Adventures in Spanish 2013: Amusing Salamanca

Over the past 5 weeks in Salamanca, I have had the pleasure of wandering around (in the cold and wet & warmth & sunshine) this delightful old city. As I have a fondness for stone buildings, the older the better, I've had my share of ogling medieval sights etc.

During these ramblings, I've come across a few unusual things. Some are legend, some are curiosities. Below are some pictures for your viewing pleasure. Just to give you some idea of the difficulty in finding these symbols, I've also included a photo of the entire doorway.

The Cathedral - the old and new cathedrals are side by side and basically form one very large building. Both are built more than 200 years ago. However, on the doorway of the new cathedral, there is distinctly a modern symbol.

Façade Main Doorway, Cathedral

Did you see him?

Salamanca has been given UNESCO work heritage status so a lot of preservation has been done on many of the buildings. Where there has been restoration, apparently there must be some acknowledgement of this fact. Hence the astronaut carved into the doorway.

The University - Salamanca has two universities: The Universidad Civil and the Universidad Pontifica (or Privada). On the Universidad Pontifica, there is an unusual carving of a frog. Legend has it that if you can find this frog, you will have success in your exams. However, I've also heard another that says if you find the frog, you will get married within one year. Hope it is the former not the later!

Façade, University

Section of Façade with frog

Here he is!

Last but not least, the Huerta del Calixto & Melibea, a small park behind the cathedral and overlooking the city. This park has a reputation for being for lovers. Very pretty view, lots of lovely trees, benches and small gardens, with a wishing well. Sometime ago, somebody decided to leave a lock on the wishing well with the names of those in love. It has now become a symbol of your undying love for that person. The locks are on everywhere - on the well, on the fences etc. One assumes each person kept a key and if things went sour, they would come and remove the lock?