Kurzausflug nach Madrid

On Thursday, my family had an appointment with a doctor who practices Chinese medicine in Madrid, and they offered me to come along and see the city.

After a tiring car ride, I finally arrived in Madrid. Almost two months after landing here by plane and being confused at first because now everything was really in Spanish. By now, I'm used to it. I start with the subway to my first destination: the Retiro. It is a huge park in the middle of Madrid. When I get off the subway, I immediately notice a big gate, the Puerta de Alcalá. And right behind it is the entrance to the park, called 'Puerta de Indepencia' - Gate of Independence. Quite disoriented, I stroll through the park without knowing where I will end up. It is huuuge and after an hour I think I have seen less than a third.

There is also the artificial lake 'Estanque', numerous statues and fountains, the Palacio de Velázquez (a Spanish painter), and - especially beautiful - the Crystal Palace. There would have been so much more to see there, but since I only had practically one afternoon, I continued to the next subway station to get to the Plaza de España. I passed by the Ministry of Agriculture and another enormous building - the train station. At Plaza de España there is a huge monument of gratitude, Cervantes' monument, and you have a good view of the height of the buildings in Madrid.

From there, I continue on foot and soon reach the Palacio Real, the royal palace. Then I go on to the cathedral, which I also visit from the inside. It may not be able to compete with the one in Burgos, but it is still beautiful. Right next to it is another church, but I have already forgotten its name... But in this church, the cemetery is internal, the graves are in the floor of the church, and you cross them when you walk through the church. I continue to walk, see many gates, churches, through the Barrio de la Latina (the Latin American quarter), which stands out because of its colors, and eventually reach the Plaza Mayor. My path leads me further to the Teatro Real, the royal theater.

Time has passed quite quickly, it's time to meet up with my family again. We meet at a shopping center, a bit away from the city center, on the river 'Madrid', and then it's time to head home.

At least I was able to get a small impression, now I definitely know that I should plan a longer trip here once. There is still so much that I would have liked to see.