Blog of the meeting

Day 1 of the third short-term exchange meeting in Spain

Monday morning was sunny and warm. Students gathered at secondary school IES Aldebaran Alcobendas. They were ready to start this great adventure.

Spanish coordinator Pilar Darder Cerdá and the principal Pablo Ortega Miravalles welcomed all teams and wished us a pleasant stay in Alcobendas.

Students’ presentations ensued and our Croatian team was the first to present our national author Janko Polić Kamov.

Greek students presented C.P. Cavafy and afterwards all students took part in a Kahoot quiz about the Greek presentation. Then our hosts kindly informed us about their School’s facilities and took us on a short tour around the school.

It was time to go sightseeing. We saw the most important sights in Madrid, such as The Royal Palace, Santiago de Bernabeu stadium and Prado museum, where students participated in a scavenger hunt to get better acquainted with the museum’s exhibit.

After the exciting tour we returned to school to get back to work. Some students participated in a drama workshop and the others practised the Spanish Renaissance dance choreography. However, we won’t share any more details as not to spoil the surprise.

It was a great beginning of the meeting because the activities enabled students to work in mixed groups and they have already made friends. Nobody wanted to go home and part with new friends so they spent a pleasant evening together, having dinner in Madrid centre.

Written by Saša Paduan, Natalija Moškatelo, Vilma Milatić

Third day of the meeting:

The day started with the Hungarian, Italian and Polish presentations on the chosen national literary figures. Students aimed at involving their partners through interactive quizzes and activities.

After the presentations students took part in a literary contest, where they needed to create short horror stories with the given beginning, middle and last sentences. Students enjoyed it very much.

After a short break we set out for Pablo Iglesias Cultural Centre for the common concert and theatre play. After a short rehearsal the performance started, where some students presented some music and dance, while others presented a play titled 'Our museum'. Fellow students and parents were also invited to the event so they could see the result of students' cooperation. The performance was great and successful.

After the hard-working morning students had free afternoon to spend some time with their foreign friends and the teachers visited Madrid to explore the Literary Quarter of the Spanish capital city.

Written by the Hungarian team

29th March, 2019, Friday

On Friday, 29th March, students and teachers from Italy, Poland, Greece and Spain went on a day trip to Toledo, called ‘the city of three cultures’ while the students and teachers from Hungary, Croatia visited El Escorial.

El Escorial (Monasterio del Escorial) is a historical residence of the King of Spain, in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, about 45 kilometres northwest of the Spanish capital, Madrid. It is one of the Spanish royal sites and has functioned as a monastery, basilica, royal palace, pantheon, library, museum, university, school and hospital.

During our visit we walked through this spectacular building admiring the countless artwork that decorates the walls of this majestic place. Despite the cold weather we felt a real privilage to be able to immerse in Spanish history and art. We visited the Basilica, Courtyard of Kings, Palace of Philip II and the Pantheon. It was a really educational visit combined with invaluable information on Spanish History and Culture.

As for the visit in Toledo:

In the Middle Ages, Toledo was a town where Jews, Christians and Muslims lived in harmony and tolerance with each other. The three religions and cultures created a unique city which was declared UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

This medieval town is located on a rocky hill, surrounded on three sides by the Tagus River (Rio Tajo). Before getting to the centre of the town our coach stopped at Mirador del Valle, a great spot to admire the amazing view of Toledo - no wonder we couldn’t resist taking photos. We entered Toledo old city walking across St Martin's Bridge (The Puente de San Martín), a five-arches medieval bridge and continued our stroll until we arrived at the Monastery of Saint John of the Monarchs (Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes). This 15th-century Franciscan monastery and church was founded in the heart of the Jewish quarter by the Catholic monarchs Isabel and Fernando to demonstrate the supremacy of their faith. One of the exterior walls is decorated with chains that once belonged to Christian prisoners liberated from Muslim Granada. The church is notable for its decoration of the coats of arms. We were overwhelmed by the beauty of the monastery's two-level cloister with a garden.

Then we walked to the Synagogue of El Tránsito (Sinagoga del Tránsito). The synagogue was converted to a church after the expulsion of the Jews and now it is home to the Sephardic Museum.

Our next stop was the El Greco Museum (Museo del Greco) with numerous paintings by a Cretan artist Doménikos Theotokópoulos , especially from his last period such as ‘the Apostolate series’. The building was made to look like a house in Toledo during El Greco’s time here. After the rest in a small park area close to the museum we went to the Iglesia de Santo Tomé, a church constructed on the site of an old mosque, where we admired one of the most famous paintings by El Greco - ‘The Burial of the Count of Orgaz’.

Walking along narrow cobbled streets of Toledo we felt like we stepped back into the medieval ages. After exploring the sights we finally reached Plaza de Zocodover, which is considered Toledo's main square, an ideal place to relax with its pleasant outdoor cafes and stores including the famous marzipan store, Santo Tomé.

During our day trip to ‘the city of three cultures’ the Erasmus students worked together looking for information and sharing their knowledge on Toledo’s famous citizens, history and monuments.

Toledo with its mix of cultures and multi - religious history, charming winding streets, beautiful views and friendly people made our visit to this city one of most lasting memories in Spain.