Mini TR - July 2022.
36 Hour Stopover in Madrid. I had booked JFK-TLV on the Iberia 50% off sale in 2020 for 60k miles RT in Business, hoping that the country would reopen in the near future.
After pushing it off 3 times before Israel reopened, in July 2022 it was finally time to fly.
Our red-eye flight landed at 6am in MAD, and the next flight was at 5 pm the next day. Iberia let us check our bags in early for the next flight, after which we headed to Madrid.
For the hotel, I booked the
Hotel Felix Grand Melia via Amex FHR to get the $200 credit which covered most of the stay. We were able to check in before 10am as the room was ready, and they converted the Amex restaurant credit from to Minibar and Room service credit. The
room was nice and the service was good.
Although Madrid has a lot to see, especially in the Arts, we wanted to focus on Jewish history as much as we could. After seeing that Madrid has little left we decided to take a last-minute day trip to Toledo, where some history is preserved far better.
The train is very comfortable and takes about half an hour from the Puerta De Atocha station, and left exactly on time. It’s 22 euro Round Trip,
booked online. Come to the station early, as it can be very disorienting with many platform levels.
We tried looking for a Jewish tour guide, but
Rabbi Hanoka was booked up and mentioned that many people moved away over the pandemic.
Mr. Bentoila no longer lives in Madrid and does not do tours.
He recommended another licensed guide he worked with, and we went with that as I didn’t have the energy to plan a self-guided tour. That was a mistake, as she had a very shallow knowledge of Jewish history or life in the 1100 years that Jews lived in Toledo. Aside from that, she seemed very avoidant about what happened in those times, with some mild justification thrown in for good measure. I don’t blame her for not wanting to be open about it, but that’s not what we came to hear about.
You’d be better off reading Wikipedia for the few sites that there are.
If you are going to be in Toledo and do not have a Jewish guide,
THIS link has a decent overview of most of the Jewish places, with a better writeup than we got from our guide.
The place IMO that is a
must-see is the restored
Transito Synagogue, with its super detailed artwork and wording on the walls.


The
another synagogue still standing is still owned by the church, and feels exactly like one, to the point where I didn't even take any photos
Aside from their list, you can also stop at:
- Iglesia de San Vicente- supposedly this was the Church used by the inquisition officers, with the big building behind it serving as their Offices (Where neighbors would come to make reports etc)
- Plaza Zocodover: One of the main Plazas in the center of the city, where Auto-Da-Fes were held in 16th century and on (There is an Illustration of one in the Sephardic Museum) (This is an example of one of the things the guide neglected to mention).
- We exited the city via the St Martin bridge which is on the opposite side of the city from the train station. From there you can call a taxi to take you around via a scenic route that circles the city from the other side of the river back to the station. You get to see the whole city in a single vista, which is a great way to “take it all in” after all the narrow streets that you walk through. Taxis were about 5 euros. The number to call is +34-925-25-50-50 (they might not speak English).

Nothing in my life gives me context to process what it must have been like to have a community on one tiny corner (See Image

)
of a tiny fortress city for over a thousand years, before being erased with barely a trace. Even the 2 surviving Shuls are both only known by the names of the Churches that occupied them since the expulsion.
Reading and seeing what’s left of these places stirs very deep feelings, both good and bad.
The next morning, we headed to the Royal Palace and found that the inside was closed for the monthly changing of the guards (Usually every 1st Wednesday of the month) If you want to go inside, book entry tickets in advance as they sell out fast, and the line to get in without a reservation can be hours long.

We then walked around to Plaza Mayor (also the site of an
Auto-Da-Fe among it’s many other uses since the 11th century) before eating lunch at the Pizzaria and heading to the airport.
Taxis and Ubers were between 5 and 10 euros for each ride, aside from the airport which was under 20.
There are E-scooters and bikes everywhere if you are into that.
Kosher: On the Chabad site he lists 3 restaurants under the local Sefaradi Rabbi’s hechsher.
Pizza Rimon: Operated by a Frum Jew, Chalav Yisroel with an additional hechsher from France as well.
Barganzo - Hummus and Dairy. Chalav Stam, local Hechsher only. Lots of pride flags etc.
There's a meat place I don’t know anything about it.
They all close in the afternoon for 1-2 hours (Siesta), so check your schedule!
There are also 2 kosher groceries near the Shul as well as a Kosher Section in El Corte Ingles Madrid Store.