(In this three-part series, historical tour guide Marik Michalsky takes us on a tour of his favorite parts of Madrid, Spain, starting out with what to do in the mornings.)
What better feeling can one have when waking up the morning after arriving in a new city — say, Madrid — and having that excitement of all the possibilities that await? The first thought might be about what to see during the day or which activities to choose, but one thing that always has to be first is what to eat for breakfast.
Although Spain is world famous for its delicious cuisine, the country never really got the announcement that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Breakfast in Spain can vary depending on where you are, but in Madrid it is usually a very simple affair.
It’s common to have a piece of freshly baked bread topped with olive oil, grated tomato and jamón (ham) or a pincho de tortilla (slice of Spanish omelette). Or you could go the slightly more elaborate route, which is a piece of bread with olive oil, grated tomato, bonito or tuna, pickled guindilla peppers and oregano.
To drink, it’s essential to start with a coffee and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Many different coffee options are available, such as the solo (espresso), doble (double shot), cortado (espresso with a dash of milk) or the favorite, café con leche templado en vaso (coffee with warm milk in a glass).
The best bit of advice as far as breakfast goes in Madrid is to find a traditional place where one walks in and sees old men reading newspapers with a cortado or caña (small beer); where the construction workers come to get a bite to eat quickly before starting their long day’s work; where the waiters aren’t necessarily the nicest, but get straight to the point: “Que te pongo? (What do you want?)”
These are the places where one will get the true feeling of local life in Madrid and additionally, if conversation starts with the locals, they will definitely be welcoming and give advice.
BALCONY OF THE MARIZAPALOS
After getting something to eat, the next thought will be, what to explore now? Although it is one of the most touristy parts of the city, there is no better place to start learning about Madrid than its beautiful Plaza Mayor (main square). Finished in 1619, this 406-year-old square is absolutely packed with history from bull fighting to executions during the inquisición (Spanish inquisition) to multiple fires. However, one of the more hidden stories is that of El Balcón de Marizápalos (the balcony of the Marizápalos).
As mentioned previously, the plaza was at one point used for bullfighting in which around 50,000 spectators would gather to watch, including the king and queen. One king who loved watching them more than anyone else was King Felipe IV of the Habsburgs. He would always be watching from the royal balcony and one day, with two people alongside him — his wife, Queen Isabel of the Borbones as normal and… his mistress María de Calderón (nicknamed Marizápalos).
As one might imagine, the queen was not quite happy with this arrangement. She immediately demanded the mistress be removed from the balcony and that he stop seeing her in public as it embarrassed her and damaged the royals’ reputation. The king kind of obliged. From then on, he would only watch it from the royal balcony with his wife. But today, if you trace a line from the royal balcony all the way across to a yellow archway, a balcony is visible that faces directly towards the royal balcony — a balcony built by the king just for his mistress.
Not only could the king watch his lover during the event, but his wife, the queen, could also see his lover. Not the happiest couple ever, as one might imagine. Ironically, today the side that contains the royal balcony is used as a civil registry where couples can get married, but often has a waiting list of a few years.
Next stop in the journey to understanding Madrid is a small but very busy square slightly southwest of Plaza Mayor called Plaza de la Puerta Cerrada (Square of the Closed Gate). When looking around in that square for a gate, it’s impossible to find one, therefore why the name?
Starting between the 11th and 12th centuries, a gate existed there with a wall on both sides of it. Madrid actually had two walls: a Muslim wall built first alongside an Alcázar (palace/fortress) and a Christian wall built afterward, within which was a gate where today the square is located. The modern square is filled with restaurants, terraces, bars and lots of street art.
Speaking of street art, displayed on the side of a building is possibly the most important mural in the entire city, one which includes a painting of sparks flying off a wall and water underneath it. It also includes a sentence, the motto or slogan of Madrid which says, “Fui sobre agua edificada, mis muros de fuego son,” or “I was built upon water, my walls are made of fire.”
Madrid originally was built on top of a series of aquifers and streams that brought about its Arabic-derived name, Mayrit (the land of abundant waters). Additionally, the original walls were composed of an inner layer of limestone and granite surrounded by two outer layers of flint — a rock that is notorious for sparking while being struck by steel. Therefore, when the city was being attacked over hundreds of years and the attacker used the bow and arrow from long distance, there would be hundreds to thousands of arrows raining down and striking the wall, producing sparks so violent that it made the wall appear completely on fire.
NOT YOUR TYPICAL STRAWBERRIES
Once through the historic square, it’s time for a break at a local tavern that serves a unique liquor only found in Madrid. Taberna el Madroño, founded in 1947, is an establishment covered in history, from the azulejos (painted tiles) on the outside to the old photos, bottling equipment and evolution of the crest of Madrid on the inside. It has won awards for tapas, such as their tapa of rabo de toro (oxtail), but the main attraction is the licor de Madroño which is a sweet, digestive liquor served in a shot glass made of a sort of chocolate ice cream cone.
Madrid originally was built on top of a series of aquifers and streams that brought about its Arabic-derived name, Mayrit (the land of abundant waters).
To understand this liquor, it’s necessary to understand the crest of Madrid, which one can see in statue form in Puerta del Sol: There stands a small statue of a bear and a tree that is called El Oso y el Madroño, but if using Google translate, it says, “The Bear and the Strawberry Tree.”
If you’re excited to come to Madrid suddenly because you love strawberries, you’ll be disappointed because it’s not actually strawberries. The scientific name for this fruit is arbutus unedo and it resembles much more the lychee fruit rather than a strawberry.
Between October and November, these berries get very ripe and start to rot. A rotting berry is a fermenting berry. A fermenting berry is then an alcoholic berry. Therefore, what is seen on Madrid’s city crest is a bear getting very drunk.
After this lesson on Madrid’s history and gastronomy, it’s time to go to a somewhat hidden museum only a few minutes away: El Museo de San Isidro (the Museum of Saint Isidore). This is a museum dedicated to the origins of Madrid and made up of three parts: 1) Prehistoric Madrid (fossils of animals and humans tens to hundreds of thousands of years ago); 2) Pre-Spanish societies (Iberians, Romans, Visigods, Muslims, early Christians); and 3) Saint Isidore (information and relics from miracles surrounding him). Additionally, the museum sports a courtyard filled with plants that have the story of how they arrived in Madrid and how they were used. Finally, the museum is free and one only needs 45 minutes to an hour and a half to tour it.
(In Part 2, we’ll explore where to eat lunch in Madrid.)
