Arrival and Madrid

Wednesday, 06.11.2019

My journey started at 06:00 in the morning in Munich. After Ben drove me to the train station, I took the train to Paris. I arrived there around noon and was supposed to continue to Barcelona and then take a third train to Madrid. The planned arrival time was around midnight. However, the previous evening I already found out that the second train would be canceled due to heavy rain in southern France. In Paris, I first tried to get help with my onward journey at the service center. However, the young man at the counter was not very motivated, so I quickly booked a bus to Madrid on my phone. It was supposed to leave half an hour later from the bus station (Paris Bercy), so I took the metro from Paris Gare de l'Est to get there. I had to struggle with the ticket machine for a short while, but then everything worked out and I bought myself a snack at the metro. However, the bus station is another 15 minutes' walk from the metro, so I jogged the last meters with all my belongings. Departure was at 14:00, and the duration of the journey was a fast 17 hours... Luckily, the bus was not very crowded, everyone had enough space, and there was onboard entertainment just like on a plane.

Thursday, 07.11.2019

After watching several movies, dozing off and taking a few short breaks, we arrived in Madrid (Avenida de América) around 07:00. I took the metro to the hostel and after checking in and taking a quick shower, I went back to bed for a short while. At 10:00, I enjoyed the remains of breakfast and then joined a Free Walking Tour. Over the next 3 hours, in a group of about 30 people, we learned a lot about the history and architecture of Madrid from a lively local, a Madrileña. In the afternoon, I took another power nap, wearing a sleep mask, in my 4-bed room. At 21:30, the hostel (The Hat) offered free tapas and sangria, and I couldn't resist. And since it was so much fun, I was also convinced to join the pub crawl afterwards. In 3 bars and a club (Teatro Kapital), we chatted, drank, and danced in a nice group until the early morning. I walked back to the hostel with Daniel (Costa Rica), Daisy, and Lindsay (USA).

Friday, 08.11.2019

After breakfast and a shower, slightly tired and hungover, I went to a beautiful glass market hall (Mercado de San Miguel). It was busy, quite touristy, and expensive, but also very delicious, with several vegetarian options. That's always a bit difficult with tapas. There was even a mozzarella bar! Afterwards, I took a walk in the Malasaña district, but it was siesta time. Because of the lack of sleep and because it was quite cold and windy, I was constantly freezing. In the evening, Daniel, Dominic (UK), and I went out briefly to get some food and a bottle of wine, and then we stayed in the communal dining area of the hostel for the free sangria with tapas. But this time, I went straight to bed afterwards.