We were a little late getting going today. We still haven’t got used to not having an alarm clock (one of the little personal items that was stolen – bastards!).
Once we got going we had a bargain lunch of three sweet buns for 1 euro. They love their sweet things here. It seems that if anything has the hint of being perceived as plain, they coat it with sugar, or perhaps stuff it with sweet custard or jam. Sometimes it is just too much.
The Seville Cathedral was our next stop. This is a large church, and they have the evidence to prove it. Inside there is a certificate from the Guinness book of records to say that this is the worlds largest gothic church. 126 meters long, 82.6 meters wide, 30.5 meters high, and with a surface area of 23,500 square meters. It also has a pipe organ with 8000 pipes. Each of the alters around the walls is the size of a small church. The first building here started in 1184 and the most recent major works was in 1825-1928.
But size and age isn’t everything. We have discovered that the more a church charges for admission the more commercial it becomes, the more tour groups there are, the less they care about respecting the spiritual essence of the place, the less it is treated as a place of worship, and the more it just feels like a museum. This place has no sense of spiritual feeling, it was covered in dust that had been there for many years (they need to sack the cleaner). And it seemed that they had run a competition to see who could create the most garish looking Christ for their sculptures.
Their treasury was just insane. There was so much gold, silver, and bone remains of saints that it was crazy. You look at the rooms filled with amazing works and craftsmanship that have been given to the church (there is so much that it is just obscene), and you think that if the church was serious about charity and giving to the poor, they would sell some of these items and feed some of the people outside with nowhere to live and no food to eat. It makes you think that perhaps Luther had the right idea.
After lunch we went and caught up with the NZ couple (David and Robyn) from ‘the other hotel’ and shared a couple of drinks. It was nice to share travel stories with some fellow kiwis. Such a relief to share a common language.
We caught up again for a dinner of tapas, sangria, and lots of conversation. A wonderful evening and a most welcome treat for us.
Once we got going we had a bargain lunch of three sweet buns for 1 euro. They love their sweet things here. It seems that if anything has the hint of being perceived as plain, they coat it with sugar, or perhaps stuff it with sweet custard or jam. Sometimes it is just too much.
The Seville Cathedral was our next stop. This is a large church, and they have the evidence to prove it. Inside there is a certificate from the Guinness book of records to say that this is the worlds largest gothic church. 126 meters long, 82.6 meters wide, 30.5 meters high, and with a surface area of 23,500 square meters. It also has a pipe organ with 8000 pipes. Each of the alters around the walls is the size of a small church. The first building here started in 1184 and the most recent major works was in 1825-1928.
But size and age isn’t everything. We have discovered that the more a church charges for admission the more commercial it becomes, the more tour groups there are, the less they care about respecting the spiritual essence of the place, the less it is treated as a place of worship, and the more it just feels like a museum. This place has no sense of spiritual feeling, it was covered in dust that had been there for many years (they need to sack the cleaner). And it seemed that they had run a competition to see who could create the most garish looking Christ for their sculptures.
Their treasury was just insane. There was so much gold, silver, and bone remains of saints that it was crazy. You look at the rooms filled with amazing works and craftsmanship that have been given to the church (there is so much that it is just obscene), and you think that if the church was serious about charity and giving to the poor, they would sell some of these items and feed some of the people outside with nowhere to live and no food to eat. It makes you think that perhaps Luther had the right idea.
After lunch we went and caught up with the NZ couple (David and Robyn) from ‘the other hotel’ and shared a couple of drinks. It was nice to share travel stories with some fellow kiwis. Such a relief to share a common language.
We caught up again for a dinner of tapas, sangria, and lots of conversation. A wonderful evening and a most welcome treat for us.
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