Malaga, Spain - Part I

"My Place" is sure a very good place for an exhausted traveller like me, to get recharged. I had had a perfect sleep that night until the wake up call rang at 5.30am.

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After taking a simple breakfast, the hotel people drove me to Frankfurt Hahn Airport to catch the early morning flight to Malaga, Spain.

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The flying time was 3 hr 15 mins by Ryanair. Frankly speaking, it's very boring to fly with a local budget airline. This is because no foods/drinks will be served (unless you pay), and no movie will be provided. Anyway, the fare is cheap, cost only €160, so I really shouldn't have complained here. When the plane finally landed Malaga Airport, I just felt happy.

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As soon as I walked out from the imigration, I started to feel Malaga is quite a different place from London or Germany. First, the people here looks very different, Latin look. Second, the surrounding looks different. Also, there is very little or virtually no indication written in English.

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I really felt lucky that my trip manager had prepared enough information for me and briefed me before departure. So, I could find my way to the hotel without many asking-around. The only problem I had was to buy a train ticket from the machine. I tried to guess what those Spain words means, but the man behind me got impatient and he started to touch the keypad for me, and he made a gesture of where I wanted to go, and I pointed Maria Zambrano station. Then, he asked me to put coins in it... Gosh, I felt terrifying as if I'm an illiterate !

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I arrived at Hotel Monte Malaga somewhere around 12.30 noon. When I saw this bed, I felt very tempted to slug in and continue sleeping. But I cancelled off this idea very soon. Instead, I decided to walk to the town area after gobbling 2 cups of noodle for lunch. Well, I simply didn't want to miss Malaga !!

Not a good map reader myself, I just followed the instruction given by the conceirge, and 20 minutes later, I found the old town area.

Málaga is located in southern Spain, a tourist destination due to its proximity to Costa del Sol (Coast of the Sun) on the north coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

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I don't know much about Spain, and there isn't many pictures in my mind of how Spain would look like. So, it's very interesting to see this place for the 1st time. The feeling is pretty much like when I first get to know a very interesting person.

Despite the temperature in Malaga was not much different from London or Frankfurt (around 12-15C), Malaga has lots of swaying palm trees, while the trees in London or Frankfurt are leaves-free.

Malaga enjoys plenty of sunshine throughout the year. In fact, the climate is Mediteranean-subtropical with mild winters and comfortable summers.

Walking towards the town area...

That's Spain...

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When I saw this stunning, tall building, I guess it should be the cathedral that the conceirge told me worth paying visit to.




Looking for the main entrance...

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Alright, this is Cathedral De Malaga...

Cathedral De Malaga is also called the Cathedral of the Incarnation on the wishes of the Catholic Monarchs. It is the city's most important monument and the spiritual centre of the diocese, where the bishop has his See or Cathedral.

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The cathedral was built around 1528, when the Emperor Charles I was on the throne. Although originally designed as a Gothic cathedral, it was built in the Renaissance style and major Baroque additions were made to it later.

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Over the centuries, the cathedral has borne witness to the religious devotion of the people, who have shown their faith here, petitioning God's favour in times of catastrophe and celebrating great moment sin history. The heritage you will now be able to admire during your tour of the various chapels is testimony to these sentiments, which transcend the cathedral's obvious artistic value.

Ornate Stonework on the façade of Malaga Cathedral.

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Santa Maria. I heard that Maria is a very common name in Spain.

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I think it's Mandarin orange.

I could only guess what does it implicitly mean?

The admission ticket is cheap, just cost €4. I bought a ticket quickly, without a single hesitation.

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My my, this is no doubt a magnificent church, a precious heritage for Spain people.

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There are many chapels in the Cathedral. This one is called "The Chapel of the Sacred Heart".

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"The Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary"

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The High Altar

Absolutely beautiful. Whoever that built it, he was a genius...

The organs and choir-book stand

The Choir, awesome...

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"The Chapel of the Incarnation"

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One of the great paintings in the Catherdral...

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One last look to this beautiful church before exit...

There is a museum upstair, just outside the exit area...

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Collections in the museum...

Oh, the tear drops...moved my heart too.

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The painting does look very ver old...but is still kept very beautifully.

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Those antiques must be too precious, that they are priceless....

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Finally, I walked out from the Cathedral. Oh, I have spent 1 hour inside there to admire this beauty.

The other side of the Cathedral. From here, I continued my walk to the town area....

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