✈ Keeping Kosher in Barcelona, Spain

Contributed by: Esther Zar | Last Date of Travel: September 2009

Kosher Info: We flew into Barcelona with a list of three potential options for kosher food. Well as we eliminated them (one didn’t answer, and the other seemed questionable in kashrut), we were left with one last option: Isamar Kosher (Address: Carrer de l’Avenir, 29). We didn’t know much about it, except that it’s a kosher supermarket. We decided to use our google maps to walk there and get a taste of Barcelona while we were at it. Great idea! It was easy to get to, a pleasant walk from our hotel in the city center, and ended up being a great experience. When we first walked in, we saw a small gourmet-ish kosher supermarket with particularly good meat and cheeses. We were really craving hot food, so we asked if they have a place to maybe warm up something we buy there. Next thing you know, they open up a door and we see that they have a small restaurant that they have created on the side. They had very fresh and tasty meat options that were ready to go on the grill. We chose the burgers (though the kababs looked very good as well) and the cook prepared our food with real pleasure. The few people who walked in and out were very friendly and welcoming as well. What really stuck out in my mind was that a man walked in with his children at one point and we got to talking with him. He told us that there are only 5-6 families in all of Barcelona that actually keep kosher. Very few people know about this establishment, which is truly a shame. The food is good, and if there are only a few kosher families in Barcelona, the only way for these guys to stay open is with the visits of kosher tourists. Anyway, I highly recommend this place.

Tourist Info: Right after we dropped off our bags at our hotel, we immediately hopped on one of those red tour buses. What a great idea. We literally got to see all the imporant sights in Barcelona, which enabled us to plan what we wanted to really see the next day. Also, the architecture in Barcelona is absolutely breathtaking, so getting to see all the different neighborhoods enables you to really get a taste of the varying types of architecture in Barcelona.

Another fun thing to do is to go through the market in the center of town. It’s extremely lively and you get a good sense for Spain’s people and smells. There’s also a beach, a beautiful stadium, and Gaudi’s park which are all interesting. But really, just wandering around through the center of town, you stumble upon the most amazing original and historic buildings.

Jewish Info: Apparently there are thousands of Jews in Barcelona, however very very few orthodox Jews. We weren’t there over Shabbat and didn’t really meet any other Jews other than that one experience in the supermarket/restaurant.
You can get more info from the Chabad (Jabad) in Barcelona here.

✈ Keeping Kosher in Toledo, Spain

Contributed by Shira Rosenbaum and Aaron Roller | Last Travel Date: Aug 2006

Kosher Info: Alas, to what was formerly a thriving Jewish town, there is no kosher food available. We were able to find a few fruit stalls around town, but we mostly brought food from Madrid (which is only about a 1-2 hour train ride away.

Tourist Info: Toledo was Shira’s favorite place in Spain. The old city/ touristy area is on the top of a hill with an encircling wall and a moat at the base. It is very reminiscent of Yerushalaim (which is interesting when you consider it’s Jewish history). The hike up the hills is probably pretty arduous. We took a taxi, but there are outdoor, covered escalators that can also take you up to the gates of the city. The town is very old and very beautiful with little houses and cobble stone paths. I don’t recall going to very many non-Jewish tourist sites, but the town was just so fun to walk around in and take in the shops. Toledo is famous for metal works so there are a ton of knife and armour shops. There is also a tourist train (think the tram at Disney) you can take which is a little cheezy but a LOT of fun.

Jewish Info: There are a few old (around 14th century) synagogues to see in Toledo, including the El Transito Synagogue which houses a nice Sefardic Museum. Don’t be confused by your guidebook: Spanish Synagogues often have Catholic names since many were used as Churches during and after the inquisition like the Synagogue de Santa Maria Blanco.

✈ Keeping Kosher in Madrid, Spain

Contributed by: Shira Rosenbaum and Aaron Roller | Last Date of Travel: Aug 2006

Kosher Info: We traveled to Spain in the summer of 2006. We flew into Madrid, took the train to Toledo, Cordoba and Granada before returning to Madrid. Before our trip we had been warned that the only Kosher food in any of those cities was in Madrid (where we would be for 1 day that was not Shabbat at the start of our trip) and that food included a grocery shop and a restaurant called Naomi Grill. Being that we were only in Spain for 6 days on our way home from Israel, we brought food for the 6 days with us in our packs planning three meals a day for each day except Shabbat.

Unlike many other 1st world countries we were also told we could not even drink the milk in Spain making a simple breakfast of cereal a challenge (and of course no coffee!!). We ended up buying little 1/2 liter containers of “chalav amid” or shelf milk (ex. Parmalat) which is just enough for two people to have enough cereal for the morning which we ate in reusable plastic bowls and spoons purchased at a shuk in Israel, often in whatever town square we were in that day. For lunch we brought pitas and spread them with peanut butter (protein!) and jam and bought some fresh fruit off the street if we saw any. Dinner was either a salami sandwich or a version of Manna Chamah or Cup of Noodles made with water we purchased (asking for hot water for tea but without the teabag in it). We did eat in the Naomi Grill restaurant on our last day as we were leaving Spain. It was quite delicious, but highly suspect of being the cause of some major illness on the way to the airport.

There is a Ben and Jerry’s in Plaza Mayor, but we weren’t sure of their kashrut status outside the U.S. We were hoping to eat there and to see the packaging ourselves, but it was closed by the time we arrived. We also noticed some Starbucks shops along the avenues, but didn’t visit them due to the whole milk issue.

For shabbat we had gotten in touch with the Chabad rabbi of Madrid who had been living there for many years with his family and were invited to his home for both Friday night and Shabbat day but I think it is possible to arrange for take out packaged meals from the local restaurants. You can find a list of them at KosherDelight.

Tourist Info: Madrid has a whole slew of awesome tourists sights including fabulous art museums. We found out that the Reina Sofia Museum (which houses Picasso’s Guernica) has free admission on Saturdays (double check that this is still true before you go!!) so we walked across town to see it. Madrid is actually not such a large city and we were able to see a few public sites on our way to the museum (mainly the Arch and the Parque del Retiro); all in all it was probably about a 45 minute walk from our hotel which, was about a ten minute walk north of Puerta del Sol. Aaron’s highlight of Madrid: the Prado Museum, Shira’s was the Royal Palace.

Jewish Info: Madrid’s Jewish attractions include its synagogue which is still in use, but a savvy Jewish traveler who does not carry a passport on Shabbat would be wise to plan to go before Shabbat to inform them you are coming (this synagogue along with many others in Europe have tight security. Usually no passport= no entry which is not so great if you walked across town to be there for minyan. Sometimes you can arrange to have your passport checked by their security before Shabbat). Plaza Mayor, like many other places in Spain has a sad Jewish past: it was a main plaza where traitors of the inquisition were burned at the stake… though today it is home to many interesting bars and a BEN AND JERRY’S!!