Oh, so nice to wake up at whatever and think, I don’t have to get up and breakfast isn’t until 8! I didn’t even do all the things I try to do before leaving, just lay in bed dozing, so so nice.
I dropped off laundry, big advantage of having an overnight. Met Sue at breakfast, someone I’ve been with a bit over the last few days. She said she actually found a laundromat (I’d read there weren’t any), but couldn’t figure out how to get it all done. She ended up hand washing and was hoping to figure out the dryers. I was feeling lucky that I didn’t know that was an option, until I was handed my bag and realized they’d forgotten to do the laundry. Hmmm. Now seriously crossing my fingers that they can do it and get it back to me by 9 latest. Then will pack and go. That gives me a bit of a tight schedule to walk and get there by the transfer that takes me to my hotel, but hard to be upset about the possibility of another later morning. Especially since it’s supposed to be raining all day tomorrow, so why not go when it’s a bit lighter and warmer?
I didn’t think I would walk much today, but Burgos turns out to be beautiful. I’d read in my great book that I could spend 6 hours in the cathedral alone. It turned out to have a QR code (sp?) that I could download so that I had an English audio tour. But it took forever, went back to the hotel to see if WI-FI could get it done, nope. Then gave up and was just going back and realized I’d hit a great cel zone a few blocks away and just stopped on the sidewalk and waited until it downloaded. It was worth the time.
I couldn’t get a photo or video that remotely grasped the immensity of this church. David M Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davison who wrote The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago continue to be my go-to people for learning. Dad would give up because I really don’t care that much about Gothic vs all the other styles, but I’m amazed at the ages of these things. This building started in 1221, the first mass held in 1230, the ceiling vaults closed in 1243. Incredible. Additions and adorning continued for the next 500 years. I liked this: “Architects of large medieval churches strove to affect worshipers with a sense of wonder and awe. In Burgos they exceeded their expectations. For openers, think of the unprecedented size of this church. In the 13th c it stood not among today’s multistory (but not that multi story – 5?) offices, but instead rose seemingly miraculously from amid the 1 and 2 story houses that constituted the originality of medieval towns. If you can, picture Borgos’ urban landscape as a plain from which enormous pinnacles, the spires of her churches, soared skyward as visible links with heaven.”
That’s what I think about when I sit in these churches, what people thought as they looked at them. What hopes and dreams and security the churches offered. Of course there were others that were paying tribute to help pay for them, but still. The other thing I wonder is who was actually allowed to be in these churches? Everyone? Hierarchy in seating? How often did they come? I’d love to know some of the personal history, rather than just architectural history. Though it is amazing because they give attribute to the specific builders, painters, sculptors. These were serious craftsmen who were recognized as artists.
Here’s a bit of what I was able to capture, nothing compared to the capacity. There was a wedding going on in a whole other giant piece of the cathedral that was packed and closed. That’s where mass is held. If I were here during a high mass with music, I’d definitely go, it would sound incredible. You can get a sense of the sound from the bells in the dizzying video of a bit of the cathedral.
That gorgeous staircase was so that tradespeople and goods could come in without going through the rest of the cathedral. Crazy.
Then I just started walking, starting with circumnavigating the cathedral. All the streets are pretty, clean, and there’s a walk along the river I came into town on that goes for miles. Old buildings taken care of, really. Glad I got the extra day!
Just got the call that they can do the laundry! Yay! Off to dinner with Fiona, Merv and Sue. Think I will definitely have to call Fiona and Merv if I ever go to Dublin. I’ll be sorry to see them go.
PS – This was Franco’s base – definitely a rough piece of Burgos’ history.
Catedral de Burgos at night. It was spectacular to see so many people out, having fun and the city was as beautiful at night as it was during the day.
Reb's Walks! 