text: At an altitude of more than 640 meters ( 2,100 feet ) , this city on the Castilian plateau , Europe 's highest capital , is scorching in summer , when wilting residents flee for the coast or cooler northern climes , and freezing in winter , when many Madrilellos bolt for the Sierra Nevada , just a couple hours south , to ski .
  
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  Residents of Madrid all wish that their city had a different climate .