8 hour lay-over in Madrid airport, any suggestions?

[VJ]

Hello,

I will have an eight over lay-over in Madrid (incoming international flight lands shortly after 14.00, next domestic flight departs after 22.00). It is a business trip (of which the purpose will make umfriend laugh...), so I would not like to venture out into the city. I know from last year that the city is quite far, but I also don't want to take any risks. So I'll be at the airport for 8 hours; I'm traveling alone.

I thought of buying an entry to a VIP lounge (there seem to be several, any recommendations?), and spending time there (work a bit on laptop, perhaps watch a movie, eat something, ...).

Any thoughts?


Jörg

[UtwigMU]

1) have the company/organization which invited you take you around if possible. For example we had some Russian woman visiting company, we picked her up on train station, took her to hotel, fed her, showed her around and delivered her to train station in time.

2) just buy some sort of internet. Like USB and SIM. This might cost 50€. I don't know but VIP lounge might be more expensive than that.

3) usually in big cities you can get from and to airport for like 5-20€ quickly. I had 5h in Budapest once (had to cross from west train station to ariport in the east) and I took time to go for dinner.

[dZeus]

Hello,

I will have an eight over lay-over in Madrid (incoming international flight lands shortly after 14.00, next domestic flight departs after 22.00). It is a business trip (of which the purpose will make umfriend laugh...), so I would not like to venture out into the city. I know from last year that the city is quite far, but I also don't want to take any risks. So I'll be at the airport for 8 hours; I'm traveling alone.

I thought of buying an entry to a VIP lounge (there seem to be several, any recommendations?), and spending time there (work a bit on laptop, perhaps watch a movie, eat something, ...).

Any thoughts?


Jörg

when are you visiting? It just happens to be that I'm currently in Madrid for work at a client, and will fly back out Friday night.

Madrid has many nice restaurants/tapas bars where they serve very fresh and delicious food, and some very good museums (there's a special expo on Hieronymus Bosch at the Prado, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza has a nice collection of paintings too).

You're mad to stay in the airport for 8 hours with such a magnificent place around the corner (airport-city centre only takes something like 40 minutes outside of Rush hour; and Madrid has a very well developed metro system)

[Umfriend]

OK, I accept. Make me laugh!

But really, 8 hrs?. Take one hr for getting to the city, 3 to get back and checik intime and you have four hours left to see something.

I have never had fun at an airport except for Stansted as they had a great, albeir somewhat expensive, pinball machine. Note I said Had. This was over 10 yrd ago.

Edit: Too bad you guys are in Madrid. I happen to be in Barcelona.

[VJ]

when are you visiting? It just happens to be that I'm currently in Madrid for work at a client, and will fly back out Friday night.

It will be in the beginning of July.

You're mad to stay in the airport for 8 hours with such a magnificent place around the corner (airport-city centre only takes something like 40 minutes outside of Rush hour; and Madrid has a very well developed metro system)

I will probably do it on the way back, but as it will be an intense 4-day work visit, I don't want to run risks (loosing laptop, missing flight, ....). I will land at my destination after midnight and will then have to get up early to get started. I've had such a work visit before, and it really helps to be able to start fresh. So while I won't visit Madrid on the way there, I do plan to do it on the way back. :-)

OK, I accept. Make me laugh!

Going to a research institute to help write a research proposal. If it works out, it will put me... after all the renovations in Warsaw... in Spain... for 2 years.

1) have the company/organization which invited you take you around if possible. For example we had some Russian woman visiting company, we picked her up on train station, took her to hotel, fed her, showed her around and delivered her to train station in time.

2) just buy some sort of internet. Like USB and SIM. This might cost 50€. I don't know but VIP lounge might be more expensive than that.

While nice, option one is not a possibility...
From what I found, one time access to the Iberia VIP lounge costs 27 euro, which seems to include a comfortable place with sockets, wifi, drinks and snacks... So it does not seem like such a bad deal.
But thanks for reminding about the internet: the laptop has a built in 3G modem, so I could get some prepaid internet card, if I would not have internet where I'll be staying (but I guess I will have it: it is a university campus).

[Fat Tone]

VJ, where in Spain would you be for the two years?

Heading there again myself for the last two weeks of July. Our family apartment is between Alicante and Benidorm.

[VJ]

It would be in the north: Santiago De Compostella.

Now the plan is that I go for a few days to work on the project proposal (which has deadline mid-September). After that, timings can be anything: it may be possible to start there anywhere between then and January, if it starts at all...

[Fat Tone]

Problem solved - you don't fly there, you walk Check out the pilgrim routes if you haven't already heard of it.

It's a very nice part of Spain. I haven't been to the city myself but know plenty who have. I have been to La Coruna (on a cruise) which isn't too far away and worth a visit to see the ancient lighthouse.

Best of luck
T.

[VJ]

Yeah... I know the pilgrimage, but somehow I thought flying would be easier... A friend of my parents drove there from Belgium on bicycle. Not really as a pilgrimage, but more as a "nice destination to cycle to, with sleeping infrastructure on the way there".

I was in Gijon last year, and it is a nice region. But this visit will be all work: I really want this project to work. The plans we have and the things we want to work on are very exciting (I prefer not to post it yet), with real world value.
It would be a bit strange to leave my apartment in Warsaw for 2 years, but two years is not such a long time. Still some decisions to be considered, such as: take or leave car? While Warsaw-Santiago de Compostella does not have such a good connection, there are direct flights from Brussels to either destination. So any visits to Warsaw can be combined with visits to my parents.

[Umfriend]

Oh, LOL. But yes, can you not airbnb the Warsaw appartment for two years?

I went to a Coruna for my friends his wedding. Did not actually like the place and neither the Santiago DLC.

Is it actually a nice pilgrimage? We have started GR5 from Amsterdam to Nice (well, GR5 does not pass Amsterdam but we're doing Amsterdam-Maastricht and join GR5 about halfway).

[VJ]

Nah, I won't bother with AirBNB or such. First I need to get the position, but if I do I don't think I'll be renting out the apartment. Perhaps to a colleague from work or so, but not to strangers. Now to get started on writing the proposal...

I was last year in Gijon, also north of Spain, and really liked it... Never been to Santiago De Compostella, so taking a bit of a risk, but I'm sure it will be fine.

[VJ]

Survived the lay-over... currently in Santiago. It was quite tiring (I arrived here after midnight), but I'm holding up better than I anticipated. Return flight is on Saturday...

[VJ]

Return layover was a bit worse: I lost some time upon arrival add did not have enough time to go far. On top of that, I had to wait to check-in, and there is really nothing to do in Terminal 2 (not before, nor after the security).

But it was very interesting. Now to finalize the project proposal, and who knows......?

[VJ]

Well, attempt 2 and 3 for the project just finished: I filed for a post-doc at the institute and we submitted a proposal for a European grant.

First news, from the post-doc, is expected near the end of September, it that works out it'll start from November. If we get the European grant, that would be super (better salary, better conditions, more budget for research, ...) and that could then start in July. Big changes coming... The project would be a huge step forward for my research and hopefully academic career. :-)

Meanwhile, the apartment building I live in in Warsaw was added to a list of monuments! It was designed by a known architect and is now on the list of monuments as one of the examples of post-war modernism (up to now, nothing from after second world war was considered a monument here; the added 30 buildings to the list and plan to expand it more). There are two levels of monuments here, and it is on the least restrictive list. The benefit though is that there will be funding to renovate the facade, which is highly overdue. They already were planning the renovation for years and even started planning things. So who knows... I might not be in Warsaw during the renovation of the facade (which will take some time and will cause discomfort for sure: it is a 20 story block), and come back to a fully renovated block!

[dZeus]

Return layover was a bit worse: I lost some time upon arrival add did not have enough time to go far. On top of that, I had to wait to check-in, and there is really nothing to do in Terminal 2 (not before, nor after the security).

But it was very interesting. Now to finalize the project proposal, and who knows......?

good luck on your proposal ! Hope you get what you want.

I've had to visit Madrid another time at the end of July, and this time managed to see the Hieronymus Bosch exposition at Prado... it was absolutely amazing.