STUDENT BLOG
My name is Colton Markel, and I am currently in my fourth year attending Bismarck State College. I am writing this blog post as a way to reflect on the Bismarck State College Barcelona and Madrid Trip over Spring Break 2024. This blog post is my first ever blog post, which I find fitting as it documents my first ever international trip. The BSC Barcelona Madrid trip was one of the most educational, interesting, and fun trips I have ever been on. During this trip we learned about the history, culture, and agriculture of Spain. This trip also brought different challenges found within traveling for each of us to improvise, adapt to, and overcome.
We encountered our first challenge to overcome prior to leaving the United States as we were hit with an extra 3-hour layover for a total of a five hour layover in Minneapolis.
Colton Markel
During this time each of us came up with different solutions. Some of us used that extra time to get some homework done while some of us used the time to get some sleep, but we all used this time to get something to eat prior to leaving for Europe.
The first stop in Europe was Amsterdam as that is where we would go through customs and make our connecting flight to Barcelona. Once we got through customs and to Barcelona we got picked up by a bus and taken to our hostel. The first order of business in the morning was a meeting discussing the cultural differences and what to look out for while being a foreigner. After that we went to the old city of Barcelona to explore and expand our knowledge and understanding of the history of Barcelona.
The first spot we stopped at in the old city was the Cathedral of Barcelona. The Cathedral of Barcelona is a beautiful old cathedral which has a 1700’s facade. We spent the rest of the day going to other churches and historical sites before heading to the Sagrada Familia.
The Sagrada Familia is a beautiful church designed by Antoni Gaudí. The Sagrada has three different facades, one that depicts the birth of Christ, one that depicts the crucifixion, and the third side which has yet to be completed will depict the ascension. While we were in Barcelona, we also visited an organic farm, toured a vineyard, saw a flamenco dance, and got to see the Mediterranean Sea.
The next stop after Barcelona was Madrid. In Madrid we went and toured a manchego cheese producer, and olive oil producer, took a short tour of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, as well as a ranch that produces Iberian pigs which are used to make Jamón Ibérico.
Jamón Ibérico is a staple meat product in Spain that consists solely of a cured Iberian pig leg. The only way I can explain what Jamón Ibérico is like would be a mix between bacon and jerky.
BSC Class with the Sagrada Familia
While in Madrid we also got to do a short trip to Toledo which was the medieval capital of Spain. Toledo is a beautiful little medieval city which still holds a very tight connection to its history. While in Madrid I was also lucky enough to be able to attend my first fútbol game, which happened to be a Champions League match between Real Madrid and Red Bull Leipzig. The game ended up being a 1-1 tie, which meant Real Madrid advanced to the next round.
Prior to heading back to the United States, we had one more challenge to overcome. While we were allowed a carry-on bag and a personal item on the plane when we got to the Madrid airport, we were told that we would have to check our bags and that they would be sent to our final destination.
Due to this news we all double checked to make sure we had no fragile items in our carry-ons that would possibly break, and if we did, we took them out and put them in our personal item bag. Other than that, the flights we smooth a couple of really long flights, and by the end of the travel day back I must have dozed off prior to leaving Minneapolis and slept the whole flight until we were de-boarding the plane.
Overall, I loved every aspect of this trip as I got to experience and try things that I never thought I would have. This trip also taught me how to go with the flow and not stress on minor inconveniences when traveling as that is just a part of travel. Some of my favorite parts of the trip were visiting the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, going to the Real Madrid vs Red Bull Leipzig Champions League match, as well as the food in Spain. Since we’ve returned from Spain I have been craving jamón ibérico and croquetas and I am absolutely looking forward to eating those again (preferably sooner rather than later).