Xmas lights - Los luces de Navidad

And it is my last post on Madrid . . . in this year! Got you! :-)
Yes, I am coming back to Espana in little more than three weeks. There will be more stories to tell you and more fun to share.

However, today I want to post some pictures of beautiful Madrid dressed into holiday spirit. I really liked the decorations in Madrid: it is not too Xmasy, it is not obvious holiday spirit, but when you pass them by a part of you smiles. 

Castellana (Metro Plaza de Castilla)

It is not Xmas decoration, but ART :)
Palacio Cristal, Retiro

C/Bravo

C/Goya

C/Velazquez

C/Serrano

Ben Busche - Belen Iluminoso. Puerta de Alcala

Sol - Xmas tree

Agatha Ruiz de la Prada
Under the Sol Xmas tree

C/Ballesta. Ben Busche

Gran Via. Ben Busche

Happy Holidays! I was only borrowing this one for YOU :)

Wish you very happy holidays!!! See you in next year!


Love,
D

Vamos Real! Hasta el final!

  First, I hope that whoever is reading my blog understands that not all you read is true. Just as I learned in 5^th grade great words of Pushkin: Сказка – ложь, да в ней намек, добрым молодцам урок (something like: fairy-tail is a lie, but there is a hint in it, which is a lesson for smart ones) I try to check my facts before putting them out here, but my opion is always personal and humorious.

Joking stops when I start talking about Real Madrid though :) It is the BEST team in history, period. To prove that I am the biggest fun, after a great loss to barca (yes small first letter) in el clasico past Saturday I got sick and spent three precious days in bed!

Real match in Cadiz

My love for Real started in 11^th grade in Ukraine, or in 2005, although I usually say that it had started ten years ago (my politician side – making things look nicer:) I remember Real at its lowest, with handsome #14 (Guti), yes I DID consider him cute at THAT time. Watching some of their games, learning what does Hala Madrid mean and understanding that Santiago Bernabeu is not a name of a city. . .

So it is natural that I chose to come to Madrid over super cold Uppsala (unoficially there are three reasons: jamon serrano, vino tinto and Real Madrid). My love and appreciation for the team grew strong here. I found friends and foes every time I entered a bar with a TV on. The conversations with bar tenders about football became the most natural thing to me (just like more free tapas than any of erasmus friends get:)

I can talk to you about my love/hate for Mourinho or my unapriciantion of Cristiano Ronaldo, the awesomeness Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos show on the field and how crazy is Pepa or how stupid Benzema. But there is other thing on my mind: first, in Spain I started to believe that you have to have an opinion whether you support Real or Barca – you are considered undecided/ or worse with no opinion at all, by some, if you don't. And no words like “I do not like footbal” can save you!. Second, el clasico reminds me of religion at times. Let me explain. I believe just like a very religious person with vocal opinions cannot date an atheist (apatheist or racionalist) the same way a Real fun cannot date a barca fun! There are just too many games and pressure going on .. . and in case of barca. . just so much mocking to do! :) 

P.S. The pictures are from a town that is about 5km from Sevilla where Sergio Ramos was born and grew up. They are super boring pictures, but it just showes that I AM the biggest fun of Real Madrid.

Camas

The field where Ramos played. In the background - Sevilla.

The school where Ramos went . . . it is not 

Andalusia 02

Every town I've been to in Andalusia is very different from each other and I liked them differently.

The first stop and my favorite was Cadiz - with its smell of sea, sparkly taste of white wine, soft bright sand, strong ocean wind on suntanned face, the never ending sound of never ending ocean and unimaginable whiteness of houses from above view. It seemed like the time has stopped in this town. 

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Second favorite was Granada. And here starts my dilemma ocean vs. mountains, more on that later. Granada had an amazing relaxed atmosphere of a very interesting mix between Arab and spanish culture. One can grab delicious Arab pastry (almost better than those I tried in Istanbul!!!) and then walk 15min and be in the most typical Spanish bar with wine, tapas and friendly spaniards. 

One of the superb memories from Granada: my friend- Laura had a "series-of-unfortunate-events"-week, so the sweetest moment was when we were about to indulge into our dinner-free-huge-tapa, I asked:

-So, I guess your unlucky week is over?

Before answering Laura took a sip of white wine and said:

- Definitely over!

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Sevilla deserves the title of the capital of Andalusia - it has all the qualities:dirty, large city with weird transportation system and loud bunches of tourists "stalking" sights with their maps and cameras. It also gave me a feeling of desperately wanting to look better and more important than it is. The best detail was the cathedral! (which was actually a Muslim mosque, before being redesigned as Catholic temple in order to serve to their god). It is a huge cathedral and one can easily imagine how people in 16-17th century felt entering it - may be taking it for a miracle of God! Funny thing to think about!

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The last town on my list -Cordoba did not impress me much. It had too many tourists and too little to see. Plus my first clouds in a week surprised me in a bad way. But it just means that I had more time and will to aimlessly wonder around the town and take some, I must say it, great shots :)

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Going back again to my search of a reason of such a cheerfulness of Spaniards. I came up with a simple explanation (KISS principle, Keep It Simple Stupid!) - they are enjoying life (period). I have no idea are they aware that life is just too short? or it is in their genes to be so cool? May be, just may be, the answer was given by my Prague Spanish teacher (an andalus!!) - La vida solo se vive una vez! -Life is lived only once. So true that it hurts! 

Andalusia 01

More destinations off my traveling-list and now on my heart.
I am considering to stop travelling in Spain, because I am falling in love so much with this amazing country. It will break a piece of my heart to leave it and go back to Prague. Any Spaniard wants to adopt me or marry me? I keep my options open ;)

Ok, joking apart, let me tell you where I've been and what I've seen this past week.
Here how I have been mentally prepared by my Spanish friends for Andalusia trip:
¨If they had as much money as us, they would build escalators everywhere is the city¨ (Basque young man),
¨They are all gypsies, why in the world you want to go there!? (non-nationalistic Barcelona guy),
¨You gonna flip out of their craziness the moment you exit the bus, when i was there last time they were like . . .(my age Madrid male),
¨Enjoy the trip, guys are very sexy there!¨ (Cantabria girl, living in Madrid),
"When in Granada you should try their white delicious wine - the best! (other colleague from Uni).

So what is this Andalusia like?

8 hours South from Madrid make a great difference (just like 4,5 hours North to Bilbao)! It is more than a different country, it is a different planet! Quite literally, when you have in mind Sevilla's Plaza de Espana, where parts of Star Wars were filmed.

Some other facts I learned in Andalusia:

1. Hitchhiking is legal in Spain, but very hard to experience.
2. Spitting on the street, extremely loud talking, pushing people and screaming Guapa! (Beauty!) are the most normal things to do. Moreover if you do not act accordingly, you are considered the weird one.
3. Through away all "s" at the end of all Spanish words: Pue, ma o meno, Como eta? Vamo! gracia will take you a long way.
4. Deep fried food is a must! If it is deep fried with dough - even better!
5. More ocean = more chilling out atmosphere. With around 50% unemployment in Cadiz I met one of the most cheerful and happy people! The fact that Cadiz is surrounded by ocean is my only explanation. Problems seem to disappear near the horizon.
6. Birds are a lot like Spanish children: even at night they are loud, singing and being all cheerful :)

Night in Sevilla

7. Library is an accessory. No need to read if the weather is soooo good.

Sevilla's library

8. Tinto de verano ("red of summer" - red wine+sparkling water+lemon= popular summer drink) is great even in winter. Of course if it is +25C! So from now on it is tinto de invierno (red of winter).

Even posts are falling drunk ;)

Down South

         This evening I want to give special thanks to the awesome Spanish thing called - puente (a bridge). It is a great invention! Basically, if a national holiday falls on, for example, Tuesday (like the next week), then most of people will take day off from work on Monday and have a cute puente. 

        But next week puente is more like a Brooklyn bridge!!! There is the Constitution holiday on 6th Dec and a religious holiday (La Inmaculada Concepción) on 8th Dec. So people who can take days off on Monday, Wednesday and Friday will have a WHOLE week off :) Or people like me - who do not have classes on Monday; Wednesday have just one class and Friday is an official puente supporter from my uni - can go and travel for a whole week. Vale entonces ... 

   After an awesome and extreme hiking last Saturday in la Pedriza close to Madrid: 

I got back into hiking mood! So all I can say, +20C will be my median weekly temperature. Cannot wait! I will update you afterwards!

P.S. Keeping Real Madrid on my mind and in my future post! Fingers crossed for a great win on 10 Dec! HALA MADRID!