A Visit to Madrid: A Day of Reunions and Discoveries

4/14/2024

The night on the Flixbus from Toulouse to Madrid is exhausting. This time, I have to sleep sitting up. My seat is right in front of the bus toilet. I keep waking up because other passengers bump into me when they go to the toilet. My seatmate goes to the gas station at 1:00 a.m. and comes back with a bag of chips, which she eats with relish. I have a stiff neck, but at least no one is snoring. I can’t wait to see my good friend Alicia again in Madrid.

Arrival in Madrid

The bus arrives on time at 8:45 a.m. at the bus station. It takes me a while to orient myself in the confusing bus station. When I find the metro station, I buy a 10-trip ticket, which is cheaper than I expected. 10 rides cost €6.10 plus €2.50 for the card. It takes me an hour to get to her metro station, and I have to change trains once. Alicia lives in a residential area just outside of Madrid. However, you can get to nature very quickly, which is a real luxury in a big city (especially during Covid times). It is still quite cool in the morning, but today it is supposed to be 28°C. As I approach Alicia’s house, she is already on the street and runs toward me joyfully. She hugs me tightly, and I can smell her shampoo – she smells good! I wonder how I must smell after the trip. Alicia doesn’t mind. I am so glad to see her again!

Memories from Thailand

Alicia and I met at the monastery in Thailand. Although we were not allowed to talk to each other there, we found each other very likeable just from seeing each other. Every day, we spent many hours in the same meditation hall, motivating each other to do another meditation session. Before my graduation ceremony, I gave her a small note with my phone number, and we met up in Chiang Mai afterward, exploring Northern Thailand together on a moped. During a quick breakfast, we reminisce about that time, and I meet her parents. Alicia lives with her parents, which is quite normal in Spain, especially in Madrid. The rental prices in the city are astronomically high, and many young people simply cannot afford to live in their own apartments.

The “De Perdidas Al Río”

Ali (her nickname) has to say goodbye quickly. Today, she is meeting her band, “De Perdidas Al Río,” for a rehearsal. The name means something like “bite the bullet” or “go for broke.” They are performing at a festival in southern Spain at the end of this week. They have invited me to join them on the trip, which I immediately agreed to! The band’s music is pretty good! If you want to listen, here is the link to my favorite song: De Perdidas Al Río - Favorite Song

A Warm Welcome at Ali’s Family

Her father, Alvaro, shows me my room. It also has Ali’s piano and Alvaro’s model airplane collection, which he proudly presents to me. He built all the models himself, a passion from his childhood. Alvaro is already retired but used to work a lot in the aviation industry, which often took him to Toulouse. I take a long-awaited shower and then lie down for a short nap. When I wake up, Ali is still out, and I use the time to get to know her father better. Ali’s grandmother and uncle come by for lunch, and we wait together for Ali’s return. When she comes back, the big feast begins. Alvaro is a talented cook and spoils us with fine food for two hours. There’s delicious salad with fish eggs, tasty melted cheese from western Spain, then braised chicken with peppers (lentil soup for me), and for dessert, strawberries with whipped cream. After four courses, I am as full as I was last at home in Germany. Alvaro explains to us at the table why he never learned German, even though he worked with Germans for many years and often visited Hamburg and Munich.

I can’t learn a language where it’s ‘DAS Mädchen’ and ‘Kindergarten’ or ‘Baumschule.’ Why do children go to the garden and trees to school? I don’t understand it.

We laugh a lot, and I am grateful to be part of this wonderful family for a short time.

Exploring Madrid

Alicia and I plan to explore the city a bit today. While she gets ready, her sister stops by with her little son, who plays with me for a while. In the late afternoon, we set off and explore Madrid together. It is my first time in the Spanish capital. The last time I was in Spain was with school, which was 14 years ago. Madrid impresses me with its size. We walk together through Retiro Park, where Ali spent a lot of time during her studies. Ali is a professional pianist and currently works as a piano teacher. She tells me she wants to start singing lessons in the summer. Singing is a great passion of hers that she wants to pursue further. We talk about how privileged we are at the moment to freely follow our paths and seek our individual happiness. Me with my travels and her with her music.

Conversations About Life and Happiness

Together we walk to Plaza Mayor and find a small café nearby where we talk a lot about our insights from the time in the monastery. So much seemed easier at the monastery. Implementing the insights from the meditations into our normal lives is, however, difficult for us. After coffee, we stroll to the Royal Palace in time for sunset, where we sit on the lawn among groups of students and talk about happiness. Ali tells me what happiness means to her:

I feel happy when life is in balance. It’s not like that right now, but I’m on a good path.

I need to think about this sentence more during my trip. It is very difficult for me to keep my life balanced while traveling. There are always distractions, new places, new people, new impressions, and uncertainties. Somehow, I have to find a way to bring stability to my journey.

The Downside of Social Media

We talk a bit about the benefit of social media. Ali didn’t have any social media for a long time, not even WhatsApp! Nevertheless, she had close contact with her friends and was informed about all meetings. For her, smartphones are the ultimate tool against boredom – even though boredom is actually quite important for us. When the boredom becomes too great, we get up and change something about our situation.

An Eventful Day Comes to an End

When the sun is gone, it cools down quickly, and we have to put on our jackets. On the way back home, we play chess in the metro and go to bed completely exhausted after she checkmates me at the kitchen table at 1:30 a.m. What an eventful day! I am very grateful to Ali for inviting me. Tomorrow will be very relaxing. But most of all, I am looking forward to Tuesday: That’s when the weekly ukulele club meets in Madrid. I am excited!