Traveling: Impressions From Madrid

(Drivebycuriosity) - My wife and I are traveling in Spain. After visiting Toledo (here my post  driveby ) we went to Madrid. Spain`s capital greeted us with rain and temperatures around 50F( 10 C). On our third day there it got sunny and the mercury column climbed to the upper 70ths but after two days it got brisk and rainy again.

On the airport we took a to train station Atocha in the south of the city. The terminal seems also to be a popular meeting point. There is a huge hall with shops & cafes. You can see there a greenhouse garden with palms and other subtropical plants & a muddy pond where turtles are crawling over each other or doing nothing. 

We had a lot of fun in Madrid, in spite of the weather. We really could see that the city was once the seat of kings in who´s empire the sun never settled. Madrid got shaped by the Habsburg emperors (an Austrian dynasty) who were once emperors of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (and  Kings & Queens of Spain as well) and had amassed a lot of wealth from their colonies in America (once called New Spain).  The imperial history is shown in palaces, places & elegant boulevards.

Above you can see more of the grandezza (Spanish & Italian for greatness) which we can spot on many streets, places & buildings.

But there are also some modern buildings which look interesting.

According to Wikipedia Spain`s capital is the third-largest city in the European Union after London and Berlin with a population of about 3 million people. The metropolis is a sprawl and spread over a vast area which creates a lot of traffic (and the Spaniards like to drive fast), so parts of the city look like Los Angeles.

But there also traditional & cozy looking districts & streets.

The southern light and colorful designs offer plenty motifs for my camera (iPhone 7 plus).

Part of the fun are the ubiquitous bars, restaurants, cafes and tapas places (which sell cheap tasty snacks & drinks).




                                                        Vertical Garden

During our hikes we spotted a lot surprising & funny images, including the wall of a building where other houses & the sky are painted on (trompe l'oeil) and green plants growing on the wall of the museum Caixa Forum (vertical garden).

We also enjoyed observing Madrid´s street life and the party scene on streets & places.

We had the luck to witness a parade which happened on 2nd of May, which is a public holiday in the Spanish capital, the Madrid day.

On first of May we watched a different kind of parade, the May day celebration.

We enjoyed seing the Spanish capital. Madrid is really worth a visit.