Holy Toledo!

(I will be posting a pic as soon as I get my compu set up in Madrid)

I made it to Toledo. The trip to Madrid was about 3 hours by fast train. A very comfortable ride except for the idiots (I seem to be using that word a lot) who ignored the bilingual announcement to put their cell phones on vibrate and only use them between trains. Twice, my little nap was disturbed. But still, I slept quite a bit, mostly because I took a meclizine, which knocks me out.

I was feeling like I was a little off due to not sleeping very well and being in a fast moving train. Just to make sure I didn´t get dizzy, I took a meclizine just before we "took off".

The landscape of dry fields and olive trees had changed to suburbs and semi-industrial towns as we neared Madrid. I got the feeling that the part of Spain I had spent the last month and a half was not what the rest of the country was like. As the train slowed and pulled into a station I woke up. Everyone was getting up. I guessed we were in Madrid.

Madrid station was not like Seville. It was big and a little confusing. There were lots of people, and lots of security. I guess they are still a little nervous after the bombings in 2004.

I found the lockers and stored my backpack, leaving me with only my new bag filled with everything that wouldn'at fit in my backpack. I killed time by going to the bathroom, eating lunch at Burger King (I know, big mistake) and finally we boarded our train for Toledo.

The trip took 1/2 hour. I got off and was greeted to one of the most beautiful train stations I've seen yet. Everyone was snapping pictures. I will take some tomorrow when I return to go back to Madrid. It is neo-mudejar style. I might have spelled that word "mudejar" wrong before, but I think I have it right now. It is an Islamic inspired style (I think) and not the original Islamic architecture that was built before the reconquest.

All of this stuff is very confusing to me, but what I am learning (and this brings me to Toledo) is that at one point, the three main western religions - Jews, Christians and Muslims, lived in peace, while the Muslims ruled. And then the Spaniards got back in control and ushered in a few centuries of horror - expulsions, murder, torture, the Inquisition, genocide (in the Americas), etc. And they glorified it all by building huge Cathedrals and palaces.

I like Toledo. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and for good reason. It is like a huge outdoor museum. It is a classic medeival city built on a hill, fortified by walls (several layers of them) surrounded by a river. The old city is filled with monumental structures - a palce, churches, cathedrals, monestaries, mosques and synagogues (the latter two mostly converted back to churches).

Because it is on a hill, and surrounded on three sides by a river, I have found it a pretty easy city to navigate. Once I was sure I knew where my hostel is, I found the main square and then started exploring. I didn't have anything particular I wanted to see, so I didn't care if I got lost. The hard thing is walking up and down the hilly cobblestoned streets, but there are enough cafes and plazas to provide a place to rest.

When I first arrived I took a little tourist train called the Zocotren. It was a silly looking thing, but I thought it was cute enough to merit its 3 euro ticket price. We chugged along some streets in the city but soon left the walls and made a climb up the hills on the other side of the river while we were told the history of Toledo - including some gory history/mythology (like an Arab princess who fell in love with a Spanish soldier. When they were caught, she was beheaded. Legend has it that her head fell to the ground and seven springs sprung from the point where it landed. Virgin birth anyone?)

Today I walked around, again with no particular destination in mind. All of the things I would see, like the El Greco museum, are closed. I paid 7 Euros to see the Cathedral because it is big. But I was disappointed when I entered and found out we could not take photos. I snuck a few. For 7 Euros, I feel like I deserve it.

The cathedral is basically gothic, very big, but has Renaissance and Baroque elements inside. There is one grand piece of work, very Baroque, behind the altar. A huge cavalcade of angels, clouds, cherubs and other fluffy things support what looks like a Christ standing at the top of this huge pile. Above him a hole opens up to the heavens with a window pouring light onto the whole thing and little angels sticking their cute little heads out through the hole to those of us below who so want to go up there. It is all quite theatrical, a little gaudy, but beguiling nonetheless. I sat and contemplated the whole thing (partly because there was a place to sit, and partly because I wanted to sneak a few photos) and noticed that in the upper part, which is supposed to be heaven (inside of the hole), there are actually Spanish soldiers on horseback and a few fallen bodies (I guess of those they have slain), and this summed up for me the whole nauseuos reaction I have to all of this grand religiosity. I guess the message was that those who defended the crown, at whatever cost, no matter how much blood was spilled or lives lost, will be guaranteed a place in heaven. It is hard for me to reconcile the whole bloody past of the Catholic church (or any church for that matter) with any message that might be there today about spirituality. I don't know how anyone can, but maybe they have not thought about what the role of the church has been historically, and therefore they don't think about what it probably still is - to ensure that those in power stay in power and those who have no power seek their happiness in the afterlife.

I walked on and found a church of Santo Tome where there is supposedly an El Greco on view. I went up to the ticket booth, not thrilled about having to pay another entrance fee and the guy inside held up his hand to tell me to wait, opened the door to the church and said "no fotos! Absolutamente no fotos!" I decided I didn't want to go in that church, because he was watching a little video screen and monitoring to make sure no one took photos (meaning it would be hard for me to sneak one) and also, he was kind of a jerk. I was happy when the Portuguese couple behind me, seeing me turn around and leave, also left.

I walked to the Juderia, the old Jewish quarter (which I am finding is a common thing in Spanish cities) and sought out one of the old synagogues. I have found synagogues, or mosques if they are available, are a nice balance to all of the over the top Catholicism. I found a synagogue called Maria de la Blanca, or something like that. No photos were allowed, but there were no hidden cameras and the security guard was outside. The interior was so beautiful, I could not help myself, and I took a few photos. The inside had these beautiful arches, kind of like the mezquita in Cordoba, but they were white and had beautiful plaster decoration. It was a lovely space that was spoiled by some kind of amatuer art exhibit that I ignored.

From there I walked and came across another synagogue - the Synagogue del Transito, which is now the Sephardic museum. It was also quite beautiful inside and we could take photos without flash. I enjoyed my visit mostly for the interior of the building and again, pretty much ignored the display there about Sephardic Jews (some old pottery, stones, etc.)

I contiued to walk, going up and down hills and stepping into any open doorway to see what was inside. If I had to pay and it didn't look interesting, I left, but to my delight, many places were free. I enjoyed a visit to an old Visigoth church that had become a mosque and then again a church. I stopped at a cafe and had a few glasses of wine while a very loud American girl talked to her friend about her neuroses. I walked back to the main square and hopped on a double decker tourist bus that took pretty much the same route as the Zocotren, but the sun was on its descent and the whole city was bathed in a golden glow - it was so beautiful.

So overall, it has been a very enjoyable trip. My hostel room is basic, but comfortable. More comfortable and roomier than Rome. The weather has been very pleasant. Warm and sunny during the day and quite chilly at night and in the morning (apparently a cold front came in yesterday signaling autumn weather, while Seville still bakes). My only complaint would be the food. I have not had a decent meal yet. Even my churros and chocolate that I had in a little nun run cafe were not that good. Everything is salty, hard, tasteless, just not good. And, they allow smoking in restaurants!!!! I mean, come on guys, this is 2009, don't you know that smoking is bad and second hand smoke is even more bad?!!!

I thought last night, after I'd walked for a few hours that two days in Toledo might be a bit too much, but actually I am glad I had a lot of time here. I guess most people make it a day trip, but it was worth spending more time. This is a city that I think is best appreciated by taking leisurely strolls, stopping when you need to stop, and enjoying the way the city changes as the sun moves through the sky.

I am also enjoying seeing a little of life outside the wall, which is where I am right now. My hotel is located just below the outer wall of the city, and rather than walk up to try to find a locutorio (place with computers), I walked down. I'm in a little place filled with immgrants, I am guessing Ecuadorians. I passed an Ecuadorian restaurant and I see a box of fried plantains, also from Ecuador. There is a lot of activity, and best of all, no one is smoking.

And now I will head back up the hill to my cozy little room, far from the sound of crying babies and construction work. In fact, last night there was no noise at all.