Submitted by Brandon Grabelsky on the 2014 winter session program in Spain and Italy sponsored by the Department of Political Science and International Relations…
This week we traveled to Granada from Madrid. It was a long bus ride, but on the way we stopped in La Mancha to see the windmills from Cervantes’ Don Quijote, one of the most important pieces of literature in Spanish history. The views from the windmills were amazing. The ride was also quite scenic, with mountains on both sides of us.
Granada is very different from Madrid- much more quiet and much less touristy. It is a major college town with lots and lots of students both from Spain and abroad going to the University of Granada. We have had class with a guest lecturer who is an expert on Spanish politics and history. He has been a visiting professor at UD before, and he’s really good at connecting the deep history and themes of Spain’s past with the current divides and problems in the Spanish political system. It’s amazing to see how history shapes current patterns.
Yesterday we saw the Capilla Real (Royal Chapel of Granada) where Ferdinand and Isabel are buried, along with Phillip I and his wife Juana. The architecture was heavily influenced by the Romans, with tall straight white columns and a pristine design, very much contrasting the cathedral we saw in Toledo, which was Gothic style (much darker and elaborate).
Today we are off to the Alhambra which I am so excited to see!