Heaven, Hell or just molten chocolate?

Monday, September 17, 2018

Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain and Canary Islands

Elenka and I are in Madrid with Renatka Schoenbach and her eldest daughter Simone (Simonka). Today, the youngster returns to Deutschland. Mum will stay by our sides for a further three weeks, in an attempt to keep her New World friends focused on Old World ways.

Last night we went to Chocolatería San Ginés, a 24/7 joint where you order a bowl of molten chocolate and long, thin doughnuts (churros) for dipping. So popular is San Ginés that there is almost always a line up. In an attempt to perhaps capitalize on the doughnut craze, Tim Horton’s, a Canadian doughnut shop, is now open for business nearby. But will any old doughnut do in Madrid? I think not — customers are few at the new Tim Horton’s.

It’s a twenty minute walk from our apartment adjacent Plaza Mayor, in central Madrid, to the Prado Museum. Madrid’s streets are lined with five and six storey buildings - stores on the street level, apartments above. I’ve not seen a single apartment in all of our walkings that doesn’t have a Juliet balcony. Oddly though, the only people I’ve seen on any of the balconies are a life-size puppet, Elenka and the two Schoenbachs.

Our apt, off Plaza Mayor - we had 3 of the 4 ...

On a more solemn note:

For both believers, and those who question the notion of the hereafter, a stroll through the Prado to see the art of the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance is a must. The scare tactics used by the 14th - 15th century artists of-the-time were a means of keeping sheep on their narrow path. Of course, if you were deemed to be non sheep-worthy, downwardness was your only option.

One of Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch’s (b1450 - d1516) top masterpieces, ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’ is housed in the Prado. Try imagining 20th century science fiction, created in the 14th century. That’s what this garden is all about. It’s a triptych, three panels hinged together, each showing a different stage of being. The first panel ‘Eden’ shows a promise of happiness and future fulfillment. The second panel depicts all the bad - and really weird - things humans might do in their quest for happiness and fulfillment. The third panel is the ‘Last Judgement’. And this, the Garden’s, Last Judgement is cringeworthy to the max, almost certain to scare the bejesus into you.

Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights is available in different formats for between $7 - $30 on amazon.com. Beware though, a course of mild sedatives might be advised to help you through the journey.

Bosch’s perhaps more famous work ‘Hell’ is currently housed at a gallery in Venice. I’m happy we’re not going to Italy on this trip.