The hottest place in Europe
Madrid has a grandness to it that, an imperial feeling that was somewhat lacking in parts of Lisbon. The buildings all seem taller, have more carved or painted ornamentation, and are basically littered with carvings and sculptures. Each of these giant sculptures adorning the top of buildings look big form the ground, so thymus be massive. Many of them actually refer back to Greek and Roman mythology. The imagery of Romulus and Remus shows up frequently, as are chariots, and other mythological beings. This interesting since we're in Spain. I asked a local why this was. "Its all about the power, the wealth. We want to look. like an important and rich city."
While we were in Spain the weather was extraordinarily hot. Daytime temperatures were getting up to 106 to 108°, with very little difference at night. We practice a lot of “desert walking," walking from one patch of shade to the next. It feels about ten degrees cooler in the shade, and that can mean the difference of being able to stay out much longer while exploring during the day. Spain may have always been hot in the summer, but this next level heat has to be a direct result of climate change. The Spanish people seem to be much more open and willing to talk frankly about climate change than the average American. It is taught their schools and spoken about freely in the news. One of the major museums downtown Madrid even had a fantastic exhibit about water usage, and innovations to help dry areas.
There have been several efforts to green the city. I saw so many personal rooftop gardens, and whole buildings with green roofs. Just next to the Caixa Forum, a rotating exhibition space, is arenovated power station where an entire exterior wall has been turned into a towering green installation. Designed by Patrick Blanc, the green wall has been up for the past four years and is thriving!!
Ohio has a very moderate climate, never too hot nor too cold. We’re basically Goldilocks' favorite state. However the extreme heat, during the middle of the day especially, in Spain leads to large cultural shifts and activity throughout the day. Siesta is a real thing! It’s not just something they up for cartoons or books, but a way of working around such hot temperatures. Many businesses will open for morning hours, then close another day, and re-open and what we would consider dinner time, around 6 PM. Many restaurants have a lot of outdoor seating, especially in the summer spring and fall months when heating inside would almost be too hot. like the night markets of Southeast Asia, the creates an entirely different night five and here in sleepy Ohio. People don’t even start going out to dinner until nine or 10 o’clock, and that’s the early bird crowd. Air-conditioning is something of a rarity in parts of Europe, Spain included. In fact just recently Spain has announced that they’re having some pretty extreme air-conditioning measures. Air-conditioning only kick on after 80°, and heat only at 55. This applies to buildings like offices and museums as well as personal residences.
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