Toledo

Toledo is a lovely looking city on a hill overlooking the river Tagus.

The first impression, as I headed to my hostel they night was: this place is not bike-friendly, though not really because of its design. It’s just an old city with steep hills and cobbled streets. I’ve also found out that Google Maps’ bicycle routing is pretty bad, not being too shy about sending me through pedestrian streets and steep hills, some even with stairs.

I had a lazy day where I mostly got caught up on my internet and did the previous blog post. I also left to do laundry. Pedaling without all the extra weight felt like I was on a race, compared to normal. This is the only cycling in this post.

About this city… It’s old. There were people here all the way back to the bronze age. In the middle ages, it was home to jews, muslims and christians alike. Even if those relations were strained or outright hostile — there were your typical jew expulsions and turning places of worship from religion X to religion Y — the heritage from those three cultures persists in the city to this day. It was also the imperial capital of Spain / the Holy Roman Empire for a few decades in the 16th century, before the court moved to Madrid.

My visit starts at a Jesuit church. The towers promised a nice view into the city, and they delivered. Inside, I found out there’s a tourist bracelet you can buy that gets you into 7 different monuments for 10 Euro, so I got it.

Up next was a visit to the cathedral, which was nearby, as you can see from the large tower in the last picture. It’s a gothic cathedral, built on top of the old mosque from the 13th to the 15th century. The builders enjoyed using light as a “building material”, which is why it features a whole lot of stained glass. City hall was on the way, so there’s a shot of it, too.

Sadly, you can’t go up the tower, here. Then it was time for my first visit to a synagogue.

And a monastery — San Juan de los Reyes.

A hostel roommate mentioned a mirador where you can see all of the old town. It’s a 40 minute walk from town, but it’s well worth it, I think.

I had a rather basic lunch on a nearby terrace, where I got to sample the local beer, which was quite good.

By chance, I met Saresh, another hostel roommate here, so I didn’t have to make the walk back on my own. We parted ways when we got to town and, to have a rest, I took a selfie with a raven:

Monumentally speaking, the afternoon wasn’t as interesting. I’ll just leave a few pictures here.

The most important square in town, Plaza Zocodover, is where most of the nightlife is concentrated, nowadays.

At this square, you can see how much the locals enjoy marzipan. There’s at least three different stores fully dedicated to it. I don’t share that particular taste, however, so I settled for another local delicacy. Toledanas are biscuits made from a crumbly dough, with crispy stuff on top and pumpkin jam inside. They’re decently tasty.

The largest, most imposing building in town is the Alcázar, a fortified palace. Nowadays, it is shared by the military museum, which I didn’t visit, and a library, which I did, because the last floor has a cafeteria, which promised some amazing views. It had them, though only through windows, which is why the pictures don’t do them justice.

By now, I felt I’d seen the main attractions in town, so I went due a walk in a path by the river.

By this time, I was pretty beat, so I took a bus back up to the hostel. It was great to be off the saddle one day, and Toledo was a great place to do it. It’s also been sunny since I arrived there, so that’s a bonus. I hope you enjoyed this post and that you have a great day!