Travel Spain: Bicycling in Madrid
After rising early on June 2,
2010, I had a simple breakfast at a corner of the
Plaza de Espana and then made my way to a local place called
Bravo Bike Tours to embark on a bicycling adventure through
Madrid. The owner, Kaspar Winteler, is a former banker from
Zurich and has lived in Madrid since
1972. Since retiring from banking, Kaspar decided to create a bicycle touring and rental business and now offers tours in Madrid as well as in other parts of
Spain,
Switzerland,
France,
Croatia and other destinations throughout
Europe.
We started our cycling trip at the
Temple of Debod, an ancient
Egyptian temple that was originally built in southern
Egypt in the
2nd century before Christ and was moved to Madrid in
1968. From this location we had an awesome view over the landscapes west of Madrid.
Down the hill we went into the
Paseo del Pintor
Rosales rose garden and to the
Goya Pantheon, the church were famous painter
Francisco de Goya is buried. The church itself is adorned with frescoes by this illustrious artist.
Further down the street we stopped at the historic Prinicpe Pio railway station which has been refurbished in recent years.
Back up on the hill we rode into a neighbourhood called "Madrid de los Austrias", the old centre of Madrid which was built during the reign of the
Habsburg dynasty. In this atmospheric neighbourhood we stopped at "
El Madroño", a restaurant that features several tiled panels depicting scenes from Madrid's history
.
After a brief tortilla and churro snack we continued on to the "Restaurante
Sobrino de Botin", which, according to the
Guiness Book of World Records, is the world's oldest continuously operating restaurant. Started in 1725, this unique place specializes in preparing suckling pigs, a
Spanish delicacy.
Our next stop was on the
Plaza Mayor, Madrid's impressive main square, from where we cycled to the
Puerta del Sol, Madrid's favourite square and gathering place. On the
Calle de Alcala we were admiring all the bank buildings from the early
20th century.
In the Literary
District we stopped on the
Plaza de Santa Ana and then cycled to the
Casa del Abuelo, a local wine bar where we stopped for a glass of vino and some friend shrimps. Through the Calle
El Arenal we cycled to Kaspar's office. Debating what I was going to do I relied on Kaspar's advice and decided to take a bus out of town for the rest of the day, to the gorgeous city of
Segovia.