Text: Peter Johansson
Editing: Christer Lundstedt
Photos: Christer Lundstedt, Peter Johansson
Videos: Christer Lundstedt



Thursday 6th of January

08.38 It's time for another day of sporadic plans and not yet known events. This is standard on our travels. Anyhow, what we do know is that we are in Cádiz and have spent the first of two nights at the Hotel de Francia y París (https://www.hotelfrancia.com).

09.05 Once again we are off to have breakfast. Once again we wonder what is served on this day. But I remain calm and quiet as long as I get coffee of decent quality.

09.44 We ordered from a menu card. It was coffee, croissant, yogurt and a ham sandwich. Someone had spilled milk in the coffee and the yogurt was small. Why couldn't we get black coffee and juice? Now is the time to get things in order for the coming day.

10.09 We will never have full control of things. Outside influences can only be expected, not foreseen. One sure thing, perhaps, is that we have one more night here in our room.

10.26 The bustling city we experienced last night is now calm, quiet and deserted. We walk around the wooded Plaza de Mina near our hotel.

10.46 Pigeons are cooing and other birds are chirping. We are at Plaza de España. A man just said eh or something like that. Here on the square there is a large monument that pays tribute to the fact that a world-unique modern liberal constitution was written here in Cádiz in 1812. It applied to Spain, the Philippines and the Spanish colonies in Latin America.

11.17 Christer and I have walked along the fortification Murallas de San Carlos. We've had the Atlantic Ocean on one side and statues and parks on the other. In the parks or at least one of them there should be trees brought there from America by Columbus and his expeditions. Now we are in the park Jardines del Paseo de Carlos III.

Breakfast time at Hotel Francia y París.

Monumento a la Constitución de 1812.

The fortification Baluarte de la Candelaria in Cádiz.

Peter inside Jardines de la Alameda.

A pigeon and a holy man.

Christer between interesting trees in Parque Genovés.

11.53 After seeing a number of exotic trees and cats basking in the city park Parque Genovés, we are now sitting in the sun with a sea with low tide behind us. That's the way it is in some of our oceans. It is both low and high tide twice every day. La Caleta is the name of the beach and the neighbourhood around us.

12.34 We walk along the sea here in beautiful Cádiz. The city centre is located on a promontory so the sea is never far away. A new stop has been made between the sea and the city cathedral. A man with a dog in his pocket just walked by. Was the dog tired or the man tired of his slow dog? What do we do next?

12.55 We have photographed and admired the baroque cathedral of the city, the remains of a Roman theatre and the town hall in Plaza San Juan de Dios. Now on to the next event.

13.30 We have been at the railway station. There we ran into problems and hassles when we tried to buy tickets for tomorrow's train trip. It was a hard-working machine that didn't want to cooperate at all. It did not respond well to finger pressure. In the end, we got a ticket each to Seville tomorrow. Let's see what we do with the rest of the day. Do we go to the neighbouring city of Jerez de la Frontera or what do we do?

14.01 There will be no train travel today. The neighbouring city of Jerez, which gave its name to the beverage Sherry, will have to wait for our visit on another time and trip. Cádiz has enough to offer to fill the rest of the day. Now we are sitting on a bench in the square Plaza San Francisco at the hotel. Christer checks, via the internet, the offer at the neighbouring restaurant.

14.09 We sat down here at the restaurant San Francisco Uno. We ordered beer and soon our lunch. It will be grilled pork. Now we got bread. The beer should now be tasted, it looks good. This seems like a good place.

Cats enjoy the winter sun in Parque Genovés.

It was low tide at Playa de La Galeta.

The author Fernando Quiñones stands at Baluarte del Orejón.

The sun is reflected in the Atlantic.

Time to fly!

Christer is walking along Avenida Campo del Sur.

15.13 The beer, the potato chips and above all the grilled pork were fantastic. We just wanted to have a simple lunch but it was among the tastiest we had on this trip. We will pause for a while before seeing more of the city in the afternoon.

16.33 The pause in our room has taken more energy than it has given us. We have to decide what we are going to do for the rest of the day.

17.03 If I pause something more, I will fall asleep. It's time to go out for the last hours of this day.

17.26 After investigating whether various possible cafes and restaurants were open, they were, we are now in Plaza Candelaria. We continue our evening walk. In a house here in the square, Fernando O'Higgins has lived for four years. We recognize the name. We saw his name in many contexts during the trip in Chile in 2019.

18.21 We have walked around various streets and squares in order to photograph as much of the city as possible before it gets too dark. Now in time for sunset we are back at Playa de La Caleta where we were exactly 6½ hours ago. Now the waters of the sea are back and the sun is going down into it. It is usually at the sunrise and sunset that it is really beautiful.

19.03 El Cafetín de las Flores is a café that has arranged our evening coffee. There will be coffee for both, a piece of cake for Christer and small pancakes with chocolate for me.

19.26 Home Sweet Home. The train tickets for the train journey Arlanda-Gävle-Sundsvall on Saturday evening just arrived on our phones. We feel good. How long will it last?

20.36 We take it easy here in the hotel room and build up a dinner hunger. Now the journey home is approaching. It's not time yet, but soon.

Cádiz is beautifully situated by the Atlantic Ocean.

The Catedral de Cádiz, a Baroque cathedral, began to be built exactly 300 years ago.

Cádiz City Hall.

We are waiting for our lunch at Restaurante San Francisco Uno.

Today's lunch was delicious.

Parroquia de San Antonio, Cádiz.

21.02 The hunger is growing. It's time to silence it. We feel stiff in our bodies. Have we walked too much or too little? That's the question.

21.18 We had plans to treat ourselves to a really good dinner with meat and wine before the trip home. However, we have not found the perfect restaurant for this here. We have a number of possible ones but none stands out. We will now go out and walk past these candidates to see which one feels the most inviting.

21.45 Our dinner started with an adventure. The restaurant Abuela Elfrides at Plaza San Agustín informed us that they cannot accept card payment at the moment. The hunt for an ATM took us to one with a homeless man right next to it. We moved on. The next ATM wanted a bank code, not a pin code. The last one, however, gave us cash. We had to withdraw a little extra because we have no idea how much our food will cost. Once in the restaurant, we first sat indoors on high, wobbly chairs. Now we sit more comfortably at tables outside and wait for the food.

22.11 A woman, well dressed, was just here at the table begging for money. She didn't get any of us. The only cash we have is to pay for food and drinks here at the restaurant.

23.11 It was good food but slow service. We decided to skip coffee. There was neither time nor any direct craving. Now we have to do some practical stuff in our hotel room.

23.17 The check-in for flights is in progress. On the first flight from Seville to Lisbon, Christer sits on 15C and I sit on 15D. on the second from Lisbon to Arlanda, it is 16F for Christer and 16E for me.

23.59 Now hopefully all documents are correctly filled out and saved. It's time for sleep.

Beautiful sunset in Cádiz.

Peter is visiting El Cafetín de las Flores.

Dinner at Abuela Elfrides.


Friday 7th of January

07.29 Today we slowly start the project to bring us home to Sweden. Today we are also going to get tested to get home as we intended. Should either or both tests show positive for Covid19, we will have to think again and book again. However, we both feel healthy so hopefully there is no such virus in us.

08.44 The last hotel breakfast on this trip is now completed. The next morning we will probably have to check out before any breakfast is available. Now everything should be wrapped up before heading towards the railway station.

09.22 We have this Friday morning strolled through the nice Cádiz, a city where we liked to stay a little longer. Now we have sat down on the train to the last sleeping place of the trip, Seville. It is a city that we visited on a previous Spain trip. We were there in December 2015.

10.25 We have just stopped in Jerez de la Frontera, the city we opted out of yesterday. We saw some of the houses in it. Our train is now at the Aeropuerto de Jerez, in other words Jerez airport. It has been a quiet and pleasant journey so far.

11.41 The train dropped off the remaining passengers at the station Sevilla Santa Justa. Here we had intended to leave the luggage in the left luggage during the hours we are going to test ourselves for Covid19 and later have lunch. That thought failed. It was closed due to Covid. It feels like everything can be blamed on the virus. We have to carry our bags instead. It will be a long walk.

11.57 We are far from alone on the streets of Seville. It takes time to get around and there are many pedestrian crossings with red lights. We have just seen the glimpse of the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán behind a shopping centre. It is where Seville FC play their football matches.

12.13 In about 20 minutes we will be at the clinic where we booked an appointment. Right now we pause and catch our breath so as that we will not arrive completely sweaty. We had not planned a walk with the bags on our backs. According to Google Maps, the clinic is seven minutes walk away. This is going to be interesting.

The fountain on Plaza de Sevilla in Cádiz.

We have arrived at the train station in Cádiz.

It's time to take the train to Seville.

The railway station Santa Justa in Seville.

Here we will take our Covid19 tests.

On the last day in Spain, we finally ordered paella.

12.38 We arrived in time to the street Bartolomé de Medina and the clinic Centro Médico Hispalia. Now we have filled in a document each. All that remain is to wait. Will there be swab in the nose/throat, a blood test or what?

12.55 It turned to be spitting in a plastic tube. Instruction was simple, sit, spit, and go out. Christer got a little confused when he thought the command was sit, when it was spit. We will be notified by e-mail in two hours time. Lunch will be served at the La Galantina restaurant. We are going to try a lunch offer and finally eat paella. You can't be in Spain and not eat paella. It's like going to Italy and missing the pizza.

13.26 With the help of Google Maps we will find the smoothest possible way to our hotel. We don't want to walk unnecessarily long distances with our bags on our backs.

13.52 We have walked many streets, seen convents and churches in the older parts of the city. We would have been lost if we didn't have the guide on the phone. It's time for a break on a staircase at Plaza del Salvador. Christer has been told that his test was negative. I have not yet received my message. However, according to Christer's answer he lives in Bjästa. That's where I live. He lives in Sundsvall. Something must have gone wrong.

14.04 We remain on the stairs. I got my result, it was negative. Another negative is the incorrect living data in Christer's documents. He'll try to email to get it changed. It feels good that everything is in order for the flight tomorrow.

14.45 The last Spanish home on this trip will be at the Hotel AACR Museo (https://www.hmuseo.com) and Room 203. We have a mini balcony overlooking the narrow street outside our room, Calle Pedro de Toro. Christer has now received a new document with the correct location. It feels better when everything is correct.

15.44 Soon it is time for us to see Seville again. Will it be something new or just a reunion? We're not going to see a barber this time either.

15.57 The flight time has been changed tomorrow. We land at Arlanda 30 minutes before the train north departs. How do we solve this? Will we get there in time?

Huge door to the convent Convento de Madre de Dios.

Lots of oranges in front of Parroquia San Isidoro.

A view from our room at Hotel AACR Museo.

Avenida de la Constitución, Sevilla.

The entrance to Seville Cathedral.

La Giralda, a bell tower that used to be a minaret.

16.23 Now we are again at the City Hall of Seville. There is no ice rink here this time. The City Hall is still beautiful. Nearby is Plaza Nueva. Seville, Spain's fourth largest city, has a population of 684,234 and is known for its hot summers and exciting history. There is plenty to see and experience here.

16.37 We have stepped away to see the city's huge cathedral. In fact, it is so large that it can hardly be photographed. Some places here we clearly remember from the last visit. Now a horse is clapping by, pulling a cart. The cathedral is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. It has a Moorish Tower which is now the bell tower was a minaret in the Moorish (Arab) era. As I mentioned in the last trip here, half of Christopher Columbus is buried here.

17.11 Old and new means of transport pass behind me. There are horse-drawn carriages and trams. We are at Starbucks Coffee and have coffee on their outdoor terrace. One floor up is a Turkish consulate. We have no business there, perhaps if their coffee is better.

17.28 As we sat here with our coffee mugs a reasonably well-dressed older woman approached us. She said something, pointing to her mask-covered mouth, she begged. I played dumb and put on my mask. I wanted her to think she wanted me to wear a mask. Then the woman left.

18.21 Christer and I are back home in our room. It's time to get the last Spanish night in order. We are going to have dinner and make some alcohol related purchases. In addition, we wonder how to solve it with the Arlanda-Sundsvall train journey? What if the train left before we got on board? Then it will be interesting.

19.09 Now we are going on a short walk. We will find out the facts about tomorrow's airport bus and buy something drinkable to take home.

The pope has been given an orange.

Plaza Virgen de los Reyes, Sevilla.

Catedral de Sevilla.

Anyone want to go?

Puerta de León, entrance to the 12th-century Alcazár Palace.

The last Spanish dinner was quality pizzas at Zoom Pizza.

20.30 Now we have been looking for a restaurant for dinner and checked when the airport bus departs and where it depart from. We have also bought breakfast for tomorrow and adult beverages to bring home. Plaza de Armas bus station is conveniently close to our hotel. We bought our liqueurs at the Mercadona grocery store.

21.04 We hesitate between two restaurants. In addition, they are close to each other. We go there for an ocular inspection and we'll see what it will be.

21.31 The day is rounded off at Zoom Pizza (http://www.zoompizza.com). We want dinner to go quickly so we get to bed in time. We're getting up early tomorrow. There has been some walking today. It is felt in the legs. It would be interesting to know how many kilometres we walked.

22.17 Now both of us are home again. Now we will unwind, pack and crawl down. Tomorrow we leave the heat to re-enter the snow, darkness and cold.


Saturday 8th of January

06.27 A challenging bedside breakfast is over. Thick yogurt is difficult to drink directly from the jar. Now let's get ready to fly.

07.03 Soon it is time for us to walk towards the nearby bus station Plaza de Armas.

07.17 Beside darkness, cool weather, +6°C and stops at pedestrian crossings, red men, it went well to go to the bus station Plaza de Armas. We are already started and ready for a new day. We also met some young men who were still finishing last night.

07.29 Airport bus tickets were paid by bank card. Now we are on our way to another airport, Aeropuerto de Sevilla. It is also known as San Pablo.

08.11 We've arrived at Seville airport. It's time to get to its inner parts.

09.15 There was a short but tough check-in queue. At the counter, I started by showing the wrong documents. The lady wanted to see if we were Covid-free but I showed something else first. At the security check, something beeped as I passed. The man there moved a small piece of paper over my wrists and palms. This was then stopped in a machine. Everything's okay. Was it a random routine check or what? What were they looking for, traces of drugs? Now let's build on the breakfast. According to the original plan, we would take off from Portela Airport in Lisbon at 12.50. Now it will be 14.00 instead.

Early morning at Plaza de Armas bus station.

Here you can buy Sevilla FC's football kit.

We have left Seville.

10.13 Por favor aperter o cinto enquanto estiver sentado can be read on the seat in front of me. Wear your seat belts when you sit down. The language is Portuguese. We are sitting in seats 15 C and D. The airline is called White Airways and the plane is an ATR 72. White runs the route for the larger company TAP Portugal.

10.40 We have left land and are rising towards the clouds. We are flying over Seville. Above us there are lights, ventilation and symbols for the seat belts to be on. However, the ban on smoking does not exist. Instead, it is a laptop that is crossed over. Soon I will switch to Portuguese time, minus one hour.

CHANGING TIME ZONE

10.56 We are now about to land in Lisbon. The time is now the Portuguese. The stop here will be longer than planned. We'll have time for a real lunch.

PORTUGAL

11.07 Now we are back at Lisbon Airport, Portela. The last time we were here was Easter 2018 when we were on our way to and from the Azores. Here we have a few hours before our flight departs for Stockholm and Arlanda. It is because of the stay here that we needed a negative Covid19 test. Portugal demands it even if we only change planes here.

11.36 Now we are waiting for a free table at Café Central. We want something to eat.

12.03 Both of us ordered cheese and ham baguette and double espresso. In addition, I had Portugal's contribution to the pastries, a Pastél de Nata. Soon we walk towards the area around our gate.

12.26 Now we think about what we will do next, partly now before the flight but also after. What about food and other things? Imagine how often eating is out of order when you're flying.

12.52 We are about to have lunch at Cockpit Drinks & Tapas. There will be cheese and bacon burgers with beer to drink to it. It is not completely different from the dinner eaten here in Easter time 2018. It was a short time between coffee and lunch but we realized that we do not have time to eat any more real food today and it is good to take advantage of the opportunity.

Christer at Café Central.

Our lunch meal at Cockpit.

13.38 It became unnecessarily stressful because it took longer to get the ordered food. We then went wrong and stressed ourselves out unnecessarily. Now we are at the right gate and no one has started boarding yet.

14.00 TAP Portugal's A-330-200 will fly us home to Arlanda and Sweden. It doesn't look easy to catch the train to the north. We cross that bridge as we get to it.

CHANGING TIME ZONE

16.11 We are back in Central European time again. Below us, about 12,192 metres down is the Bay of Biscay.

17.22 It is time for a new note. We are now 12,496 meters above sea level, but the question we still ask ourselves is, will we have time for the train? Do we have time to get our luggage and can we run all the way? If not, we will book a later train.

19.03 It brightens, not outside the plane but for us. We're about to land. The hope of catching the train is alive and well.

SWEDEN

19.14 The plane is on the ground. Now every minute is important. Now we want to get off the plane.

19.24 Christer has bought some provisions in a kiosk and we are now waiting at the baggage claim here at Arlanda Airport.

19.38 Now we have our luggage, towards the train. There is hope to catch up after all but there is no big margin. The train leaves at 19.51.

19.58 All went well. We caught the train. Sometimes you're lucky. The next obstacle is a train change in Gävle and then the walk up to Christer's apartment in Sundsvall. We should be able to cope with these two moments so we start to believe in the possibility of actually being able to finish the journey during this 24-hour period.

In Gävle we had to switch to a new train.

21.00 There is snow at the railway station in Gävle. That was not the case when we were here last summer. Then we stayed at Järnvägshotellet (Railway Hotel) here at the station and experienced the city in its summer version.

21.17 Now the last stage of this journey has begun. The X-Tåget train will take us up to Sundsvall. It has been an interesting and fun trip to Spain. Of course, we are a bit rusty when it comes to travel abroad after the pandemic, but we still manage to be globetrotters. The next time there will be serious on the travel front will be at Easter.

23.41 We are among the snow outside Shell in Sundsvall. Here I will go shopping so that it is not only Christer who can have something to eat when we reach his apartment. Here at the petrol station, local youth have their place. Is it so boring to be a teenager that a petrol station is considered as an exciting environment?

23.53 Now we walk towards the apartment in our too thin clothes through the winter landscape. We say thank you and goodbye for this time.


VIDEOS


You can see 125 photos from January 6 in this photoalbum.
You can see 70 photos from January 7 in this photoalbum.
You can see 18 photos from January 8 in this photoalbum.


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