Madrid vs Barcelona - Similarities and Differences

Madrid and Barcelona are the Los Angeles and San Francisco of Spain. Both beautiful in their own ways, yet vastly different.

My first time visiting Madrid, and a weekend full of partying, sight seeing and everything in between. Although we only had 2 days to enjoy the city I feel like we saw everything that we needed to see. Even after I lost my license and we were forced to spend the entire first day in a police station. We saw the parliament building, tried churros con chocolate, and even had the chance to walk through the famous Parque del Buen Retiro. By the end of the visit, I noticed some various comparisons and differences between the two big Spanish cities.

Madrid is massive. Almost 3 times as large as Barcelona. Everything from the streets widths, to the sizes of various monuments and parks. It really proves itself as the capital of Spain. Even the clubs are 4-5 stories high and full of different genres of music and dj's, I've never seen anything like it. Benito (my German friend from Cologne) and I were in shock of the pure extravagance of the city. Besides the tourists, it had the essence of a true metropolis. There was very little dirt or trash, as is so common in major cities, and bright green parks and trees scattered along various city blocks and parkways. Barcelona, in comparison, is very compact, and while it runs alongside the mediterranean sea, smog gets trapped by the surrounding mountains and spreads throughout the city. Don't get me wrong, Barcelona is a top European city. What it lacks in size and air quality, it makes up for in culture and ambiance. Madrid is simply more elegant.

La gente

Sure, everyone in Barcelona speaks Spanish but the majority prefer Catalan and are not as used to being open to tourists as Madrid natives are. I've also noticed that Madrid natives have a much more pale complexion, compared to that of beach-tanned Barcelona natives. They have darker features and a recognizable aura about them, that is so common with seaside residents.

Side notes:

- Most restaurants in Spain take a down payment of 15 euros but the meal includes a big appetizer, main course, bread, a drink and a dessert. I still haven't decided if it's a good deal or not.

- Make no mistake, for most of the year Barcelona is just as cold as San Francisco. However, at the end of May as it starts to get into the summer months, the heat has turned the city into a paradise.

- I've been getting used to the European Metric System. The only thing about the Fahrenheit system that makes it worthwhile? It makes no literal sense but it's much more exact.

Nightlife

Barcelona has the best nightlife in the world. As a student, beach clubs like Shoko, Opium and Pacha all allow free entry (with a 25% chance of getting robbed). It also hosts world famous clubs like RazzMaTazz, Apollo and Downtown. Some of the best bars in the world are in Barcelona including #1 Paradiso, #3 Sips, and #7 Two Schmucks. Each bar is unique in different ways. Monk Barcelona, a typical supermarket on the outside, but a extravagant and vibey bar on the inside. You can't miss out on the Barcelona nightlife.

Madrid is not as well known for their nightlife. However, during my time there, it became clear that only the wealthiest come to Madrid to party. Kapital Klub, takes an entry payment of 35 Euros, and holds 5 levels of cool party areas overlooking a wide main dance floor. Let's just say Spaniards know how to party.

The Bonanova Okupa Protests

These last 3 weeks my walks to school have been distracted by the large, bulky building occupied by the Catalonian squatters, or, the Okupas. The Okupas are a group of "hippies" who have taken over a building in the middle of the Barcelonan square, Bonanova, and have refused to pay rent. Locals are enraged and have gotten the government involved in the dilemma, leading to weeks of tension and police presence.

The problem:

Bonanova is home too many happy families, authentic businesses, and 3 different schools (including La Salle, my university). Children aged 5-24 constantly pass by the Okupas building, which, wouldn't be a problem if there weren't swear words, drugs and constant hardcore music coming from the complex. Not to mention barbed wire, stolen street signs, etc. The people surrounding the neighborhood despise the Okupas causing a final protest last Friday around the square. Many called for forceful action to take place, however, police never actually went into the building, causing a standstill and extending the tension in the area.Spanish laws protect the squatters from being forced out of their shelters and while there have already been skirmishes and violent run-in's between the Okupas and the police, hardly anything has changed and the squatters remain inside the building.

My view on the dilemma:

I've heard various debates supporting both sides. Some side with the Okupas, saying "What happens when their kicked out, where are they going to go". This reminded me of the similar squatting laws in San Francisco during the covid outbreak. Not long ago my family faced a life altering problem with a squatting renter in our residence. Without going into detail, my family and I have developed a deep hatred for these types of people. The Okupas are working class people, they have the money they need, or if they don't, they can easily find jobs around Barcelona to afford decent housing. At this point, the only reason they are continuing to defend their shelter is to prove a point to the government. Essentially stating, "I can do whatever I want, and you can't stop me" and so far, it's worked.

Schools have been closed on numerous occasions, protests are common and violence has ensued on multiple occasions. Spanish laws prevent Spanish officers from entering the complex forcefully, but I think this is the only way to solve the problem if the government wants to maintain safety and fairness in the city of Barcelona.

Thanks for listening

An American Onlooker

Morocco with the mates

Best Impressions: Everything's Cheap, Beautiful Orange Buildings to Match the Setting, Music and Performances Around the Clock, Mint Tea

Worst Impressions: Hot and Dry Weather, Constant Harassment from Store Owners, The Food Choices Similar in every Restaurants

Morocco has always been a mystery to me. Myriam, my childhood babysitter was born in Morocco and always spoke of her country and family, but that was as far as my knowledge of this NorthWest African country went. When my friend, Jacob, mentioned the idea of visiting I immediately jumped at the opportunity and we quickly found student programs to tour the country cheaply. Marrakesh, the Atlas Mountains and the Merzouga desert with everything in between, all in 4 days.

Tuesday was our first and only day in Marrakesh. A beautiful, but small city in the middle of Morocco. We were shocked to find that temperatures would reach over 40 commonly. The day was spent walking through narrow streets and across the city center where monkey and snake owners would look for any chance to scam you into holding their pets. It was difficult to enjoy yourself without getting scammed, especially as a white male, but our female friends were getting constantly physically and emotionally harassed which was obviously disheartening. I believe this is because they were not wearing the custom hijab that Arabic women are directed to wear by their religion. (An interesting fact - The long dark body suits women wear in the summer actually serve to cool them down. They sweat and the water turns the air funneling through their bodysuit into a cooling device)

The next morning we were picked up by our tour guide and started our tour of the Atlas mountains. Unreal viewpoints, filled with more green passages and creeks than I would've ever expected paved the roads and mountain sides. A constant breeze made the 6 hour van ride to Las Dades bearable, barely. Jacob (Polish), Even (Norweign/Eritrean) and I were looking for hotel pools along the ride to cool off until we finally came across the town of Ourzazate, the scene of the arena in Gladiator. During lunch we quickly ran across to a nice pool and jumped in. Only when we were leaving did hotel owners realize what was happening and started chasing us before we disappeared into the crowd of tourists buying trinkets and hijabs.

From Las Dades we finally entered the sandy area of the desert, the Dunes of Merzouga. Hightop orange mountains littered the horizon, smooth like ice cream or silk. The breeze brought crystal-like bits of sand to bite at our legs or arms, but who were we to complain, if the camels could deal with it so could we. The camel ride was long and bumpy but we finally got to the our destination, a smooth slope with a lone sand board at the top. I was one of the only ones to try the sand board on my feet, and, while it wasn't exactly smooth, I made it to the bottom without falling. The difficult part was climbing back up through soft sand, it felt like you were sinking further at every step.

That night we got to our desert camp. We washed off and ate dinner before a Moroccon show and dance. There were drums, costumes and lots of singing. Of course the Moroccon's saw a long, lanky Oliver and decided to pick on me to dance in front of the 120 people in the camp. I did my best before everyone else followed and before I knew it the entire camp was dancing in unison to the Moroccon drums. Definitely a life moment.

The next morning Jacob and I decided to pay an extra 25 euros to take quad bikes back to the van. 1 hour of gliding through the dunes at sunrise? A literal dream. I almost destroyed my quad bike when I rode down a steep hill to the chagrin of the Moroccon quad guides accompanying us. The sunrise came up in seconds and was worth the entire trip alone. The orange sand created a white aura in the sun that was unlike anything I've ever seen before. It was hard not to become emotional.

The rest of the day was taken over by a 10 hour road trip back to Marrakesh for our 6 Am flight the next morning. In the bus, I got to talking with an Algerian woman named Akila. She shared the history of her country and the history of the Arabic languages compared to North African dialects, it was great to learn about an area of the world that I know so little about. Traveling so extensively through Morocco was was one of the best experiences of my life and I recommend it to anyone that wants to learn about North African culture.

Moroccon Oddities:

• moroccan women wear full body suits no matter the weather (explained in blog)

• roof tops have glass spikes, not sure why

• wild cats and kittens in every store and along every street corner

• motorcycles litter narrow walkways

• there are literal oasis's throughout areas of the desert with water, palm trees, etc.

• the sun is much more white than usual

• coca cola ads in random creeks and on camel shelters