22nd December, 2009.
Today we took a daytrip to the town of Toledo, situated some 70km south of Madrid. Waking up early to find it raining again, I hoped this would give a much needed break from the weather (we didn’t know the forecast for Toledo.. so fingers were crossed).
The most efficient way of getting to Toledo is by train. The fast train – Renfe’s Alta Velocidad Española (literally “Spanish High Speed”) train service. We would be catching the 9:20am train from Madrid’s Atocha Renfe station, just a “short walk” from our hostal. Truth be told, it was a pretty short walk, but walking never seems short when out in the rain. Having breakfast on the way (yet another Bocadilla jamon y queso), we arrived with time enough to explore the more unique parts of the station.
Below: Did I mention there was a forest inside the station?
While nothing exciting happened on the journey (then again I don’t want anything “exciting” to happen to a train hurtling along at 200km/h), I was surprised to see the train actually left early. And no, not by my clock, but the one inside the train compartment! Cityrail could learn something from this...
Above: Despite the view from the train, I always kept hope that the weather would be fine in Toledo...
Arriving in Toledo just half an hour later, I stepped off the train to discover Madrid’s bad weather had followed us here. It was pouring. That’s ok, we will just leave earlier than previously planned. Not so – being the efficient planner that she is, mum had pre-booked the return tickets.
For the 5:30pm train.
This was going to be a lonnnnnnnng day.
A tourist bus took us the final distance to the historic area of Toledo. Dropped off in the Plaza de Zocodóver, we oriented ourselves at the tourist info centre before going in search of the first landmark.
Actually, that should be “before dad charged off in typical fashion, leading us on a backstreet adventure with no idea where we actually were, in the pouring rain, before stumbling across the Catedral de Toledo”. Nice one dad.
Now of course photos weren’t allowed, so this part will have to get a little wordy. The cathedral, as far as cathedrals go, was very impressive. It is one of three 13th century “high gothic” cathedrals in Spain, and considered to be the pinnacle of Spanish Gothic architecture. With construction spanning several centuries, it evolved with the tastes of the time to become an extremely large structure - It measures 120 metres in length by 59 metres in width and 44.5 metres high. Considering that those dimensions are for the nave itself, the diagram below gives an indication of the overall size.
It is massive.
And it’s here that I’ll stop with the description, because in the end – as I’ve discovered with Buddhist temples in Vietnam and Mosques in Morocco - they are pretty much all the same. Cathedrals all have similar areas, and generally look the same to those that don’t really care to know the difference in construction that results from the various gothic architectural styles, or how decorative nuances differ from country to country.
In editing this post, I decided to remove a self-indulgent rant on the near obscene amount of gold that adorns this cathedral's interior. Let's just say that the Chapel of Treasure's centerpiece consists of some 18 kilograms of solid gold. That, and then the rest...
Actually, I do want to indulge in something. Most of these cathedrals will often have some soft music playing. I feel this music – the boring church kind – doesn’t do any justice to the sheer magnificence these buildings possess. I’ve taken to listening to a few of the following tracks on my ipod while sitting inside cathedrals and other magnificent buildings:
- Forever Today, Tiesto (the video is weird.. but you hear the right part of the song..)
- Hymne, Armin van Buuren
- La Hacienda, Tiesto
- And for Kate, Confutatis and the hauntingly beautiful Lacrimosa from Mozart’s Requiem.
Note that the first few are from trance producers Tiesto and Armin van Buuren, but rest assured that these are either orchestral introductions to their shows, or they fit in with the general grand scale of a cathedral.
Anyway.
Stepping back into the rain, we continued our unstructured tour of Toledo. Aimless wandering, punctuated by swearing staccatos (to the effect of telling dad that a backstreet route doesn't work when he doesn't know the backstreets..), eventually lead us to a Fransciscan monastery - Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes. A relatively humble structure, I found this to be much more interesting than the Cathedral. Maybe it had something to do with being allowed to take photos...
Above: Gardens in the Cloister set a humble and peaceful tone to the Monastery.
Sick of religious sight seeing (ha... I know. Wrong continent to be saying that...), we retraced our path back up the hill to find a small cafe. It was finally time for lunch.
Sometime during lunch it stopped raining, so the afternoon was spent wandering around other areas of Toledo. Having visited a few shops (where mum redeemed her birthday gift of "something expensive on the holiday"), we returned to Plaza de Zocodóver for hot chocolates at the Plaza's cafe. It seems as though we are trying hot chocolates everywhere we go. I'm certainly not complaining.
Since it was still clear outside, and because we were over waiting for 5:30pm to roll around, we decided to walk back to the train station. The walk, initially heading downhill along the old city wall, offered us panoramic views of the new city.
Above: Our route took us behind the houses in the left of frame, through the
roundaboutand over the bridge before reaching the train station.
As if to make up for the so-far lame weather, the sky came to life during the train ride back. The sun, now sweeping low across the land, coloured clouds a brilliant golden haze. But, as the photo below shows, it was a losing battle. Dashing into the darkness, grey eventually retook the sky as we returned to a rainy Madrid. Rainy.. just as the day had begun.
Below: Sunset from the AVE
- Andrew
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