Madrid, Spain
Having a basic knowledge of Spanish made the transition to life in Spain much easier than Sweden. Right when we arrived, we were able to navigate the metro system with relative ease because we could (mostly) understand the signs. After arriving to our hostel around one in the morning, we all immediately passed out. In the morning, we met our hostel bunkmates. We evolved into a very interesting crew. Besides our main group, we gained two guys from America (Anthony and Eugene) and one girl from the Czech Republic (Katka). One of the guys is a professional MMA fighter, which is always a great addition to any crew traveling in a foreign country. They were similar to us in personality, so we all got along great. Katka was a lifesaver for us. Besides speaking Russian and Czech, she is fluent in English and Spanish. During our two days with her, she acted as a tour guide and translator. She showed us some very interesting places in Madrid, brought us to appetizing local restaurants (and explained what the foods were), and taught us about her home country. We spent the first day aimlessly wandering around the city in a very touristy fashion just to see what Madrid had to offer. It is hard to remember exactly where we went and what we saw, but I can say the architecture of the buildings stood out. One place that stood out during this trek around the city was the famous Plaza Mayor. It seemed that at every corner one of us was pointing to something that was noteworthy. Little alleys with local restaurants were everywhere. After returning to the hostel, the team decided a siesta was necessary. Our night consisted of more exploring until we were tired. The next day, we went to El Parque del Buen Retiro. I did not expect there to be so many statues, fountains, and pieces of art in one park. We were all pretty amazed at the place. Below is a picture of the park.
My favorite place we visited was a historic town about an hour away called Segovia. Anthony and Eugene recommended that we had to tour Alcázar de Segovia, a historical medieval castle. When we arrived to Segovia, we were astonished to be greeted by a gigantic aqueduct, which we learned was constructed as early as the 1st century (crazy).
The Aqueduct of Segovia (Shout out to Bulls)
Once we navigated through the little town, we arrived to the castle only to find that it was closed on that day to the general public (just our luck). Although we couldn't actually go inside of the castle, simply being in its presence was something worthwhile. It was hard for us to fathom that people actually lived, and died trying to live, inside of its walls. Instead of touring the castle, we decided to go inside the enormous and breathtaking Segovia Cathedral, the last Gothic cathedral built in Spain. It is hard to describe in words the interior of the Cathedral, so I provided a few pictures to due it justice. The detailed paintings, intricate statues, and golden arches made it something we had never seen before. We also took a little detour and explored a little chapel that was supposed to be off limits to the public. After getting caught, the only form of punishment was a stern glare. It was worth it. After spending a great deal of time in the Cathedral, we returned back to Madrid. Below are more pictures of Segovia (we seemingly forgot to take pictures of Madrid).
Segovia
The Cathedral in Segovia
Segovia
We had a duel with a castle guard. He died an
honorable death.
An illustration of Jesus' death
Inside of the Cathedral
More from inside the Cathedral
A few noteworthy things about Madrid:
1.) There was graffiti on almost every wall of every building in the city.
2.) Similar to Sweden, it did not get dark until pretty late at night. This meant we would normally be eating dinner around 10:30 or 11, which was definitely a hard adjustment for a guy who is used to eating dinner at 5.
3.) A beer is cheaper than a glass of water at most places we went.
4.) There are interesting (and strange) pieces of art everywhere.
5.) Locals find it amusing when we spoke Spanish, but also appreciate the effort.
6.) Siestas are a must for functioning throughout the day, considering our average bed time was after 2 in the morning.
7.) In America, most crosswalks provide a countdown that tells a person how long they have to cross the street. In Spain, there is simply a green figure that eventually starts to flash when time is almost up. However, the times vary depending on the street, making it impossible to know exactly how long you have. This resulted in our crew sprinting across the street trying to avoid becoming roadkill.
8.) Burger King is never too far away.
-Kevin Loquaci
