Spain Archives ⋆ Page 2 of 9 ⋆ The Passenger

August 18, 2019September 29, 2019

Valle de los Caídos

It is a place that makes me angry. I mean really angry. A beautiful place with impressive architecture. A symbol of the Spanish civil war. A place where you can see the differences in remembrance culture. A place that creates a lot of discussions still today. It is a place where I would immediatly leave the catholic church if I would by a member. And somehow this all makes it worth to visit the Monumento Nacional de Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos at San Lorenzo de El Escorial near Madrid, Spain.

August 18, 2019September 29, 2019

El Escorial

A giant palace with wonderful architecture and a large garden, a cloister, a UNESCO world heritage site, the largest building in renaissance style and the graveyard for most kings and queens of Spain – that is what the Real Sitio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial at San Lorenzo de El Escorial near Madrid, Spain is. And why can it be found at the Sierra de Guadarrama, 46 kilometers outside of the capital city? Because Philip II won a battle against the French in 1557 on the day of San Lorenzo. He wanted to build a cloister for this saint and his star-mongers selected this place.

August 18, 2019September 29, 2019

Cathedral de la Almudena

Santa María la Real de La Almudena, Madrid

The Cathedral de Santa María de la Almudena is quite a surprising roman-catholic church at Madrid, Spain: plans for this church exist since the 16th century, construction works started in the 19th century – but it was only finished in 1993. Therefore this church looks very modern inside and the style of the church was adopted over time to fit to the surrounding buildings (that for sure changed since the 16th century).

August 18, 2019August 24, 2019

Palacio Real

The royal palace of Madrid, Spain is located at the city center with a nice park next to it and a vast garden underneath. It is still today the official seat of the royal family of Spain but they actually live in the Palacio de la Zarzuela a little bit outside of the city. The Palacio Real was first used in 1764 by king Charles III. It is a very large palace with 2000 rooms and is double as large as the Buckingham Palace.

August 17, 2019August 23, 2019

San Ginés

Breakfast at Madrid, Spain seems to be not really healthy. The speciality of the city – but it is also served throughout the whole country – is fried dough that you can dip into melted (bittersweet) chocolate. Chocolate con Churros is beloved by the locals and you should at least try it once. The famous Chocolatería San Ginés serves this kind of food around the clock and is therefore especially an option after a long night.

August 17, 2019August 26, 2019

Thyssen-Bornemisza

It is one of the three major art museums of Madrid, Spain – all located close to each other and maybe the one with the most cumbersome name: the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza. It is named after the industrials and art collectors Heinrich Thyssen and his son Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon. Thyssen is a name well known in Germany, the addition Bornemisza comes from a marriage with Hungarian nobility.

August 17, 2019August 23, 2019

Terraza de Óscar

If you’re at the city center of Madrid, Spain you will experience that the city is everything but not flat. You’re almost constantly walking up and down hills. But what is missing is some kind of viewpoint – you have no chance to see how vast the city is. One option is close to the Templo de Debod where you can have a look on the Palacio Real, the Catedral de la Almudena and the western part of the city, but it is only a limited view on the city.

August 17, 2019August 26, 2019

Atocha

It is worth to visit the railway station Madrid Puerta de Atocha without wanting to use a train. The dead-end station has a new and an old main hall; the older one is from 1888 and was built in art nouveau style. Under the fantastic roof made of cast iron and glass there is now a large palm garden you can walk through and sit down in. Waiting for a train has never been that nice! When you relax under the trees you might forget that you are currently at the most important inner-city hub.

August 17, 2019August 23, 2019

Fass

What Germans abroad seem to miss most is typical German bread. In Madrid, Spain that is no problem as someone decided to supply the German community with everything it needs and opened a German bakery, a German grocery and a restaurant with German food – the Fass. And they also organize ‘typical’ German beer parties for the Spanish to give them the Oktoberfest feeling.

August 17, 2019October 12, 2019

Real Jardín Botánico

The botanical garden of Madrid, Spain is a special one. It consists of three terraces with flower beds that form exact geometrical shapes. The Real Jardín Botánico is rather a landscape garden with numerous flowers and trees inside. It was founded in 1755 outside of the city and then moved in 1781 to its current location next to the Museo del Prado. The garden contains 5000 trees and plants from all over the world.