My Erasmus journey started with a flight to Barcelona. The flight was comfortable and quite fast, so the trip felt easy. Still, I had butterflies in my stomach because I did not know what to expect. I was not sure what Spain would be like, and I knew almost nothing about Tarragona. I felt excited, but also a little nervous about everything that was waiting for me.
After we landed in Barcelona, we continued our journey by bus to Tarragona. The ride was calm and I spent most of the time looking through the window and thinking about the next month. We arrived in Tarragona quite late, when it was already dark. Because of that, I could not get a full first impression of the city. The first thing I really noticed was the road infrastructure and the street network. The layout reminded me of Ljubljana, since many roads lead toward the city center. Around the city there are also highways and fast roads, which are much wider and more developed than in Slovenia. When we arrived on the bus station we took a taxi to the apartment which we stayed in the whole month. Apartment was very cozy and beautiful and the host was very nice to us.
Even at night, the streets were full of different people and many small shops. I was surprised by the number of old-fashioned clothing stores, because in Ljubljana they are almost gone due to globalization. The streets seemed quite clean, with not much trash around. The buildings are built in a Mediterranean style, with warm colors and many small balconies. The streets are narrow and the buildings are very close to each other, which I found interesting because I am not used to this kind of city structure.
The next afternoon we explored more of Tarragona. We visited several landmarks and saw the remains of the Roman Empire. It was impressive to see such historical places in real life. From a distance, we also saw the port and a beautiful sandy beach. The port especially surprised me because it has a strong connection between railway and road transport, and there are large container storage areas. The city is very diverse in its structure. The center is full of cultural heritage buildings, while the outskirts are more modern and connected to transport and industry. Even though my first view of Tarragona was in the dark, it left a positive impression on me, and I am excited to discover more in the future.
