The Real Madrid

I had to rediscover Madrid as the city has truly undergone a massive change from the last time I visited which was almost a decade ago. The best icon to describe the Madrid of today would be the stylish, contemporary and business-like T4 terminal designed by Richard Rogers at Madrid Barajas airport. The kilometer long terminal building which opened in 2006 has a bamboo clad wavy roof and each area is colour coded from blue to yellow which not only indicates the direction but is also pleasing to the eye. Honouring the Nobel Prize winner of Literature Mario Vargas Llosa are 3 sculptures of women reflecting various moods – the dreamer, the flirtatious one and the realist.

The dreamer

The coquette

The realist

The city itself has been transformed for the better with the organization of traffic, widening of roads and construction of high speed tunnels and thoroughfares. This allows the tourist to take in the sights on foot, which is truly the best way to admire the beautiful buildings and architecture of the city.

Iglesia San Jeronimo

Palacio del Congreso

Edificio Espana

Madrid is the centre of the Spanish speaking world and is the gateway to Latin America for the Europeans. It has always been a microcosm of Spain and has been the seat of the Spanish royal house for many centuries. It has a buzz and energy of London and contradicts the easy going attitude of the Latin world. It is the country’s political and cultural centre and has a lot to offer in addition to the museums, nightlife and the Real Madrid football club.

Madrid is a fascinating mix of past and present. On one hand you have traditional old buildings and on the other contemporary buildings like Norman Foster’s Caja Madrid Tower and Herzog & de Meuron’s CaixaForum. The tree lined boulevards are a welcome change in a large city and the narrow streets with the many plazas (squares) with small cafes, tavernas, cervecerias and tapas bars are fascinating.

The inside of a taverna

The Prado museum is right in the centre of the city and it is well worth the visit though it demands more than a few hours of browsing. Near it are 2 other world class museums, the Reina Sofia and the Thyssen-Bornemisza. Opposite are beautiful hotels – The Ritz and the Westin Palace which were built to accommodate the royal guests in the early 1910 who were attending a royal wedding.

El Prado

The Westin Palace Hotel

The Debod Temple, an authentic Egyptian temple dedicated to the gods Amon and Isis, is in a park near the Plaza de Espana and takes one completely by surprise. How did it get here? Many valuable monuments and archaeological sites were in danger of being destroyed due to the construction of the Aswan Dam in 1960. The UNESCO made an appeal to countries to help save these monuments, and as thanks for the aid given by Spain, particularly in helping to save the sacred buildings of Abu Simbel, the Egyptian government donated this temple to the Spanish people in 1968. The temple originally stood in Debod in the Nile Valley not too far from the city of Aswan, but the need for the new dam meant that it had to be moved elsewhere or it would have remained underwater forever.

The Debod Temple

The Palacio Real, or Royal Palace, is Madrid's largest building and possibly its most beautiful is located next to the equally beautiful Plaza de Oriente square and is the largest royal palace in Western Europe. It was built on the site of the old Alcázar, the Moorish castle destroyed by fire in 1734. You can do a guided tour of the interiors which is absolutely gorgeous and has beautiful furniture, tapestries, works of art and paintings by the Spanish artists.

Palacio Real

Statues of the kings of Spain lining the courtyard

The palace gardens, called the Campo del Moro, are also worth visiting, as is the square nearby. The Plaza de Oriente takes its name from its location - to the east of the palace, and contains several sculptures of the precious Spanish monarchs. Just across this beautiful plaza stands the Royal Theatre.

Statue in the Plaza de Oriente

The Opera House

Some of the best shopping for clothes, especially the high end brands, is on the Calle de Sorreno, Calle de Goya and Calle de Velazquez. Zara in particular, is very cheap and affordable as it is a local brand. One of my favourites.

It is easy to get around Madrid as the metro is quite compact and user friendly. Most economical is to buy a ticket for 10 journeys on the metro or bus and costs Euros 8.

Vancouver - a city like no other

Vancouver, British Columbia, is scenic, diverse and vibrant. I was lucky to have had an opportunity to visit during the World Routes Conference. Though I was busy with work, I did manage to have a chance to look around the city.

There are plenty of parks and gardens in Vancouver and the most famous of them all is Stanley Park. It is a 1000 acre park, much of which is forested. It has an 8.8 kilometers seawall which is used by pedestrians, joggers, cyclists and skaters. Prospect Point is a good lookout point to view the ships passing by and from where you have a good view of the Lions Gate bridge. The totem poles also give you an insight into the culture and history of the Canadian Indians.

The sunken garden in the mined out area.

Flowers everywhere

Monkey tree

Chinatown in Vancouver is one of the biggest in the world. Has many interesting sights other than the shopping, that you will feel you are not in Canada.

The other famous garden is the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Gardens which is in the centre of Chinatown. You are instantly transported into a classical 15th century Chinese garden with breathtaking display of architecture, landscaping and culture of the Chinese immigrants.

Gastown is another interesting area of the city. Along the brick streets of Gastown are antique lamps, hanging flowers, a clock that blows off steam every few minutes, and all sorts of Canadiana you'll want for your picture album when you get home! If you hunting for a souvenir of Vancouver, this is the place to find it! During the day it is fun exploring the cafes, art galleries, and shops specializing in aboriginal art and soapstone carvings. At night there are good restaurants and some Vancouver night clubs worth checking out. (Bryan Adams even has a recording studio located here!)

Robson Street is the main shopping street in Vancouver, Canada. It is also a main tourist strip to walk around relax at a local coffee shop and then shop some more.

Canada Place is another distinguishing landmark. It was originally built for EXPO 86 and is combination hotel/convention center/cruise ship terminal. It is an outstanding piece of architecture along the Vancouver waterfront from where one can get excellent views of the Mountains and North Vancouver.

Canada Place from the air

Granville Island is not really an island but a small peninsula of land located underneath the Granville Street Bridge on the the south side of an ocean inlet called False Creek. Granville Island Public Market is the best market in Vancouver! Fresh produce, plants and flowers, all sorts of baked goods, seafood, cheese delicacies and even chocolates make the 50-plus stalls here the best attraction on Granville Island.

Day trips to Seattle (the Boeing factory) are also possible. Alaskan cruises commence and terminate in Vancouver.

I was also lucky to be invited to ride on a Cessna over Vancouver. It looks lovely both on ground and from the air.

The city skyline and Stanley Park

Oslo

According to the Norse sagas, Oslo was founded around 1049 by King Harald Hardråde. Its original name was Oslo which was changed to Christiania and then later changed back to Oslo. (Kind of reminds me of Bombay/Mumbai). It has been ruled many times by the Danes, then the Swedes and again by the Danes. It has also been ravaged many times by fire.

However today, Oslo is a world class city with many interesting sights to capture the visitors' imagination. It is best to buy a "Visit Oslo" card which covers not only the public transport but also a wide variety of museums and other attractions.

Some of the main attractions in Oslo are:

- The Vigeland Sculpture Park - check out my blog on The Vigeland Sculpture Park

- The Royal Palace where one can watch the changing of the guards at 1400 hrs.

The Royal Palace

The changing of the guards

- The Parliament Building. You can do a tour during the summer months.

The Parliament Building

- The City Hall which is not only the seat of the local government but also where the Nobel Peace Prize is given away. They conduct free tours of the city hall. The exterior of the building was not to my taste (I was told, it grows on you) but the interiors were fantastic. Also since Norway was under foreign rule for most of their history, when they became independant they were keen on establishing their own identity and they looked to their folklore for inspiration. Therefore you will see a lot of reference to sea faring activities, fishing and plant gathering. They also love their mythical creatures like trolls and valkyries. Outside the City Hall, there are friezes depicting stories based on their folklore.

The City Hall

The tree of life

A tapestry in one of the reception rooms of the city hall

 One of the friezes outside the city hall

- The National Theatre.

The National Theatre

- The Cathedral

The Cathedral

- The Opera House which is a unique modern building. www.oslooperahouse.com

The Opera House

- The National Maritime Museum which has a huge collection of miniature ships.

- The Fram which houses the Polar Ship Fram and catalogues the escapades of the polar expidition teams.

- The Viking Museum which has exhibits of ships and artifacts from that era.

The mast on the Viking Ship

- The Kontiki Museum which documents the adventures of explorer Thor Heyardhal and his voyage using the reed boats.

- The National Heritage Museum which has exhibition houses from various parts of the country. It includes a beautiful stave church.

The beautiful 14th Century stave church

Another view..........

A close up.......

A Norse brewery

A modern pub/cafe! :)

- The Harbour from where you can catch ferries to various islands in the fjords. You have a variety of restaurants along the harbour.

The are many other museums covering a variety of topics and works of various artists like Edvard Munch, Henry Ibsen, etc.

The mini bottle museum!

The public transport system which includes the ferries and the subway make it convenient to visit the main sights. The city is dotted with various sculptures of their most famous artist - Vigeland.

http://www.visitoslo.com/