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xtruss · 3 years

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German Neo-Nazis Are Still on Facebook. And They’re Using It to Make Money.

There are at least 54 Facebook profiles belonging to 39 entities that the German government and civil society groups have flagged as extremist. Those entities have nearly 268,000 subscribers and friends on Facebook alone.

— September 24, 2021

— By Erika Kinetz

This story is part of a collaboration between The Associated Press and FRONTLINE that examines challenges to the ideas and institutions of traditional U.S. and European democracy.

It’s the premier martial arts brand in Europe for right-wing extremists. German authorities have twice banned their signature tournament, called Kampf der Nibelungen, or Battle of the Nibelungs. But the group still thrives on Facebook, where organizers maintain multiple pages, as well as on Instagram and YouTube, which they use to spread their ideology, draw in recruits and make money through ticket sales and branded merchandise.

The Battle of the Nibelungs — a reference to an old heroic epic much loved by the Nazis — is one of dozens of far-right groups that continue to leverage mainstream social media for profit, despite Facebook’s and other platforms’ repeated pledges to purge themselves of extremism.

All told, there are at least 54 Facebook profiles belonging to 39 entities that the German government and civil society groups have flagged as extremist, according to research shared with The Associated Press by the Counter Extremism Project, a nonprofit policy and advocacy group formed to combat extremism. The groups have nearly 268,000 subscribers and friends on Facebook alone.

CEP also found 39 related Instagram profiles, 16 Twitter profiles and 34 YouTube channels, which have gotten over half a million views. Nearly 60% of the profiles were explicitly aimed at making money, displaying prominent links to online shops or photos promoting merchandise.

The groups are a who’s who of Germany’s far-right music and combat sports scenes. “These are the ones who build the infrastructure where people meet, make money, enjoy music and recruit,” said Alexander Ritzmann, the lead researcher on the project. “It’s most likely not the guys I’ve highlighted who will commit violent crimes. They’re too smart. They build the narratives and foster the activities of this milieu, where violence then appears.”

CEP said it focused on groups that want to overthrow liberal democratic norms and believe the white race is under siege and needs to be preserved, with violence if necessary. None has been banned, but almost all have been described in German intelligence reports as extremist, CEP said.

Online the groups seem harmless. They avoid blatant violations of platform rules, such as using hate speech or posting swastikas, which is generally illegal in Germany.

By carefully toeing the line of propriety, these key architects of Germany’s far-right use the power of mainstream social media to promote festivals, fashion brands, music labels and mixed martial arts tournaments that can generate millions in sales and connect like-minded thinkers from around the world.

But simply cutting off such groups could have unintended, damaging consequences.

“We don’t want to head down a path where we are telling sites they should remove people based on who they are but not what they do on the site,” said David Greene, civil liberties director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco.

Giving platforms wide latitude to sanction organizations deemed undesirable could give repressive governments leverage to eliminate their critics. “That can have really serious human rights concerns,” he said. “The history of content moderation has shown us that it’s almost always to the disadvantage of marginalized and powerless people.”

German authorities banned the Battle of the Nibelungs event in 2019, on the grounds that it was not actually about sports but instead was grooming fighters with combat skills for political struggle.

In 2020, as COVID raged, organizers planned to stream the event online — using Instagram, among other places, to promote the webcast. A few weeks before the planned event, however, over 100 black-clad police in balaclavas broke up a gathering at a motorcycle club in Magdeburg, where fights were being filmed for the broadcast, and hauled off the boxing ring, according to local media reports.

The Battle of the Nibelungs is a “central point of contact” for right-wing extremists, according to German government intelligence reports. The organization has been explicit about its political goals — namely to fight against the “rotting” liberal democratic order — and has drawn adherents from across Europe as well as the United States.

In 2018, members of a California white supremacist street fighting club called the Rise Above Movement, and its founder, Robert Rundo, attended the Nibelungs tournament. A few months later, four Rise Above members were arrested on rioting charges for taking their combat training to the streets at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. A number of Battle of Nibelungs alums have landed in prison, including for manslaughter, assault and attacks on migrants.

National Socialism Today, which describes itself as a “magazine by nationalists for nationalists,” has praised Battle of the Nibelungs and other groups for fostering a will to fight and motivating “activists to improve their readiness to fight back.

But there are no references to professionalized, anti-government violence on the group’s social media feeds. Instead, it’s positioned as a health-conscious lifestyle brand, which sells branded tea mugs and shoulder bags.

“Exploring nature. Enjoying home!” gushes one Facebook post above a photo of a musclebound guy on a mountaintop wearing Resistend-branded sportswear, one of the Nibelung tournament’s sponsors. All the men in the photos are pumped and white, and they are portrayed enjoying wholesome activities, such as long runs and alpine treks.

Elsewhere on Facebook, Thorsten Heise — who has been convicted of incitement to hatred and called “one of the most prominent German neo-Nazis” by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in the German state of Thuringia — also maintains multiple pages. Frank Kraemer, who the German government has described as a ”right-wing extremist musician,” uses his Facebook page to direct people to his blog and his Sonnenkreuz webshop, which sells white nationalist and COVID conspiracy books, as well as sports nutrition products and ”Vaccine rebel” T-shirts for girls.

Battle of the Nibelungs declined to comment. Resistend, Heise and Kraemer didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Facebook told AP it employs 350 people whose primary job is to counter terrorism and organized hate, and that it is investigating the pages and accounts flagged in this reporting. “We ban organizations and individuals that proclaim a violent mission, or are engaged in violence,” said a company spokesperson, who added that Facebook had banned more than 250 white supremacist organizations, including groups and individuals in Germany. The spokesperson said the company had removed over 6 million pieces of content tied to organized hate globally between April and June and is working to move even faster.

Google said it has no interest in giving visibility to hateful content on YouTube and was looking into the accounts identified in this reporting. The company worked with dozens of experts to update its policies on supremacist content in 2019, resulting in a five-fold spike in the number of channels and videos removed.

Twitter says it’s committed to ensuring that public conversation is “safe and healthy” on its platform and that it doesn’t tolerate violent extremist groups. “Threatening or promoting violent extremism is against our rules,” a spokesperson told the AP.

Robert Claus, who wrote a book on the extreme-right martial arts scene, said that the sports brands in CEP’s data set are “all rooted in the militant far-right neo-Nazi scene in Germany and Europe.” One of the founders of the Battle of the Nibelungs, for example, is part of the violent Hammerskin network, and another early supporter, the Russian neo-Nazi Denis Kapustin, also known as Denis Nikitin, has been barred from entering the European Union for 10 years, he said.

Banning such groups from Facebook and other major platforms would potentially limit their access to new audiences, but it could also drive them deeper underground, making it more difficult to monitor their activities, he said.

“It’s dangerous because they can recruit people,” he said. “Prohibiting those accounts would interrupt their contact with their audience, but the key figures and their ideology won’t be gone.”

Thorsten Hindrichs, an expert in Germany’s far-right music scene who teaches at the University of Mainz, said there’s a danger that the apparently harmless appearance of Germany’s right-wing music heavyweights on Facebook and Twitter, which they mostly use to promote their brands, could help normalize the image of extremists.

Extreme-right concerts alone were drawing around 2 million euros a year in revenue before COVID, he estimated, not counting sales of CDs and branded merchandise. He said kicking extremist music groups off Facebook is unlikely to hit sales too hard, as there are other platforms they can turn to, like Telegram and Gab, to reach their followers. “Right-wing extremists aren’t stupid; they will always find ways to promote their stuff,” he said.

None of these groups’ activity on mainstream platforms is obviously illegal, though it may violate Facebook guidelines that bar “dangerous individuals and organizations” that advocate or engage in violence online or offline. Facebook says it doesn’t allow praise or support of Nazism, white supremacy, white nationalism or white separatism, and bars people and groups that adhere to such “hate ideologies.”

Last week, Facebook removed almost 150 accounts and pages linked to the German anti-lockdown Querdenken movement, under a new “social harm” policy, which targets groups that spread misinformation or incite violence but didn’t fit into the platform’s existing categories of bad actors.

But how these evolving rules will be applied remains murky and contested.

“If you do something wrong on the platform, it’s easier for a platform to justify an account suspension than to just throw someone out because of their ideology. That would be more difficult, with respect to human rights,” said Daniel Holznagel, a Berlin judge who used to work for the German federal government on hate speech issues and also contributed to CEP’s report. “It’s a foundation of our Western society and human rights that our legal regimes do not sanction an idea, an ideology, a thought.”

In the meantime, there’s news from the folks at the Battle of the Nibelungs. “Starting today you can also dress your smallest ones with us,” reads a June post on their Facebook feed. The new line of kids wear includes a pretty shell-pink T-shirt for girls, priced at 13.90 euros. The boy model, in black, already has boxing gloves on.

— FRONTLINE | PBS

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the-real-tc · 5 years

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Review! Ep. 1208: Stress Fractures

Took me long enough to get all my thoughts down about this, but I quite enjoyed this episode. Two thumbs up to Alexandra Clarke and the whole cast and crew.

Euro Tour or Bust!

All that Georgie has been striving for, sacrificing for, training for, exerting herself for… it apparently all comes down to this one event… An event she simply can’t miss… So of course she misses it. Why? It starts like this: Wyatt has been frustrated by her rigorous training because it has meant she’s had no time for him, poor baby. But now that Olivia has broken up with Adam, Wyatt wants to cheer up his friend and has bought tickets to a concert in Calgary. He begs Georgie to come along. After much cajoling, she eventually does go, if only to escape the camping trip from hell…

Everything Old is New Again!

With Lou, nothing is really new. Just her same old frustrating habits: Jumping to conclusions, barreling ahead with decisions without consulting with anyone else, and taking offense easily have been her trademark personality traits from Day 1, so of course it is no different when she comes back home “for good.”

Lou took Nicole’s offer and sold her shares to be a silent partner in the Maggie’s franchise — all so she could afford aforementioned Euro Tour. She’s so darn proud of herself for being able to help her daughter pursue her dreams that she doesn’t even tell Peter.

She also comes home with an idea for “Pioneer Days” at the Dude Ranch. Families “disconnect” from technology and go on a covered wagon ride/camping trip like the pioneers did. Sleeping under the stars, fireside cooking, etc. (Sounds like a great way to get food poisoning and some terrible water-borne illness, but whatever.) Lou manages to rope Mitch into things; Jen and Peter also tag along, which is fine, since Ty and Amy bailed out so they could handle problems with a certain Fairfield horse…

Shooting Star… Shooting Up Painkillers!

With Lisa still away in Istanbul (not Constantinople! Or maybe France, we never know for sure anymore, it’s been so long since we’ve seen her) Fairfield manager Laura has been taking some liberties with her boss’ horses. We knew from a previous episode that Laura said Lisa had high expectations for Star this racing season; Ty was cautiously optimistic, but his manner indicated Star would be out of it for the foreseeable future. Maybe Laura thought if Star won a few races, her boss would be happy.

When Ty and Amy find out Star raced—and won—on a foreleg with a stress fracture, a blood test conducted on the sly indicates the presence of a load of painkillers. When Team Ty & Amy confront Laura about her doping scheme, saying they will have to tell Lisa about it, Laura has a chilling comeback: She will blab to the press if they blab to Lisa. Ty’s career would be ruined, because, gee, he’s the one who provided the drugs in the first place (never mind the drugs were for other horses, not Star). Of course Fairfield’s reputation would also go down, ruining everything Lisa built.

Jack counsels the pair not to trouble Lisa with this news quite yet, since she’s about to get a plane to come home. But wait! She isn’t! Aunt Evelyn’s health takes a turn for the worse, so she won’t be coming home “this weekend”.

Bust…

After the concert, Wyatt, Georgie and Adam find themselves trapped in the parking garage stairwell because Wyatt forgot the fob-thingy that would grant them proper access. This means Georgie isn’t getting home before curfew; isn’t getting a good night’s rest and is probably going to miss her event. She is not amused. Wyatt tries to make light of the situation; Georgie blows up at him. Already forlorn Adam is helplessly caught in the middle. By the time a guard comes by next morning and they speed off to get “Cinderella” to her ball, Wyatt’s Mustang decides it’s the perfect time to come up lame. It’s at this point that Georgie dejectedly admits defeat.

Petulant Pioneers

The camping trip is not going well for Lou due to her amazing ability to stew over things. First, she can’t light a fire, which Jen easily manages. Then, there’s the fact that Mitch is not only still seeing Maya, he’s actually now engaged to her. (So much for rekindling *that* fire!) Peter gets upset when he learns he was kept out of the loop about paying for Georgie’s Euro Trip. Lou is upset to hear Jen and Peter had dinner together in Vancouver earlier. She can’t help but feel like she’s being replaced, and their yucky pioneer dinner ends on a very sour note. Fortunately, Mitch manages to convince her later that night during a lovely fireside chat that she is undoubtedly, 100%, one-of-a-kind, and he can’t imagine why she ever thought she could be replaced. Morning comes, and Lou is in a better mood. She mends fences with Peter and Jen, and she vows to “let go” of a lot of things.

Race Against Time…

Laura seems bent on ruining Star. Or something. Because despite the stress fracture, she has entered the horse in another race. Ty and Amy tear out of Heartland in a mad quest to stop this from happening. Will they get there in time?? Episode 1209 will tell us for sure.

Final Thoughts:

Adam Parker has the best line this episode as he deadpans: “Spoiler alert—tears will be shed” as he whips out a playlist of songs written C minor, a key which apparently epitomizes heartbreak.

Amy and Ty as first-time parents are adorable. (Two phone alerts aren’t enough to wake to slumbering Lyndy, but a toppled toy clattering to the floor… “Mommy..”)

Jack installing a wine fridge for when Lisa gets back is a nice gesture, provided she ever really does come home. She still lives there, right? We think so, since she keeps sending wine there. Oh, and she’s probably going to need all that wine after she finds out the mess she’s coming back to with Fairfield and Laura and Shooting Star.

I really hope Lisa straightens things out, because what Laura is doing is highly illegal, and Fairfield's reputation really could be ruined, right along with Ty & Amy's fledgling partnership. Katie 3.0! I mentioned it earlier, but it’s great to have Lou and Peter’s daughter back on our screens in the person of Ziya Matheson. Please stay. We don’t need a Katie 4.0, okay?

The Pretender

This is sort of from left field.

That business card with the phrase “Where Everything Old is New Again” was seen in an episode of a ‘90s TV series called The Pretender. Of course it was unintentional on Alexandra Clarke’s part, but I found it amusing that phrase popped up in Stress Fractures.

The Pretender episode in which this business card appeared happened to also have a certain guest star we know named Jessica Steen.

(Yes, I am such a nerd.)

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moayoub1 · 4 years

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10 Things to do in Marrakech on a Budget

If you think that that you simply got to spend a fortune to enjoy Marrakech, think again! Sure there are many places where you'll drop many euros an evening for an area and eat extravagant “Moroccan” meals, but you certainly don’t have to! With dozens of flights from Europe arriving everyday Marrakech may be a cheap holiday and cheap weekend break. Once you’ve got your flight and hotel squared away don’t worry about breaking the bank, instead save your money while still enjoying all the town has got to offer once you visit Marrakech.

Visit the choice Gardens Sure, the Majorelle Gardens are beautiful but they also charge an admission of 50+ dirham per person counting on the choices you select. it's going to not be tons of cash, but if you’re on a budget every dirham counts. Instead, take a rehearse the opposite two gardens centrally located near the medina. this is often one among the free things to try to to in Marrakech. Arset Moulay Abdeslam Cyber Garden or Kotoubia Gardens are on the brink of the medina and wonderful. within the Cyber Garden, you'll devour free wi-fi (note the web are often spotty) to see emails or post a Facebook update and find a clean comfort station. The Koutoubia Gardens also are an excellent spot to steer and capture some pictures of the towering minaret with fauna and flora around.

Combined admission to Musee de Marrakech, Almoravid Koubba, and Ben Youssef Madrassa

Visit the Musee de Marrakech first and buy a combined ticket for 60 dirhams which will offer you access to the three sites. If you don’t speak French the Marrakech Museum could also be a touch of a challenge but you'll still observe the various traditional items on display. The Almoravid Kubba is that the only piece of Almoravid architecture remaining in Marrakech (dating from the 1100s) and is a bit of history. Lastly Ben Youssef Madrassa -my favorite of the three. This once served as a faculty (madrassa means school) and attendees lived upstairs. There isn’t much remaining apart from the walls but the architecture and artisan work is gorgeous.

(Worth noting the Ben Youssef Madrassa is closed for renovations through 2019 making this combined ticket not as beneficial until afterward)

Eat on the road While reluctant travelers might not desire eating street food for the intrepid it is often not only a delicious meal but an excellent thanks to economizing. Moroccans’ don’t eat Moroccan food in restaurants – they eat it reception. So if you’re sitting down and paying for a 100 dirham tajine know that you’re getting straight-up tourist fare.

If however, you wander into a little shop serving roast chickens, Harira soup, or skillet-fried Msemmen you’re eating sort of a Moroccan – which means eating on a Moroccan budget too. For breakfast, a cup of tea and Sfinge (doughnuts) will set you back 5-10 dirham (about 1 euro), while a dinner of grilled chicken skewers with Moroccan salads and bread may cost 20-30 dirham (2-3 euros). You’ll find a spread of offerings in the least times of the day.

Free Cultural Performances

Cafe Clock is comparatively new in town but they need some amazing offerings, alongside great food. just like the Cafe Clock Facebook page to stay up so far with all of the items that are happening but make certain to drop by on Thursdays for traditional Moroccan storytelling (in English and Arabic) and Sunday nights for his or her concerts. Treat yourself to a cup of tea or one among their milkshakes with homemade ice cream!

Watch Craftsmen at Work

The souks aren’t only for shopping. The further you walk back the more frequently you’ll see workshops and not just shopfronts. Men are often seen piecing together leather shoes or carving wooden implements. Any number of other artisans are going to be busy too. If you are doing want to require an image, make certain to ask first and offer some change as a polite many thanks (5-10 dirham is acceptable).

Take an area Hammam

There is a good sort of hammams in Marrakech; from traditional neighborhood hammams to ultra-fancy spas like hammams and everything in between. If you would like to experience a hammam but are trying to find an inexpensive hammam in Marrakech, then choose the local bath. Entrance is 10-20 dirham but if you’d sort of a full scrub by an attendant also the soap if you haven’t purchased elsewhere it'll cost about 50 dirhams. Compare this to 200-500 dirham that you simply can spend during a mid-range hammam. the likelihood is that you’ll get a far better scrub with the cheaper option anyway!

Low Entry Fee Attractions

To visit the Badi Palace, Bahia Palace, or Saadian Tombs will cost just 10 dirhams each. get on the lookout there'll be people milling about offering to offer you a guided tour but you'll always decline. this may economize and you'll find much information before time in guidebooks and online.

Walk in the Mellah

The Mellah is that the old Jewish quarter of Marrakech. Here you’ll see a distinctively different sort of architecture. See if you'll find the synagogue (no longer operational) and make certain to go to the spice quarter across from the Gold Souk. A walk down the streets here causes you to feel almost like you’re during a completely different setting.

Free Exhibitions A great resource for free of charge exhibitions is to follow the local foreign language schools. There are two English centers, the French Institute, a Spanish Institute, and a German center in Marrakech – and possibly other languages also. These centers often host talks, movies, and performances within the language that's taught there and sometimes on topics concerning Morocco. Most of the time they're free and hospitable to the general public.

Sit during a rooftop cafe overlooking Djem al Fna

For the worth of a drink, you'll sit above the square and watch the action. Many rooftop terraces require you to shop for something, but even a soda or bottle of water will suffice. Enjoy the music below, people watch, read a book, whatever you’d wish to do these are an excellent spot to relax and take in the Marrakech vibe. If you set about 45 minutes before sunset you’ll be more likely to urge a seat overlooking the square as most of the people come just before this point and seats are at a premium.

A few more cost-saving tips; take the bus from the airport to Djem al Fna. It’s one of the nicer city buses and is never full. Cost is 30dh If you would like to require a taxi walk outside of the airport grounds to the most street. it'll cut the value of the cab fare a minimum of in half. Visit within the low season – remember even wintertime in Marrakech is nicer than much of the world! Stick with local drinks. Alcohol is out there and legal but it’s very expensive. Check with your hotel or raid for discounts or free admission/cover charges for clubs if you're curious about this. Negotiate on any large purchases you propose to form. But prices are assailed smaller things like water, fruit, food, etc.

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touristguidebuzz · 7 years

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8 Things No One Tells You About… Madrid

Madrid will immediately charm you with its regal monuments, tree-lined boulevards and energetic, happy ambience. With an up-and-coming food scene, new hotels and bars popping up everywhere and some of the best art in the world, Madrid is perfect for any type of traveler — it’s even the site of World Pride this summer, so head on over! Here are eight things you may not know about this fascinating European capital that can help you have an incredible trip.

1. The Burning Question: To Siesta or Not to Siesta?

I’ve lived in Madrid for nine years and visitors still ask me, “Are you taking the siesta? Do Spanish people nap every day? Should I nap in the middle of the day? Why do businesses close from 2:00pm to 5:00pm?”

The truth is, most people don’t come home in the middle of the day for naps. While many office workers have a two-hour afternoon break before heading back to work until 7:00pm or 8:00pm, most people use this time not to sleep but to have a leisurely lunch, head to the gym or run errands. While many smaller shops, pharmacies and businesses do close midday for a lunch break and reopen from 5:00pm to 9:00pm, most grocery stores, malls, tourist attractions and larger shops stay open all day. It’s important to keep in mind that siestas become dramatically more frequent and longer in July and August, when temperatures can easily reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Many homes, small shops and restaurants don’t have air conditioning, so the only respite for the people who live and work there is to close the shutters and lay down for a bit. If you’re visiting, don’t feel bad about taking a siesta. It’s the perfect time for a rest while many shops close and your jet lag kicks in. Plus, you’ll be nice and refreshed for a big night out on the town.

Streets are empty during a hot summer afternoon. Siesta time! Image courtesy of lavendertime via Getty Images.

2. Night Owls, Rejoice!

It’s no secret that Madrileños live according to a different kind of schedule. Spaniards usually take a 20-minute break around 11:00am for a coffee and tosta. This late-morning breakfast helps people stay full until lunch time, which is usually around 2:00pm to 3:00pm, but can be as late as 4:00pm to 5:00pm on weekends. Dinner is typically 9:30 to 10:00pm and it’s not unusual to have a weekend dinner with friends end at 1:00am or even 2:00am. Many restaurants in Madrid won’t even open until 1:30pm for lunch or 8:30pm for dinner. If you head out for a meal that early, expect to be the only customers in the restaurant — the good news is getting reservations at trendy or popular restaurants is easier if you request that early 8:30pm slot. Most restaurants that stay open nonstop all day are geared to tourists, so if you want to dine where the Spanish do, plan to shift your meal times. A siesta after lunch will ensure you can stay up late enough for a Spanish dinnertime.

Dinners can run long into the night in Madrid. Image courtesy of Alex Segre via Getty Images.

3. Here Comes the Sun

Madrid wins when it comes to weather — it’s one of the sunniest European capitals, with more than 300 days of sunshine per year. Although it may be cold during the winter, it’s almost always clear and bright. Thanks to great weather year-round, locals and tourists can be out and about in this Spanish capital at any time of year.

Madrid is one of Europe’s sunniest capital cities. Image courtesy of vwalakte via Getty Images.

4. You’ll See the World’s Best Flamenco Dancers

While visions of Romani women stomping and twirling down the cobblestone streets of Andalusia come to mind when someone says “Flamenco” — the hilltop caves of Granada are famous for this traditional dance, as are other southern cities, like Seville — if you want to see the best shows in Spain, the capital city is where you’ll find them. The most talented and well-known flamenco dancers, singers and guitarists come to Madrid to train and perform, meaning the shows you’ll see in Madrid top even those in the places it calls home. One of the most famous flamenco spots in town is Corral de la Morería, which also has incredible gourmet cuisine if you want to combine a show with dinner. For something a little more local, Las Tablas is the place to be — it may seem understated, with its small collection of tables and a tiny stage, but you’re up so close to the dancers, you’ll really feel the passion of the dance. Clapping and singing alongside the locals in a more spontaneous flamenco environment happens Saturday nights after 11:00pm at La Taranta, a bar in the La Latina neighborhood.

Some of Spain’s best flamenco can be found in Madrid. Image courtesy of Vanish_Point via Getty Images.

5. There’s Always a Feast at Madrid’s Markets

Food markets are the ticket to Madrid’s culinary scene. Although more touristy markets like the beautiful Mercado de San Miguel or the trendy three-story Mercado de San Antón are must-sees for first-time visitors, your taste buds will thank you for hitting up some of the more local markets. Try the Mercado de Antón Martín for more multicultural bites, or the unpretentious Mercado de San Fernando for wine, tapas and chatter. Pop-up shopping markets happen year-round in funky, hipster areas like Malasaña, while the food-truck market, MadrEat, happens for one weekend each month. Platea’s fancy entertainment and theater-style surroundings will keep you sipping vino all night long.

The San Miguel market is the most popular among tourists, but there are so many other amazing markets to check out in Madrid. Image courtesy of Mercado de San Miguel.

6. Get Your Party on at Some of Spain’s Wackiest Festivals

Madrid, and Spain in general, have pretty crazy holiday traditions. The Christmas lottery, El Gordo (“The Fat One”), is celebrated by almost every person in the country. Tickets cost about 20 euros (~$21), and you buy into a number that’s shared in groups, whether it’s your workplace, your local hangout pub or your family, so if you win, all of your friends or family win, too. On Dec. 22, children sing out the winning numbers on television as the whole country watches. Fresh off that fun, Spain’s version of April Fool’s Day, Día De Los Inocentes, is on Dec. 28, and Madrid’s holiday markets often feature gag gifts, crazy wigs and masks — all to be used in jest on this popular day for jokes and tricks. New Year’s Eve is celebrated by eating 12 grapes as 12 bells clang in the city square, Puerto del Sol, at midnight. Hilarity ensues as you watch your peers attempting to stuff a handful of giant grapes in their mouths every five seconds for a full minute, all while trying to do so yourself. And you’d better eat all 12 before the bells are up, or you’ll miss out on good luck all year. One of Madrid’s most beloved celebrations occurs in May for its patron saint, San Isidro, when weeklong festivities include a giant street fair, parades, delicious donuts (rosquillas) and concerts from world-famous artists in plazas and parks all around the city, as well as daily fireworks in El Retiro Park.

Thousands of people eat grapes on New Year’s Eve in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol Plaza. Images courtesy of Anadolu Agency via Getty Images.

7. Madrid Has Its Own Eiffel Tower, Tower Bridge and Trevi Fountain

You can tour all of Europe in Madrid at Parque Europa, which features 18 giant replicas of European monuments like Michelangelo’s David, the Berlin Wall, Tower Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, Trevi Fountain and a Greek amphitheater. Most of the monuments allow visitors to walk around them, through them or even climb them in some cases. The park also has plenty of fun activities for kids and families. Many visitors, especially from outside Spain don’t know about this special space because it’s about 15 miles outside the city center, but getting there isn’t complicated — it’s accessible by taxi, car or by taking bus line 224-A from Avenida America. Best of all, entry is free.

A glimpse of the London Bridge… in Madrid. Image courtesy of Mario Sánchez Prada via Flickr.

8. There Are Hidden Treasures in Buen Retiro Park

Many will recognize the beautiful lake in the middle of Madrid’s most well-known park, Buen Retiro (more commonly referred to as “El Retiro”). The Palacio de Cristal, a building entirely made of glass, is also a wonderful tourist attraction that houses art exhibits as an extension of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. But slipping into the lesser-known areas of the park, like the labyrinth rose garden, the old petting zoo (now closed, though the old structures and cages still stand) and the peacock garden (officially named Los Jardines de Cecilio Rodríguez), is immensely rewarding, not least because they aren’t nearly as crowded as the most popular sites. Stroll through the greenery as peacocks strut their stuff around small ponds, trees and impeccably trimmed bushes.

A regal peacock surveys his surroundings in Retiro Park. Image courtesy of IHervas via Getty Images.

Have you ever been to Madrid? What are your favorite things to do there?

Featured image courtesy of the author.

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No foreign transaction fees

1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs

Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards. For example, 50,000 points are worth $625 toward travel

No blackout dates or travel restrictions - as long as there's a seat on the flight, you can book it through Chase Ultimate Rewards

Intro APR on Purchases

N/A

Regular APR

16.49% - 23.49% Variable

Annual Fee

Introductory Annual Fee of $0 the first year, then $95

Balance Transfer Fee

5.00%

Recommended Credit

Excellent Credit

0 notes