...

P.S.: I've long stopped sweating because of my mistakes!

We saved the most exciting part of our trip for almost the end: we are stuck! In La Seu d'Urgell, most people won't know what that means right away. We googled it too, but Wikipedia doesn't offer much information in this case. But in the last few days, I've had to do a lot of research, which I didn't initially plan.

But step by step, let's keep it exciting.

On Wednesday, we wake up in the French Pyrenees at Pas de L'Ours at an altitude of about 1300m and look forward to breakfast with a view of Château Montségur, one of the most important Cathar castles in southern France. But oh well: fog surrounds us, takes away all our visibility, and is also very wet and very cold.

A look at the weather radar tells us that the situation is not much better throughout the country. On a day like this, you can also spend your time sitting in the car, driving around, and leaving the lousy weather outside. So, let's go, to nearby Andorra.

The small country is somehow strange. More than a third of the largest European microstate lies above the treeline, and more than 65 mountain peaks are above 2000m, according to Wikipedia. And until 1950, only 6000 people lived here, today there are almost 80,000! We suspect that this is the reason why we can't find any old towns or picturesque historic villages. Until 70 years ago, people apparently lived isolated on their alpine pastures. According to the latest standards, the towns are built on slopes and mainly serve (ski) tourism, which the country primarily relies on. Although care was taken to integrate the resort towns into the landscape, everything seems somehow artificial and not very appealing. However, the sky clears up right behind the border with France and offers a breathtaking view of the peaks around us.

We need bread again and head to the nearest supermarket. We are greeted by a wildly colorful selection of duty-free booze and cigarettes that will knock you off your feet! The corresponding explanations combine the European languages of all countries, even Russian in Cyrillic letters. We pay for our bread and leave.

Andorra does not prove to be a paradise for wild camping. We could stay at one of the many ski resorts, where motorhomes are already beautifully distributed on at least 1800 parking spaces, but it can get very cold at 2000m altitude at night. So, we refuel without tax again, leave Andorra below, and enter Spain.

The sun is shining from a blue sky, and layer by layer of the layered look falls off, soon a dip in the Rio Segre is due.

We find a romantic spot for the night on a green mountain meadow with a view of the Pyrenees. During dinner, a fox comes to visit, searching for a mouse or something. He roams the meadow and seems to have no fear of us. Just behind me, not even a meter away, is our "fridge box," where we store the food that should stay cold, and after four weeks, it emits an unmistakable scent of something delicious. I soon hear a crunching sound and just manage to prevent Senor Zorro from going after our cheese. Forget the fox, it's more like a cheeky one!

On Thursday morning, I want to crawl out of the robber's cave to greet the new sunny day and am immediately puzzled. Something's not right here! I search for my new, beautiful blue Crocs with a Crocband and only find one. Didn't I put the other one next to it last night? But I did, as always, so that I don't have to feel around in the dark for too long. I put my bare left foot on the still wet grass and look under the car: nothing! I get on my knees and almost crawl under the car: still nothing. Zappa is making fun of me by now, but I'm slowly losing my laughter. I suspect what has happened here. Once before, a little animal chewed up a brand new shoe of mine while I was sleeping.

And Zappa confirms my suspicion: when he climbed out of the robber's cave just before me, the fox was just a hop away and immediately made off. In the morning coolness, we search for my left Croc, I'm desperate, these shoes are indispensable on the journey, with socks, without socks, over sticks and stones and through masses of water, now I only have one! I lament, but we can't find it. The beast has kidnapped it and is now enjoying a cozy winter inside! Unhappy, the coffee doesn't taste good to me, and Zappa promises to get a replacement as soon as possible. If necessary, I can temporarily use his...

We pack up, and my hero goes back across the meadow, and unbelievable! He finds my left Croc, chewed up, riddled with holes, nibbled on, perforated by sharp teeth, and still usable, hooray! And now I have the one-of-a-kind model Crocband Zorro.

What does all this have to do with La Seu d'Urgell? You'll find out in the next episode...

After spending our last night in France under olive trees overlooking the Pyrenees in the wilderness, our adventure in Andorra began.

I believe that most people immediately have clichés in mind when it comes to many countries. At least, that's how I feel. For Germans, it's the potatoes and sauerkraut, in Spain they eat a lot of tapas, in France it's baguettes... But when it comes to Andorra, we didn't have any clichés in mind. We simply had no idea what to expect.

But now, I think of cheap gasoline prices (we filled up with diesel for €1.03), beautiful houses, and above all, that the Andorrans must be master builders of serpentine roads :D

Our first activity in Andorra was a hike along a steep mountainside. At times, we had to overcome ice surfaces near the edge with shaky knees, where slipping was not an option. This hike was classified as "easy" and "for the whole family" in our information booklet, which we couldn't quite understand. Nevertheless, we had a lot of fun, lots of adrenaline in our blood, and a magnificent view of the Pyrenees.

After spending the night at a campsite in the small town of Canillo, we drove to a viewpoint the next day that we had already seen from the valley. This dizzying platform offered a fantastic view of the city and the surrounding mountain landscape.

Unfortunately, due to a lack of parking for vehicles of our size, we could not visit Andorra la Vella, the capital of Andorra, but we did visit a slightly smaller neighboring town.

From there, we drove even higher into the mountains and spent our last night in Andorra at an altitude of 1600m.