Andorra

I was stressed out at work and about modern life in general and I thought to myself, where can I go where there’s absolutely nothing to do? I came to think about Andorra being one of the smallest countries in Europe, and it should be the perfect vacation for doing nothing as its known as a hiking and spa resort.

I feel small in one of Europes smallest countries

When me and my girlfriend Felicia first arrived by bus from Barcelona I was struck by one of the most beautiful sceneries I’ve ever seen. Andorra La Vella which is the capital (as many as 22 000 people live there) is in a valley between endless mountains and we were going to stay at a hotel at one of the higher points in the valley. We had a balcony out to the city, and there was a rooftop pool and a tennis court on the roof as well. In other word it was exactly what I needed.

It was freezing cold in the water but I'm a Swede so I'm used to it

We started walking the small main street which went straight through the city center from side to side with a river in between, with the famous Salvador Dalí art piece of a melting clock as the center point. It actually felt a bit like being in USA for some weird reason, a very small version of USA should I say. It was something about how the stores and the city looked fake in that good way, like it’s a set built for a movie, and this was the last place I thought that I would get that feeling from. I loved it!

There's always time for another tourist picture

You could tell where Andorra is situated by how some of the shops greeted you, by saying ”hola” when you entered the shop and “merci” when you paid. It’s squeezed in between Spain and France in the Pyrenees and mostly people go there because of the cheap prices, I couldn’t find any though.

And if you’re vegetarians as me and Felicia you should bring food for a week, since it was almost impossible to find any good food. One day I sucked it up and ate something that smelled and tasted like wet dog, but apparently that’s how vegetarian food should taste in Andorra.

After a few days I felt like the stress from back home was totally gone and it almost felt like being a kid again. The days were free for doing whatever we wanted to, and it’s not much of a tourist attraction city either so you just chill and enjoy life. We went hiking up the mountains, played some tennis and went to a spa and just let the days pass, in a good way.

I guess the hotel electrician should be fired since the fence around the tennis court on the hotels rooftop was electrically charged and we got a lot of shocks from being too close to it. But that just added a spice to the game, to try and win the game and at the same time try not to die. When it started to rain we felt an urge to get out of there though since electricity and water doesn’t mix that well. And we could also need a break from the rooster commenting our games with a cock-a-doodle-doo every 5 seconds from the mountain farm next to the court.

Tennis with a view, and literally a solo game since Felicia became a photographer instead

Caldea spa was a bad joke as it was one of those places that overcharge and call it a spa when it’s actually just a normal bath where families go with their children and the volume of people talking and shouting doesn’t really get you into the mood of being at one with your inner self. Of course they charged extra for stuff like towels, it’s pretty obvious you will need one since you’re going swimming, but they know how bad the place is so they know we’re not going to come back either way. So why not try to get as much money from us while they can. It’s that mentality. They should try and sell earplugs instead so people can get some rest in there.

I thought the spa was going to be the thing that made the trip worthwhile but it was actually the only thing I didn’t enjoy with Andorra. Other than that it was one of the most amazing places I’ve been too and sometimes I had to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming when I was playing tennis on a roof between mountains for hours and hours with the girl I love. I actually felt I both fell in love with Andorra and that I fell for my girlfriend a second time, if that is possible. In Andorra anything is possible! Yeah, except for getting good vegetarian food that is.

Life is good in Andorra

* Best things about Andorra – the scenery is breathtaking, so if you want to be outdoors and taking care of yourself instead of stressing out, this is the place for you
* Most mediocre thing about Andorra – The weather was OK, but since it was June I wished for more than Swedish summer
* Worst things about Andorra – bring a vegetarian chef if you want to survive and don’t visit the Caldea spa even though it lures you in with its architecture

Best countries in the world according to the nerd (will be updated with every post):
1. Andorra
2. Albania
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