6 • FEATURE
PSGsty
,einkt
PICTURES ANd STORY By MARkO PRIIVIORAC
As this year's spring
break began, I
packed my ruck
sack (with far too many things
that I never used or wore), got
in my car and drove to Dulles
International Airport for a
"free-form" excursion through
Europe.
My flight from D.C. to
Zurich was especially smooth
since my cheap ticket actually
entitled me to a seat in Swiss
Air's Business Class. After I
boarded the plane, I put my feet
up, had a glass of complimenta
ry champagne and fell asleep
for the first time on any flight I
have ever taken.
After landing in Zurich, I
boarded a plane for Madrid.
Even though the flight ran into
heavy turbulence, the ride over
the Alps, southern Europe,
France and the Pyrenees was sti . enjoy
able. Besides, I was finally in Madrid, a
city I had long wanted to see.
In the airport, I picked up a map of
Madrid and walked
over to the informa
tion desk. In my bro
ken Spanish, I asked
about a hostel room
in the center of the
city. The woman at the desk seemed
amused with my attempt at Spanish. She
smiled and then asked me in English what
price range I was looking for. I told her I
was a starving student who needed the
cheapest room possible, and she gave me
the address of a hostel in center-city
Madrid.
While I
waited at the
bus stop out
side the air-
port, I noticed
that loud,
rowdy drunks
speaking hor
rible English
were scattered
all around me.
I knew I was
in luck - there had to be a soccer game in
town. I hopped on the first bus that came
and, although I didn't know where it was
going, to my surprise, it took me to the
_ltion in
cab that took me straight to my hostel.
The woman at the airport had steered
me in the right direction. This was a pri-
"With hand signals and grunts, we came to an -understanding.
I would be staying for three days. The room was small bufhad a bathroom {.
shower for $l2 a night, it worked for me."-
vate hostel, run by an elderly Spanish cou
ple and their Mexican maid. With hand
signals and grunts, we came to an under
standing. I would be staying for three days.
The room was small but had a bathroom
and shower for $l2 a night, it worked
for me.
enjoying a few spirited conversations in a
nearby cafe with Englishmen from Leeds
who'd come to cheer their team on, I
noticed that the streets were packed with
the
CAPITAL TIMES
I did man
age to take in
the soccer
match that
night in
Madrid. I took
a cab to the sta
dium and pur
chased a ticket
for the upper
rows in the sta
dium.
After
pek .„
lies - you name it - they were all there. It
seemed that everyone from every walk of
life in Madrid came to support their team.
Madrid won the game, 3 to 1. To the
drunken English hordes' credit, they were
as loud as the Madrid
fans, even though they
were outnumbered
After the game, I
walked back to the hostel
and even though there
was a downpour and I
was drenched when I
reached the hostel, I did
n't mind - I was in Spain.
My sightseeing in
Madrid included visits to
the Palacio Real (Royal
Palace), the Old city, the
Prado Museum and the
city park.
Despite Madrid's
bureaucratic status as the country's capitol,
it is a beautiful city. It was a small provin
cial town before Ferdinand II decided to
make it his capitol in the 1400 s, largely
because of its prime location in the center
Sevillan ballads while the flamen
co dangers hypnotized the audience with
their hip gyrations stomps and claps.
The evening before I left Madrid, I
their culture and then
tried to compare the United States to
Spain. But there is no comparison; they are
distinctly different
(tures. I was pleased
be experiencing the
'iish world after
ing about it for so
base of mountains
and castles and fortresses are scattered all
along the route. The last hour of the ride is
especially memorable with the coast on
one side of the train and the mountains on
the other.
MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2001
""`~y~°l
of Spain
I was amazed that in almost
every restaurant and cerveceria in
Madrid, I found art everywhere,
whether it was in the tiles on the
floors, the paintings or frescoes on
the walls, or even the chairs that
had been hand-carved, drawn-on
or painted. The people were all
friendly, and I found all I had to do
was to try and speak Spanish and
they would gladly converse with
me.
One evening, I stopped in at
the Flamenco Bar and was treated
to a local spectacle. At the
Flamenco, the women were just as
beautiful as their dances and cos
tumes - and they danced for hours.
music and energy they
expended traveled through me, as
did the stomps of their heels and
the loud claps of the hands. A live
band played the guitarra and sang
met an American
woman who was
working in Madrid.
She and I spoke of
the Spaniards and
The next day I
Tied on the morning
to Barcelona. I
;est traveling on the
by day if you have
ime. The ride takes
1 eight hours and is
The countryside
olds before your
villages nestle at