Final Destination – Madrid?

When you finally get to Madrid, stand at the baggage claim for ages, and finally admit that your luggage isn’t coming, what’s a guy to do? You guessed it: back on the phone with United Airlines’ help desk (Call #5). Unfortunately, because United handed me over to Turkish Airlines in Chicago, all United could confirm was that my luggage made it back to Chicago, but after that, they couldn’t see anything in their system. Trying to be helpful, they gave me the number for Turkish Airlines’ lost luggage desk and transferred me over.

Once the line connected with Turkish Airlines, the person at the other end told me that I needed to file a report at the airport (fortunately, I’d already gotten in the line to do just that) and the number I called could only give updates/information about previously filed reports. Fine. So I waited in line, and when I get to the desk, I explain my situation and that I’m missing my bag. Surprisingly, the agent said he had no record of me being on the flight, either from Chicago to Istanbul or from Istanbul to Madrid. Curious, I thought, as I had ticket stubs for both flights. After a few minutes, he confirmed that I’d been on the flights (was there another option?!) and took my information to file a report. A few minutes later, he circled a number on the report copy he gave me, saying if I hadn’t heard anything in two days to call it for more information. Until then, I was out of luck. Cool.

Sometimes, you just admit defeat

Exhausted and nearly delirious, I finally left the airport, found a cab, and headed to the hotel for some much needed rest. This was Monday night, around 11 pm in Madrid, and I’d been on the go since 6 am the prior day, Springfield time. For those keeping track, that was nearly 34 hours of travel time, including the time difference.

Mercifully, the check-in process at the hotel was as smooth as could be. The front desk person even handed over a few toiletries not usually in the rooms, because, as you’ll recall, mine were in my bag that was, as of then, unaccounted for.

A new day, a new plan

After a night of restless sleep, I woke the next morning and promptly called the Turkish Airlines (Call #6) lost baggage number to get an update on my report. As I’d expected, no update existed, since the report had been filed less than 12 hours previously. At this point I again enlisted Tasha’s help, as she was state-side and able to contact people more easily than I could from Madrid. Wasting no time, she called the United help desk (Call #7) and asked the agent to figure out where the heck my bag was.

After some looking around and a call to the lost luggage desk at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, the agent sounded confident my bag was still in Chicago. Frustrating, but at least we had an answer. The agent also said it was on the next flight to Madrid and gave Tasha the flight number and arrival time, so I knew when to expect my bag. Excellent. Except, when I tracked the flight number (it was another Turkish Airlines flight), it said that flight was going from Istanbul to Madrid the next morning. Istanbul?! That meant my bag made it all the way there with me and, when I had my longest, least complicated layover, that’s where they ‘misplaced’ my bag? Doesn’t make any sense to me either, but so long as it got to Madrid the following morning, I didn’t really care.

I really needed some fresh clothes…

So, as I’d been in the same clothes (yes… all of them) for the better part of 2.5 days, I headed out to get items to hold me over until my bag arrived, if it even got to me. I met up with some colleagues in Madrid for lunch, and then dinner, before calling it a night for more restless sleep. The next day – we’re now to Wednesday for those trying to keep track – I went out exploring and met up with the same colleagues for lunch. When I got back to the hotel, Tasha had tracked my bag and it said it had landed in Madrid. Yes! Except, we’d seen that message before when I originally landed and, as I explained earlier, there was no bag. So, I wasn’t convinced, but went to the front desk to ask them to call the airport number I’d been given in my lost luggage report (for whatever reason, I couldn’t get it to connect from my room).

Reunited and It Feels So Good

As it turned out, the front desk had my information on a sheet of paper. Huh? They’d been trying to call me, because their colleague at the airport had my bag in their possession and was wanting to know whether to deliver it to the hotel or if I was going to come get it. Thankfully, the front desk agent had taken it upon themselves to have my luggage delivered, and it was supposed to arrive between 2pm and 5pm that day. I told them I was heading up to my room to get some work done, but to please let me know when my bag arrived, and I’d come get it. About an hour and a half later I heard a muted knock at my door and, after opening it up, was greeted by a hotel clerk who, amazingly, had my long-lost luggage. Eureka!

As I spun my bag around assessing its condition and looking for damage, I noticed there was not one, not two, but five separate bar code stickers on various places on my bag. These are the stickers the check in agents pull off the larger baggage tag and stick on your piece of luggage for the other folks to scan so you can keep track of it. No wonder no one knew where it was. And now, at last, my travel was complete. Finally. Oh and yes, two of the wheels on my bag are broken. Guess I know what I want for Christmas.

Important Lessons

I’m the first to admit this was a complicated itinerary from the beginning; that much, I knew. But the multiple cancellations, delays, and rerouting made it even more complicated and frustrating. This was compounded by involving multiple airlines. Still, there are a few key lessons to take away from this:

• Go for simple itineraries. I honestly can’t remember why I picked this itinerary, but let’s assume I had my reasons. Of course, in retrospect, knowing this would have been anywhere near as complicated as it was, I’d have chosen differently. Picking simpler itineraries just makes sense: fewer stops means fewer places where things can go wrong, at least in theory.
• Be nice. Was I frustrated? Sure. More than I’ve been in a long, long time? Oh yes. Was that at least partially because I hadn’t slept well the night before I left and just wanted to get a confirmed itinerary to Madrid? Also, yes. Still, when I spoke with the United folks, I have to think saying ‘please,’ ‘thank you for your help,’ and staying polite – even when frustrated – helped move things along. Remember: the support agent didn’t cancel my flight, nor did the gate agent. Not their fault, so it’s not fair to take out my frustration on them, which plenty of people were doing (those same people happened to be sitting in the Louisville airport as I boarded my flight back to Chicago).
• One isn’t always the loneliest number. Usually when I travel, Tasha is with me. That complicates things because if there are cancellations, it’s almost always more difficult for the support agent to find two open seats on a new flight. That I was traveling by myself this time made things easier and allowed me to be more flexible.
• Watch your checked bags. As we’ve said multiple times, we usually only travel with carry-on bags, and this is no small part a response to the concern about having them ‘misplaced.’ However, because I was going to be gone so long (just over a month) in multiple countries with different climates, I decided to check my bag this time. Because there were so many cancellations and new itineraries, that meant it was important to make sure I knew where my bag was and where it was going. Not always easy, but you should be able to track your bags on your airline’s website or app.
• Have fun and enjoy it. Yep, it’s frustrating. But you’re still traveling, even if it does end up taking you a little longer or if you find yourself in places you didn’t need/want to go. I’ve wanted to go to Turkey for a long time, and while this wasn’t the way I wanted to get there, I was still in Istanbul, which is pretty neat. No, this doesn’t count as an official visit to Turkey, and I’m still bummed I didn’t get a passport stamp.
• Know your policies. When I realized my bag wasn’t with me in Madrid, I knew of two different policies that should help get me through until my bag arrived.
  
  First, because the airline ‘misplaced’ my bag, they should reimburse me for anything I needed to hold me over until its arrival. This ended up being a little more complicated because the Turkish Airlines agent, while wanting to be helpful, had an accent that was hard for me to understand. That meant I wasn’t able to get the information I needed to file a claim to get reimbursed without heading to their website.
  
  Second, I purchased my flight with my United Explorer Club credit card, which has a delayed baggage insurance policy. When I called their help desk (Call #8, if you’re still keeping track), they were super helpful and quickly gave me the information I needed about what I could spend and how to file my claim. Fortunately, everything I had already purchased would be covered by that policy. So, in the end, know that you’re not alone when things go wrong: there are lots of people there to help, but you need to know how to contact them to get help.

And with that, I was ready to start my time in Madrid, albeit a few days later than I had originally expected. I’m just thankful I didn’t have to re-prep my class because yes, my class lecture notes were in my checked luggage. I know, I know…
Always remember: the travel experience is part of the fun, even if you have to look a little harder to find the fun in it.

The post When You Make the Trip, but Your Luggage Does Not first appeared on The DeBode Way.

As we’ve said before, we like to travel, and one of the neat ways I get to do that is, well, by doing my job. Some universities give their students the opportunity to travel abroad while taking courses from that university (meaning their faculty teach the classes), and these programs come in all shapes and sizes. Some are 1 – 1.5 weeks long, some are full semesters, and others go during the summer term. One I’ve participated in a few times takes this latter form: it sends students to Italy for about 5 weeks, then they get a week off, then they go to Spain for about 5 weeks. All the while, they’re taking a series of classes to earn a minor in business (or, if they’re business majors, they get a jump start on some of their required classes). Neat, right? Right.

The Original Plan and First New Itinerary

When I initially booked my flight, my itinerary went from Springfield à Chicago à Washington, DC à Brussels à Madrid. What the heck, right? Honestly, I don’t remember what I was thinking when I bought this flight, and yes, Tasha told me it wasn’t a good idea. Anyway, that’s not the point: that was my schedule. And all was fine, until I woke up the morning of my flight and had a text message from United saying my flight from Chicago to Washington, DC had been cancelled. Seems odd they didn’t have more planes in Chicago to accommodate this, but such was my situation. As United often does, they had automatically rebooked me on a different flight from Chicago à Louisville à Washington, DC, and from there my itinerary picked up as originally scheduled. Or at least, that was the plan.

The Second New Itinerary

So, I boarded my flight in Springfield and get to Chicago uneventfully. The next flight, from Chicago to Louisville was equally uneventful. Unfortunately, once I landed in Louisville, my flight to DC was delayed and then canceled, and this is where things got a little crazy (what was going on in DC?). The folks at the gate in Louisville were super helpful in getting people rebooked, even though there really wasn’t much they could do that we couldn’t do ourselves. They even told us as much, showing everyone a sheet with a QR code we could scan that would take us to the United customer service page where we could call or text an agent to get rebooked.

This I did, and after waiting for about 15 minutes, connected with an agent (Call #1) who, over the next two hours, pulled off what was nothing short of a miracle…or so I thought. While I was talking with her on the phone, Tasha was searching frantically for different itineraries that would get me to Madrid reasonably close to my original arrival time. I was doing the same. What this meant was that when I spoke with the agent, I had very specific flight numbers she could look up to check for availability. That sped things up considerably and made her job a little easier, I think. Most of those didn’t pan out, but Tasha found a flight on Turkish Airlines. Trouble was, it left from Chicago, not Louisville. Fortunately, there was another flight going back to Chicago that the agent was able to book me on. However, because the flights after Chicago were on a different airline, they couldn’t give me boarding passes, but instead said I needed to go to the gate once I got to Chicago and they’d print them for me. Sounds easy enough, right? Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.

Chicago to…Where?

Because my flight in Louisville had been cancelled, that meant I had to exit the secure area of the airport to pick up and recheck my bag. Then I had to go back through security (Time #2) and go back to the gate where I’d been waiting since my flight to DC was cancelled. A little running around, but the airport isn’t huge, so not terrible. I boarded the flight to Chicago (in a first-class seat!) and all seemed to be going well.

Here’s the thing, though: the new itinerary had me going back to Chicago and then I had a 10.5-hour flight to Istanbul and then a 4.5-hour flight to Madrid. Yes, I flew very close to Madrid on my way to Istanbul (parachute?). *sigh*

As it turned out, Tasha found another flight with TAP (Air Portugal) that went to Lisbon with plenty of time to take any of three connecting flights into Madrid. The flight from Chicago to Lisbon was only about 7 hours, and was East of Madrid, meaning I wouldn’t have to backtrack to get there. So, after landing in Chicago, I got on the phone with United again (Call #2) to see if they can get me on the new itinerary. Nope, something about TAP wouldn’t let it happen. So, they said to get my boarding passes for the flight to Istanbul, just so those were certain, and then go to the United lounge where they could try to get me on the other flight. I had three hours at this point before the Turkish Airlines flight. Okay, sounds easy enough.

Except for the fact that when I got to Chicago, I didn’t have those boarding passes, you know, because I needed to go to the gate to get them like I’d been told. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get to the gate without my boarding passes. You see the problem? What ended up happening was I, once again, left the secure area of the airport to go to Terminal 5 via a train. Fine. But, when I got to Terminal 5 and the Turkish Airlines check-in area, I was met with a line that was as slow-moving as it was long. Oh, and at this point I had two hours until my flight left – not boarded, left. *heavy sigh*

While standing in line, I jumped back on the phone with United (Call #3) to see if they could speed up the process. No luck. Finally, I got to the counter, handed them my passport, and then gave a blank stare when they asked for my confirmation number. I had one for United, but not Turkish. *heavier sigh* So they took my passport (!) to investigate. I was still on the phone with United, so they were able to call Turkish at the same time and get my flight confirmed. Cool. When the agent finally came back with my passport (! again) they got me my boarding passes, whereupon I turned around and saw one of the longest TSA security lines I’ve seen in maybe ever. Oh, and they didn’t have my coveted Pre-Check lane, and only had one agent for the entire line. Oh, did I forget to mention at this point I only had an hour until takeoff? Takeoff, not boarding. Nice. Except no…no it wasn’t.

Back on the phone with United (Call #4), where I told the agent I was certain there was no way I was going to make this flight (despite the Turkish Airlines agent’s insistence I’d be fine). The agent on the phone told me to remain in the security line and that she’d added the TAP flight to my reservation in case I missed the Turkish flight (why didn’t that happen earlier?!), as it took off an hour after the Turkish flight.

As slow moving as the line was, by some miracle I did make it through security and to my gate with about 25 minutes to spare before the door closed. On the plane, I finally caught my breath. Unfortunately, that was about all I could catch, as I was in a regular economy seat and not the Premium Plus seat I was supposed to be in from Washington to Madrid (at some point United had rebooked my itinerary to go directly from DC to Madrid, not sure what happened to Brussels, but I wasn’t complaining). Yes, yes, I know: #firstworldproblems . But that’s what I (ok, the University) paid for. *pout*

A Turkish Experience

The flight on Turkish Airlines ended up being pretty nice; the staff were super friendly and helpful, the seat was about as comfortable as an economy seat can be, and the food was better than I was expecting; they even gave us menus. Like, on actual cardstock. There were the usual two options (chicken or pasta), but it seemed fancier because of the menu. They also passed around amenity bags for everyone, not just the folks in the premium cabins. That’s a first for me, folks.

We arrived in Istanbul about 40 minutes early and pulled into the gate and got off the plane. Because Turkey isn’t part of the EU, I didn’t have to go through customs there, but would do so in Madrid. Sad I didn’t get a new stamp in my passport, but thankful I didn’t have another line to stand in. That meant I had a few hours to wander around the airport, and it is a pretty neat airport. Everything was super clean, and for as many people as I saw, the airport never seemed overly crowded. There were so many duty-free shops it made my head spin. Seriously, there were more duty-free shops than there are Starbucks on a corner in New York City. If you don’t know, that’s saying something.

Anyway, nearing the point of exhaustion, I finally headed back to my gate and grabbed a quick bite to eat. I wasn’t hungry but didn’t figure I’d have time to eat after I got to Madrid, as my plane was scheduled to land just after 10pm. McDonalds looked…interesting, so that did the job. I know, I know: what an American, right? Actually, this is something I encourage my students to do when they travel abroad. Yes, I think it’s good for them to try local foods and new things, but it’s also good to compare familiar things when you see them abroad. For example, my chicken sandwich in Istanbul tasted different from when I have it in the US, even though it’s the same sandwich. Neat, right? Try it the next time you’re abroad, just don’t make that’s you’re only food source (because…ew).

The Last Leg: Getting to Madrid

Finally, after waiting for what seemed like forever (it really wasn’t that long, but I was tired and ready to be done), the gate agent called the flight to Madrid. No cancellations, rerouting, delays, or anything else. Just Madrid. Finally! So, I got on my 5^th flight (because I knew you were counting, too) which, thankfully, ended up being as uneventful as my flight out of Springfield. We arrived in Madrid shortly after 10pm and, after making a pit stop, headed down to Customs, Passport Control, and, finally, baggage claim.

Everyone I came in with was tired and ready to no longer be in the airport and on their way to wherever they were going. And so we waited patiently for the luggage claim belt to start turning. And turn it did, bringing everyone their bags. Everyone, it seemed, except one: yours truly. Yep, after the belt stopped spinning and the doors on either end closed, I was left staring at an empty baggage claim: my bag was nowhere to be found.

More on that, next week.

The post The Long Way to Fly to Madrid – Not Recommended first appeared on The DeBode Way.

Local legend says that back in the day, workers would wander into a bar after a hard day’s work. Trouble was, they had enough money for a beer or food, not both. Obviously, they went with the former, and that led to increases in public drunkenness and all the shenanigans and debauchery that come with it. To remedy this, the bars ended up serving small plates of food with the beer, though it’s unclear whether this was voluntary or compelled by the law. Either way, the small plates were designed to literally fit on top of the beer glass, hence the term tapas. The inclusion of food with a beer decreased public drunkenness and all was well. Today, when you visit a tapas bar in Spain, you’ll usually order your drink (beer, usually, but also sangria) and will find it accompanied by a snack, usually chips, pickled olives, or maybe some meat and bread. This is a thing you now know.

Of the multitude of tapas bars in Madrid, my favorite is the Museo del Jamon (MDJ), literally the ham museum. Not familiar? Your loss but let me paint a picture for you. When you walk in, the MDJ presents you with two options. On your right you’ll see a familiar deli counter and cases, filled with all kinds of, you guessed it, ham products. None is more impressive than the tasty Iberian Ham, which is kind of like Italian prosciutto, but a little different. But there are all kinds of swine-based meat products: sausages, salamis, and so on. Also, cheeses, lots of cheese. Just like in the US, you’re able to order what and however much you want, it gets weighed and packaged and they send you on your way.

On your left, however, is the real treasure of the MDJ: the bar. In most MDJs (there are tons of locations all around Madrid), the bar is a significant size. There is usually a random assortment of bar stools, but I rarely see people sitting. Instead, we stand in groups, usually just close enough to the bar so they know we’re still customers, but also just far enough away so as to be in the way of people walking through. Anyway, when you walk up to the bar, the barkeep will ask what you want (or I think that’s what they’re doing…it’s in rapid-fire Spanish, so a little hard for me to follow). We always order a cerveza (beer, in Spanish). They ask poco (small) or grande (large). We laugh, as if that’s a real question, and indicate we’re Americans and don’t understand the concept of a small adult beverage. This usually meets with their approval, and the beer is quickly dispensed.

That’s all fine and well, but remember, this is a tapas bar, and so the tapas accompany the beer. The neat thing we’ve discovered about the MDJ is that the longer you’re there, and the more beers you order, the quality of your tapas improves (and no, this isn’t just a perception from the large quantity of beer you’ve consumed). So, to start you might get the usual pickled olives or chips (they seem to prefer regular Lays chips for whatever reason), but the next round might have some salami or ham. Stay long enough and eventually they’ll bring around the prize of the MDJ tapas assortment: the fried chicharones. Imagine square chunks of what appears to be pork belly. Now imagine they’re fried. Amazing, right? As it happens, they pair nicely with an ice-cold beer.

We always have a good time, and stay a bit longer than we anticipate, at the MDJ. Friendly people, cold beer, and tapas to keep you ordering more rounds. Oh, and the best part? Your beer and tapas will run you somewhere between $2 and $3 per person. Nice.

So, the next time you’re in Madrid, make sure you visit the MDJ. Or, if you want to be secret and fancy, just say you want to meet at the Museum. Just…make sure you’re clear on which museum because Madrid has lots of regular museums, too. They’re neat and all but have a decidedly different vibe. Also, they don’t serve beers.

The post Let’s meet at the Museo – Not THAT One! first appeared on The DeBode Way.

That brings us to the second reaction: what do you do in [insert country here] for that long? More often than not, when we’re traveling, we’re doing so in conjunction with Jason’s job, either a class he’s currently teaching or one he’s preparing to teach. We also travel to various cities in the US to attend market to buy inventory for the women’s boutique we own. The main exception to this is when we venture across the pond to Scotland, but there’s still work involved to research and prep for bringing students over. So then, what does Jason do, exactly? Great question, read on for more.

For those who don’t know, Jason is a professor. Technically, as of the writing of this post, I’m an associate professor of strategic management and entrepreneurship. One of the neat things about my job is that I get to travel. Sometimes those travels are with students (like a trip to Scotland a few years ago), sometimes it’s to present at conferences (like an upcoming trip to London), sometimes it’s to teach at our sister campus (when he goes to China), and sometimes it’s to work for other universities. Our recent time in Spain falls into this last category.

I did my PhD at Auburn University (WAR EAGLE!!), and my advisor at Auburn has since become a program director for Auburn’s Global Programs, specifically the program in Rome and Madrid. In a nutshell, Auburn students can earn a minor in business in conjunction with this program. The students take a series of business classes over the summer term, all in Europe, spending the first half of the program in Rome and the second half in Madrid. They also have a week break in between locations to travel on their own. In my case, I taught a Fundamentals of Management class in Madrid over the span of 10 class days.

A typical day meant being out the door by 7:15 am or so and heading to the metro station in Puerta de Sol. Along the way, I’d stop at a little 24-hour store for a bottle of water and the nearby Starbucks for a coffee. Ordinarily, we encourage folks to eat locally as much as they can while abroad, and for all kinds of reasons. Unfortunately, when it comes to coffee in Europe almost all of it is espresso-based. In other words, if you order a ‘regular’ cup of coffee, what you’ll get is an Americano: a shot of espresso diluted with hot water. Seasoned coffee drinkers will know these aren’t the same things. Even when looking for iced coffees in Madrid (it was usually in the 80s on the way into the office), you’re likely to find iced espresso-based drinks. Fortunately, I discovered that Starbucks’ iced coffee was more like iced coffees back in the US and was more what I was looking for. So, water (always stay hydrated, especially in hot, dry climates!) and coffee in-hand, I’d head over to the metro station.

The metro makes life in Madrid much easier than it otherwise would be. Or, at least moving around is easier. There are multiple metro lines running all under Madrid, with each having a multitude of stops. Some stations are transfer stations, meaning it’s a place where two or more lines intersect. That makes it even easier to get to pretty much anywhere you need to go, as you can leave one line and hop on another to get to even more places. It’s also fairly inexpensive to jump on the metro and go. As of the writing of this post, we were able to get a 10-journey card for a little over €10. The other thing to keep in mind about the metro is each station usually has 4 entrances/exits. Most often, a metro station is under a street intersection at ground level, and there’s an entrance to the station on each corner (roughly) of the intersection. That can make it even more efficient to get around because if you get out at the right exit you don’t have to cross the street or wait for traffic. Of course, if you leave the wrong exit…

Anyway, back to the routine. So, jumping on the metro at Sol meant I had 4 stops before getting off at the Delicias station. From there it was a roughly 10-minute walk, mostly shaded, to the Talent Garden building. I’d usually arrive right around 8:15 am and head up to his classroom on the 2^nd floor to get things ready. Class was scheduled from 9:00 am – 12:30 pm, but most days I’d let the students out around noon so they had time to work on their group projects. After answering questions and chatting with a few students, it was time to reverse the route to head back to the apartment: walk back to the Delicias station, hop on the metro and continue the 4 stops back to Sol, and from there a 5-minute walk back to the apartment at Plaza Mayor. Most days I was back at the apartment by 1 pm or so.

After getting back, I’d take a break for an hour or two to visit with Tasha and see what was happening in the world. Then, usually around 3 pm, I’d start working on the next day’s class. I wrote my lectures before heading to Madrid, but there were still notes to add, examples to fine-tune, e-mails to answer, and so on. That usually went until 5 pm or 6 pm, at which point it was time to start thinking about dinner. Keep in mind most restaurants don’t open for dinner in Madrid until 7:30 pm or so. That means you’re usually back home by 9:30 pm or 10 pm, which gives you just enough time to hit the shower before turning in for the night. There were also nights when we had program dinners or other events. Those are fun, but usually meant we’d get back to the apartment considerably later than 9:30 or 10 pm, even though the 6:30 am wake-up call never seemed to change. Oh well.

And that was life, every day, for all 10 days I was teaching. Not every trip with students is this intense, but they all involve more than a vacation from everyday life. No complaints, though: not everyone gets to do what they like, and even fewer get to do it all over the world. But trust me, it’s not a vacation.

The post It’s Not Much of a Vacation – Working Abroad first appeared on The DeBode Way.

We spent our 3 weeks in a cute little Air BnB apartment on the backside of Plaza Mayor. It was tiny, but it had everything we needed – including a little AC. We loved the little balcony for fresh air and a peek at the world. I loved the ambiance with the fabulous chandeliers, expansive book collection, ancient door and next door neighbor that gave music lessons. It was on the third floor of a very old building and had all sorts of quirks from centuries of remodels. It was pretty great, but no lie, I was super jealous of the view from our friend’s apartment next to the palace and gardens. But, we were very centrally located, could walk everywhere we needed to go within 15 minutes and I never had to get on the metro. We even had a little grocery store right across the street. I don’t think I made it farther than a 15 minute radius the entire time we were there. So weird.

Laundry. It was over 100 degrees the ENTIRE time we were in Madrid. The first two weeks we were in the city I did laundry almost every day in our tiny apartment washing machine so it had time to dry (very few dryers in Europe) before we needed clean clothes again. I was washing by the third day we were there. Between clothes and sheets and towels I was completely overwhelmed. I don’t know how they keep up! Maybe they care less about the summer stink or just generally have way more tolerance for the heat than we do. Luckily, I had come along and could conquer this task so Jason could focus on his class. He worked and was in class constantly. We had packed about a week’s worth of clothes, so by the end of the second week, I quit washing clothes and planned to just haul them home dirty to wash one load in my giant washer. So much faster. Funny enough, I hang most of our clothes to dry at home these days anyway, so the lack of a dryer wasn’t that big of a deal to us. The biggest challenge was finding a place to hang sheets to dry quickly. I got creative and opened the doors to our wardrobe and draped them across the top. Victory. It was after this I saw they would replace our sheets and towels for €25 per set – this was one of those character-building opportunities and just another load of laundry. Not a big deal.

By the end of the third day in the country, I knew something was wrong. I’m typically puffy after flying and have a constant sore throat from Missouri allergies, so I thought nothing of both following me to Spain. By the end of day three though, my voice started to go, that almost never happens – Jason will tell you he never gets a break from me gabbing. We were at a program dinner that night when my eyes started watering profusely, like I was full-on crying, and wouldn’t stop! I dabbed my eyes all night and cracked jokes about how terribly sad I was, but we blamed all the smoke and wind in the outdoor bar and thought the earlier rainstorm had maybe stirred something up. Other than these weird things, we felt totally fine. By the next morning, I was a wreck. I managed to peel myself out of bed, do some yoga, throw a load of ever-present laundry in, sweep the floor, and then I crashed hard and basically didn’t move for 5 days while I cycled through fever, a drowning amount of phlegm, and a horrible cough. Jason was lucky and was only down for about 2 days over the weekend, so his class wasn’t affected. He always bounces back from an illness so much faster than I do. A week and a half later I still had congestion, a throbbing headache (I’m blaming the headache on the constant heat and dehydration), and generally dizziness, but was starting to be able to function again. I know what you’re thinking – oh my gosh, they got Covid. It very well could have been, we’d been traveling, flying, and living in countries that no longer have restrictions other than masking here and there. We did the best we could in our situation and tried to be responsible by laying low until our symptoms went away. This was longer for me, but that’s how it goes with me and wasn’t a big deal since I’d planned to work from the apartment most days anyway. I’d like to say I got a ton of work done while I only saw the inside walls of our apartment, but I was too busy watching the insides of my eyelids.

Meanwhile, Jason is having time of his life, living the European dream! Ok not really, he’s working really hard and I’m seeing the concern he has for his students as they struggle through tests every other day and their own issues with living in a country that is not their own. They’re college students in Europe, what could go wrong (oh the stories!)? Prior to this, Jason had not lectured in a classroom setting in almost 3 years (due to Covid and his stint as department head), and a 3.5-hour class every day will really knock the wind out of you! His class was finished every day at 12:30, then after running errands or scrouging up lunch we (I) partook in the great “siesta,” generally while Jason was catching up on grading and prepping his next class. Siesta is my favorite thing about Spain. To avoid the heat of the day, most places close down in the afternoon, and using this time for a nap is perfectly acceptable. I’ve decided this is how they have the energy to stay up all night to enjoy the cooler temperatures. Unfortunately, our American work schedule and the time difference prevented us from enjoying many late nights out. So, the siesta ended up being some catch-up rest from late nights working, early mornings to work on Spanish time, and heat exhaustion. It was a bit brutal!

We did have time for a couple of fun things during our stay. On one Sunday, we strolled a couple of blocks from our apartment to the biggest outdoor flea market in the world (so they say). El Rostro happens every Sunday and public holiday in Madrid. It was a conglomeration of all things imaginable for sale, but my favorite was all the different types of music from different cultures. Stalls lined the streets as far as you could see and the businesses behind them were open as well. We didn’t end up buying anything and cut our trip a bit short due to the heat but we’re here to say, it certainly was large! Had I been in the mood, I could have found all sorts of “treasures” to haul home.

A friend and I had an entire day of fun as well. We headed off to shop early on in our stay along Calle Gran Via (remember: the double-l in Spanish is pronounced as a y, so Calle is pronounced Cay-yay – it means street), a popular shopping location in Madrid. We ducked in and out of tons of stores, finding a few things, and enjoyed the wide pedestrian streets that are closed to cars, except for delivery vehicles. There is very little traffic in central Madrid due to their push to move cars out and turn the streets into walkways. They only allow only electric scooters, bikes, and taxis in the city center to cut down on noise and pollution. The metro system running under it all gets the bulk of people around when it’s too far to walk, but honestly, I didn’t get on the metro the entire time we were there since we were so centrally located! We just walked everywhere. After our long walk and shopping trip, we got lunch at what turned out to be my favorite restaurant, La Rollerie. Jason and I went back multiple times after for brunch. Since my friend was only here for a short time before her husband started teaching and was staying in a hotel, we took advantage of their pool after lunch. This was short-lived as a freak rainstorm blew in and sent us scrambling for cover. We felt so bad for the pool staff running around trying to pull cushions, tables, and lamps under cover so they wouldn’t be soaked later in the day. They were completely drenched, got hailed on, and had to be absolutely freezing standing in the AC afterward! We quickly saw an entirely new group of staff come in; we’re thinking the others were sent home. Once the storm blew over, we convinced the husbands to join us for a pre-dinner drink before meeting the big group for dinner. It was a great time, and probably the busiest day I had on the entire trip.

We also had a rather entertaining evening on a colleague’s roof next to the Royal Palace of Madrid. We spotted a spectacular sunset out the windows of his apartment where we had gathered for drinks and tapas, so four of us piled into the tiny glass elevator to head to the roof for a better view. Except, the elevator got stuck about two feet from the top floor and the doors WOULDN’T OPEN! After about 15-20 minutes of sweating to death (because of course it was over 100 degrees in a building with no AC), frantically calling the Air BnB host, pressing the emergency button where we were greeted with rapid-fire Spanish that we were having trouble deciphering in our panicked state, and sinking to the ground in despair, someone found a catch for the doors, they opened and we all frantically climbed up out of the elevator. I’ve never been so relieved in my life. I would like to say that someone would have eventually come to help us, but after spending 3 hours on the roof, no one had come, and the elevator was still stuck where we left it. Obviously, we took the stairs back down. We missed the actual sunset but the view was still spectacular, the company was entertaining and I got some fun photos and videos of the palace at night.

As I’ve said, the heat was oppressive. However, we were not dealing with the humidity with it that we get in Missouri, so we were so kindly allowed to breathe. Instead, this was the type of heat that sneaks up on you, you don’t realize you’re too hot until it’s too late. We typically did not venture out in the afternoon once Jason was back from class, dripping sweat from his 10-minute walk from the metro station. Instead, we waited until the restaurants opened around 8 PM (everything happens so late here) to venture out for tapas (small plates of food), grab take-out from the fabulous sushi place next door or call in some Uber-Eats (no lie, this is the first time I’ve ever done that! They don’t deliver in rural MO!). We had paella (pronounced pie-yay-uh) aplenty, Chinese tapas, pizza, a glorious burger, croquettes, sushi, calamari, and an overwhelming array of various other tapas during our stay. The food is fabulous, although, I think, extremely heavy for the climate. I was constantly in search of fruit or a salad for nutrients and hydration and I never did find ice cream I could actually eat. Gosh, that still sounds good. Madrid, help a dairy allergy gal out and bring in some vegan ice cream!

We had an interesting time trying to figure out the trash and recycling situation in Madrid. I don’t come from a big city, so maybe this is normal, but they only put the trash cans out after 8 PM. We couldn’t figure this out for almost a week and finally asked the Air BnB host. I could see him shaking his head at the other end of my message as he explained you are not allowed to take the trash out during the day in Madrid. I must say though, this kept the streets less cluttered and smelly, so in the end, it’s great. We collected recycling for weeks too before we located a collection center. This part was expected for us as we collect our recycling at home in bins in our garage before we take truckloads to town to the recycling center. So no real change there. Chasing down trash cans was a new one though.

As we were rounding the corner on our last week in Madrid, things got even more interesting. Just as we were starting to feel pretty good after our illness, I got food poisoning. Really bad food poisoning. It was way worse than the maybe Covid, putting me in bed with a fever for an entire day while stomach pains had me nearly in tears. I should have stayed there the following day as well, but we needed to pack up to head home. So, I had to pull myself together long enough to get my suitcase packed so we could move closer to the airport where we were staying for the night (so we thought). It took some serious kumbaya in the taxi to hold myself together, but we made it to the hotel, and I promptly crashed again after trying to eat for the first time in two days. Terrible idea, I spent the night in agony.

Our wake-up call the following morning came at 4 am when we learned our first flight had been canceled. Some mad scrambling (and a few thankyous to all the gods from me) had us rebooked for an entirely new flight itinerary the NEXT day – after 5 hours on the phone. We almost made it out without any extra charges on our phone plan. So close. It was then we learned another professor had his flight canceled as well, so Jason encouraged him to come to stay at our hotel so they could commiserate (over beers, obviously) while I continued to try to sleep off the food poisoning in the dark cool of our room. The new itinerary meant a 3 am wake-up call the following day (which was just completely brutal), so we headed to bed by 8 pm only to not be able to sleep at all because it was so light outside! We had blackout curtains, but the entire bathroom was frosted glass and mirrors with no curtains, not helpful! We finally fell asleep sometime around midnight only to be jolted awake again at 3 am.

We made the airport by 4:15 the next morning and everything went smoothly. The bag check line was separate from the check-in line (which we had done online), so we quickly dropped our bags off and headed for security. Security was a breeze (why is it such mass screaming chaos in the US!?) and we were to our gate almost 2 hours before our flight. We could have slept longer, darn it, but had we waited there would have been some issue and we’d have missed our flight. No doubt. Our Lufthansa plane was parked at the gate for the night and mercifully left on time getting us to Munich in plenty of time to get through the very orderly German Border Control (which was at least 3 different passport checks) and to our crowded gate. This flight was delayed. I think we ended up leaving an hour later than we were supposed to just due to issues at the gate. We lost our fancy United Premium Plus seats when our itinerary changed but they were able to at least put us in an exit row for our 11.5-hour flight in some relatively comfortable seats. That is currently the longest I have ever been on a plane and it was tolerable. I was just extremely bored. I am also happy to report that my food poisoning issues took most of the day off. I got to Houston on Pedialyte and rice, where a banana nearly killed me, and I had to repeat the kumbaya for the final flight into Springfield. No joke, I wanted to kiss the ground. Jason says this is not recommended in airports.

Our wonderful neighbor picked us up (and had dropped us off three weeks earlier) at the airport and whisked us away home to hug the doggos. Esma and Zara quickly forgave us for our prolonged absence, but Jack is still mad at us. That dog can hold a grudge like none I’ve ever known. The cat also made her protests known the next morning, but I think she’s forgiven us as well. She’s spent a lot of time with me begging for pets.

All of this is to say, I hope you go to Spain! It’s a wonderful country that unfortunately does not agree with me. This was my second trip to Spain with Jason while he teaches and the second trip where I have been very sick. I don’t do well in the heat, so I think that has a lot to do with exacerbating my symptoms. I love the colors, the vibe, and the friendliness of Spain but I will admit I was in dire need of some green – which I was NOT greeted with when we got home. Missouri is currently in a drought, and everything here has dried up as well. There were definitely some fun highlights, but we didn’t get to do any sightseeing on this trip. I’m thinking next year we may stay in Germany longer before or after classes and I’ll just send Jason to Spain on his own and I’ll head home to man the fort myself at home while he teaches. We’ll see what the year brings. It’s always an adventure.

The post Living in Spain – The Unexpected first appeared on The DeBode Way.

When we travel, particularly in Europe, we like to use lots of different transportation methods because each has its unique benefits. As an example, let’s take a trip we made to Spain a few years ago. Our route was to go from Madrid (in the middle of the country) to Granada (in the South), to the island of Mallorca (pronounced Mai-or-kuh) off Spain’s West coast, to Oviedos in the North, and then back to Madrid before coming home.

Of course, getting to Spain requires planes, a few of them. However, after arriving in Madrid (or whatever major city) you have tons of options. We hung around Madrid for a few days, seeing the sights and taking it all in. From there, we opted for a high-speed train to get from Madrid to Granada. More specifically, the train only took us part of the way. Where it ended, we hopped on a bus for the last hour or so to get over to Granada. High-speed trains are a relatively unknown thing for most Americans, but they’re all over the place in Europe. Our train traveled at around 200 kilometers/hour (roughly 125 miles/hour) and was an amazingly easy process. Security was a breeze and much easier than flying. The ride was really smooth, and it was completely fine to get up and walk around. Such a leg and back saver. The seats had tons more space than the steerage seats on most airlines we’ve grown accustomed to. They even had a food car if we got hungry! Could we have flown? Sure. However, the view at 25,000 feet isn’t quite the same as ground level (no offense to our friends the clouds; they’re pretty awesome). Also, train tickets are very reasonably priced, so you might consider it on your next hop across the pond.

Once in Granada, we took a cab to our hotel and then walked around otherwise to see cathedrals and the Alhambra. When our time down south came to its end, we were off to the island of Mallorca. Funny thing about islands: they’re challenging to drive to. So, we instead opted for a quick, low-priced flight from Granada to Mallorca. Once on the island, we rented a car and drove to the northern tip of the island, our beach home for the next few days. The driving was easy enough, and the steering wheel was on the left, so no transition was needed before heading out, which was a relief when we saw the tiny parking lot amongst hundreds of olive trees. It took some wiggling to park.

Getting up to Oviedos required a short drive back to the airport on Mallorca to return our car and then a short flight to the North. From there, we rented another car (upgrade to BMW, yes!) and drove around, taking in the striking views from the cliffs along the way. It’s a completely different world from the desert south, more like Ireland with its lush green and humidity. From Oviedos, we hopped back on another quick flight back to Madrid where we spent the next few days before coming home.

As a recap, in one trip we made use of planes, trains, busses, cabs, rental cars, and our own two feet. Being open to these options gave us an experience we’ll never forget, and one much different than what we’d have experienced if we only relied on one mode of transportation. For example, had we stuck to the trains only, that would have limited us to Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia, with maybe a few other smaller cities, too. If that’s what you’re interested in seeing, this isn’t a limitation but rather an ideal way to get from place-to-place. If we’d only rented a car it would have taken us much, much longer to get between places, as Spain is a fairly large country. However, when we’re in Ireland or Scotland we only use a rental car because the countries are smaller and so driving isn’t a big deal – to us anyway, our Scottish friends think we’re nuts driving more than two hours day after day.

As we said, we do things a little differently than most folks we know. What we do works for us and our goals when traveling. Prefer a different approach? Cool, let us know what works for you. In the end, the important thing is to get out there and see the world, however much of it you’re comfortable with.

Happy travels!

The post Planes, Trains & Automobiles: Tested Tips for an Awesome Adventure! first appeared on The DeBode Way.