My two days in Madrid

Arrived early Friday morning after an absolute nightmare in Copenhagen Airport with what seemed half of Europe waiting to depart - all at seemingly the same time. However almost an hour waiting in what seemed to be an endless queue of people, I finally booked my seat and encountered what it means to be on a European flight, with seats so close that I couldn´t fit my knees in. However the three hours flight and cramped conditions were pleasantly diverted by a most interesting conversation I had with a Swedish Doctor of Business from Lund University (an old part of the former Denmark) specialising in leadership, both in the areas of business as well as education (who said you need to visit a university for your Enrichment Leave?) She was on her way to a conference here in Madrid and before we knew it, the wheels were lowered for landing and we headed off in different directions.

Butterflies in my stomach yet again as I wondered how I was going to find my way from the Airport to my hotel, located somewhere in Madrid. However with a bit of help from the Information Desk I found the Metro and negotiated not not only Line 8 but changed successfully to Line 4 and 2 as well and finally found myself nearPlaza del Sol, from where I could negotiate my way to the hotel. Did I feel a little like Columbus, finding not the new but at least part of the old world.!

I spent the afternoon walking around to get a feeling for the place - wonderful monuments and buildings where ever I turned and what seemed a never ending sea of people from all over the world. It is certainly a popular tourist destination as visitors with cameras and maps in hand are found at every corner.

I visited The Royal Palace (former residence of the Royal family) as well as the Cathedral De La Almudena, a magnificent building only recently visited by Pope John Paul II not long before he died.Unfortunately I wasn´t able to go inside the church as it was being renovated at the moment.
However the cathedral itself from the outside was most spectacular as I hope this picture indicate.

Last night I ventured out again after a small siesta (was asleep for a full two hours) and found by 8pm the streets were even more packed with people and there was a real buzz over the place. I had my first Bacarillo with Cheese and Ham and two glasses of beautiful cold beer. I have already discovered that every time you order a drink, you are served some Spanish delicacy such as olives, cured sausages, rice pudding made with blood or other wonderful things. However it makes the beer go down real well.

Came back to my hotel around midnight and fell asleep straight aways, only to woken up around 4 am with singing, yelling and a noise factor with lots of decibels. Wondering what was happening I wandered out on my small balcony and discovered that it simply was late party goers going home in the early morning. I had heard that life in Madrid happened at a late hour, but this was quite a sight to behold.

Saturday morning I had a good breakfast (even though I feel a bit strange sitting all by myself) and went out for the day joining a sightseeing double decker bus. I have to say that I badly neglected my preparation for this stop-over in Madrid and no doubt am now paying the price. This morning I was introduced to so many historical buildings and monuments that I simply got overloaded with information. However I can record the following.

Madrid was first established by the Arabs around 756 and subsequently occupied by the Christians from the northern part of Spain around 1050. Later it was called the Jerusalem of the West as both Christians as well as Arabs and Jews all seem to living i harmony. The wonderful architecture found here is no doubt due to the mixture of culture and impressions from across the world - even the new one. Hence the many manificent buildings, parks, museums and wide avenues with statues commemorating great past victors - yes even the "normal" houses are decorated in the most wonderful ways. What a pity I hadn´t prepared properly thus enabling me to put what I saw into some kind of perspective. This particular photo is of the GOYA museum and is quite a home for this famous Spanish artist.

The street names are yet another feature worth commenting on. In the inner city that are all made in tiles, with the name as well as a pictorial background. Quite magnificent. What do you think?

Tonight I will try to get tickets to Bizet´s Carmen being performed in a local theater here. Judging from the photos this particular production has been influenced by the Spanish dance traditions and should be quite a magnificent experience.

Just to fill you in I did go and see Carmen, performed by the Spanish National Dance Ensemble and what a feast of flaminco dancing I witnessed. Quite breathtaking. I am not quite sure how they can move their feet that fast without moving the body at all - that is except their arms and hands with which they can tell quite a story.

As I was leaving the theater some comotion was obvious at hand as thousands upon thousands of people were in the street. I found out that it was the Gay and Lesbian festival and I am afraid they didn´t leave Sydney behind (so to speak) in any way.

As I was going to leave the next morning, I went back to my hotel around 11pm and ordered an early morning call at 5.30am. However for the second night running I didn´t get much sleep as everyone seemed to party around in the streets and I obviously was missing out. However sleep eventually found me, but no early morning call. Woke at 6.30, jumped out of bed, ran down the stairs and down to the Metro. The streets were still full of people - not very sober I can tell you. However I did get the Metro and I did get tot the main staion in time to board my train to Pamplona (very fast train) and arrived safe and sound at 11.30am.