Sometimes a day is just a day. No big experience, no grand revelation — and yet, somehow, something always happens.
Settling into the Routine
Slept short, got up slow. The day started at its own pace.
One thing stood out right away: the tram to work is more relaxed than expected. Get on, sit down, get off — done. No transfers, no long walks. Compared to my previous place, that’s already a small win.
At the office, the colleagues from Bulgaria were there again. We share the coworking space, and by now that’s almost routine. Kept working on the project, nothing dramatic.
In the evening, a short workout at the hostel gym, then a walk with a phone call. Sometimes that’s enough.
The Big Shop
I’d made up my mind to finally get to Family Cash. My “research” had concluded: cheap, big, everything you need. Perfect for a proper stock-up.
The problem: Bus 502, which Google Maps had recommended, simply never came. After waiting long enough, I got on the 602 and decided to see where it took me.
Where it took me was the completely wrong direction.
I stayed seated and thought it over. Then, through the window, a large shopping centre appeared — with a Carrefour sign. I knew that one from Italy and France. Decision made.
Got off, walked back. What sounded like a plan turned out to be slightly more of an adventure: no proper pavement, just a suggested strip alongside a main road. For a moment I considered turning back. Then the large blue logo came into view, and a few hundred metres later, finally, a proper path.
The shopping centre itself felt oddly empty. A mattress shop, a shoe store, a few vacant units. But the Carrefour behind it was enormous — bigger, really, than the centre surrounding it. Fridges, pots, inflatable seat cushions, board games, video games. If I ever need to furnish a flat from scratch, I know where to go.
And all of it in an almost meditative silence. No crowds, no pushing. In Berlin, a store this size at peak time would be barely navigable.
A Good Investment?
Coffee, for me, is pleasure, a pick-me-up, and somehow a social thing too. A reason to pause and switch off for a moment. Over the last few years I’ve become very fond of filter coffee — milder, gentler.
Zaragoza sees things a little differently.
Here, coffee is small, strong, and almost always some form of espresso. The cafés around the office all use espresso machines, and every Americano I’ve ordered so far has been closer to a double espresso than what I had in mind. I’ve tried explaining in a few places whether they could just add a bit more hot water. It worked — most of the time.
In principle, I don’t mind. But in the long run, I miss quietly sipping something that doesn’t hit quite so hard.
My last attempt was the Burger King around the corner. Fast food, I thought, is the same everywhere. Still a small cup.
So I bought a filter coffee machine at Carrefour. Twelve euros. Filters for two, ground coffee for five. That’ll last me at least a month — and at an average Americano price of around €1.70, the whole thing pays for itself after about twenty days. Shoutout to Frau Winkler.
The Quiet Midweek
The days that followed were calm. Used the gym, walked a lot, got to know the city a little better.
A detour to El Rincon — the sweet shop near the office. I’d describe El Rincon as Zaragoza’s version of a Späti. There seems to be one on every corner, instantly recognisable by the yellow branding. Around 70% of what they sell is sweets — and you get to pick your own: the sweets sit in containers, you grab a bag and a scoop and fill it up with your favourites. It took me straight back to childhood.
And while jogging, I noticed once again how different the hostel’s neighbourhood feels: tower block after tower block, wide streets. It sometimes reminds me of Marzahn, a district on the outskirts of Berlin.
A Special Visit
On Saturday I picked up my girlfriend from the train station.
I haven’t been away long — just a few weeks. And still, the reunion felt more intense than expected.
The evening was exactly what it needed to be: no programme, no plan. Lots of talking, eating together, wandering through the city at night. Just arriving — both of us.
Berlanga and El Tubo
CaixaForum is a cultural centre currently hosting a temporary exhibition on Luis García Berlanga.
On Sunday we went to the CaixaForum. There’s currently an exhibition on Luis García Berlanga — an icon of twentieth-century Spanish cinema, known for films like El verdugo and Plácido, the latter nominated for an Oscar. He lived from 1921 to 2010.
The exhibition covered not just his films, but his life beyond them: the Spanish Civil War, his philosophy studies, his painting. What stayed with me most was his humour — dry, ironic, often biting. A way of holding up a mirror to social reality without needing to explain it.
Afterwards: El Tubo, the city’s most well-known tapas district. It was around 1 pm, and the narrow streets were as packed as a Berlin underground at rush hour. In most of the bars you grab something at the counter and find a spot — a high table, a corner, wherever. We found somewhere to sit, ate well, talked a lot.
El Tubo reminded me once again of something I keep noticing here: the people of Zaragoza are sociable — not loud, not performative, just genuinely happy to be together. There’s something to that.