There was a time – not very long ago – when travel was still relatively carefree; no coronavirus face masks in sight. We were lucky enough to spend a month in Spain in such circumstances.

Spain has many faces. Some of them are set in anger. I have absolutely no pearls of wisdom to share regarding Catalonia’s potential independence, but it did affect our travel itinerary.  

My partner in life and I decided to skip Barcelona, a favourite of ours, because of its recurring unrest. Our first stop was Madrid.

We Finns like peace and quiet. Hence we chose a hotel near Retiro park. The park is a haven of peace and quiet in a city of over 3 million people (over 6 million if you count the whole metropolitan area).

To our delight, we stumbled upon on a row of old-school book vendors at one of the park’s entrances. It was a welcome chance to escape our over-digitalised world for a while. We had a grand time revisiting old literary favourites and finding new must-read books.

Most major capital cities boast several excellent museums. Madrid is no exception. Picasso’s Guernica is one of its most famous offerings. My personal favourite, Vincent van Gogh, was represented too. The art world often reaches out into the streets. Many cities sport cows as part of the Cow Parade, Madrid has its ladies.

A week of museums, palaces, parks and good food was too short. All too soon it was time to move on to Valencia. The high-speed train commute was quick and comfortable. Again, no face masks and disinfectants in sight. Those were the days.

In 2012 Valencia earned the headline: “Valencia: the ghost city that’s become a symbol of Spain’s spending woes”.  The city has a history of overspending. Projects such as the now obsolete Formula One circuit and the well-frequented, but unbelievably expensive, City of Arts and Sciences abound.

Today the headlines have more of a “from boom to bust and back again”  feel to them. Valencia is clearly a city that is not afraid to dream big. One hopes that its next dream will include the erasing of the divide between the main city and the seaside (all of it, not only the port).

We initially added Valencia to our itinerary because of Santiago Calatrava, the world famous architect who nearly bankrupted his home city with his designs for the City of Arts and Sciences.

Irrespective of whether you are interested in modern architecture  or not, Valencia’s charming old town is a definite “must see”. Remember to look up while you are at it, especially in the Central Market Hall with its beautiful dome, the Municipal Ceramics Museum and the ornate churches.

After a week in Valencia, we were off again; this time by plane to Palma de Mallorca. The Spanish airlines’ domestic flights are unbelievably affordable. Our plane was on time, the airports were modern in both ends. After what felt like years spent at JFK waiting for the always late Jet Blue evening flights from New York to Tampa, we couldn’t believe our luck.

We felt even more fortunate when we saw the view from our aparthotel, Vila D’Amunt in Palma and took our first walk down to one of the main promenades.

The feeling continued as we stumbled upon an excellent (temporary) Robert Capa exhibition, enjoyed delicious pies bought in one of Palma’s best bakeries, and took the historic train to Soller: a town with good food, interesting museums and a beautiful port a short tram ride away. So much to do, so much to see.

And so little time… Our Mallorca week was over before we knew it. It was time to enjoy the affordable Spanish air travel again. “Good old” Malaga was our final destination.

Malaga has really got its act together lately. The city’s waterfront is beautiful and well appreciated by both locals and tourists. The same is true for the many nice pedestrian promenades. Two castles give Malaga its own historical feel.

Malaga is a city for enjoying life to the fullest with friends and family. Which is why we chose to meet up with family there to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.

Why am I blogging about a month in Spain with everything that is happening in the world? There are so many more important things to cover: the coronavirus scare and its effects on world health and economy, the Turkish situation, the presidential election in the US – just to name a few.  Last but not least, there are major longer term issues such as climate change that deserve constant attention.

Yet sometimes you need to focus on the positive to push forward. Especially at a time when it feels like World War III is already ongoing. The weapons are just different. Our health and our economies are attacked with bits and small infectious agents instead of cannons and soldiers.

One thing remains the same – nothing good comes out of wallowing in fear and despair.

Revisiting the memories of a month in Spain is a fine way to keep the bogeyman in line.