Madrid

Europe Again
Europe is not one country even though the schengen visa , the Eurail and Euro makes you feel that you are visiting just one nation. Last few years we have been doing 2-3 European countries at one go and have noted a great contrast in the lifestyle, language, habits and general way of life between different European countries. These differences are so stark that you take a day or so to adjust when you reach another country just after a few hours of boarding a train.
This year we did 2 countries which are not close to each other and are separated by several countries. The contrast therefore was much more than normal.
I would like to present this travelogue mainly for those friends who have not traveled to these places but may do so in foreseeable future.
As usual the trip started with the immigration chap asking a stupid question at IGIA. The question this year was : Why was I going on 11th night when my visa for schengen only started from the 12th !

Hot and Cold
We left Delhi when the temperature was 43 deg C. The flight landed at Zurich at 6 AM where the temperature was 6 deg C. As the immigration is done at the first point in schengen, I was tempted to step out of airport for a couple of hours and breathe in the crisp air but didn’t have much time to do so as the connecting flight to Madrid was just an hour away.
Normally one would go out of the Airport at Madrid after collecting luggage and take a taxi from there but I decided to visit the information counter and collect the map and other literature. The lady on counter was kind enough to advise me to take a bus from outside for just Euro 2 per person which would drop us very close to the hotel. The hotel was a ten minute walk away from where the bus dropped us and there was no problem in walking as we were traveling light with small suitcase each with rollers and a bag pack. So, this was a good start as we saved 30 Euros within a few hours of reaching Madrid.
Tip 1 : Always find from Airport information about travel to your hotel; you may get lucky.
Tip 2: For Europe, always travel light with roll on suitcase of medium size and a bag pack.

The City Centre

We stayed in a hotel which was part of a group called hi-tech group. The hotel was called Petit Palace Italia. There were 2 good things about the hotel. It had bunk beds for kids which kept them busy fighting for the top berth; and the hotel was right on Grand Via- the main avenue of Madrid. Grand Via has everything which a main street should have. Great shops, nice buildings, good cafes, a lot of hookers and it is bang in the middle of town. We had walking access to Plaza de Espana, Royal Palace and the famous square, Puerto de Sol. Puerto de Sol had been taken over by protestors who were literally camping there. Police was trying to get them out. Peaceful protests were also witnessed by us at many other places and this was the result of economic slowdown and austerity measures of the Government which is trying to keep the country afloat after defaulting on several international debts repayments. People would just converge on one place, form a human chain and chant slogans. We felt absolutely safe and our programmes were not disrupted. I wonder for how long the protests will remain peaceful keeping in mind that Greece, which used to have peaceful protests, has now turned violent. According to newspapers, that day is not far off..
Tip 3: If you are in a city for a short duration, try to stay in a central district. Not only will you save on transportation, you will cover most of attractions on foot.

Madrid is well connected by a good metro system. This makes transportation easy to places which may not be just a walk away. It however will pay to just understand the different ticket categories. For example, if you buy a group ticket for 10 journeys, it works out to be 15% cheaper and can be used by more than one person. This can be used on buses as well.
Tip 4: If you want to enjoy a European city, understand how to use its public transportation. It will give you a great deal of flexibility.
The Green Scene

Madrid is flanked by two huge parks : Retiro park in the largest. It has a cable car called Teleferico and one gets great views of the city from the top of the hill. There is this another park Casa de Campo . Located on the right bank of the Manzanares River to the west of Madrid, the Casa de Campo is a large park with an area of about 4000 acres. Rowboats can be rented for a ride around the artificial lake. Swimming and tennis can also be enjoyed. The Parque Zoológico or Zoo and Parque de Atracciones, a large amusement park, are found in the park. We did spend half a day in the amusement park and I must say they had some fabulous rides including the heart stopping huge roller coaster. A lot of time can be spent in these parks as the trees are beautifully maintained and there is a lot to do.
Madrid boasts of Prado museum ( Museo del Prado). The works on display include some by masters such as Velazquez, Raphael, El Greco, Diego Ribera, Bosch, Murillo, Rembrandt and Goya. The best part is that entrance was free between 6 PM and 8 PM. Having visited many museums in the last few years and spending a great deal of time and money, it was a pleasure visiting a world famous art museum for free.
Tip 5: When visiting a museum, always study a bit about works of art displayed and what you would be interested in. These museums are normally so large that one gets lost inside them. Better to have a priority and follow that.
ALL THAT BULL
Madrid would have remained just another European city for us had we not gone for-what turned out to be the highlight of Madrid - The Bullfight. Between March and October the bullfight happens every Saturday and Sunday. I had booked tickets well in advance and they were waiting for me in the hotel when we reached. There was a tremendous atmosphere in the stadium, which was totally packed.
A Madrid bullfight consists of six bulls & three matadors with each matador(being accompanied by two assistants. In a little over two hours the matadors will each kill two bulls or "toros" as they are known in Spain. Then there is ceremony and with band playing & crowd cheering, the bull is released! The bull would be released from his dark cell and would come in an attacking mood. It would soon be frustrated at not being able to even touch either the matadors or the horses or the assistants with their capes.

The first attack was by some kind of spear on the back of the bull by the matador on horse, making him more angry and more attacking. The crowd would cheer lustily. Soon the matador would charge the bull and immerse a lot more sharply pointed colourful weapons on the bulls back. As the bull tires, both through blood loss and exertion, the band plays up again and the matador goes to his assistant for the killing sword. On a particular charge this will be driven over the horns, through the shoulder blades and directly into the animals aorta killing it dead. It would then be dragged away to be butchered and sold to the top restaurants of Madrid.. As bull after bull met the same fate, my daughter Sanya urged us to leave this cruel game and go somewhere pleasant. She had had enough of this cruel game and so did we.
Tip 6: The bull fight may be cruel but worth a watch once. If you do go to Madrid, remember to book tickets in advance on internet.
We had done everything which needed to be done in Madrid- had meals at open air cafes; tasted tapas; watched the bull fight; visited the famous parks ; went to the amusement park; visited the most famous shop – El Corte-ingles; roamed around Grand Via; did sightseeing of the Royal Palace and other attractions ; and visited the Prado museum. If we had the time and if it hadn’t been hot, we may have gone to the heritage city of Toledo, which is just 45 minutes away by train and a popular tourist destination. The temperature of 31 deg C may sound like cool weather for us Delhiites, but walking in the sharp Madrid sun in 31 deg C on the last day was worse than 40 degrees here.

It was time to move on to our next destination. The city of Barcelona.